A Journey to Nantes inventive tour

LE VOYAGE
À NANTES
- LA VILLE RENVERSÉE PAR L’ART -
ESTUAIRE
- LE PAYSAGE, L’ART ET LE FLEUVE -
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A PERENNIAL JOURNEY
Le Voyage à Nantes is a 8,5 km urban tour, from the SNCF train station to the western point of the Isle of Nantes. On your way,
let yourself be guided from one artwork signed by a today’s great artist to a remarkable element of our heritage, from « inevitable
» destinations to unknown treasures, from an historic alleyway to a contemporary piece of achitecture, from a stunning point of
view of the city to a sunset on the estuary…
On the whole, there are about thirty stops, from East to West, joining to create a sensitive and poetic tour : Le Voyage à Nantes is
all the multiplicity and the uniqueness of a scattered monument.
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
LE LIEU UNIQUE
SAINT-FÉLIX CANAL
NYMPHÉA
ANGE LECCIA
Scène nationale of Nantes (national center for
contemporary arts), the lieu unique is a space for artistic exploration, cultural effervescence and conviviality.
It mixes genres, cultures and publics. It heralds a spirit
of curiosity in the different areas of arts: visual arts,
theater, dance, circus, music, literature, philosophy,
architecture and cuisine.
With the Loire river and its numerous tributaries flowing
through, Nantes, known at the beginning of the
20th century as the “Western Venice”, went through
dramatic urban planning changes (filling up of the
watercourses…). The Erdre River, in particular, used
to run through the present Cours des 50 otages (the
50 hostages boulevard). Nowadays going through the
Saint-Félix canal, it flows into the Loire River at the foot
of the LU tower.
A place for meddling, the lieu unique is the home,
next to the spaces dedicated to creation, of a bar, a
restaurant, a bookstore, a hammam, a day nursery and
a gift shop. The iconic tower of the former factory,
with a view on the city, can also be visited.
Every year the lieu unique presents dozens of shows
(theater, dance, circus, music, literary meetings, philosophical debates, …), exhibitions, residencies for artists,
recurring events and festivals, and workshops.
First a painter, Ange Leccia then went on to use the
video as his creative medium. His “arrangements”, as he
likes to call them, are born out of the people he meets
and of a specific alteration of still images and moving
images; these can either be torn, slowed down or cut.
Nymphéa, a new variation on the nymph theme, is
a large video projection on the surface of the SaintFélix canal. A young woman, nymph or mermaid, glides
peacefully and quietly in an aquatic environment. The
fact that the water is both the image and the visual support of the projection creates a confusing and ethereal feeling : the creature seems imprisoned in this
tunnel, her body taking the shape of this inhospitable
back alley. The reflections play with the ever-moving
surface of the water, a tribute to Claude Monet’s visual
experiments. The undine is played by Laetitia Casta ; a
worshipped icon of our society, becoming through this
artwork a contemporary mythical nymph.
Artwork viewable from nightfall
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
CHAPELLE DE L’ORATOIRE
UN JOUR PARFAIT
YAN PEI-MING
Commissariat : Blandine Chavanne, Directrice, et Alice
Fleury, Responsable de l’art contemporain
The artist, Yan Pei-Ming, invited to present his work
in the chapelle de l’Oratoire, has chosen to emphasize the museum’s remarkable collection of baroque
paintings.
Born in Shanghai in 1960, Yan Pei-Ming moved to
Dijon in 1980, where he attended the School of Fine
Arts. Famous for his Mao portraits, characterized by
large formats painted in gray, the artist is known for a
gestural painting, expressing passionately the features
of its models.
During his residency at the Villa Médicis in 1993, he
created a monumental piece of art, inspired by a
Chinese tale, The 108 Outlaws, depicting the people
around him in Rome and all of those who came by to
visit him. In this way, he mixed up, with talent, the past
and the present.
For his exhibition in Nantes, Ming will finally bring
an old project to life. Indeed, even if he is not familiar with Christian culture because of his origins, he
has been exposed to it frequently since his arrival in
France. Thus, he was hoping to find a suitable place
to carry out his large self-portraits which express an
attitude of meditation. The chapelle de l’Oratoire is
exactly the sort of place that can accommodate such
paintings.
Until the 19th of september 2012
From monday to sunday (closed tuesdays),
10.00 to 6.00 p.m
Rates : €2
JARDIN DES PLANTES
LA CUISINE DE KINYA
KINYA MARUYAMA
After celebrating the 300th anniversary of the introduction of the magnolia to Europe, with all the different
creations made in its honour, the Jardin is now the
locus of a strange dome of interlaced bamboo and
willow trees. In the upper part, the playful landscape
that was created in 2011 stretches out in the form of
a vegetable garden (hatake) and a rice patty (tannbo).
In 2007, Kinya Maruyama, a Japanese architect from
the Team Zoo association, created Le Jardin étoilé in
Paimbœuf.
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
CATHEDRALE
SAINT-PIERRE-ET-SAINT-PAUL
CHÂTEAU DES DUCS
DE BRETAGNE
TOMBEAU DE FRANÇOIS II
HAMBOURG / NEW YORK,
L’AUSTRIA : UNE TRAGÉDIE
DANS L’ATLANTIQUE
MICHEL COLOMBE
First enter the cathedral through the crypt from the
entrance in the Cours Saint-Pierre, then walk inside
the transept: you will see a gem of French sculpture,
the tomb of François II, Michel Colombe’s masterpiece dating back to the early 16th century.
Anne de Bretagne commissioned this tomb for her
parents, François II, the last Duke of Brittany, and
Marguerite de Foix. Made of white marble, it is composed of a high and massive base on top of which
lay the two recumbent bodies of the royal couple.
Their heads rest on cushions held up by angels, and
at their feet sit a lion and a hare. The sides are decorated with full-scale statues in successive niches, along
with “kneeling statues”. At each of the four corners,
four imposing statues are the allegorical figures of the
cardinal virtues.
Given the scale and the height of the work, the average visitor cannot see the upper part of the tomb.
The Journey to Nantes has put into place a light structure allowing for a privileged point of view of the two
recumbent figures.
From Monday to Saturday, from 9.00 to 7.00 p.m,
Sunday : from 10.00 to 7.00 p.m
Opening times of the crypt :
From the 1rst of september : Saturday and Sunday only from
3.00 p.m to 6.00 p.m
13 September 1858, the Austria, a passenger ship departing from Hamburg for New York with five hundred
emigrants and many wealthier passengers on board,
sank following a terrible fire just off the shores of Newfoundland. Ernest Renaud, captain of the Maurice, a
trade ship from Nantes, saw the accident and rescued
the survivors. Their accounts of the horrible incident
were reported throughout the world and had a considerable impact. Fifty years before the Titanic, it is one
of the most tragic maritime catastrophes of the 19th
century.
Through this exhibition, the Musée d’Histoire de Nantes
offers a chance to question the event using every possible means: the public becomes active participants of
the visit by following four witnesses of the catastrophe.
They will be able to question the historical facts and
perhaps rewrite history.
Until the 11th of november 2012
From the 1rst of september :
Interiors of the castle, museum and exhibition (closed mondays): 10.00 a.m – 6.00 p.m
Free admission to courtyard and ramparts : daily from 10.00
a.m to 7.00 p.m
Rates: Museum or exhibition: €5 (discount: €3).
Museum + exhibition: €8 (reduced fare: €4.80)
www.chateau-nantes.fr
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
GALERIES LAFAYETTE
TOUR BRETAGNE
SUSPENS DE NANTES, 2012
LE NID
CÉCILE BART
JEAN JULLIEN
The central stair cavity of the former Decré department
store bears a resemblance to the inside of a camera
pointed at the sky, with the constant rolling of its escalators and the overhanging circular eye high above,
through which light enters.
Weighing 80 000 tonnes, towering at a height of 144
m (472 feet), and with a water reservoir of 90 000 litres,
the Tour Bretagne was inaugurated in 1976.
The 32nd floor offers a 360° panorama over the metropolis. Jean Jullien, a fêted artist in the international
world of graphic design, was entrusted with organizing
this space. Born in Nantes, he now works and lives in
London. Directly inspired by popular culture from his
childhood (from cartoons to video games) and still today, through exhibitions, books, marketing campaigns,
as part of the many commissions he has received from
all over the world, he offers a sensitive and lunar universe, emphasized by the “handmade” aspect of his
work.
Le Nid is the home of an enormous white bird, halfstork, half-heron, who sleepily watches over the city.
Its reassuring presence invites spectators to come
contemplate the view. Its large body also doubles as a
bar. As if leaping out of a Jean Jullien drawing, gigantic
eggshells transform into seats and tables. On the walls,
the artist’s hand has immortalized the city’s emblematic
spots on bright posters.
Cécile Bart takes advantage of this mechanical movement by using these automatic staircases to create a
captivating cinematic experience. Seven hanging translucent “painting-screens” play with oblique angles, superimpositions, perspectives, and colours. The variation
of positions gives the spectator the feeling that objects
have been stopped mid-flight, or mid-fall. The surfaces,
frozen in their levitation, are like stained glass thrown
out into space where everything becomes a pattern.
Cécile Bart conjugates surface, colour, light and space
with great precision and liberates the canvas from the
traditional frontality of painting. The stretched Tergal
canvases are painted, while taking pains to remove any
surplus paint in order to preserve the quality of translucency in this new pictorial medium.
This work is viewable on the 3rd floor of the store,
from 09.30 a.m to 8.00 p.m. Monday to saturday
From the 2nd of september :
from Thursday to Sunday, from 10.00 a.m to 2.00 a.m.
Free entrance
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
PASSAGE POMMERAYE
MUSÉUM
D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE
There aren’t many European towns that can claim to
have a more architecturally valuable shopping arcade.
Built in 1843 and still unchanged in the 21st century.
Built on a steep incline the three floors are flanked
by numerous shops and a monumental decorative
staircase. It’s a haven for shoppers needing a fix and
has inspired many artists, the film-maker Demy (Lola,
Une chambre en ville)and the designer Tardi (The story
of the unknown warrior).
Inaugurated in 1875, the Muséum of Nantes is among
the top museums in France in pure numbers of
collected specimens. Thanks to its contemporary
scenography, it shows varying zoological collections,
of regional wildlife, mineralogy and also has a reptile
house containing regional and exotic reptiles.
Opening times
During the week from 8.00 a.m to 8.00 p.m,
Sunday and public holydays from 9.00 a.m to 7.00 p.m.
Closed on the 1st of May
Free access
“Estuaire, une histoire naturelle ?”
Temporary exhibition
The Loire estuary has taken over the Muséum. The
vegetation from humid environments has colonized
the Square Louis-Bureau. The rocks tell us that a mountain range as high as the Alps once towered above
everything where the estuary now sits. Then animals
enter to tell us about the richness of these humid zones
and their extreme fragility.
The Muséum has also become an art museum by presenting paintings of several estuaries from the 19th and
20th centuries as well as watercolours by Denis Clavreul.
Until the 26th of august 2013
Opening times : closed mondays. From 10.00 a.m to 6.00 p.m
Rates : from €2 to €3,5
Free entrance each first Sunday of the month, from september to june.
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
QUAI DE LA FOSSE
MÉMORIAL DE L’ABOLITION
DE L’ESCLAVAGE
KRZYSZTOF WODICZKO
& JULIAN BONDER
On a plant-covered walkway, 2.000 commemorative
plaques remind the public of the slave ships that departed from Nantes and the major trading ports in Africa
and America. This meditative walking tour is accompanied by quotes in languages from every possible time
and place, and takes place in the Quai de Loire. Both
underground to evoke the holds of slave ships, and
open-air to stimulate reflection, this memorial is unique
in Europe.
The works of Krzysztof Wodiczko (1943, Warsaw) have
been exhibited in different international art biennales
and prompt spectators to reflect on the current state of
the world and its inequalities. In 1998, he received the
Hiroshima Art Prize, which rewards an artist for his/her
contribution to world peace every year.
Both architect and teacher, Julian Bonder has focussed
on the study of the relationship between memory,
trauma and public space. Initially concentrating on the
memory of the Holocaust, his work now includes projects dealing with civil war, civil rights, and slavery, as
well as the events of 9/11.
The Memorial is a public area which is open all year round.
Entry is free. It is closed only at night and when the Loire River
is in flood.
Non-guided visit: no reservation required, open every day:
- 9am to 6pm from the 16th of September to the 14th of May,
- 9am to 8pm from the 15th of May to the 15th of September.
An urban walking tour, Nantes and the slave trade is composed
of 11 informational panels which symbolically link it to the
memorial at the Château des ducs de Bretagne, by continuing
along L’île Feydeau.
PARC DES CHANTIERS
LA GALERIE DES MACHINES
LE GRAND ÉLÉPHANT
LES MACHINES DE L’ÎLE
The compagnie La Machine, headed by François Delarozière, has established its studios in the Naves of
Nantes’ former shipyards. Together with Pierre Orefice,
co-creator of the Machines de l’île, their collective imagination explores treetops, the savannah, or the deepest parts of the ocean floor: in the very same spot
where great ships were once built, one can now find a
bestiary of gigantic, living machines that often escape
from their workshop!
The Grand Éléphant, a majestic animal 12 metres (40
feet) tall, can carry forty-nine passengers on its back.
Departing from its steel cathedral on an astonishing
voyage, this is a true example of architecture in movement. Every departure is a unique spectacle for all to
see. On the back of the Grand Éléphant, it is as if travellers are on the 5th floor of a moving house with an
“unobstructed” view of the banks of the Loire.
While the world of marine life has become part of the
Carrousel, another universe has made its home in the
gallery: the vegetal world and the Arbre aux Hérons
(Heron Tree). Here, real plants thrive next to mechanical
ones alongside animals in the tree canopy, and visitors
can take control of the climbing caterpillar, or let themselves be carried off by a flying heron.
Until Sunday the 28th of October: 6 days a week /
from Tuesday to Friday: 10.00 to 5.00 p.m /
Saturday and Sunday: 10.00 to 6.00 p.m
No Elephant rides from Tuesday 4 to Friday 7 September.
Prices for The Elephant Ride Or The Gallery : full €8, reduced
rate: €6.50 (Gallery only)
The visit continues one hour after ticket office closing time.
PARC DES CHANTIERS
CARROUSEL
DES MONDES MARINS
LES MACHINES DE L’ILE
This merry-go-round (85 feet high, 65 feet in diameter)
is an incredible sculpture dedicated to the sea. Its creators, Pierre Orefice and François Delarozière, invite the
visitor to embark on an aquatic voyage on three levels
inside a concrete filigree. The carrousel is capped with
a circus tent decorated with pediments and protected
by 16 fishermen from the different oceans of the world.
From the abyss of the ocean floor to the surface of the
sea, discover incredible sea creatures: Giant crab, Pirate
fish, Reverse-thrust squid, Manta ray, Jellyfish…
The Great Elephant links the Carousel up to the Warehouses, that host the Machine Gallery and to the
workshop, at the heart of the Machine system. Like a
ship, it will accost at the Marine Worlds pier to drop off
passengers then will set sail to resume its journey.
Until Sunday the 28th of October: 6 days a week
from Tuesday to Friday: 10.00 to 5.00 p.m /
Saturday and Sunday: 10.00 to 6.00 p.m
Marine Worlds Carousel: closed from Tuesday the 4th to Friday the 7th of September.
Prices : full €8, reduced rate: €6.50
More information : www.lesmachines-nantes.fr
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
PARC DES CHANTIERS
L’ARBRE A BASKET
AGENCE a/LTA
PARC DES CHANTIERS
LA STATION PROUVÉ
Out in front of the Maison des Hommes et des Techniques, this basketball tree offers a new type of sports
equipment that can be used by just about anybody!
Upon first glance, it’s clear how different people can
play simultaneously. Basketball hoops branch out of
different parts of a tree at varying heights allowing for
multiple teams of different ages to play.
Just because everybody knows the rules to basketball,
it doesn’t mean you can’t invent ways to play, especially thanks to the lines on the ground defining different
fields.
With players of all ages able to participate, and situated
right next to a children’s playground, the Arbre à baskets allows for improbable encounters and new ways
to play.
Jean Prouvé is considered to be one of the most inventive architects of the 20th century, and his work
contains some of the most significant examples of
the modern period. Commissioned by Total at the
end of the 1960s in the hopes of developing a new
brand image, the Station Prouvé, a two-floor, 13-sided
polygon, was a prototype service station designed to
be moved to different locations depending on varying
traffic conditions.
Free access
Refurbished for Estuaire 2009, it is now the welcome
centre for Nantes.Tourisme, the Estuaire resource
centre, and the information kiosk of the Parc des Chantiers, and it allows visitors to experience and share a
moment of history and design.
Here, you will find all the services provided by
Nantes.Tourisme to help you organize your stay: brochures, tickets, guided tours, Pass Nantes, the Estuaire
cruise boat ticket booth, and more.
Until the 11th of November : closed Mondays.
From 11.00 a.m to 7..00 p.m
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
QUAI DES ANTILLES
LES ANNEAUX
DANIEL BUREN
ET PATRICK BOUCHAIN
HAB GALERIE
HANGAR A BANANES
Based on the Isle of Nantes, the site chosen for Les Anneaux represents the link between two eras : the great
maritime and naval past of the town, and today’s great
architectural and urban projects, putting Nantes on the
European stage.
Located at the western tip of the Ile de Nantes, Hangar
21 is better known to locals as the Hangar à Bananes,
the Banana Warehouse. This dates back some 60 years,
to the time when the climate-controlled warehouse
stored bananas and pineapples from Africa.
Daniel Buren is without a doubt the most famous
French contemporary visual artist in the world since Les
Deux Plateaux, his installation in the courtyard of the
Palais Royal in Paris (1986). In 1965, Buren designs what
will become his trademark, his “visual tool” : art works
using striped awning canvas. The stripe is a standard 8,7
cm wide. Recognisable, simple, minimal, Daniel Buren
uses this design – invariable where everything varies
and moves around – in the street : his pieces become
“seeing tools”.
Since then, the building has been refurbished as part of
Le Voyage à Nantes project.
Les Anneaux follows this principle. Daniel Buren
wanted to highlight the double perspective of the Isle
of Nantes: the architectural perspective, drawn by the
docks and the warehouses, and the natural perspective
delineated by the Loire river. A series of 18 rings facing
the river offer as many different cutouts of the landscape. At night, the enlightened rings – red, blue and
green, three colours at the basis of so many others –
become multi-seeing tools…
Free access
Now the HAB GALLERY is permanently dedicated to
contemporary art and is the home of the Nantes art
school, part of the Musée des beauxarts (Museum
of Fine Arts) and the FRAC Pays de la Loire (regional
contemporary art centre).
Each year, the gallery also hosts three or four exhibitions
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
ILE DE NANTES
MANNY BUILDING
AIR
ROLF JULIUS
In his work, Rolf Julius used to highlight the relationship
between music and sculpture, which untiringly seeks
to renew, leads to very subtle works where the line
between the visible and the invisible, the audible and
inaudible is often very fine. The visitor through his position, step, general attitude is invited to this sculptural
experience of music.
Air can only be heard by people walking past the Manny
Building. Hidden under the building’s metal skin, speakers produce the discrete sounds of clinking metal and
distant bird song. Both a sculptor and a musician, Rolf
Julius has made an “audible façade”.
Free access
ILE DE NANTES
MANNY BUILDING
THE ZEBRA CROSSING
REGULATIONS AND
GENERAL DIRECTIONS
ANGELA
BULLOCH
For Manny, Angela Bulloch submits The Zebra Crossing
– Regulations and General Directions : a work which
creates a connection between the building and its
immediate environment, the outside and the inside as
well as the public and private spaces.
Installation artist Angela Bulloch aims to upset current
systems, structures or rules. Inspired by British-style pedestrian crossings, with their famous Belisha Beacons,
she has redesigned public spaces, sowing doubt in
pedestrians’minds...
By reprogramming the flashing of the globes, she has
created the impression of a technical hitch, which
serves to raise a doubt in the mind of the passer-by as
to the status of this display. As if to trouble our senses
even further, she continues the pedestrian crossing
inside the building. Between the two, on the window
pane which separates the public and private spaces,
she displays extracts from the British regulations
concerning pedestrian crossings.
Free access
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
ENSA
(SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE) /
FORECOURT
L’ABSENCE
ATELIER
VAN LIESHOUT
Founded in 1995 by Joep Van Lisehout, AVL is a multidisciplinary company known for its contemporary art,
design and architectural projects. Functional, simple,
often imposing, their works often take the shape of furnitures, prefabricated houses, sculptures or renovation
of architectural monuments.
L’Absence is a sculpture that fits into the architectural
constraints of the site. The result is a moving and living
mass, with multiple protuberances, as the incarnations
of an instinctive gesture, without any delimitation or
any function. A living space where the artist wishes
discussions will happen. L’Absence is in turn a bar, a
sculpture, a comment on today’s architecture that will,
without a doubt, fuel students’ imagination
Opening schedules : To follow on www.absence-nantes.fr
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL
PALAIS DE JUSTICE
SANS TITRE
JENNY HOLZER
The imposing architecture of the Palais de Justice
designed by Jean Nouvel (2000) evokes power and
the force of justice through its volumes, its implacable
geometry, its play with shadow and light.
Conceptual artist, Jenny Holzer (1950, USA) works
with language, especially the notion of text which she
uses in its different forms (displays, scrolling LED signs,
etchings).
In the concourse, Jenny Holzer uses words from the
founding texts of French law (the Civil Code, Declaration of Human Rights) and has them slowly scroll over
signs. Playing with reflections from the bay windows
and polished granite floors, the words seem to go on
forever. On the Loire side, in a more dynamic rhythm,
quotes about justice from philosophers and literary
women, past and present.
Opening times :
From Monday to Friday, from 8.30 a.m to 5.00 p.m
(Free access only to “la Salle des pas perdus”)
ILE DE NANTES
HARMONIE ATLANTIQUE
BUILDING
DE TEMPS EN TEMPS
FRANÇOIS MORELLET
The Harmonie Atlantique building was built in the sixties. In order to fit in the Isle of Nantes architectural
transformations and to make the company attractive,
Harmonie Atlantique had renovated its building by integrating a François Morellet piece.
Born in 1926 in Cholet, François Morellet’s work reconciles mathematical and geometrical rigour with
humour and chance. He refuses to impose the arbitrary decision of the artistic process to the visitors. The
result is a work where chance is somewhat mastered,
and where the piece becomes its own referential point.
He desacralizes the romantic myth of the artist as a
demiurge.
For this project, he has created a 6 000 meter square
“meteorological indicator” to be installed on the front
of the building. François Morellet creates here an everchanging piece, hence avoiding the tiring vision of an
unchanging artistic proposition. Through the use of
three different luminous visual presentations, clouds,
the sun or the rain, this piece will inform the locals on
the weather conditions 4 hours in advance.
Artwork viewable from nightfall
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE TRAIL
OUTSIDE THE CITY
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL / OUTSIDE THE CITY
QUARTIER MALAKOFF
PETITE AMAZONIE
PÉAGE SAUVAGE
OBSERVATORIUM
Observatorium aspires to bracket off our everyday life
and placing it in parks and natural spaces where every
individual could take the time to immerse him/herself,
because «perceiving our environment is impossible
without first looking at oneself». Indeed, the Rotterdam
collective favours the use of their artwork by inviting
the population to appropriate them in their own way.
This project is borne out of questioning the reason
to be of this natural enclave. Next to the train station,
this space was the site of heavy bombing during the
Second World War. In the 1970s, the project for a city
motorway was drawn up and the gravel used for the
foundations of the Tour Bretagne, in construction at
the time, was used as ballast for the future highway...
When the project was abandoned, nature took over,
and the site is now home to an exceptional biodiversity
which has gained it the nickname «The little Amazon».
Observatorium illustrates this story using a «fairy tale
of progress»: «If a project for a highway eventually
allowed nature to thrive, our project will allow one to
enter urban zones even further». They have created a
massive wooden sculpture of a section of highway on
which we might invent a simple and convivial life to
replace urban traffic. As usual, they have created ties
with the local population because «art can first and foremost create time and space for people to pay attention to the world and to the internal resonances our
experiences can acquire».
Free access / Opening schedules for the 2nd floor
NEARBY
THE HOTEL DE RÉGION
PORTAIL 0°-90°,
PORTAIL 8°-98°
FRANÇOIS MORELLET
Nearby the Hôtel de Région, Portail 0°-90°, portail 8°98°, a permanent work from the french artist François
Morellet.
In making this piece 1987, the artist had fun with the
restrictions imposed upon him: the first, that he had to
create the main gate to the public square, and second,
the location: on one side, the lines of the building, on
the other, the Loire. If the first gate, straight and solemn, indicates the entrance to the Hôtel de Région
square and fulfills the expressed demand, the second
gate shakes it up: it is confusing and disturbing, referring to the Loire, which is already guilty of the sinking of
some of Nantes’ great mansions.
Free access
From the same artist : “De temps en temps”, Harmonie Atlantique building
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
THE PERENNIAL TRAIL / OUTSIDE THE CITY
BUTTE SAINTE-ANNE
(CHANTENAY DISTRICT)
MUSÉE JULES-VERNE
Situated in a late-19th century house, the Musée JulesVerne overlooks the River Loire.
The multi-media trail brings Jules Verne’s entire work
in all its splendour and diversity to a wider public.
Manuscripts, illustrations, posters, and games invite
the museumgoer on a journey “to the centre of Jules
Vernes’ writing”.
Opening times : closed Tuesdays, Sundays morning
and public holidays.
Opened from 10.00 to 12.00 / 2.00 p.m to 6.00 p.m
Rates : from €1,5 to €3
BUTTE SAINTE-ANNE
SQUARE MAURICE-SCHWOB
LUNAR TREE
MRZYK & MORICEAU
Since graduating from the École des beaux-arts de
Nantes where they first met, the two artists, known for
their drawings, have never left each other’s side and
have built an international career together.
In their work, dreams seem to take over reality. Looking
at their drawing is like trying to follow a line of logic in a
dream – it is based in reality but it is deformed, and they
infuse this with a joyful or disturbing fantasy. Driven by
a desire to open up the field of drawing, they also make
animation films, wall-drawings, or installations in which
they include a sculpture.
Their piece for the cliffs of the Butte Sainte-Anne is their
first autonomous sculpture. Lunar Tree takes the form
of a perfectly white dead tree, 12 m (40 feet) tall. By day,
when seen from Square Maurice-Schwob, it rises out of
the river; at night, from the tip of Île de Nantes (at the
foot of the grey crane), a halo of light emanates from
each of the tree’s branches, which surges out against
the black background. Shape and colour make the tree
look like a drawing with volume in space.
Viewable day and night
From the same artists : “Est-il bien prudent d’envoyer des messages aux extra-terrestres ?”
Château du Pé, Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
EVERYWHERE IN THE CITY
LE VOYAGE À NANTES
DIFFERENT PLACES IN TOWN
DIFFERENT PLACES IN TOWN
STATIONS GOURMANDES
OVER THE WALL
HISTOIRES DE GRAFFITI
A PROJECT BY THE SERVICE DES ESPACES VERTS ET
DE L’ENVIRONNEMENT (“PARKS AND ENVIRONMENT DEPT.)
A PROJECT BY PICK UP PRODUCTION
and THE PLUS DE COULEURS COLLECTIVE
Tiny farms, vegetable gardens, and orchards offer you a
chance to rediscover the plants that nourish us. These
stations gourmandes (“gourmet stops”) combine cooking and gardening, and invite you to relax and enjoy
the rest areas, and picnic among all the fruits and vegetables.
. Tramway/Busway Duchesse-Anne :
an orchard of peach, plum, cherry, apricot, and fig trees
have been planted on the hillside, and their vines invade
the street furniture.
. Château des ducs de Bretagne : tall apple trees and
picnic tables placed in the middle of the courtyard
await you.
. Passage Sainte-Croix : reminiscent of cloister gardens,
here you’ll discover a recipe for jam along with its ingredients: figs, cherries, rhubarb, strawberries…
. Place Graslin : a giant mound of compost proudly
towers in the middle. Leaves, eloquent stems, flowers
and, soon, giant gourds will invade the heap.
. Square Daviais : vegetable gardens, rows of corn
and sunflower, fruit trees and a plant-filled compost
stretches across the grass of l’Île Feydeau.
Over the Wall was an unprecedented graffiti tour with
stops throughout the entire Voyage à Nantes trail.
From le lieu unique to the Halle Alstom, while taking
a detour through the quartier Bouffay neighbourhood,
more than a dozen spots have been revisited and reinvented by over forty graffiti artists of international renown Moner, Meyer, Moko, Ador, Persu,
Kazy, Aise, Soem, Mokë, Webs, Zoer, Arnem, Korsé,
Kryo, Quorky, Syner, Ryngar…
The vibrant art of graffiti - which has radically changed
urban landscapes - is literally “spilled over” by turning
up on a multitude of surfaces throughout the city. The
event over, most of the graffs were erased.
Graffs on 3 sites are now permanent : La Fabrique/
Trempolino, the Alstom hall (SAMOA) and the one
nearby the grey Titan crane (Grand Port Maritime).
Visit the official website : otwgraff.tumblr.com
Admission to these fragile plantations is free, as is the harvesting of any fruit or vegetables.
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT
ARTWORKS
in Nantes
“Péage Sauvage”, Observatorium
“Lunar tree”, Mrzyk & Moriceau
on the estuary
“The Settlers”, Sarah Sze
“Artist’s rooms at the château du Pé”
EVA & ADELE / frederic dumond et Emmanuel Adely / Sarah Fauguet et David Cousinard / John Giorno et Ugo Rondinone / Mrzyk
& Moriceau / Bevis Martin et Charlie Youle
“Serpent d'océan”, Huang Yong Ping
“La Maison dans la Loire”, Jean-Luc Courcoult
in Saint-Nazaire
“Le Jardin des Orpins et des Graminées”
and “Le Jardin des étiquettes”, Gilles Clément
at the Abbey of Fontevraud
“Mort en été”, Claude Lévêque
© Mathieu Bernard-Reymond
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
© Gino Maccarinelli
BOUGUENAIS / PORT LAVIGNE
SARAH SZE (USA)
“THE SETTLERS”
In the hamlets of Bouguenais, Port Lavigne occupies a unique status thanks to its location, deep in the wet prairies. Near
the shipyard, a promenade runs alongside the Loire, lined with tall trees (often covered in mistletoe) and paths with luxurious vegetation. Despite its proximity to an airport, Nantes’ ring-road, and ports, Port Lavigne is a vast natural domain.
It is precisely this site’s capacity to whisk us away to another time, another era, and another world that attracted Sarah
Sze.
Sarah Sze (1969, Boston) creates works that exist in relation to a landscape or architectural context in which she places
her light, aerial sculptures that play with contradictions. Often monumental, her works invite the spectator to stroll and
discover new perspectives.
The Settlers, a work that is spread out over the art trail, invites one to explore and to feel the site. Three trees are literally «colonized» by a group of sculptures, creating a series of encounters that are improbable in our part of the world:
in one, a bear cub climbs on a tree stump, helped by its mother; in the second, a jaguar lounges about; and, in the last
one, a colony of monkeys swing from the third tree. Every animal is portrayed doing something natural: hunting, washing,
playing, or sleeping.
The sculptures, perfectly realistic and viewable from the river and the bank, are black and appear to be shadows. For the
artist, «they play with the idea of a desire for a return to nature and the wild.»
-www.sarahsze.com
_
GPS : 47°11.245’ / 01°38.323’
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
© Bernard Renoux
COUËRON
JEAN-LUC COURCOULT (Fr / Nantes)
“LA MAISON DANS LA LOIRE”
In 2007, Jean-Luc Courcoult was drawn to the town of Lavau and its marshlands, creating La Maison dans la Loire at the
edge of the village. The currents got the better of it and, today, La Maison has taken up residence in Couëron once and
for all. Located between the river and the countryside, hub of 19th century industrialization, Couëron has a remarkable
architectural heritage.
Jean-Luc Courcoult, founder of Royal de Luxe, is a man full of extraordinary journeys and incredible stories. «A house
where the foundations, stuck in the silt, tilts slightly, its shutters closed and its rooms uninhabited. It seems as lonely
as we can sometimes be in nature. The image is realistic yet poetic. Concrete, secretive, silent, this sleepy house in
the Loire could be a picture, a three-dimensional painting settled in time. Motionless. (...) That is what I call imaginary realism. ‘Realism’ because we are dealing with concrete, tangible, palpable, and absolute reality. And ‘imaginary’
because the goal is to introduce a little dreaming into people’s lives.» (Jean-Luc Courcoult)
www.royal-de-luxe.com
GPS : 47°12.275’ / 1°42.599’
To be seen from the jetty on Quai Pontgibeau (200 metres from la tour à plomb)
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
SAINT-JEAN-DE-BOISEAU
ARTIST’S ROOMS
AT THE CHÂTEAU DU PÉ
Bevis Martin et Charlie Youle / EVA & ADELE /
frédéric dumond and Emmanuel Adely /
John Giorno and Ugo Rondinone / Mrzyk and Moriceau /
Sarah Fauguet and David Cousinard
A castle built on a mound, dominating on one side a pond
and on the other the vast marshes of the Loire: the setting
immediately evokes the world of fairy tales. Inside, a magnificent bestuary, pieces of furniture hidden in the walls, a
talking window, shapes coming out of the walls: one can also
enter the bedrooms thought up by the artists in the fairy
tale way.
In the manner of tales, the 6 doors of the bedrooms open
up to 6 worlds which are as many means of interpreting the
world as mirrors on our deepest being.
As an invitation to enter head-on the “bedroom”, the place
of intimacy, six artist’s couples were invited. Some of them
are perceived in the art world as inseparable entities, some
others are real life couples but had never shared a project
until then.
GPS : 47°11.553’ / 1°43.163’
Free entrance each Sunday from 2.00 p.m to 6.00 p.m
Renting and booking :
5 double rooms (one for disabled person) / 1 family room
Price (breakfast included) :
. during the week :
¤ 75 for one double room – ¤ 100 for the family room
. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays :
¤ 90 for one double room – ¤ 115 for the family room
On reservation at Nantes.Tourisme : T. +33 272 640 479
or www.nantes-tourisme.com
More information on www.chateaudupe.fr
© Bernard Renoux
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
Bevis Martin & Charlie Youle © B.Renoux
frederic dumond & Emmanuel Adely © B.Renoux
EVA &ADELE © B.Renoux
Sarah Fauguet & David Cousinard © B.Renoux
John Giorno & Ugo Rondinone © B.Renoux
Mrzyk & Moriceau © B.Renoux
SAINT-JEAN-DE-BOISEAU ARTIST’S
ROOMS AT THE CHÂTEAU DU PÉ
BEVIS MARTIN ET CHARLIE YOULE
La Grande Question
FREDERIC DUMOND ET EMMANUEL ADELY
Antichambre
Following their analysis of pedagogy, of the sense of morality conveyed by the institution, the artists have drawn on
textbooks and scientific books imaging to create a bas-relief
exploring the mystery of life. The disrupted scales create a
kind of existential scavenger hunt.
www.martinandyoule.com
As we enter the space, the only thing that can be found is a
seat by the window. It is by carefully observing the woodwork
that opportunities emerge. A wall section becomes a bed, the
other one is a secretaire, niches or a cupboard. This place is
meant to be stimulated, a book to open, a blank sheet to fill.
http://fredericdumond.free.fr
http://emmanueladely.free.fr
--
--
SARAH FAUGUET ET DAVID COUSINARD
Saturnia Pyri
EVA & ADELE
NEBELGLANZ
On the oak tiled-floor, a door opens up on a hatch : here
stands the bed. Nearby, the monumental chimney, made of
fine wood species, generates an ambiguous feeling, between
admiration and discomfort, caused by the potential danger of
an inflammable chimney. The motif was collected on the wings
of a giant moth, the Saturnia Pyri, which enjoys, the climate of
the estuary, eat little and die just after mating...
www.fauguet-cousinard.com
Goethe’s neologism “Nebelglanz“ could be translated into “fog
of clarity“. As the mural that decorates the red bedroom, the
word conducives to dream, it tarnishes and illuminates at the
same time, it hides and uncovers, it worries and fascinates.
This is clearly the creative act of this couple who made an
artwork of their life.
www.evaadele.com
--
--
JOHN GIORNO ET UGO RONDINONE
There Was a Bad Tree
MRZYK & MORICEAU
“Est-il bien prudent d'envoyer des messages
aux extra-terrestres ?”
(Is it safe to send messages to aliens ?)
A replica of the bedroom’s window is affixed to the wall. A
poem comes out of it, telling us an utopian and revolutionaryminded modern tale about men’s obstinacy to destroy a “bad
tree”, finally saved by a peaceful human community. Contrary
to the window opened up on the outside, this one works as a
vehicle for introspection.
The night, a time favourable to mystery, to fear, to dream,
colonizes the walls with its darkness. Here and there, boxes
confine strange insects sometimes scary, sometimes remarkably beautiful, a procession from the five continents inviting
us to a dreamlike trip. The fetish figure of the artists on
the bedsides, seems to express feelings that we share, happiness, amazement and fascination !
http://1000dessins.com/
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
© Gino Maccarinelli
SAINT-BREVIN-LES-PINS / PLAGE DE MINDIN
HUANG YONG PING (Chine)
“SERPENT D’OCÉAN”
Saint-Brévin is made up of two seaside towns: Saint-Brévin-l’Océan and, to the north, Saint-Brévin-les-Pins which stretches
out between two hills topped by old forts.
At the tip of the Nez de Chien fort, at «the lateral limit of the ocean» (the border where the river and ocean meet), Huang
Yong Ping’s (1954, China) skeleton of an enormous sea-serpent surges out of the sea, as if it had just been found in an
archaeological dig. Its movement makes it look alive: with its disproportionate body, one imagines that it crossed the
seven seas before washing up on this beach. The shape of its spine echoes the curve of the Saint-Nazaire bridge, and the
way it sits is reminiscent of the architecture of the “carrelets”, the distinctive off-shore fisheries on the Atlantic coast.
By having a major figure from Chinese mythology appear on European shores, Huang Yong Ping examines, the notions of
identity and cultural hybridity, as is often the case in his work. The environmental question is also very present in his art
where he regularly exposes the paradox of the man sawing the branch he is sitting on, torn between creative abilities
and destructive impulses. This is one of the many possible interpretations of this work: placed on the beach, the skeleton
appears with the tide and, little by little, will be home to marine fauna and flora..
-GPS : 47°16.060’/ 2° 10.044’
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
© Gino Maccarinelli
SAINT-NAZAIRE / SUBMARINE BASE ROOF
GILLES CLÉMENT (Fr)
JARDIN DES ORPINS ET DES GRAMINÉES
& JARDIN DES ÉTIQUETTES
JARDIN DU TIERS-PAYSAGE : ÉVOLUTION 2012
Accessible to the public since 1998, thanks to a project by urban planner Manuel de Sola Morales, the roof of the submarine base has become an outdoor terrace between the city and the docks.
Gilles Clément (1943) is considered to be one of the world’s most important landscape designers and garden theorists.
His creed – do the most possible with the least possible – vigorously advocates a way of seeing the garden in a way that
would favour its natural evolution.
By designing his first Jardin du Tiers-Paysage (Garden of the Third Landscape), Gilles Clément sees «a place of resistance» in the Saint-Nazaire base capable of hosting the estuary’s ecological diversity. This spatial triptych exploits the
three architectural systems in place. In 2009, Saint-Nazaire’s explosion chambers hosted Le Bois de Trembles: 107 aspens
(in French, «trembles») surging out of the concrete. Making the base tremble and shimmer was Clément’s first – poetic
– intention.
In this year’s Le Jardin des Orpins et des Graminées («The Garden of Stonecrops and Horsetails»), uncovered rows of
concrete are filled lengthwise with a canal of planted horsetails which the visitor discovers from a bridge offering a surprising new vista on the entire base. Stonecrops and stem grass, robust plants that are emblematic of the estuary, bring
vegetal life to this mineral environment. In the pit, for Le Jardin des Étiquettes (The Garden of Labels), Gilles Clément
added a thin layer of bedrock onto which the wind, birds, and the soles of our shoes will deposit seeds. Twice a year, new
plants will be identified and carefully labelled.
To complete the triptych, a map shows us the zones of the estuary’s «third landscape». Aside from being a testament of
ecological wealth that identified at a precise moment, it also nourishes the hope for its future expansion..
-http://www.gillesclement.com/
Roof of the base sous-marine, accessible daily
- from 9.00 a.m to 10.00 p.m from the 1st of june to the 30th of september 2012
- from 9.00 a.m to 5.30 p.m from th e 1st of october 2012 to the 31st of may 2013
ESTUAIRE 2012
NEW PERMANENT ARTWORKS
© Marc Domage
ABBAYE ROYALE DE FONTEVRAUD
CLAUDE LÉVÊQUE (Fr)
“MORT EN ÉTÉ”
Considered to be one of the largest monastic complexes in Europe, the Abbey of Fontevraud is striking for its architectural
diversity. Since being made the Centre Culturel de Rencontre in 1975, it has become an important place for its history and
creativity.
Mort en été (Dead In the Summer) has been designed for the Abbey’s main dormitory. It evokes a floating dream, between
the haunting light of the River Loire and the mists of a red sky, with the tiny refrain of some song repeated somewhere in
the distance...
Claude Lévêque (1953, Nevers) has presented his work throughout the world: museums, galleries, art centres, various spaces
including industrial wastelands, shops, parks... Between a memory of childhood and places and a political vision of our
society, his works capture space, and architecture, their uses and meanings, and the multiple mental and concrete relationships they establish with the public. .
http://claudeleveque.com
ESTUAIRE
NANTES<>
SAINT-NAZAIRE
THE ENTIRE
PERMANENT COLLECTION
© Mathieu Bernard-Reymond
ESTUAIRE
THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
IN NANTES
LA PETITE AMAZONIE / MALAKOFF (“THE LITTLE AMAZON”) - OBSERVATORIUM - “PÉAGE SAUVAGE”
After enduring the bombing during WW2, this site was part of an urban renewal project in the 1970s. When that idea was
abandoned, nature took over. Observatorium tells the story, using a “contemporary fairy tale”: an impressive wooden sculpture represents a section of motorway that is at the same time both a public place and an observatory for this unique
natural environment.
SAINT-FÉLIX CANAL - ANGE LECCIA - “NYMPHÉA”
Nymphéa is a video projected onto the surface of the canal. As you stand and watch, a young woman, seemingly in the
water, slowly changes. The water both provides and affects the image: the result is deeply disturbing.
ENSA-SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE (FORECOURT) - ATELIER VAN LIESHOUT - “L’ABSENCE”
Created for Estuaire 2009, L’Absence overlooks the Loire and interacts with the surrounding architectural environment. The
sculpture looks like a moving, living mass, with multiple protrusions. This blue landmark is habitable: the artist has created
a place to live and have discussions.
ILE DE NANTES / MANNY BUILDING - ROLF JULIUS - “AIR”
Air can only be heard by people walking past the Manny Building. Hidden under the building’s metal skin, speakers produce
the discrete sounds of clinking metal and distant bird song. Both a sculptor and a musician, Rolf Julius has made an “audible
façade”.
ILE DE NANTES / MANNY BUILDING - ANGELA BULLOCH - “THE ZEBRA CROSSING”
Installation artist Angela Bulloch aims to upset current systems, structures or rules. Inspired by British-style pedestrian
crossings, with their famous Belisha Beacons, she has redesigned public spaces, sowing doubt in pedestrians’ minds ...
ILE DE NANTES / HARMONIE ATLANTIQUE BUILDING - FRANÇOIS MORELLET - “DE TEMPS EN TEMPS”
This illuminated neon weather-forecast sign extends right across the building’s façade. Every day, it predicts the weather in
four hours’ time: clouds (white curves), sun (red circles) or rain (blue dashes).
ILE DE NANTES / PARC DES CHANTIERS - STATION PROUVÉ
Created by Jean Prouvé in the 1960s, this prototype service station was designed to be moved around depending on traffic
conditions. Refurbished for the Estuaire 2009 exhibition, this is now the Nantes.Tourism welcome centre, with information on
the current Estuaire show and the Ile de Nantes.
ILE DE NANTES / QUAI DES ANTILLES - DANIEL BUREN & PATRICK BOUCHAIN - “LES ANNEAUX”
This multi-piece work of art stretches along the banks of the Loire. Les Anneaux, the 18 large rings, act like giant magnifying
glasses that focus on just one aspect of the river scenery. At night, the rings are illuminated in red, green and blue, or
combinations of the primary colours.
SQUARE MAURICE SCHWOB (CHANTENAY DISTRICT) - MRZYK & MORICEAU - “LUNAR TREE”
The artists are known for their witty drawings. Lunar Tree takes the form of a pure white dead tree, 40 ft / 12 m tall. By day,
it rises out of the river; at night, from the tip of the Île de Nantes (at the foot of the grey crane), a halo of light emanates
from every branch of the tree that appears on a black background. Shape and colour make it look like a drawing in space.
ESTUAIRE
THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
ON THE ESTUARY / SOUTHERN RIVERBANK
REZÉ ROMAN SIGNER - “LE PENDULE”
A pendulum 25 ft / 7m long hangs on a building. Beating out the time, regularly and inexorably, it is like a surreal “clock”,
marking the slow decline of the derelict building, the inevitable journey of people and things to their demise. It contrasts
with the incessant flow of the river, with its violent yet peaceful power.
BOUGUENAIS SARAH SZE - “THE SETTLERS”
Three trees are literally «colonised» by a group of sculptures. They create a scenario that is unlikely in this part of the world:
in one, a bear cub climbs on a tree stump, helped by its mother; in the second, a jaguar lounges; the third houses a colony
of monkeys. Each animal is portrayed doing something natural: hunting, washing, playing, sleeping
SAINT-JEAN-DE-BOISEAU (CHÂTEAU DU PE) - JEPPE HEIN - “DID I MISS SOMETHING ?” (“Ai-je raté quelque chose ?”)
Close to the lake, a bench invites visitors to sit and contemplate the castle. On sitting down, they are surprised by a jet of
water 70 ft / 20 m high. As soon as they stand up, the «fountain» stops, and visitors realise they are the ones, who trigger
it into action!
SAINT-JEAN-DE-BOISEAU - ARTIST’S ROOMS AT THE CHATEAU DU PE
Bevis Martin et Charlie Youle, Sarah Fauguet et David Cousinard, John Giorno et Ugo Rondinone, Frédéric Dumond et
Emmanuel Adely, EVA & ADELE, Mrzyk & Moriceau
Six pairs of artists are challenged to recreate a «room» as a place of intimacy. Like a fairytale, the moment you enter a
room, you enter a different universe…places that give you insight into the world, as much as into yourself. You can also stay
the night!
Visit (free) each sunday, 2.00 p.m to 6.00 p.m
5 double rooms (one accessible to the disabled) / 1 family room - Rates: from ¤75 (including breakfast).
For reservations call +33 (0)6 09 43 01 63 / [email protected]
or Nantes.Tourisme at +33 (0)272 640 479 / www.nantes-tourisme.com
More information at www.chateaudupe.fr
LE PELLERIN (Canal de la Martinière) - ERWIN WURM - “MISCONCEIVABLE”
On the quayside, this 30-ft / 9-m-long boat seems to bend or melt, drawn irresistibly towards the river. «Do objects have a
soul?» The artist responds with a «Yes!» with an exclamation mark!
PAIMBOEUF - KINYA MARUYAMA – LE JARDIN ÉTOILÉ
Based on the constellation of Ursa Major and the four cardinal points, this architect-artist-landscape designer uses everyday materials to build a place to live: you can walk, play, relax, breath, think...
SAINT-BRÉVIN-LES-PINS - HUANG YONG PING – SERPENT D’OCÉAN
The skeleton looks as if it has been found in an archaeological dig. Its movements make it look alive: we guess that it has
come from far away to appear on this beach. The shape of its spine reflects the curve of the Saint-Nazaire bridge; standing
upright, its shape echoes the carrelets, the typical offshore fishing platforms along the Atlantic coast.
ESTUAIRE
THE PERMANENT COLLECTION
IN SAINT-NAZAIRE
TERRASSE PANORAMIQUE DE L’ECLUSE FORTIFIEE
FELICE VARINI - “SUITE DE TRIANGLES SAINT-NAZAIRE 2007”
Covering more than a mile/2 km, the largest-ever work by this Swiss-French artist can only be seen and appreciated from
the roof of the panoramic terrace at the submarine base. Varini draws a “horizontal line”, which hugs the landscape around
the Saint-Nazaire port. The division of the shapes above and below this line splits the landscape into different sequences.
Only when you are at the right viewpoint does the horizontal line appear.
Opening schedules : more information on www.estuaire.info
SUBMARINE BASE ROOF / SAINT-NAZAIRE
GILLES CLEMENT - “LE JARDIN DU TIERS PAYSAGE”
Gilles Clement, one of France’s best landscape designers and gardening experts, sees the Saint-Nazaire submarine base
as «a place of resistance» that can accommodate the ecological diversity of the estuary. The triptych (Le Bois de Trembles,
Le Jardin des Orpins et des Graminées, Le Jardin des Étiquettes ) takes advantage of three architectural features on the
submarine base’s roof.
- from 9.00 a.m to 10.00 p.m from the 1st of june to the 30th of september 2012
- from 9.00 a.m to 5.30 p.m from th e 1st of october 2012 to the 31st of may 2013
ON THE ESTUARY / NORTHERN RIVERBANK
LAVAU-SUR-LOIRE - TADASHI KAWAMATA - “L’OBSERVATOIRE”
This Japanese artist has designed a link between the village and the observation tower. Stretching for half-a-mile / 800
m, this walkway is built of wood, has no railings and is only 15 inches / 40 cm above the surrounding reed beds. This allows
visitors to immerse themselves in nature before reaching the wooden tower that offers a new perspective on the river.
BOUÉE / CORDEMAIS - TATZU NISHI - “VILLA CHEMINEE”
Villa Cheminée looks like an industrial chimney, perhaps a copy of the ones at the nearby power plant. But this is a place to
stay – at the top sits a tiny cottage, with a garden. Inspired by his favourite writer, Jules Verne, Tatzu Nishi creates a truly
visual shock, forcing us to use our imagination. Where did this house come from? Are the power plant chimneys copies of
this chimney?
Visit (free) each sunday between 2.00 p.m and 6.00 p.m
Stay: price (including breakfast): ¤ 95 (weekdays and Sunday) - ¤ 99 (Friday and Saturday)
Book through Nantes.Tourisme: +33 (0)272 640 479 or www.nantes-tourisme.com
COUËRON - JEAN-LUC COURCOULT - “LA MAISON DANS LA LOIRE”
Looking as if it was built too close to the river, this house tilts slightly, its shutters closed and uninhabited, even though
smoke still floats from the chimney. “This image is realistic yet poetic. Concrete, secretive, silent, this house asleep in the
Loire could be a picture, a three-dimensional painting settled in time. Still.” (J-L Courcoult).
INDRE - JIMMIE DURHAM - “SERPENTINE ROUGE”
Created by Jimmie Durham, a Cherokee Native American based in Europe, this strange industrial animal looks like a snake or
dragon that is 130 ft / 40 m long. Coming out of the river, it creeps along the river bank, and then rears up to face the Loire,
with its “mouth” wide open. The PVC tubing and the shape of a snake are recurrent in Durham’s work. The snake symbolises
the river; the tube is a conduit for the imagination.
AT THE ABBEY OF FONTEVRAUD
CLAUDE LÉVÊQUE - “MORT EN ÉTÉ”
One of Europe’s finest monastic complexes, Fontevraud is known for its architectural diversity. Designed for the main dormitory, this work has been created by one of France’s greatest living artists. It evokes a floating dream, between the haunting
light of the River Loire and the mists of the red sky, with some familiar tunes in the background…
ESTUAIRE
OUR CULTURAL PARTNERS
IN SAINT-NAZAIRE
LE GRAND CAFÉ
LE LiFE
© Mathieu Bernard-Reymond
OUR CULTURAL PARTNERS
IN SAINT-NAZAIRE
SUBMARINE BASE
LE GRAND CAFÉ
LE LiFE
CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER
THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER
OF EMERGING ARTISTIC AND
CULTURAL CREATION
Based in a 19th century building, Le Grand Café is a
contemporary art centre, setting exhibitions, artistic
events, meetings, or seminars… Created in 1998, this
art centre has since come an important artistic platform due to its demanding curating, its involvement in
producing projects, mostly with international artists, its
knowledge of the area.
Next exhibition :
Alexandre da Cunha
From the 6th of october to the 30th of décember 2012
This new cultural facility opened its doors in spring
2007. Devoted to new aesthetics, the Lieu International des Formes Émergentes (LIFE: the International
Centre of Emerging Artistic and Cultural Creation) distinguishes itself through a transdisciplinary and international artistic program.
Housed in Alvéole 14 (Unit 14) of the submarine base,
Berlin-based architect Finn Geipel was entrusted with
redesigning this vast and atypical space that is also
home to the VIP, the city’s stage for new music. With its
mission as a venue for artistic creation in all its forms,
this decidedly innovative facility firmly anchors the city
of Saint-Nazaire in the demanding landscape of the
most demanding European initiatives in this domain.