May 24 2012
The 6th edition of the Festival Tansamériques kicked off today. The festival is a celebration of new works in contemporary dance and theatre. One particular work I was looking forward to seeing this year was X-Fois Gens Chaise presented by Angie Hiesl and Roland Kaiser from Cologne.
The X-Fois Gens Chaise runs from 24th to 27th May and comprises 10 elderly actors seated on chairs bolted to walls 20 feet above the sidewalk along rue Saint Denis. Each is participating in everyday chores like knitting, folding washing, eating or like the one I shot this evening, darning socks.
Man on a wall
Darning socks 20 feet above the sidewalk
X-Fois Gens Chaise at FTA
X-Fois Gens Chaise at the Festival Transamériques
I was planning to shoot all 10, but just as I was taking these the sky opened up and it poured down, so headed for the nearest shelter which was the Quartier Latin bar. Although the rain had stopped when we emerged from the bar, the elderly actors had been saved from their elevated perches and not yet returned. With more clouds on the horizon, we decided to head home and try to catch the other 9 actors and chairs tomorrow or over the weekend. So hopefully this is only a teaser for a larger coverage of this rare sight.
Update on camera issues: For anyone interested, I managed to get the base off my camera – a friend gave a good tip for removing burred screws is to use a sharp Stanley knife. I greased the red cog that I believed to be the problem from reading other Nikon owners who had the same error. Unfortunately the error re-appears after about 10 exposures, so I think it may be more serious. Looks like I need to go shopping, but with finances a little tight at the moment this isn’t the best timing…would love to get my hands on the new D800, but looks like I’ll be sticking to a DX sensor model for now. Any recommendations fellow Nikon owners?
To view images in gallery format, simply click on one of the images below.
Thanks for stopping by. Until next time.
Martin
4 Comments
Your photos make me miss Montreal.
Thanks for stopping by…I can imagine missing Montreal at this time of year when it seems like one festival after another or multiple ones at the same time, but we have to make up for those long cold winter months 😉
What a strange sight! Great shots of this unusual art project, especially the oblivious passers-by below. 🙂
I still need to shoot the other 9 – hopefully tomorrow together with the mock funeral to demonstrate the bulldozing of the lower main for what likely will end up being a car park until they decide what to build…total disgrace 🙁