Last night was Nuit Blanche, the annual all-night party the city of Paris throws. Public and some private sites are open all night and host to various more- or less-successful art installations or performances. We've attended at least some of these events every year for the last four or five and last night weren't really in the mood to go crawling around town accompanied by hoards of young people looking to party. OK, I admit it, we've aged.
We did however take the long way home from dinner to pass by a couple of sites in the neighborhood. The church of Saint Germain des Prés was open and each of the typical straw-seated chairs in the nave was occupied, though not by worshippers. A small cube of granite sat on each seat, attached by a red ribbon to a white balloon floating above it. The installation was by Eleonora Aguiari, an Italian artist working n Paris, and was meant to contrast the weight of the terrestrial life with the lightness of the soul.
Souls were also being remembered at the back of the church, with many many votive candles in all colors lit, I assume by visitors. It didn't seem to be part of the installation and I like to think it wasn't.
The only other event we saw was a dance piece in the Ecole des Beaux Arts in which a couple entwined and separated from each other, standing, lying on the floor, or rolling around. This piece was supposed to last for 12 hours according to the schedule. We gave it 12 minutes.
The space was great though.
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