Nuit Blanche 2014

[Deleted]

For those who don't know about the Nuit Blanche (in English: Sleepless Night), it is a cultural manifestation that was inaugurated in Paris in 2002, and which just keeps getting bigger and bigger, not just in Paris but around the world. The first two years, it was just in Paris, but then it was copied by Brussels (2002), then Rome (2003) and then in 5 other Italian cities in 2005. Montréal started in 2004, followed by Toronto in 2006. Cities like Lima and Seoul have also participated over the years, but actually it is quite nice that it remains mostly a strange Parisian speciality.

It took place last night, but I was happy to have my personal 88 page catalogue in advance to help with planning. I found one at my mother's nursing home, which always seems to have all of the municipal publications immediately. Otherwise, 80,000 copies were distributed last night, which makes them kind of rare for an event with more than a million participants. However, the major Paris newspapers all publish a supplement with maps and ideas on where to go.

The events start at 7pm and continues for a variable length of time -- sometimes only 1am, but sometimes all the way to 7am. Transportation runs all night free of charge in the areas of the events.

So, last night I arrived at Gare d'Austerlitz almost at 7pm precisely and saw that the queue was already quite long. But I knew that this was one of the huge venues, so even with a big queue, it wouldn't take long to get in.

The main art installation to see was by Spanish artist Pablo Valbuena who had created something called Kinematope. It was in the new area of Gare d'Austerlitz where they are creating new underground platforms and rails to replace the outmoded old station. About 8 platforms are already complete, but the installation was on the naked ballast of the next area, where the rails have not yet been installed.

Very flashy and kinetic, so of course still photos do not at all convey the effect.







Therefore, it was necessary to make a little video of what was happening.

[Deleted]

The exit was at the far end of the tracks, and I emerged in unknown territory. However there was a minor visual installation under a bridge there. Not very impressive.



I had to work my way back to the station under the old warehouses along the Seine.



I saw that I would need to return before long on a graffiti trip.



However, dozens and dozens of homeless people appear to live here, and they were quite unhappy last night with the huge numbers of people walking through.



There was a Nuit Blanche installation under Les Docks, the Paris design centre.



There was also a "seasonal" bar stuck under there as well. I clearly do not get out enough to know about these places.





The next installation was a big aquarium tank that allowed us to see the beauty of decomposing floating plastic. If fish have to see it, why not us?

[Deleted]

Off to the Halle Freyssinet. I didn't know what I was queuing up for, but I wanted to see this huge industrial building which is waiting for a new vocation.

[bjd]

I heard an interview on the radio the other day with one of the directors of the Nuit Blanche saying that this year there would be a lot more emphasis on street art.

[Deleted]

This Freyssinet warehouse area is really quite huge, stretching for hundreds of metres.



















       

[Deleted]

Actually, all of this stuff was just in an annex to the main warehouse. But there was supposedly something to see in the warehouse itself.



First I glanced over at the closed off side, trying to imagine what on earth the city of Paris is going to do with this building.



As for the artwork, well, hmmmm, errrr...





Maybe if I look at it from the side it gets better...?



Or if I get down lower and closer to the stripes? Or maybe my aesthetic sense is just underdeveloped.



It was time to exit to rue du Chevaleret with one last glance to where I had come from.



People entering from this end were much luckier because the queue was considerably shorter (about 10 times shorter!) for them.



The next artist "repairs" cracks in walls with Lego bricks.



Children were already trying to remove them.





The name of this artist is Atlas, and that's what the wall says.















Due to the crowd, it was quite difficult to position oneself to see the artwork on the steps properly.









I failed to appreciate this masterwork as well.







Weird underground rue Watt was decked out with string.





Most people have never seen rue Watt, so they almost certainly thought that the streetlights were special installations for the Nuit Blanche.

[Deleted]

Fabulous report Kerouac. I'm sure the pics as fantastic as they are, don't come close to capturing the whole effect.

We had something similar here this past weekend. An annual event, Art For Art's Sake. Well attended and lots of very cool installations throughout the warehouse district and the CBD.

[htmb]

I imagine you had lots of fun wandering around with the crowds, taking pictures, and enjoying the night, Kerouac. I can't say I've seen much that interests me artistically, but the challenge of photographing these areas at night would be enough for me. It was nice to see the video in the gare to get the idea of what was happening with the lights. That made all the difference.

[Deleted]

The important thing about the Nuit Blanche is more the ephemeral nature of the presentations and the element of surprise more than the actual quality of the artworks. And I certainly understand that, because there is little point in creating a fabulous piece of art that has a lifespan of only 12 hours. And that is the fate of most of what is done, although I have seen that some of the more famous artists reproduce the same effect at other events -- I have seen certain things at the Nuit Blanche which I later saw at some of the Lille 3000 events. (Oh boy, Lille 3000 should be happening next year again!)

[Deleted]

I took the T3 tram to the next section at Cité Universitaire. I couldn't find one of the two things to see, but the main thing was unmissable. But first I came across people whispering messages to others in luminous speaking tubes.





The "big event" in Parc Montsouris was the "radiant tree."



This is one of the normal trees of the park sprayed with a phosphorescent solution and illuminated by black light.

Nobody seemed very impressed by the effect. I certainly wasn't, but it seemed to have become an amazing meeting point with hundreds of people lounging on the lawns of the park in the dark (usually with beverages). There was music coming from the park kiosk somewhere, but I didn't have time to check it out, and I'm sure that there were even more people there. It's a damned big park, though, on a big slope, and I just had too many other places to go. I did not want to go all the way down the hill and then climb back up, just because there was music.

So I picked up the T3 tram again to go to the Parc Georges Brassens. I didn't go to see what was in the park (it didn't sound very interesting to me) but instead I went into a school gymnasium right where the new Promenade Plantée starts on its way to the western edge of Paris. People were mesmerized by something quite simple: an industrial robot programmed to make a series of moves with a big sheet of plastic thrown over it. I admit that I was rather fascinated myself, and the experience was enhanced by the sound effects and the almost total darkness.

[htmb]

Very cool!!!

[Deleted]

After leaving the gymnasium, I arrived at the beginning of the new Promenade Plantée.



An acrobat hovered above the crowd.



       





The rail line was illuminated with hundreds of flame pots.







Refreshments were available for the long hike.





Since most people had never been here, they were fascinated by the views of the streets below.





There were things projected on windowless walls.





What was in this tent up ahead?











A few blocks away you could see the big sign for the major event in Paris over the next two weeks.

[htmb]

Kerouac, were you near the zoo at this point? Is that close to where the Promenade Plantée begins?

[Deleted]

No, that's the promenade plantée in the 12th arrondissement. This is the new promenade plantée in the 15th arrondissement.

[Deleted]

I kept following the luminous path.





People found this very disturbing due to the freakish proportions.







I just missed the swimmer in the tank. She was getting out as I arrived.

[mossie]

Fascinating as usual. I shall blame you if that robot under plastic gives me bad dreams.

[Deleted]

I came across more food stands and people were clearly ravenous. Actually, that's not surprising since most people skip dinner to start roving the Streets.









The Promenade Plantée came to an end at Place Balard, where cafés were making a fortune from the crowd.











My last goal was to see the big outdoor ball in the Parc André Citroën. This turned out not to be possible as midnight approached. (Actually, it was 23h30.)





There was no longer any access to the park, which was full. This didn't stop younger people because they just climbed over the fence with impunity.

However, I quickly determined that I didn't really want to go. Thousands of drunken youth were roaming about, and there were empty bottles and cans everywhere, along with just much broken glass and pools of vomit. The social media had clearly determined that this was the place for all of them to converge, and that was exactly what they did. I just got on a bike and rode it to a station on my own metro line to get home more easily.

There were so many other things that I would have liked to see in the other zones such as Montparnasse or the Panthéon area, but I just lack the stamina these days. After all, there were 142 official things to see, and how many did I glimpse? 15, 20 perhaps...? But I was satisfied to have seen quite a few things from 7pm to midnight, so I am not complaining and I'm quite sure that I'll be back next year. And I was also happy to be home when I exited the metro around 12:10 and it was pouring rain.

[htmb]

Too bad you were too late to photograph the girl in the pool, but you really did cover a lot of ground and took some interesting pictures.

[lola]

Really fun, Kerouac. Thanks for being there.