Saturday, September 16, 2017

Nantes - Third Time A Charm

 
 
There are a number of videos in this posting.  Unless you are in an internet browser instead of an email browser, you will not be able to see them. Double click on the title, "Nantes - Third Time A Charm" above to get to the proper browser.  Be sure to have your volume on.
 

Many of you have heard of "Les Machines de l'Île".  Two of them, the dragon (Long Ma) and the spider (Kumo), were in Ottawa to celebrate the 150th anniversary of our country.  When I heard they were there in July, I thought "I come to France to see the Machines and they are back in Canada!"  Thank goodness there was still so very much to see here in Nantes.



Located on the site of the former shipyards which closed in 1987, Les Machines de l'Île is part of the Île de Nantes urban renewal project.   In the Parc des Chantiers, a former hub for shipbuilding, these machines first came to life in 2007 with the Grand Éléphant and Galerie des Machines. 





This spider is very scary!  Long spindly legs reach out and propel the spider along when it is walking on the ground, but it gets hoisted up as well, as though it is dangling on its web.







The Galerie is a living space showcasing a veritable bestiary of machines. This one is a caterpillar.


This caterpillar goes up and down with the driver propelling it with hand controls.



 
 
 
Coming in 2021, a huge tree where two mechanical herons will live on its upper branches.  This branch that Karl is standing on (20 metric tons and 20 meters long) is the first part of a monumental tree that will have 22 branches in all.  This "Arbre aux Hérons" will be a steel tree 50 meters in diameter and 35 meters high.  Once complete, you will be able to walk from branch to branch in the amazing hanging gardens, and take a ride under the herons' wings.
 


 
This is a prototype of one of the herons.  Amazing!
 









An ant that will be among many, scrambling under the branches of the Heron Tree.









This was a flying machine enclosed in a steel cage, lifted by a little crane.
 







The Heron Tree that they are building will be filled with plant life that is both real and fantasy.  Look at the Venus flytrap with its mechanical teeth!

 
 


More bugs and insects that will be part of the Heron Tree.  I can only imagine how huge it will be and how jaw dropping it will be to look around and gaze at the creativity.

 


 
A grasshopper.
 






Karl, be careful that this crocodile doesn't turn around and snap at you!



 





Many ideas have come and gone, and many have made it as sea creatures in the Marine Worlds Carousel, like the Pirate Fish on the left and the Manta Ray below.


 
 A fantastical fish in the deep sea...
 
 
 
The sculptures are built in the workshop of the company La Machine, before the public's eyes.  It is a laboratory where the possibilities of mixing culture and urban planning are explored. 
 


 
A Minotaur taking shape.






Wasn't this the dragon that made it to Ottawa?  It's in China right now.



 
 
 
The ride I was looking forward to the most - the Elephant Ride.  What a thrill!







This is taken from the inside of the elephant.  There are numerous storeys and a circular staircase.  On top, a canopied platform.




Being on the back of the Grand Éléphant is like being on the 4th floor of a travelling house, with a breathtaking view of the former shipyards.




Beautiful sculptures and décor everywhere you look.




Once aboard, you see the moving gears that power the legs.  The elephant blasts its trunk and sprays gawkers with water.

 
 
Can you see the eye of the elephant?  Just its eyelashes are larger than a broom and the eye lid opens and closes.  I was able to take a peek photo in between the ear flaring out and closing in.



When this majestic animal goes out for a walk, it is like architecture in motion.




Look at the ear.  I bet a few cows had to give up their lives to produce enough leather for this!






 
 
 

 
Definitely a highlight of our trip!
 
***
 
"We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that something deep inside us is valuable, worth listening to, worthy of our trust, sacred to our touch. 
Once we believe in ourselves we can risk curiosity, wonder, spontaneous delight
or any experience that reveals the human spirit."
 
~  e.e. Cummings
 
 

2 comments:

  1. Wow, how absolutely amazing! How fun that must have been to ride on the elephant! I love this! (it's going on my bucket list lol)!

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    Replies
    1. Yes, you really must visit this magic place where wood, steel and hydraulics create fantasy. Come when the dragon is here and watch it spew flames!

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