Notes on Kite Aerial Photography: Photo Gallery
Views
of La Géode and a delightful children's slide in Paris' Parc
de la Villette (Canon 24-mm, July 2000)
The
Parc de la Villette was developed as part of an urban renewal plan on the site
the former national meat market and slaughterhouse. Bernard Tschumi, now Dean of
the Graduate School of Architecture at Columbia University, won a competition
for the design of Paris’ largest park in 1982. The design, related
to his theoretical work on ‘event space’, is a distinctly urban park.
Tschumi called for the deployment of a number of abstract, programless
structures, dubbed 'follies'. The bright red follies would then house various
events and groups related to the activities of the park. According to one
observer "many do just that, but
not all, and not always housing the activities envisaged."
A self portrait with my matronly friends and
La Géode and a shot of La Géode from
the air (Canon S100 Digital Elph and Canon 24-mm, July 2000)
During my afternoon in the park it was
overcast and, worse yet, almost dead still. Using my KAP gear bag as a pillow I
took a delightful KAPer's nap waiting for conditions to change. During one
interim attempt to get the kite aloft the usual questions led to a delightful
conversation with two properly dressed French women out for a Sunday in the
park. They were kind and patient with my 'high school' French and this became
one of those bright, indelible memories one accumulates while traveling. They
encouraged my efforts with the kite in a grandmotherly way but round two of the
nap beckoned.
The large reflective sphere is La
Géode, a sculpture housing an IMAX theater. Just behind it is the City of
Science and Industry. The Géode, designed by architect Adrien Fainsilber,
.contains a 1, 000m² hemispherical screen unfurls around the 400 tilted seats.
It is a large and interesting object.
My
tourist guidebook claimed that the Canal
de l'Ourcq was no longer suitable for the transport of goods. I guess no one
told the skipper of this small barge. I did not get a chance to ask being
preoccupied with the camera's apparent desire to become one with the canal.
(Canon 24-mm, July 2000)
Parisian canals planned at the turn of the century supplied the capital with
drinking water and also made the Villette into an important center for river
traffic. The Canal de l'Ourcq (which crosses the park) continues to supply
Parisians with 60% of their non-drinking water. But just like the Canal
Saint-Denis on the West Side of the site, it no longer plays a major role in
commerce. However, the "Little Venice" of La Villette has become once
again a place for a leisurely stroll and pleasure.
Views taken as the kite barely hovered above the
Canal de l'Ourcq. In both cases I am flying from the right-hand side. The red
structure in the right image is one of Tschumi's follies. (Canon
24-mm, July 2000)
Now, academic discourse regarding architecture is an acquired taste. Consider the following passage describing Tschumi's design from ARCHidose, the WWW site of John Hill, an architecture graduate of Kansas State University.
"The grid of red follies create
reference points and are non-contextual in their form and color, in favor of an
intertextuality that leads to a dissolving of a priori meanings. The forms of
the follies become signifiers as opposed to signified (which carries meaning) in
order to mean nothing. The process of shaping the follies, and the ideas
extrinsic to them, represents a conscious reaction to multiple meanings
associated with Jaques Derrida's philosophy of Deconstruction. It is futile to
attempt a summation of Derrida's philosophy, but this text defines it as the
impossibility of one meaning in a text, or language in general, due to a
deconstruction of language to its foundation, where multiple meanings can be
found. Unlike many of his contemporaries, though, Tschumi's references to
Deconstruction take place at more than a formal level. Although the follies are
physically deconstructed, their intended lack of meaning relates his use of the
philosophy to its essence, not stylistic applications."
I am delighted to report that the follies held precious little meaning for me as
an architect or a photographer. Still, the park was a lively civic spot even on
the overcast afternoon that was available for my visit.
The 1950s French attack submarine Argonaute locked in battle with another of
Tschumi's follies (Canon 24-mm, July 2000)
The Argonaute, a French attack submarine from
the 1950s, has been decommissioned and placed on display at the Parc de la
Villette . For a small fee, you can visit this little museum of submarine
technology, and then take a tour inside this submarine. Getting the submarine to
the park was a major engineering feat in itself. It was transported by canal
into the park, and then hoisted and slowly moved into its current position. Does
the submarine or the folly have more meaning? Who knows?
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All rights reserved. Revised: Wednesday, May 30, 2001
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