In 2011, the town of Les Baux de Provence asked Culturespaces to take over management of its famous audio visual shows at the Carrie`res du Val d’Enfer quarry under a public service concession agreement. This is another sign of its confidence in Culturespaces which has been managing the Cha^teau des Baux de Provence since 1993.
The site will reopen its doors on 30 March 2012 under its new name “Carrie`res de Lumie`res” with the show “Gauguin and Van Gogh, the colour painters”, created by Gianfranco Iannuzzi with Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi. Culturespaces has chosen this name to give this man-made site a
new focus and emphasise the ever-present role of light here.
In the heart of Alpilles, the monumental “Carrie`res de Lumie`res” host extraordinary multimedia shows which are unique in the world.
Culturespaces is organising an innovative and ambitious project with 4 key aspects: A new programme of cultural events on the theme of the History of Art in the Carrie`res rooms and galleries: audio visual shows, live shows, concerts, lectures, and more.The ‘Carrie`res de Lumie`res’ aims to become a cultural hub for multiple events, and will be offering one big new
show every year profiling the greatest names in the History of Art.
A new event in which the Carrières quarries are gradually lit up to highlight the unique nature of the site between each show, allowing visitors to admire their mineral beauty.
New high-performance technological equipment for this outstanding audio visual show. Each area of the Carrie`res invites visitors on an extraordinary audio visual journey made possible by cutting-edge technological equipment and methods developed by Culturespaces and its multimedia partners: 70 video projectors, 3D audio adapted to the specific characteristics of the site, etc.
More surfaces used in the show to give it more breadth and extend this artistic journey.
Spectators are totally immersed in the image projected onto all the surfaces of the rock. We are now using twice the number of video projectors in order to cover twice the wall area. The ground is completely covered, too, and becomes a vast carpet of images.
The aim of this show is to show the links between Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh and to analyse their very different ways of using colour. While Gauguin uses well defined areas of flat colour, Van Gogh prefers vibrant layers of paint which bring a relief effect to his paintings.
The show touches on their two careers, which had a number of similarities: both started out painting landscapes in northern Europe (Brittany for Gauguin and the Netherlands for Van Gogh) before returning to the South of France, later reaching an explosion of colour inspired by the Pacific islands for Gauguin and northern France for Van Gogh.
The seven sequences of this show transport visitors in music to the colourful world of these two painters and submerge them in a world of images, where paintings come to life before their very eyes.
Van Gogh, the northern prelude This prelude introduces us to the austere northern light in Van Gogh’s first paintings. The dark somber colours depict ordinary people in hard living conditions. Like a prelude at the Opera, this phase
shows the audience an important but often little known aspect of the artist’s work.
Gauguin in Pont-Aven, a new theory of picture Gauguin went to Pont-Aven in Brittany for the first time in 1886. There he encountered the culture and
customs and discovered its colours and vibrant green landscapes. The large expanses and special atmosphere here inspired him to fill sketch pads and
to create his own personal style. He developed a new theory of picture characterised by the simplification of forms, the removal of details and
the use of expanses of colour to preserve only what is essential. Away from Paris, he was able to work freely on the expressive effects of exaggerating
shapes, combined with a wealth of colour and stylised lines. This period of intensive research shows a move away from impressionist forms and
techniques and the development of his own stylistic vocabulary.
Gauguin & Van Gogh – correspondence
The third sequence brings the two artists together through their correspondence, which shows their coming together, their encounter and their
separation. Their exchanges went in fits and starts, but each of them kept up ongoing conversations with friends and family. Van Gogh corresponded
regularly with his brother Theo. His letters talked about painting, Gauguin, art and his aspirations as an artist. The artists’ own handwriting is displayed dynamically, and their words resonate around various parts of the quarry.
The encounter at Arles The two painters met for the first time amidst the
warm colours of the South of France. Gauguin joined Van Gogh’s ‘Studio of the South’ on 23 October 1888. The latter had a deep desire to bring
together artists on the fringe of traditional art markets to create synergy through collaboration. The painters of the Studio of the South gathered in a
small yellow house that Van Gogh rented outside the old city wall of Arles.
This encounter marked the beginning of a partnership filled with opposition and conflict, admiration and contempt, but with only one objective – authenticity in painting, and specifically, in the use of colour. Two months after his arrival, Gauguin left the Studio of the South because of insurmountable differences in personality and ideas. At this point, Van Gogh was already starting to go mad, and cut off part of his ear in a nervous state. They continued, nonetheless, to correspond, but they would never meet again.
Gauguin in the Pacific islands, back to Eden After several intense months in Arles, Gauguin decided to head to Tahiti. This was the start of
“the Studio of the Tropics”. Gauguin produced a great deal of work in Papeete and its surroundings: he sculpted, painted and engraved, taking documents that he had brought from Paris as his inspiration (photographs, Japanese prints, etc.) and superimposing them onto Polynesian superstitions and customs.
These far-off islands plunge us into a mythical world. The sensory dimension of this new picture world is expressed with the generous use of colours.
The artist’s palette becomes both harmonious and dissonant, and ranges from pink to indigo, lemonyellow to red ochres, jade to emerald. Van Gogh in Saint-ReÅLmy, under the Southern sun Van Gogh stayed in Provence, where the turbulent power of the sky, cypress and olive trees reflected
his tormented soul which can be seen in the curves of his drawings, the strength of his lines, the dense texture of the paint and the intensity of colour.
On 8 May 1889, he committed himself to the asylum in Saint-ReÅLmy. hroughout his stay there, he maintained an imaginative and creative mind, and adopted a more innovative approach with a strong drawing style, bright colours and daring perspectives like the famous “The Starry Night”, or his famous series of “Cypresses”. The Auvers-sur-Oise plain This artistic journey comes to an end with two intensely emotional paintings. “Wheat field with crows” is a strong and poetic image, full of the vibrant life of nature. The sky is stormy, and the
crows are flying off from the wheat fields. Then the image of almond blossoms points towards renewal. Unlike the previous one, this painting is full of hope and life. It is the sign that painting is immortal, and that it does not end with the painter but lives on.
Gianfranco IANNUZZI trained as a sociologist and photographer. His artistic approach uses image, sound and light to communicate through the senses. He works to provide a cultural and artistic re-imagining of diverse existing places and spaces, both indoor and outdoor. On each occasion he creates an installation that respects, profiles and transforms the space in a temporary way.
He designs an “interactive environment” which spectators can move through at their own pace, and even change their perception of the show. The use of state-of-the art multimedia and interactive technology encourages audiences to participate and get actively involved with the work of art. He has been producing shows for the Carrie`res at Les Baux de Provence for many years.
He is currently working on a number of projects across Europe and the world, filling new spaces with his artistic creations.
Renato GATTO is a drama teacher and assistant director. He has produced his own teaching and training programme focussed on the relationship between
the body and the voice, gestures and sounds. He teaches vocal technique in the main Italian theatre schools, and works as a teacher and performer with the Fenice Theatre teaching project in Venice. He is Head of the Accademia Teatrale Veneta actor training school.
Massimiliano SICCARDI is a video director and multimedia artist.
He has developed a research and production business using new image, sound and video technologies. He works with images, seeking to integrate them into artistic performances and choreographies. Current projects
“IMAX Flying Theater Project” – Vancouver, Canada
“Grande Exhibitions” – Melbourne, Australia
“DebbaneÅL Museum” – Saida, Lebanon
“Tokyo National Art Center Project” – Japan*
“Kyoto University Hall Project” – Japan*
* postponed due to 2011 earthquake
Interview with Gianfranco Iannuzzi…
1. Where does the idea for this project come from?
G.I.: The idea behind this project is to take the opportunity to go deeper into the world of twopainters, and to bring them together in one outstanding and grandiose location to tell the story of alegendary and intriguing relationship using only images and musics, providing a total immersion in
colour through the work of two exceptional artists.
2. What is your feeling about the peculiar friendship between Gauguin and Van Gogh?
G.I.: Despite their differences in personality and artistic perspective, it is beyond doubt that Van Gogh and Gauguin influenced each other. I don’t think, though, that we could call it friendship. Van Gogh believed that Gauguin was the artist who could help him develop his Studio of the South idea, a community of artists that would correspond to his ideals for life and painting. For Gauguin, it was nothing more than a temporary opportunity to help him find his way, a turning
point in his career that marked a before and after. Both of their techniques involved the juxtaposition of colour. This is one of the show’s key themes.
3. How do you portray this relationship in the show?
G.I.: The relationship between the two artists is shown as two parallel lives which criss-cross like meteorites, moving together and then apart.
They have different starting points: “Nuenen: the austere northern light” and “Pont-Aven: a new theory of picture” An encounter and a confrontation:
“Correspondence” and “Arles: the encounter” Two different journeys with a similar destination: “The Studio of the Tropics” and “Saint-ReÅLmy and the Auvers Plain”
5. What do you want to communicate to the audience through this work?
G.I.: We’re not trying to undermine the role of museums and exhibition halls, which is where people should go to discover a painter’s work. Our creative work aims to amplify the emotional aspect of each work by letting the general public engage with it in a multi-sensory, three-dimensional experience.
I also want to get the viewers out of a classic passive attitude and draw them into the work, as if they were “actors” on a huge stage. When I see couples dancing in the quarry or children playing with the images on the ground, I feel I have succeeded.
6. You have produced a number of shows at the Carrières du Val d’Enfer. What does the new technological capability of the Carrières offer you as a creator? How will it improve the audience’s experience?
G.I.: Technology is no more than a tool. But the better the tool, the more room there is to express ideas and creativity. We now have twice the number of top-of-the-range projectors, and their brightness has been increased. There are now 4000 m2 of vertical projection areas, and a new 2000 m2 carpet of images
has been produced on the floor. All this has required significant IT investment in both hardware and software to keep the show synchronised and manage the room. Audio has been a particular priority, and we now have a top quality multi-channel sound system. These technological developments will create a strong audio visual impact and immerse the audience in the show.
Finally, the scenic lighting of the quarry’s “architecture” will allow the audience to admire its beauty between shows.
7. How do you approach the production of a show of this scale?
G.I.: The artist’s point of view is the starting point for the work.
The artist’s work is spread around the space of the quarry, and members of the audience reconstruct it depending on their position and how they move around. The viewer’s perspective is my starting point as I look at the paintings and the space. For my partners Renato Gatto and Massimiliano Siccardi and myself, the key is first to get to grips with the overall work of the artists from the point of view of both their pictures and their theory. We then do a great deal of selection and iconographical development. The works are then broken down into the different figures and colours that make them up, which we use to construct the animations
and visual effect. All this material finds its place in the scenario that we have written beforehand and which forms the show’s narrative journey. The music supports and provides structure to the narrative, gives keys to understanding it and deepens the overall emotional impact. This approach offers each viewer the opportunity to create their own show depending on their level of perception, their movements and their own knowledge.
The Carrie`res de Lumie`res invites visitors on an extraordinary audio visual journey made possible by cutting-edge technological equipment and methods developed by Culturespaces and its multimedia partners.
– The only video equipment of its kind in France : we are now using twice as many projectors in order to cover twice the wall area. It is the largest permanent video installation in France with 70 video projectors, driven by 70 servers projecting images onto a surface area of more than 6,000 m2. The
ground is completely covered, too, and becomes a vast carpet of images.
Each server delivers a programmed image to its video projector, and it is all synchronised by a production computer that holds this ultimate installation together.
– 3D audio adapted to the specifics of the site. Each speaker covers 45 degrees of wall and broadcasts a more homogenous sound wherever the spectator is.
– The installation of fibre optic cables has revolutionised the installation with smoother image transmission. Each video signal is converted into light using fibre optic technology, and these signals can therefore be carried up to 500 metres, in a higher resolution than Full HD.
– The installation of a complete automatic management system for multi-screen production, sound and lighting.
There is nothing else like this classified natural site with its bespoke technology – just what is needed for a show on this scale.
The Carrie`res du Val d’Enfer quarry was created over the years.