This temple is France's oldest church and its origins go back to the year 390. Originally it was a civic auditorium (basilica in Latin) but was transformed into a chapel in 615. Its magnificent chancel can be appreciated at the Musées de la Cour d'Or. It is no longer used for cultic purposes. Today it serves as a space for free public exhibits.
When I arrived there it was just a few minutes before 1 p.m. Coincidentally that was the exact opening time. There was this girl waiting on the bench near the entrance smoking a cigarette. I didn't know it at that time but she was waiting for a guy who had the keys to get in, a friend of hers apparently. They must have been students from the local university. She greeted him cordially in the typical French custom and in we all went. The young man turned on the lights and set up the abstract yet interesting exhibit. It was as if they had been waiting for me all along and in general that's the impression I got about the whole city as if they had been thinking: there you are, where have you been all this time!?
The exhibit by Northamerican avantgardist Anthony McCall consisted of a film projector on a pedestal set up in a completely dark room projecting a circle segment (half-moon like) onto one of the walls of the exhibition hall which was a sectioned off space of the chapel. In comes the girl, whom I couldn't see as it was pitch dark, and begins explaining the concept of this unusual art installation. I speak and understand French sufficiently enough to converse, but it certainly has lots of room for improvement. She said something about smoke and I did notice that in the light beam emitted by the projector you could see something that certainly looked like smoke. I didn't get whether the smoke was dust particles floating in the temple or if it was being produced artificially by some invisible smoke machine. It certainly created an effect on me. She further explained something about breaking up the light beam by putting your hands between the projector and the wall. She then left me alone to grapple with the exhibit.
This was my impression of the art exhibit. But what was it in the artist's view who, born in 1946 and studied in London, now lives in New York? What I saw was apparently a concept he called "Line Describing a Cone" back in 1973. He is considered to be one of the seminal artists of "American avant-garde cinema". He likes to work wit light, film, and projectors. Some of his known works include this one and "Long Film for Four Projectors".
On my way out I thanked the girl and took some additional information about these art events. This exhibit takes place within a broader context called Constellation (En attendant l'ouverture du Centre Pompidou-Metz) and started on May 15th. It will run up to the 4th of October 2009.
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