Cathédrale d'Images
The images displayed on the screens keep spectators in a passive state, both physically and intellectually. During the 1960s, the filmmaker and photographer Albert Plécy, a friend of the great Jean Lartique and Robert Doisneau (founding president of the famous association "Les Gens d'images"), directed his research toward creating a revolutionary process of projection.
Examining various filming and projection techniques, Plécy aimed to achieve a method of "total vision" that completely immersed the viewer. From this standpoint, it would not be the viewer who looks at the image, but rather the image which looks upon and attracts the viewer, obliging them to renounce traditional modes of viewing in their experience of the Image Totale. The project gained momentum in 1975, which Plécy finally acquired access to the gigantic abandoned quarries of Baux-de-Provence. Here he created his Cathédrale d'Images, and two years later inaugurated his own audiovisual creation in Image Totale. The culmination of two years of research, development and installation, Plécy's Image Totale was presented to the public in 1977. The complete immersion of spectators in the work is reinforced by the sound of an accompanying synchronized musical soundtrack. Having selected the zones, angles and sizes of the projected images, as well as pathways for the "integrated and immersed" spectator in the Image Totale, Plécy transformed the notion of a passive viewer, seated in an armchair staring at images on a screen, into that of an active spectator, immersed in a universe of images where they are completely free to evolve and explore in their own way. In selecting the locations of dozens of visual and sound projection sources ( with projected images ranging from 165 to 330 ft2 or larger, on more than 13,000 ft2 of projection surfaces), and playing with the distribution of differently shaped projection surfaces, edges, angles and walls, Plécy created a truly one of a kind artistic experience.
The immersive experiences of "Imagine..." designed by annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron, longtime collaborators on projects at the Cathédrale d'Images, are a direct continuation of Plécy's concept of the Imagine Totale.
See the show here and here, premiering on the 27th of September, 2020 at 10h30am EST.
Cathédrale d'Images
The images displayed on the screens keep spectators in a passive state, both physically and intellectually. During the 1960s, the filmmaker and photographer Albert Plécy, a friend of the great Jean Lartique and Robert Doisneau (founding president of the famous association "Les Gens d'images"), directed his research toward creating a revolutionary process of projection.
Examining various filming and projection techniques, Plécy aimed to achieve a method of "total vision" that completely immersed the viewer. From this standpoint, it would not be the viewer who looks at the image, but rather the image which looks upon and attracts the viewer, obliging them to renounce traditional modes of viewing in their experience of the Image Totale. The project gained momentum in 1975, which Plécy finally acquired access to the gigantic abandoned quarries of Baux-de-Provence. Here he created his Cathédrale d'Images, and two years later inaugurated his own audiovisual creation in Image Totale. The culmination of two years of research, development and installation, Plécy's Image Totale was presented to the public in 1977. The complete immersion of spectators in the work is reinforced by the sound of an accompanying synchronized musical soundtrack. Having selected the zones, angles and sizes of the projected images, as well as pathways for the "integrated and immersed" spectator in the Image Totale, Plécy transformed the notion of a passive viewer, seated in an armchair staring at images on a screen, into that of an active spectator, immersed in a universe of images where they are completely free to evolve and explore in their own way. In selecting the locations of dozens of visual and sound projection sources ( with projected images ranging from 165 to 330 ft2 or larger, on more than 13,000 ft2 of projection surfaces), and playing with the distribution of differently shaped projection surfaces, edges, angles and walls, Plécy created a truly one of a kind artistic experience.
The immersive experiences of "Imagine..." designed by annabelle Mauger and Julien Baron, longtime collaborators on projects at the Cathédrale d'Images, are a direct continuation of Plécy's concept of the Imagine Totale.
See the show here and here, premiering on the 27th of September, 2020 at 10h30am EST.