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The Grand Palais newsletter |
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n°8, January 2009 |
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Front pageYann Arthus-Bertrand: 6 billion Others Renowned for his photographic project Earth from the Air, Yann Arthus-Bertrand is now trying his hand at video! In 2003, he teamed up with Sybille d'Orgeval and Baptiste Rouget-Luchaire to start a project entitled 6 billion Others. Six reporters set out to meet the "other people" in 75 countries, and came back with 5,000 video portraits. From a Brazilian fisherman to an Australian lawyer, a German artist to an Afghan farmer, all were invited to answer the same set of questions: "What did you learn from your parents? What would you like to pass on to your children? What challenges have you had to face? What does love to mean to you?" From this wealth of footage, twenty hours of videos were selected and screened at the Grand Palais in yurts constructed specially in the nave. The thousands of faces form a journey into the heart of humanity, and provide an opportunity to consider together our human and cultural diversity, while at the same time creating a deeper understanding of what we all share. This celebration of fraternity perfectly reflects the values embodied in the Nave of the Grand Palais. FocusDans la nuit, des images: the Grand Palais clothed in light The illuminated façade © Coll. Grand Palais, photo François Tomasi To mark the end of the French Presidency of the European Union, the Grand Palais was ablaze with light. From December 18 to 31, the building, both outside and outside, became a firework display of imagery, creating an event that was a landmark in several ways. It was above all the force, the poetry and creativity of the event that made it such an outstanding public success drawing nearly 150,000 visitors with peak attendance reaching 19,000 people in one day! As they arrived on avenue Winston-Churchill, visitors were immersed in the magic of a light show designed by Charles Sandison who set in motion across the façade of the building a display of words taken from the European Union's charter of fundamental rights. Entering the Nave they then discovered ten years of digital creation sublimating the interior space in a giant kaleidoscope. In this magnificent project, the extraordinary character of the Grand Palais nave enabled to fulfil its mission as a place to meet and dream, supporting creativity in all its forms for the largest possible audience Three questions for...Yann Arthus-BertrandQuadriges: Your are known above all for your work in aerial photography. Why did you decide to go on to video? A chance encounter that made a great impression on me: our helicopter had broken down in Mali, and I met a man who started to tell me about his life, his desires and ambitions. This made me want to hear what everybody had to say (the world's population was 6 billion when the project started, now we are 7 billion). Video seemed like the best way to get out there and meet the "other people". In the book, for example, you can only really imagine people. I wanted to see them for real, their faces, head on, to hear what they had to say, echoing the questions that we all ask ourselves: what does life mean, what would you change if you could, what are our failings? Quadriges: Did the nave of the Grand Palais suggest a particular scenography for the exhibition? My immediate reaction was to say to myself: "The Grand Palais, fantastic, it's an amazing volume!" Then I very quickly realised that designing an event for such a huge volume that is hard to fill and heat was an immense challenge. We decided that screening the video loops in yurts would be a good way to occupy the area while at the same time creating intimate moods. A one-hour video loop is projected in each yurt. Quadriges: Does the project have a message and, if so, what? To me this is a very important exhibition because it is a truly humanist project. Each one of us is unique yet we all share similarities. I don't see my work here as that of an artist but more of an intermediary. Someone who creates the contact. Watching and listening to the 20 hours of videos inevitably changes something inside you. Why can't we live together when fundamentally we all want the same thing? New videoThe new projection room The set up of the projection room © Coll. Grand Palais, photo François Tomasi The on-line video collection on grandpalais.fr is growing. It documents the life-story of a truly exceptional building and the many changes that have been made to it over the years. The latest addition recounts the making of the ultramodern, newly opened projection room. How do you change a former university lecture hall into a cinema facility at the leading edge of technology, decide what it will be used for and what equipment to install? The answers are just one click away! |
A word from the presidentThe New Year is with us again and, more than ever, we have big ambitions for the Grand Palais. We are working on new installations and facilities to make our flagship French heritage site even more pleasant and enjoyable for visitors. But there's more… The Nave is such an extraordinary venue that we are intent on perpetuating the magic of a space that is simply different from all the others, a space that creates surprises, inspires dreams, and has the power to deeply affect those in search of culture. What better illustration of this than the 6 billion others exhibition which opens our 2009 season, transforming the Grand Palais into a microcosm of the world to which we all aspire: a world of fraternity enriched by the diversity of its men and women? Yves Saint-Geours President, Établissement public du Grand Palais What's new? Le Grand Palais, monument-capitale, published by Gallimard in its Découvertes series This new book looks back over the fascinating history of the Grand Palais, from the competitive bids for the 1900 Universal Exhibition through a century of events that have attracted millions of visitors, and the trials and tribulations endured by the monument, to its recent renaissance... The text is by Yves Saint-Geours, and the book contains a host of as yet unpublished illustrations. Due in February. Don’t miss thisYann Arthus-Bertrand: 6 billion others January 15 to February 12 Nave of the Grand Palais 5,000 people filmed all over the world talk about turning points in their lives, tell amusing or poignant anecdotes and share their beliefs. A universal project by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, celebrating fraternity. AgendaExhibition and auction of the Yves Saint Laurent - Pierre Bergé collection 21 - 25 February Nave of the Grand Palais A première: The fantastic collection of works of art assembled by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé over a period of 50 years will be on show to the public before going under the auctioneer's hammer. The first public auction in the history of the Grand Palais! Entrance free. Exhibition open on February 21 and 22 from 9:00 a.m. to midnight, and on February 23 from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The sale starts on February 23 at 7:00 p.m. Practical informationRER : ligne C / station Invalides Bus : lignes 28, 42, 52, 72, 73, 80, 83, 93 Vélib : Station n° 8029, 1 av. Franklin-D.-Roosevelt / n° 8001, av. Dutuit Parkings : Rond-Point des Champs-Élysées, place de la Concorde, parc François-Ier, Alma Georges-V, Champs-Élysées Lincoln, Matignon. Personnes à mobilité réduite : accès avenue Winston-Churchill |
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Executive editor: Jean-Paul Cluzel, President La Réunion des musées nationaux – Grand Palais Chief editor: Marie Senk © Grand Palais, 2011 |
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