23.10.09

Temporary decoration


In a recent post I referred to the yearly “Nuit Blanche” (White Night), the sleepless night, when different artists get the opportunity to create something related to the night and to light. This decoration of the Pont Louis-Philippe and the surrounding quays of Ile-St.-Louis was part of the event. Huge eyes of women from different parts of the world had been photographed (by “J.R.” – nothing to do with Dallas) and then glued on the bridge and the embankments. All this was supposed to remain there until November 2, but large parts have already disappeared. I should have been out earlier!
Added October 25:
Based on what some of my visitors have commented - more particularly Patrick and Yaëlle - I should have said something more about the background of this manifestation. I highly recommend that you visit the site Yaëlle indicated, giving you much more complete information about the fascinating project "Women are heroes"!
The facades of a building, close to Notre Dame, the Paris Police Headquarters, are being refurbished. In the meantime, the facade towards the Seine is covered by large portraits, illustrating different professions within the police force.
During my walk around the area, I noted some oil, or something similar, on the wet pavement (yes, it was raining). I thought that, framed, it may look quite nice, and I photographed some samples.

What I suppose is some kind of power box on one of the quays was covered with ads for different musical events. It’s amazing to see the number of concerts which always are proposed, often in churches, often free of charge.

I wish you a nice weekend. (I will meet bloggers again!)

38 comments:

Anonymous said...

I must say it is a shame that some of it is coming off already. It is really nice.

Baglady said...

We love those eyes too - beautiful.

Loving your oil slicks. Such wonderful colours.

Nancy said...

I hope they are still there this weekend when we arrive from the US. Thanks for telling us what to see before we eat ice cream!

Catherine said...

I love seeing public works of art shared like this...looks a great event..

Owen said...

Psychedelic oil spills on Paris streets... ? Will probably end up washing into the Seine ? Interesting take and colors on a sign of our times, fuel on the ground... otherwise, as always, you delve deep into Parisian secrets for us, revealing aspects that even relative local folks would have to search for if you weren't there to make the digging easier... so thanks for all your hard work...
Signed,
A lazy Paris blog profiteer who enjoys browsing your blog, Adam's blog, and Gina's Paris blog...
:-D

Rakesh Vanamali said...

Wow! Those oil slicks on the wall are awesome, with a hue of colours that are superbly done!!!!

Patrick Olson said...

The Artist is quite young and very known (except his real name... - Indeed as he is acting in the street, sometimes illegally...). He made great photos (actually very interesting project with a rabbi, an imam and priest in Israel - Face2Face) and as well the big front wall in Arles with the face of a woman that you maybe see.
I have seen the project before. Unfortunately after 3 weeks it looks in a very bad shape. But that's normal life of an oeuvre d'art.

SusuPetal said...

Amazing art!

I like those oil photos, also, and power boxes usually are covered with interesting papers to photograph.

Have a nice weekend, Peter!

Delphinium said...

Bach a sorti un nouveau CD, il va le proposer bientôt en avant-première à Bercy... :-))

Adam said...

The oil slicks are very interesting!
Am I the only one who finds the eyes quite disturbing? They're very big brother (or big sister in this case!)

krystyna said...

Work of artists has a strong influence on the appearance and atmosphere of the city.
Amazing!

Thank you Peter for sharing!
Your artwork is great!

Enjoy your weekend!
Good luck!

claude said...

L'art est dans les photos que tu as faites des taches d'huile, pour le reste c'est pas trerrible et je suis comme, j'espère que ce n'est pas resté trop longtemps en place. Cela m'énerve de voir comment on peut défigurer la plus belle ville du monde ! N'en déplaise à Olivier.

arabesque said...

oil spills and the bridge... nice combi! ^-^
at first glance i thought that was just graffiti on the bridge till i look closely and saw two bulging eyes! yikes.

Cezar and Léia said...

one E.T.! :)
Adorable decoration , I loved those urban murals avec des gens, so creative!
humm Chopin, Bach, Vivald...wow where??? I need to go to Paris !!!!

Have a great weekend dear friend
hugs
Léia

Starman said...

Free concerts in magnificent settings are just one of the joys of being in Paris.

Ruth said...

"Eyes on the Bridge" sounds like a nice movie title.

Autumn looks pretty along the Seine. I love October there.

Your abstract "oil paintings" are yummy.

Thérèse said...

Chaque chose reprend sa place même les huiles sur les murs! :-)

Les yeux sont magnifiques.

La remarque de Delphinium me fait sourire car ici nous avons souvent droit aux " Chopin greatest hits" or "Bach's greatest hits" et ainsi de suite dans les derniers magasins de cd...

Catherine said...

De l'Art éphémère...merci de l'avoir "fixé" pour la postérité.
Cet artiste sera certainement plus photographié que pas mal de ses contemporains.
Moi, j'adore.
Attention, au maquillage, avec toutes ses larmes qui nous tombent dessus, le rimmel va couler...

Yaëlle said...

Peter,
n'hésite pas à jeter un coup d'oeil sur ces autres projets: ces grands portraits en noir & blanc sont grandioses et magnifient ces femmes
http://www.womenareheroes-paris.net/fr/women-a-travers-le-monde
Il y a aussi de belles photos de l'Ile st Louis avant pluie & arrachage...

Capy89 said...

I'm very impressed with the public artworks and your colourful photos :)
P/s: where have you been in Viet Nam except Cat Ba island?
I love to present you something about Ha Noi, my city :)

Maya said...

Wow, those eyes on the bridges are fantastic! I wish I had seen that. I took photos of the Police building too.

from cali said...

The oil photos are cool as are the eyes. I find it true that "the eyes are the window to the soul."

Nisha said...

I think it is very difficult to draw & paint in such magnitude. Had they erected a stage/platform to facilitate the artists?

The sketches are so real, especially the eyes.

Unknown said...

These temporary decorations are really good! And if I hadn't read I would think the oil pics were some kind of abstract art. Very clever indeed!

PeterParis said...

Abraham:
This was of course supposed to be temporary, but, yes, it bacame too temporary! :-)

Baglady:
Normally, the "oil paintings" were of course just polution, but... :-)

Nancy:
Will I here from you? :-)

PeterParis said...

Catherine:
I agree that this one was really nice and appreciated by most of us who saw it! :-)

Owen:
I appreciate a lot what you say here! If I can make some people happy with my little work... :-)

Rakesh:
Nice that you appreciate! :-)

PeterParis said...

Patrick:
Thanks for the additional info! Yes, I remember the photo covering a wall at Arles this summer and you can even find it on one of my Arles-posts, but I neglected to make the link and that the artist was the same! :-)

SusuPetal:
To define art is not easy. Sometimes you encounter good surprises! :-)

Delphinium:
On ira ensemble à Bercy? Il ne faut pas rater ça! :-))

PeterParis said...

Adam:
If you know that the eyes represent "Women are heroes", I guess you will forget the big brother aspect! :-)

Krystyna:
Indeed... and thanks! :-)

Claude:
Tes commentaires ne m'étonnent pas, mais tu sais, c'est tout très temporaire! :-)

PeterParis said...

Arabesque:
Nice female eyes! :-)

Léia:
You know,Paris is impatienetly waiting for you! :-)

Starman:
You are right and I hope that you have enjoyed a few! :-)

PeterParis said...

Ruth:
Maybe October and April are the nicest months? :)

Thérèse:
Les huiles étaient tout simplement sur le trottoir, donc de l'art TRES temporaire!
Delphinium nous fait souvent rire ou sourire! :-)

Catherine:
J'auri du passer avant pour les yeux, mais pour les huiles parterre le timing était bon! :-)

PeterParis said...

Yaëlle:
Tu as raison, j'aurai du mieux souligner les projets derrière "les yeux"! J'ai visité le site que tu as indiqué et j'ai fait un addendum sur mon post! Merci!! :-)

Capy 89:
Je vais te répondre "en direct" pour les lieux que j'ai visité! Je suis très content de te retrouver ici et d'avoir trouvé une bloggeuse de Vietnam, un pays magnifique! :-)

Maya:
The "eyes" were not yet there when you visited Paris! Anyhow, always something to see in Paris - and elsewhere! :-)

PeterParis said...

From Cali:
You are rigth and if you visit the site Yaëlle recommended, you will feel even better what is behind those eyes! :-)

Nisha:
These are big plastic sheets that have been glued and are easy to (too esy?) to take away! :-)

JM:
I'm also quite happy about my idea to make "paintings" out of the pollution! :-)

Mona said...

wow! those oil pictures are just so amazingly beautiful. You are a wiz with camera!

GMG said...

Hi Peter! The problem of being temporary is that they won't last until I'll manage to get to Paris... ;)

amatamari© said...

Very nice the idea of eyes on
bridges and even the colored spots but I love music and all events photographed!
:-)
Wonderful series!

PeterParis said...

Mona:
Glad you appreciate! I think also I had a good idea! :-)

GMG:
You are travelling everywhere, but it seems that since we learnt to "know" each other, Paris has not been in your travel plans! Too bad! :-)

Anatamari:
Good! So you loved it all this time! :-)

Jilly said...

New art on old art which is what the bridge is. Love this.

PeterParis said...

Jilly:
... and for those who don't like, wez know that the old bridge will soon appear as it was! :-)