One of the most interesting things in Provence is actually not highlighted by the sun: it takes place inside a quarry in the Carrières, a chain of hills called the Alpilles. It is a showcase of impressionist artists - and their take on the light that makes the Mediterranean such a compelling part of France. In the cave of this quarry, the paintings of Monet and Renoir, Signac and Cross, the Fauves, with Camoin, Derain, Vlaminck, Friesz, Manguin, Marquet, Chagall and Valtatare are all projected onto the surfaces of the vast scaling rock (ceiling above you, floors below and all other surfaces). The images swirl and move and overwhelm you as you stand there or move above, beneath in around them. Meanwhile, music by Ravel, Debussy, Gershwin gales through the space. Colette kept swooning, "wow" - eyes wide open, head tilted in all directions. We wandered through the endless quarry entranced.
6 comments:
I would love to do this! Provence is creeping onto my bucket list, thanks to your posts here.
eye dazzling. im struck.
That is pure magic! How long do you need to stand in one spot to catch every image...? Or do they play all images in all areas? What a fascinating use of the space.
It was projected everywhere at once and at the same time, all different in every projection. It was amazing. It was probably 30 minutes total and you could watch it again and again and never experience the same thing.
This was, hands down, one of my favorite things. I have been meaning to go for years, (back when it was called the Cathedral of Images) and this was the year. I actually got a little teary, it was so moving. Another wonderful illumination was the spectacle at the Pont du Gard, just about 15 min from our house. Fabulous. Both places do a different show every year, so it is something I will absolutely see again next year.
fabulous....going to try to figure out how to do this at home (though not all the time)! wow.
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