"PERSONNES". Monumenta 2010
15/12/2010.
Christian Boltanski. [VIDEO] [PAR] France
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
metalocus, JOSÉ JUAN BARBA
"His installation, created for MONUMENTA 2010, was conceived as a powerful physical and psychological experience, an episode of spectacular emotion and sensations exploring the nature and meaning of human existence. Embracing the whole of the immense Nave of the Grand Palais, Boltanski creates a rich, intense commemorative space, in sound and vision. "Personnes" (literally both "people" and "nobodies") is the evocative title of this social, religious and humanistic exploration of life, memory and the irreductible individuality of each and every human existence – together with the presence of death, the dehumanisation of the body, chance and destiny.
Conceived as a work in sound and vision, "Personnes" takes up a new theme in Boltanski's work, building on his earlier explorations of the limits of human existence and the vital dimension of memory : the question of fate, and the ineluctability of death. "Personnes" transforms the entire Nave of the Grand Palais through the creation of a coherent, intensely moving installation conceived as a gigantic animated tableau. Personnes is a one-off, ephemeral work. In accordance with the artist's wishes, the components of the piece were all recycled at the end of the exhibition."