I'm back with a new daily image and I'm finally going to finalize my Spring Cleaning ;-). Thank you for your loyalty, the site has never been as busy as during this "intermission" ...

Nuit Blanche 2016 à Paris (Version 2024)

After my photo report on Nuit Blanche 2015, I was curious to discover the project implemented in 2016...
Entrusted to Jean de Loisy and the Palais de Tokyo curatorial team, this edition was organized along the Seine: from the Gare de Lyon to the Eiffel Tower, with an extension to Issy les Moulineaux.
The 37 events (see map below) were inspired by the 15th-century novel "The Dream of Poliphilo": Poliphilo, in search of a nymph with a thousand faces (beauty, pleasure, wisdom, knowledge...), invited visitors to experience and share his adventures in a Paris reinvented by the artists involved in the project.
I wasn't able to photograph all the installations and shows, but I think the photos in the gallery capture the spirit of this Nuit Blanche, which for me was the best I've ever attended. They also allow you to (re) discover Paris and the Seine by Night...
DISCOVER ONE (OR MORE) PHOTO EACH DAY! USE THE SITE'S SLIDESHOW FUNCTION...
NB: Sentences in quotation marks and biographical information are taken from the brochure published by the City of Paris for Nuit Blanche 2016.

Parcours de la Nuit Blanche 2016

The Nuit Blanche route
City of Paris brochure
Nuit Blanche logo by Fabrice Hyber

1 - L'Hotel de Ville de Paris -

Paris City Hall
This is where my stroll through Paris began, on a beautiful October evening ...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

2 - Espace 04 : L'éveil n°1 -

Awakening N°1
Poliphile dreams of Polia... In Place Lobeau and ensconced in the windows of the town hall, faces awaken and bodies stretch...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

3 - Espace 04 : L'éveil n°2 -

Awakening N°2
"L'éveil" is by Erwin OLAF , Dutch photographer and videographer born in 1959
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne"

4 - Espace 4 : L'éveil N°3 -

Awakening N°3
EVEIL (focus) by Erwin OLAF
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

5 - Espace 5 : Sommeil N°1 -

Sleep
"Visitors enter an enchanted forest.Huge pieces of wood spin above a frozen lake (...) animated by perpetual motion."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

6 - Espace 5 : Sommeil N°2 -

"Sommei" (Sleep) l is the work of Stéphane THIDET
Artist born in 1974
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

7 - Espace 5 : Sommeil N°3 -

Sleep by Stéphane THIDET
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

8 - Espace 7 : De Amore , la fabrique des coeurs brisés N°1 -

"On the Pont d'Arcole, lumberjacks cut hearts from tree trunks before dyeing them blood red, piercing them and burning them (...) Spectators will be invited to take the pieces to a repair shop that can ease their pain."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

9 - Espace 7 : De Amore , la fabrique des coeurs brisés N°2 -

De Amore , the factory of broken hearts
Event-based creation by Jean-Marc FERRARI (b. 1951), former director of the Ecole des Beaux Arts d'Avignon, and Estelle DELESALLE (b. 1982). Their "poetic and symbolic approach is linked to the history of curiosity as it appeared at the end of the Middle Ages (...) and to the question of the collapse of love."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

10 - Espace 7 : De Amore , la fabrique des coeurs brisés N°3 -

Right next to the lumberjacks, a stand I couldn't identify but which features hearts in a refrigerated display case and ... cooks! Another way to deal with broken hearts?
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

11 - Espace 7 : De Amore , la fabrique des coeurs brisés N°4 -

The three photos above were taken during the preparation phase and before the arrival of the public... Here is a view of the bridge in full swing
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

12 - Espace 10 : L'Amour Déborde N°1-

Love overflows
"On reaching the ile de la Cité, the visitor accompanying Pholiphile hallucinates: the facade of the Conciergerie (the former royal residence) has disappeared, revealing its interior architecture completely overturned. The water of the Seine overflows the quays and bathes the ogives of the buildings".
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

13 - Espace 10 : L'Amour Déborde N°2 -

Love overflows
"L'amour déborde" is an "urban lie" by Pierre DELAVIE , a gigantic trompe-l'oeil , a mirage of which Pholiphile would be the victim in his overflowing love for Polia "
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

14 - Espace 10 : L'Amour Déborde N°3 -

Love overflows
Facade of the Conciergerie
Work by Pierre DELAVIE
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

15 - Espace 14 : Descension N°1 -

The descent
"At the end of the island of the city, the danger is extreme for Poliphile. Seven meters below the level of the City (...) a whirlpool seems to have formed naturally (...) and wants to engulf anyone who gets close to it..."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

16 - Espace 14 : Descension N°2 -

The Descent
A work by Anish KAPPOR (b. 1954) "that tests our attraction to the abyss".
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

17 - Espace 14 : Descension N°3 -

The Descent
A work by Anish KAPPOR
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

18 - Espace 15 : Drawing Restraint 15 N°1 -

On the façade of the Monnaie de Paris, Poliphile and the visitor embark on a new crossing: Matthew BARNEY's solitary transatlantic voyage. Plagued by isolation and the whims of the sea, the artist nevertheless attempts to produce new drawings aboard the boat, suspending himself above the waves and using the blood of the fish he catches as ink ...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

19 - Espace 15 : Drawing Restraint 15 N°2 -

"Drawing Restraint 15" is a projection by Matthew BARNEY (b. 1967), part of a series of 16 films "in which the artist considers the limits and mutations of the human body" .
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

20 - Espace 15 : Drawing Restraint 15 N°3 -

Screening of Matthew BARNEY
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

21 - Espace 17 : Live Stream N°1 -

"On the Pont des Arts, strange voices call out to visitors... In dialogue with these liquid voices, a halo of fluorescent light animates the Seine."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

22 - Espace 17 : Live Stream N°2 -

Creation by Oliver BEER (born 1985). "He is inspired by the green LED lights used by Thai fishermen to attract fish and squid, and explores resonance phenomena between the space and the viewer's body."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

23 - Espace 17 : Live Stream N°3 -

Design by Oliver BEER
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

24 - Sur les quais N°1 -

Double-lit by quayside lampposts and boats, spectators make their way up the Seine alongside the Louvre.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

25 - Sur les quais N°2 -

The next "Nuit Blanche" events are just below the Musée D'Orsay...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

26 - Sur les quais N°3 -

... and on the Passerelle Léopold-Sedar-Senghor.
TO BE CONTINUED...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

27 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°1 -

The ghosts of the opera
A floating stage moored to the Musée d'Orsay promenade broadcasts a selection of films from the 3ème scène program produced by the Paris opera company 3ème scène .
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

28 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°2 -

Paris Opera 3ème Scène (3rd Stage)
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

29 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°3 -

Paris Opera 3ème Scène (3rd Stage)
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

30 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°4 -

Just off the stairs leading to the Musée d'Orsay, the Léopold-Sédar-Senghor footbridge offers two projection areas...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

31 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°5 -

"Les fantômes de l'Opéra" features films by Xavier VEILHAN (Visual artist) , David LURASCHI (Photographer), III-Studio (Creation Platform), Bret EASTON ELLIS (Writer) and Wendy MORGAN (Director) that "relate (...) to the backstage world of opera, the world of staging and the history of the body".
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

32 - Espace 21 : Les Fantômes de l'Opéra N°6 -

Léopold-Sédar-Senghor footbridge
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

33 - Espace 22 : Balancing Rubble and Rocks N°1 -

Port de Solférino, Poliphile and the visitor discover the fragile sculptures of Bridget POLK and the Balancers who accompany her. Her stacks create suspense: how long will they hold their balance?
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

33 - Espace 22 : Balancing Rubble and Rocks N°2 -

"American artist Bridget POLK builds and rebuilds precarious totem poles (composed of rocks, cinder blocks and bricks) that defy the laws of gravity and through which she attempts to defy chaos..."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

33 - Espace 22 : Balancing Rubble and Rocks N°3 -

Creations by Briget POLK
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

34 - Espace 23 : Sirènes N°1 -

"The siren's call threatens Poliphile and the visitor who approach the Seine above the Pont de la Concorde: Men and women step into the sea before entering and disappearing..."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

35 - Espace 23 : Sirènes N°2 -

Shot on a Senegalese beach by Emmanuel TROUSSE , a Franco-American artist born in 1984, "this film is an allegory of the hopes and sunken lives of those who sought better lives..."
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

36 - Pont Alexandre 3 N°1 -

The bridge is crowded, and the Eiffel Tower seems to be waiting for visitors at the top of the steps...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

37 - Pont Alexandre 3 N°2 -

You'll have to cross the bridge to find out about the next presentation...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

38 - Pont Alexandre 3 N°3 -

It's impossible to know what this Neva nymph thinks of the proposed screening...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

39 - Espace 28 : ARGOS N°1 -

Port des Champs Elysées, "a journey of inks and pencils, a cartography of terrestrial, celestial and maritime worlds" with the screening of films by Loic CONSTANTIN, Gildas FLAHAULT, Benjamin FLAO, Les ateliers du bout de la Cale.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

40 - Espace 28 : ARGOS N°2 -

Through the screen, we can guess the next stage of Poliphile's journey ...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

41 - Pont Alexandre 3 N°4 -

The second NEVA nymph and the lights of the Pont des Invalides .
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

42 - Espace 24 : We Love Art N°1 -

On the Pont des Invalides, Poliphile (and visitors) discover "a machine enchanted by music called OX" and a light installation occupying the entire bridge.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

43 - Espace 24 : We Love Art N°2 -

The machine, named OX by artist Romain TARDY, was created on the initiative of The Absolute Company Création.
It takes into account frequencies and sound variations to create constantly changing light animations.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

44 - Espace 24 : We Love Art N°3 -

Lighting and screens make the music proposed by several DJs visually perceptible. OX, the machine takes into account not only frequencies but also sound variations to create luminous animations.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

45 - Espace 24 : We Love Art N°4 -

OX, based on artificial intelligence developed over 2 years, becomes a play partner for DJs, the visual extension of their music.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

46 - Espace 24 : We Love Art N°5 -

This view of the bridge downstream shows the spotlights used by OX, with the Grand Palais in the background...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

47 - Espace 26 : Die bewegte leere des moments N°1 -

"The moving emptiness of the moment": A clock suspended from a crane seems to announce to Poliphile that his time has come... Driven by gravitational and centrifugal forces, the clock and the stone that serves as its counterweight perform a choreography regulated to a constant speed. The clock is a recurring motif for the artist Alicja KWADE, born in 1979, who uses everyday objects to materialise abstract principles: in this case, the human desire to master time...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

48 - Espace 26 : Die bewegte leere des moments N°2 -

On the opposite bank of the Seine, you can see the crane used by Alicja KWADE, but you can also see a three-masted boat that seems to have invited itself to the party...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

49 - Sur les quais N°4 -

It was impossible after this trip down the Seine not to say hello to the Zouave on the ALMA bridge ...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

50 - La Parade des Taupes N°1 -

Inspired by the scenes of triumph described in "Poliphile's Dream", a parade runs along the Seine from Place Saint Gervais to the Port des Invalides. Giant moles form the heart of the procession!
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

51 - La Parade des Taupes N°2 -

"La parade des taupes" ( the moles parade) is a creation by Philippe QUESNE , visual artist and theater artist. His moles personify a mysterious underground world unknown to man.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

52 - La Parade des Taupes N°3

Mounted on a steaming chariot, the moles invite spectators to follow them to CAVELAND...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

53 - Welcome in CAVELAND N°1 -

54 - Welcome in CAVELAND N°2 -

Welcome in CAVELAND is another Philippe QUESNES project, in which he has teamed up with Austrian musician Doris CHRYSLER, "the bewitching theremin virtuoso".
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

55 - Welcome in CAVELAND N°3 -

Doris CRYSLER plays the Theremin. The Theremin is an electronic musical instrument invented in 1920 by the Russian Lev Sergeyevich Termen (known as "Leon Theremin"). Comprising an electronic box fitted with two antennae, the instrument produces music without being touched by the player. In the most common version, the right hand controls the pitch of the note by varying its distance from the vertical antenna. The horizontal, loop-shaped antenna is used to vary the volume according to its distance from the left hand (Source Wikipedia).
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

56 - Welcome in CAVELAND N°4 -

57 - Encore un effort : Parade fluviale devant le Louvre N°1

One more effort: River parade in front of the Louvre N°1
A river triumph accompanies Poliphile's dream throughout the night. This sporting parade is enlivened by passengers waving flags.

58 - Encore un effort : Parade fluviale devant le Louvre N°2

"Encore un effort" (one more effort) is a project by Fabrice HYBER that combines drawing and painting (he designed the poster and logo for Nuit Blanche 2016), experimentation and reflection on changing behaviour and environments.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

59 - Encore un effort : Parade fluviale devant le Louvre N°3

Each boat evokes a sport thanks to its decoration, its passengers and sounds that evoke the sport, breathlessness, the sound of balls or equipment used ...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

60 - Encore un effort : Parade fluviale devant le Louvre N°4

In 2016 , Paris was a candidate for the Olympic Games and this White parade was intended to symbolize an "idealized" sporting world...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

61 - A contre courant ...

To finish my little "journey" along the Seine, I went upstream like the many boats that were out that evening...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

62 - En marge de la Nuit Blanche N°1-

When I'm doing a report, I'm alone and I don't always have time to chat with the participants. That evening, in front of the Pont des Invalides, I chatted with these three friends who insisted that I take a photo of them. I hope that after all this time they are well and haven't lost touch...
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne

63 - En marge de la NUIT Blanche N°2 -

To conclude this evocation of the nuit blanche 2016, a second photo of a group of young people I took just before leaving... My gaze was undoubtedly drawn to the phrase that seemed strangely to "caption" these 3 young people as if lost on the banks of the Seine. I've published a color version of this photo in the "Generation" gallery.
October 2016
2024 © PascalMorsagne