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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 12:54:43 GMT
The Lille 3000 event is back this year for the next eight months. The theme is Eldorado with a specific spotlight on Mexico, so I knew I had to go. The whole "Lille 3000" business began in 2004 when Lille was designated one of the European capitals of culture. Lille was pretty much in decline at the time, but the event in 2004 gave the city such a boost that it was out of the question not to continue, with a schedule of doing something incredible every three years. The first edition of Lille 3000 spotlighted India and gave rise to the still popular Bombay videos.
www.bombay-tv.net/art-en-6080e95499588e13baa5bb18d5b164d0.html
In 2009, there was Europe XXL to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the destruction of the Berlin Wall. In 2012 there was an edition celebrating the fantastic and the supernatural. In 2015 the theme was "Renaissance" to celebrate the quirks of the 21st century. And so here we are this year with Eldorado. As for the previous editions, you can find reports about them on Anyport.
Even before I left Paris, the screens of Gare du Nord were celebrating Eldorado.
i.postimg.cc/fTNDVrhc/Eldorado_1_001.jpg i.postimg.cc/7YnD0nxp/Eldorado_1_003.jpg
The moon was awaiting me inside the Lille-Flandres station where I arrived.
i.postimg.cc/h49qR17f/Eldorado_1_005.jpg
Just in front, there was a dog from Oaxaca.
i.postimg.cc/VkZxW72H/Eldorado_1_007.jpg i.postimg.cc/sgfzcGx1/Eldorado_1_006.jpg
Rue Faidherbe is the street in front of the station, but during a Lille 3000 event, it is referred to as the Ramblas.
i.postimg.cc/YS4Jn6H2/Eldorado_1_008.jpg
i.postimg.cc/HkLG5Gvy/Eldorado_1_009.jpg
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The seahorse became my landmark for my hotel around the corner.
i.postimg.cc/xT5Dcj5Q/Eldorado_1_011.jpg
i.postimg.cc/N0WZWKs6/Eldorado_1_012.jpg
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There is always a fabulous inaugural parade, but it was postponed due to the awful weather. And I confirm that there was a very violent wind with quite a bit of rain. The parade will be held next weekend.
i.postimg.cc/3JKz55Tc/Eldorado_1_014.jpg
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I headed for one of the first places, Gare Saint Sauveur behind the city hall. If you ever visit the belfry, when the ticket person says "there is a lift, but it is much better to go up the stairs," don't believe them.
i.postimg.cc/2jdgKjPW/Eldorado_1_017.jpg
The city hall was flying four flags -- France, Lille, the European Union and Mexico.
i.postimg.cc/RhT86Gcd/Eldorado_1_018.jpg
i.postimg.cc/qvqYqsgc/Eldorado_1_019.jpg
my first golden image
i.postimg.cc/DyBH7jfy/Eldorado_1_020.jpg
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 13:18:13 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on Apr 29, 2019 13:30:17 GMT
This is great ~ looking forward to more! And I know your pictures from the bell tower will be stunners.
Absolutely love the giant alebrijes. Chien is one of the few French words I know, but is ardilla the same in French as in Spanish, i.e., squirrel?
You got so many great shots. I particularly love the all the ones with the fantasy creatures using Lille as a backdrop -- the dog-squirrel in front of the station, the seahorse between the elegant old buildings, and the last one of the golden image in that wonderful old factory setting.
Not commenting on the video because I'm being informed I have to update Flash to see it, which I'll go do now.
-- I see we were simul-posting -- love the boat with the coconuts(?).
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 14:01:59 GMT
I didn't go up the tower this time. It is one of my older reports.
French for squirrel is écureuil.
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Post by fumobici on Apr 29, 2019 14:36:08 GMT
French for squirrel is écureuil.Ha, that would have been my joking guess! This is very, very cool. Who designed/made the sculptures? I hope they brought in real Oaxacans.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 15:01:11 GMT
I looked at most of the plaques and they came from artists all over Mexico although CDMX, Puebla and Oaxaca appeared to be the main sources. For this sort of emblematic décor all along a long street, I assume that they were give proportions and stylistic suggestions and then the artists took over.
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 19:17:10 GMT
What is this stuff? I don't know, but it is always interesting to try to figure it out.
i.postimg.cc/kXN2hScm/Eldorado_1_041.jpg
i.postimg.cc/GmqHb1Vg/Eldorado_1_042.jpg
Inside "St. So" as the locals call it, there is always this weird dwelling. Sometimes a motel, sometimes a house, sometimes an apartment... If you have read previous reports, you have seen it before.
i.postimg.cc/zfQvRFJn/Eldorado_1_043.jpg
i.postimg.cc/kgn2r51t/Eldorado_1_044.jpg
The hammock room made me want to spread out one of the hammocks and relax. The curators would probably approve since these things are made to be experienced.
i.postimg.cc/prbdsV5r/Eldorado_1_045.jpg
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Beyond the inflatable creature is where the next section will be opened soon.
i.postimg.cc/D0rwHV1g/Eldorado_1_050.jpg
My next destination was to the Lille museum of Fine Arts to see the "Golden Room." But before seeing the gold, I needed to see other stuff. After all, all of this was free today (entire museum).
i.postimg.cc/528cBrXm/Eldorado_1_053.jpg
The atrium was occupied by one art work for the next six months. Even I sometimes wonder if something can be accurately called an art work.
i.postimg.cc/90S3b5PL/Eldorado_1_054.jpg
Yes, this is it. Little mirror squares on a platform.
i.postimg.cc/dtkc13vp/Eldorado_1_055.jpg
Before seeking the Golden Room, an official Eldorado event, I took a brief glimpse at the "real" fine arts. I already made a full report last time, so there's not much in this report.
i.postimg.cc/nLxy017f/Eldorado_1_056.jpg
The best part of these places is having the whole museum to yourself, unlike museums in the capital. No, that is not my own reproduction of the art on the wall.
i.postimg.cc/J7dWMZwj/Eldorado_1_057.jpg
i.postimg.cc/15khNS3t/Eldorado_1_058.jpg
Frankly, I wanted to spend more time looking at this stuff again, but I was on a tight schedule.
i.postimg.cc/nzc6tc0d/Eldorado_1_059.jpg
the joy of all of these private rooms!
i.postimg.cc/507D9drf/Eldorado_1_060.jpg
i.postimg.cc/Vsh23wMR/Eldorado_1_061.jpg
I was able to peer down at the atrium to see if the featured item had improved.
i.postimg.cc/xdPW7byJ/Eldorado_1_062.jpg
I wonder what they pay for this sort of thing. What does the artist receive?
i.postimg.cc/VkQpkFK0/Eldorado_1_063.jpg
Bacchus did not care one whit. He was right.
i.postimg.cc/GmFN8sf7/Eldorado_1_064.jpg
i.postimg.cc/XqthFK3h/Eldorado_1_065.jpg
Okay, down to the Golden Room, the whole point of Eldorado. It was hidden in the basement.
i.postimg.cc/brZWsVXk/Eldorado_1_066.jpg
i.postimg.cc/HxxPhvkR/Eldorado_1_067.jpg
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 29, 2019 19:26:59 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 30, 2019 6:48:00 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on Apr 30, 2019 16:24:18 GMT
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Post by mossie on Apr 30, 2019 18:12:34 GMT
Some weird and wonderful things here, they really brighten the place up
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Post by kerouac2 on May 1, 2019 13:01:56 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 1, 2019 15:39:49 GMT
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Post by mossie on May 1, 2019 15:59:09 GMT
That cathedral is a disgrace, or is it still in its primer coat waiting for the real colour to be applied?
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Post by kerouac2 on May 1, 2019 16:53:16 GMT
The cathedral Notre Dame de la Treille is quite recent and construction didn't begin until 1854. The prize winning architects were English ( ) but this horrified the authorities, so the contract was awarded to an architect from Lille. Construction was only completed in 1975 -- except for that incredible façade which dates from 1999. From the inside, I must admit that the church does not look bad, except for being the same boring neo-gothic style that we have all seen hundreds of times. It is only the outside that is particularly horrible, because when you are inside, even the rose window facing the front doesn't look all that bad. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lille_Cathedral
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Post by mich64 on May 1, 2019 19:22:15 GMT
Although I do not wish to hurry through my holiday, I am eager to be home to see this report on my laptop!
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Post by kerouac2 on May 3, 2019 5:08:14 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on May 3, 2019 21:52:09 GMT
Finally, finally getting back to this wonderfully rich and entertaining thread. Zipping overly quickly through things I should have said earlier and at more length ~ I do like the series of rooms and the pre-Columbian head on the inflatable body. I have to disagree with you about the mirror pool, which I absolutely love -- amazed at your dislike of it! The Golden Room seems to have hits and misses -- yes? I love your photos of the gold and silver hanging "paper" and the swirly all-gold mosaic. The relief maps are treasures -- 3D aerial maps. The caption says two centuries worth of those maps. That must mean some were produced before man could fly, although I suppose hot air balloons were sometimes used for reconnaissance. Perhaps I shouldn't give this kind of opinion on a public forum, but ..... I always feel that those Mexican-Caifornians are trying too hard and too humorlessly. Sorry! re: 2006 ~ Coincidentally, I had a conversation with the cabbie who drove me to the airport about all the things that have changed in Oaxaca since I came to live there. Like most adults who experienced 2006, the events are still vivid to me. Thus it surprised me when the driver, a grown man with children, pointed out that he was in school when it all happened, so it feels more like ancient history to him. Time marches on. Your night pictures are marvelous, and the subsequent black&whites are every bit as wonderful. Well, I always like your b&w photos. Papel picado fluttering above the streets of Lille! It proves what a perennially good idea papel picado is. Never having heard of the Tigre de Sta. Julia, I looked him up and found that he was a real person, a bandit famous in part for being caught with his pants down. A movie was made, available on youtube. His fate also gave rise to an expression & memes, "Me aggaraste como el Tigre de Sta. Julia!" The portrait of the little boy & the mask is out of this world. The mask depicts former Mexican president Carlos Salinas de Gortari, widely hated as a corrupt thief. In my first few years here, masking as Salinas for day of the dead was common, usually with the masker carrying a huge sack of money on his back. re: the distressed woman in white ~ how well you know me! So frustrating to have to look at this lush report on my lightweight, lower resolution laptop. Revisiting the thread on the good laptop when I get home is something to look forward to.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 4, 2019 5:20:05 GMT
Thanks, Bixa. I'm amazed that I was able to photograph something that was new to you.
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Post by bjd on May 4, 2019 5:36:57 GMT
Some things I like better than others, but I would definitely not spend time in that room with the creepy science-fictiony creatures.
It's true that the spacious and light rooms make it easier to appreciate things. What was the infinity room like? Was 45 seconds enough?
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Post by bixaorellana on May 4, 2019 7:46:53 GMT
Oh, more great stuff and so inventive! "the dreams of the British" ~
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Post by mossie on May 4, 2019 11:01:14 GMT
I don't know about dreams, some of those give me 'the screaming ad dabs'
Is that what passes for art now???. I'll pass on that.
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Post by fumobici on May 4, 2019 14:17:47 GMT
The pieces in the pink installation in the Tripostal building could have come straight from Jeff Koons' art factory. This is a very nice report, I love some of the pieces and don't exactly love others, but it is all interesting to see and any broad-ranging exhibition that I liked all of would almost by definition be unbalanced and most likely banal.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 4, 2019 15:23:51 GMT
What was the infinity room like? Was 45 seconds enough? There were about 2 square metres for the 4 people to stand in the infinity room, which was obviously all mirrors and hanging lights. It was an amusing effect, but 45 seconds was enough when you can't wander around a bit.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 4, 2019 15:34:29 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 6, 2019 6:17:46 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 6, 2019 10:36:10 GMT
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Post by bixaorellana on May 6, 2019 21:51:13 GMT
Cobbler boxes! I guessed shoeshine boxes, which I guess is kind of related.
The more you show of what there is of Lille 3000 Eldorado, the more impressive it becomes. I would have thought that the theme would engender all kinds of pretty stuff and fun fluff, but it's obviously far more than that.
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Post by kerouac2 on May 7, 2019 4:33:00 GMT
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Post by kerouac2 on May 7, 2019 5:19:05 GMT
Since I was inconsolable about the inaugural parade having been postponed, there was only one solution. I returned to Lille the following Saturday. Actually, the weather was not much better -- still cold and windy with showers, actually even colder than the previous weekend -- but there was no way they could postpone the parade again. Anyway, I arrived back in Lille around 13:15, dropped off my stuff at the hotel, and went to Roubaix for the rest of the afternoon. I was sorry not to have more time to spend in Roubaix, even though I actually started off my other Roubaix report made back in 2009 with this inadmissable statement:
I was wrong, but anyway there will be a new report about Roubaix soon.
Anyway, when I got back to Lille, they were preparing elements for the parade under the elevated avenue that goes to the Lille Europe station. I took a few early photos just in case a violent storm broke out and ruined everything.
i.postimg.cc/FHfjqWQ1/Eldorado_2_154.jpg
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People were beginning to gather, so I headed for my selected vantage point.
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There were a few early performers to help keep the crowd entertained in the frigid wind.
i.postimg.cc/k5KWM2Gm/Eldorado_2_165.jpg
i.postimg.cc/LXSLJmgZ/Eldorado_2_166.jpg
After all, even though the official starting time was 19:30, the parade did not reach the Grand'Place until 20:30.
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