Thursday, June 7, 2012

Treasure Hunt on the Loire, Part Trois

We left St-Nazare to find Tadashi Kawamata's "The Observatory." All we knew about it was that it was a considerable walk from the nearest road. We started walking toward it.

"The Observatory" is far out in a marsh.

Much of the 20-minute walk was over a well-made boardwalk through reed beds.

We admired the reeds which were head-high and rustled in the wind.

A few people preceded us.

That was it: a well-made observation platform about 10 meters high on the shore of the estuary, for appreciating the surrounding countryside and, "looking for art in the movements of daily life."

One thing visible from the Observatory was the Cordemais power station, and beside it to the left, the next Estuary Art work on our list.

The little red and white stump to the lower left?

So after a 20-minute walk back to the car we went over there to see Nishi Tatzu's "Chimney House," a work that echos—or perhaps mocks—the chimneys of the huge coal-burning power plant behind it.

Whose house sits in the fumes?

"Chimney House" is cute as the dickens, and invites you to think about the relation between the power plant and your domestic life. But we can't find out how they made it. Was it built from scratch, or did the artist repurpose an existing tank or what? Well, never mind. It's cute and thought-provoking.

Plus, you can rent the little house, €99/night!

By now it was past 6pm. In order to have time for the pictures and blog, we bought sandwiches at a nearby boulanger and ate dinner in our hotel room. Another biggish day tomorrow.

1 comment:

  1. Great finds! I knew about St-Nazare being a major Nazi submarine base, but didn't know it was such a massive complex or that it still exists.

    The wide-spread collection of art work is amazing and imaginative. I especially like the little house perched on top of the fat lighthouse-looking tower and the red triangles.

    Wally

    ReplyDelete