“We have actually become visual artists! » In the sewing workshop of the factory of the drop of gold, a cooperative of craftsmen in this working-class district of Paris, we are busy putting the finishing touches to the costumes for Yétis Pop. Of what? “These are very colourful, very mysterious imaginary creatures who will be strolling on rollerblades through the streets of Paris for Nuit Blanche”, explains Kitty Hartl, artistic director of the event. These creatures perfectly symbolize the joyful, colorful and also strangely disturbing state of mind that the artist wanted to establish for his second edition at the head of Nuit Blanche.
This new delivery of contemporary art works and performances in the heart of Paris is also the first to take place at the beginning of June. The 20 previous editions took place at the beginning of October, and opened the month of contemporary art in Paris, with the Fiac as the high point. Placed, following an online vote of Parisians, at the beginning of June, Nuit Blanche inaugurates a little the season of festivals and aperitifs, the month of Music Day and Pride…
One thing leading to another, the work is born
“It’s not a trivial change, notes Kitty Hartl. Because in June the night falls later, and since we no longer have, as before, the authorizations for Nuit Blanche to last all night, the aesthetics and the atmosphere will be different. The artistic director explains this to us while smoothing the strips of pink, purple or yellow fabric of her Yetis Pop with her gaze. Workshop manager Pascale Beurier explains how difficult it was to implement Kitty’s vision.
“We had trouble finding how to make a light structure that keeps a fixed shape, like a flexible armor on which we could glue the fabrics. In the end, it was plastazote that won the vote on an idea from an apprentice seamstress in the workshop: “It’s a kind of yoga mat… We cut them out and attach them with a glue gun. If the final touch and the dexterity are very professional, the design of this “out of the ordinary” control for the workshop, resembles the D system.
“I had seen this Yeti at an artistic event in Nantes, and I provided the model. I wanted 200 for Nuit Blanche. Eventually there will be 20, says Kitty Hartl. I first asked fashion schools but they were slow to respond or told me it was impossible. Then they found me this marvelous workshop… It was unexpected. »
“It’s my rumba, my mix”
A few days before the event, official authorization is still lacking to mount a major program work. Kitty Hartl takes it all philosophically: “I know everything I absolutely wanted and couldn’t have… But the public won’t see behind the scenes, only the works. What matters is the variety of proposals and the general message.
“When I learned that I was going to do a Nuit Blanche again, I had just experienced one of the most moving moments of my life. I witnessed the extraordinary ecological massacre in the Amazon, where gigantic areas are massacred for the cultivation of soybeans. I wanted to talk about this co-responsibility in the ecological disaster by summoning my imaginary jungle. That’s why there are all these strange and bizarre animals, but also trees, bright colors, party music, in several works. It’s my rumba, my mix. »
This first pre-summer Nuit Blanche should therefore be a mixture of eco-anxiety and joyful celebration, with the touch of the bizarre that has been the event’s since its creation. “It’s like a puzzle, you have to believe in the mess but in the end, it’s coherent. » Like a puzzle, or like the strips of fabric assembled one by one of the Yetis Pop.