Nuit Blanche 2016

[Deleted]

This year's Nuit Blanche was particularly interesting and perhaps marks a turning point in the event in its 15th year. It had a specific main theme for the principal events, being The Dream of Poliphilus, a printed romance published in Venice in 1499. It is described as "a mysterious arcane allegory in which Poliphilo pursues his love Polia through a dreamlike landscape, and is, seemingly, at last reconciled with her by the Fountain of Venus." In the tale, Poliphilo wanders through a dreamscape in search of Polia, a perfect concept for wandering around Paris. It was devised for the Nuit Blanche as a downstream journey from Gare de Lyon to the Ile Saint Germain in Issy-les-Moulineaux. No mortal human being could do this in one night, especially since there were 120 art installations apread through the city and another 20 in the suburbs. I decided to hit just some of the main ones along the Seine and to respect the direction, but I really did not have much of an idea of what I would see since I didn't even have the guidebook yet.

At 19:00 I arrived at Gare de Lyon, but the event had actually started 6 days earlier. All week performer Abraham Poncheval was perched on top of a pole in front of the train station. This was the 7th day when he would come down at last. He was supposed to be the vigil, waiting to see Poliphile (in French). There was another installation inside the station itself which I did not see, a multitude of painted cats with bouquets "waiting for Poliphile." Cats were part of the original woodcut print in the 15th century. As for Abraham Poncheval, he had come down temporarily when I arrived and was going back up with a change of supplices (and chamber pot?), but I did not wait for him to go from the cherry picker to the platform since it was a very fastidious operation and I had a shitload of things on my agenda.

The sun was just setting at 19:00











I jumped on a bike to get to Hôtel de Ville, where I was sure to get an offical programme. There was a strange truck behind city hall. More about it later.





The back windows of the Hôtel de Ville had images by Dutch artist Erwin Olaf, representing the dream of Polia.







               

               

Meanwhile, in front of the building there was a frozen lake in an enchanted forest by Stéphane Thidet. The floating stumps were in movement.

[Deleted]

On the Pont d'Arcole just across from the Hôtel de Ville, things became more serious. The Factory of Broken Hearts was hard at work. Lumberjacks were cutting up logs to make hearts which were tinted red in a barrel and then broken with axes before being burned. This represents the violence of the rejection of Poliphile's love. Love was no laughing matter in the Middle Ages. The public could also take some pieces of broken hearts because there was a chance of getting them repaired later.

[Deleted]

Next, I entered the courtyard of the Hôtel Dieu to see the magical disc of Christian Rizzo, reflecting the multitude of questions by Poliphile.



















Then it was time to enter the Tribunal du Commerce to see Karim Zeriahen's triptyque of Catherine Deneuve, a possible incarnation of Polia.









Outside again, people were appreciating the Georges Pompidou expressway promenade.





The Conciergerie had been transformed into a hallucination by Poliphile with the interior of the building turned upside down.





Unfortunately the effect was a bit spoiled by the streetlamps not having been turned off in this sector.





Meanwhile people were trying to avoid being sprayed under the Pont Neuf along the quai de la Mégisserie.







Quite frankly, the city itself often looks like an art installation at night.





Australian artist Mel O'Callaghan was in charge of Place Dauphine. Numerous performers played tug-o'-war with cables and pulleys to show the struggle of love.







Matthew Barney projected his solo transatlantic journey on the façade of the Monnaie de Paris.



Anish Kapoor created a vortex in the water at the tip of the Vert Galant, putting both Poliphile and Polia in danger.

[htmb]

Nuit Blanche just seems to get more and more creative. I had been reading up a little about plans for 2016 during the past week, and looking forward to seeing your photos and hearing about your adventures. I'd really like to be in Paris for this event one year. Nice start!

[Deleted]

In terms of making a report, the Pont des Arts was a bit frustrating as it was impossible for me to record. It was mostly an audio experience by Oliver Beer with an impressive sound system rendering the disquieting and mysterious roars of the deep sea. The bridge itself was plunged in darkness and only the pillars were illuminated from beneath the water. It is interesting to note that the artist used green LED lights which are now used by Thai fisherman to attract squids, just in case you thought they were not yet in the 21st century.

trying to see the vortex from the Pont des Arts

[Deleted]

Next was another unphotographable moment -- the trek through the Tuileries tunnel. This was an expedition in the dark created by the Lebanese composer Zad Moultaka with chants and drumbeats in the dark. Groups were taken through the tunnel 200 at a time and the performers were scattered through the crowd. The audio effect was quite prehistoric in style and after awhile I sort of wondered if we were being led to a ritual sacrifice.

This was the previous group leaving. My group had to wait another 20 minutes.





still waiting



People on the outside of the waiting area hoped against hope that they would see something to help them decide if it was worth it to get in line.





And we're off...!



no way for my photos to reveal the mysteries



The performers actually had sheet music for their chants.



And we're out...!





There were all sorts of projections along the Seine.





The Opéra de Paris was in charge of the passerelle Senghor (pont de Solférino).





On the berges de Seine below the Musée d'Orsay, American artist Bridget Polk presented a chaos of sculpture. I chose to stay on the upper quay rather than getting a closer look.

[Deleted]

At this point, the Nuit Blanche merged with the usual Saturday night revelry of the berges area. It is always jam packed on the weekend.



Evian, a sponsor of the Nuit Blanche, was giving out ridiculous tiny water bottles and you would have thought it was champagne from the crowd.



And then I suddenly came across the Caveland truck again that I had seen behind the Hôtel de Ville. Did you know that they are singing moles?













I still don't know if something weird is hiding in that truck.



This area is always full on Saturday, even when it is not the Nuit Blanche.









The slight October chill was not stopping anybody.





I slowly worked my way towards the Pont des Invalides.



The "Absolut Company Creation" took over the bridge for a techno paroxysm.











A huge crowd was waiting to be filtered and frisked to gain access to the bridge, but my energy was waning, so it was out of the question for me.





There were already enough rules anyway.



A clock (without the right time) whirled around on the Quai d'Orsay.





I knew that the Passerelle Debilly was worth a visit, but it was too far away. I just wanted to cross the Pont de l'Alma and take the metro home. It was almost midnight.



I crossed the bridge, but the Passerelle Debilly sucked me over anyway. It was one of the most important spots for Poliphile and Polia.



It housed the market to repair broken hearts, either the ones from the Pont d'Arcole or any other broken heart you might have.





There were about 20 artisans installed on the bridge to take care of such problems.

[Deleted]

I was impressed at how serious the visitors (and the artisans were). They really wanted their hearts fixed, even the one in their chest.









               



               



               

The sparkling Eiffel Tower informed me that it was now midnight.





               

so many broken hearts!



I wondered how long these people would actually work through the night.



Time for me to leave.





Metro station Iéna awaited me just on the other side of the Palais de Tokyo. This allowed me to see the "inland sea" by Brazilian Rodrigo Braga. He uses the same stones as Haussmann, but differently.





All that was left to see was the electric hula hoop guy in the courtyard.

It was a long trip home, but I arrived before 1 a.m. The end of the legend would remain a mystery to me.

[Deleted]

And of course, I have a pathetic little video of the event.

[htmb]

Wonderful! Your photos of the events are terrific, but your superb video helped bring it all to life. It looks like a very interesting way to spend a Saturday evening, while also getting quite a bit of excercise and fresh air!

[bjd]

It's such an incredible amount of preparation and participation by so many people, it's good that so many turn out to see it all. And you were lucky with the weather that it didn't rain.

I hope the tunnel was more interesting than what we see here?

Security must be a nightmare nowadays compared to the early events.

[Deleted]

Thanks, htmb.

Bjd, I agree that the success of the event is extremely important. Last night I have to admit that these are the biggest crowds that I have ever seen, but I don't know if it is because it was along the Seine on a nice Saturday night when there would have been a lot of people anyway or if it was more related to the event. I did see large numbers of people carrying around the programme just like me. Security was not as bad as I had feared. The only place with "full" security (x-ray machine and electronic portal) was the Tribunal de Commerce, but it was kind of obvious that it was being used mostly because it was already there and was part of the rules of the building (like any courthouse in Paris, particularly the Palais de Justice right across the street). A couple of places pretended to look at bags but most places just had security guards who just glanced at people as they walked in. Any other system would have been ridiculous, and I am glad that they have realised this.

[fumobici]

This is a worthy report of an interesting event. I'll quickly rescroll through throw a few quick thoughts out, there's just too much to remark upon more comprehensively:

The Gare de Lyon shots have beautiful light. Almost a shame about the pole sitter business. The HdV scene is pretty striking, the sparkling ice and trees against the underlit backdrop of central Paris, I don't even mind the mildly risque projections on the hall, I can see what they were trying to do there. The loggers scene is Straight Outta Portland, I swear.<bunch of mostly "funny lights" displays> The photos of the Polk sculptures below the Orsay Museum are great. The pieces are so strikingly well lit, the sculpture pieces themselves hardly even mattered. The thing on the bridge was sweet and sad. I like the arcane literary theme. Not much else hit me.

[Deleted]

Thanks. I am totally frustrated every year by the excess of events that it is totally impossible to see. I suppose that I should just be appreciative of living in a city that offers so many things to see and do. Growing up in "nowhere," I promised myself that I would live my adult life in a place that was not boring, but I never imagined that things could become this intense.

Just letting my own video play through to the end, I saw that it was followed (although it will probably change) by a video of the Nuit Blanche in Toronto. I am delighted that so many other cities have adopted this event.

[htmb]

From what I remember seeing in your threads of past events, I first thought this one appeared to have a better flow. But then I wondered if maybe it's just because I know the areas along the Seine better.

[Deleted]

Regarding current security concerns, it is certainly noteworthy that the mayor of Paris was stabbed inside the Hôtel de Ville (open to the public for the event) by a homophobic Serbian madman during the very first Nuit Blanche. Even though it was a life threatening incident that required a number of days in hospital, he attended all other Nuit Blanche events during his mandate. I even ran into him in the dark in the church of St. Jean de Montmartre at Place des Abbesses a few years later. There were no security gorillas protecting him.

[bixaorellana]

Whereas I admit I was not as grabbed by this year's theme as by those in the past, I also realize that much of it was a you-had-to-be-there thing. That said, your pictures are great fun and exciting throughout. As far as the event itself, my hands-down favorite would have been the frozen lake with the floating stumps. The photos are compelling! The singing moles are wonderful as are the light shows. I love your hula gif.

[tod2]

Kerouac your extraordinary effort to bring this annual event to us is much appreciated.
I can see quite clearly that Nuite Blanche has grown enormously since I attended the second one.
On that night my companions and I could not find one thing to look at. All we saw was the domed roof of the Grand Palais all lit up in bright colours. Taking a taxi to the Eiffel Tower we tried to board the Bateaux Mouche running at a special discount price but it would have taken hours to get on board. That's when we gave up just before midnight.
How did you know where all these events were taking place? Is there a program available?

[Deleted]

Well, there's a website for the event and also the daily papers publish a special section on the major things to see. I usually start with that until I can get the printed programme, which is distributed free of charge at all of the main sites. The places are easy to spot because a big Mairie de Paris white balloon floats above the distribution tables. This year's programme was a book of 80 pages with a map of the principal sites inside the cover.

       

[nycgirl]

Excellent coverage, as always. I'd really love to see this myself one day. I'm with Bixa, my favorite is the frozen lake with the floating stumps.