When: October 4-5, 2003
Where: Paris, France
Anyone ever heard of or participated in Nuit Blanche?
It was the best experience of my time in Paris. Every year the city of Paris puts on an all night party. Nuit Blanche means all-nighter. In 2003, the city exploded with outdoor art installation and performance pieces. Light shows were projected on exterior walls, art installations were set up around the city, organizations put on all night movie marathons. There was one event that absolutely captivated me. The Hotel-de-Ville, one of the most traditional and historic government buildings in Paris, steps from the Seine and Notre Dame Cathedral, was transformed into a pulsing, brilliant, colorful masterpiece- all done by lights and music. The lighting designer, Gilbert Moity, illuminated the exterior of the building with bright, colorful lights and squiggles racing across the facade. The lights pulsed in time with the beat to some intense techno music. That was just the exterior, though. Inside the courtyard was where the real show was. We waited in line in the cold and rain, not knowing what to expect on the inside. Once we passed through the majestic archway into the interior courtyard, I couldn't believe my eyes. Patches of bright colors saturated every space, all the windows where lit purple, red, and blue. The techno beat was so loud you could feel it in your chest. Juxtaposed to all this sensory overload was a blizzard of delicate, floating, iridescent bubbles. Being in that space made me lose perception of reality and I just wanted to dance with the bubbles! The experience was so profound to me, that 5 years later, in my Contemporary Art class, I chose to write my semester paper on that particular performance art piece. It was nearly impossible to find much written about the artist or his work, and what I did find was in French, so I had to work really hard on the paper. But I had one very important resource- my first hand account of an event that happened only one time in history. Through my research, I learned a lot more about the artist and his philosophies and it made the whole experience mean even more to me. And I got an A on the paper and in the class!
You can have a taste of the whole experience here!
Friday, December 18, 2009
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3 comments:
I went to Nuit Blanche 05 - AMAZING!!!!
Oh man this night was amazing!!! It was all craziness and I totally felt a part of Paris by participating. That video was way cool to see! It brough back memories for sure. You forgot to add the lovely memory of our metro ride home and the scary/creepy man. Oh Paris, I miss you :)We need to organize a trip back there with Megan and others. That would ROCK!
I'm SO there, Val!!! I remember that night so well--though my strongest memory was watching thousands of bike riders and roller-bladers fly through the city streets, followed by fleets of ambulances! I regret to admit that I was DESPERATELY hoping someone would take a terrific spill right in front of me. Alas, everyone who biked or skated past me did so with grace.
Paris was SO FULL of the most incredible, enriching experiences--Dana and I LOVED one afternoon when we went down to a little museum near the Seine that was displaying all of Marlene Dietrich's clothing, and one weird day when we went to this bizarre fashion exhibit at the Louvre--there were these wax figures of the designers in the front of the exhibit, which was nearly pitch black (except for a few spotlights), and when Dana and I walked in, we grabbed each other and nearly peed our pants because we thought they were REAL!!!
Man, I miss you guys and Paris SO much!!!
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