Personnes (by Christian Boltanski)
Grand Palais
Paris
February 2010
My own interpretation
El hecho de que se llevó a cabo en invierno ayudaba al contexto de la instalación de Boltanski. Comparable a un campo de concentración del Holocausto; la montaña de las piezas de ropa usada (como cuerpos huecos), prendas distribuidas en perfectos rectángulos sobre el suelo al igual la estricta organización de las personas en los ghettos y campos.
Abstracción. "Personas" abstraídas y reducidas a simples prendas agrupadas.
Cada grupo con su respectivo parlante emitiendo un sonido distinto de latidos del corazón.
Hasta estaba el cuarto donde el espectador sacaba turno para que le graben su propio sonido del corazón.
It was cold, and that helped the context of the instalation. Comparable to a camp of concentration from the Holocaust; the mountain of cloth (bodies), the perfect rectangles representing the perfect organization of the ghettos and camps. Abstraction. Abstraction of people reduced to single pieces of cloth lying on the floor into perfect rectangles. You could hear a different sound of heartbeat in each one. There was even a room where you could get your own heartbeat recorded!
Holocaust
The mountain with its crane
La montaña en el medio del palacio reflejando a la masa. La masa en la cual nadie puede ya ser distinguido y la grúa agarra cada prenda al azar. Agarra a cada "personna" sin importar quién o qué es en verdad. No es que sea selectiva, sino que los hace porque es su deber. Su deber corresponde y forma parte del sistema. Como en el Holocausto; no importaba si era un grandioso pianista sino si formabas parte de la raza, la raza judía.
Somos parte de la raza humana y seguimos los caminos preestablecidos.
Esas prendas de ropa estaban ahí esperando a ser levantadas. Ese es su destino.
El sonido de los latidos del corazón era una manera obvia de representar a la gente. (El objetivo de Monumenta en realidad es hacer a un amplio público partícipe de la obra de fácil interpretación.)
El molesto sonido provocaba que el espectador quisiera abandonar el lugar cuanto antes. Dicho por el artista, uno se sentiría aliviado al salir del palais. Es el infierno, el sistema de la sociedad visto desde un punto muy pesimista. Nos muestra la realidad negativa de nuestro rol en el sistema. Es como si no fueramos libres en realidad, sino que seguimos las reglas y bases de la sociedad y su organización como la prendas de ropa organizadas en perfectos rectángulos.
The mountain in the middle of the Palais was a reflection of the mass. The mass in which nobody can be distinguished anymore and the crane takes each piece randomly. The crane takes each "personna" without caring who it is. Its not picky. It just makes it because its part of a system.
Like the Holocaust. It didn't matter whereas you were the greatest pianist, but that you were part of the race, the jewish race.
We are part of the human race and we follow the cliché paths.
Those single pieces of cloth were there waiting to be lifted. Thats their destiny.
Going back to the squares issue, the heartbeat sound was an obvious way to show us that he wanted to represent people. It made the spectator wanna leave as soon as possible the place. That was the purpose said by the artist; that you felt relieved once you were out. Its the hell, the societys system. Our sad destiny. The whole exhibition is pessimist. It shows us a negative reality of the role we play in the system. We are not free indeed, we follow the rules of the society and its organization like the pieces of cloth organized in perfect rectangles.
My interpretation applied to my case: In my job it doesn't depend on yourself, you wait for the others (the client) to make the decision. You wait to be grabbed by the crane, like the mountain of cloth. And there are so many other models but you just have to be at the right place, at the top of the mountain so that the crane catches you. So that "it" sees you there, "discover"?
