La Nuit Blanche

Once a year in Paris there is a dawn 'til dusk festival called "La Nuit Blanche," which literally translates to "the white night" but also means "all-nighter."  La Nuit Blanche is a funky, odd, interesting art free-for-all scattered throughout Paris.  J'ai adoré.

Whatever this was looked like a bicycle people-power ship that was made to fly through the clouds.

There was a large cubic explosion of scaffolding onto which moving geometric patterns were projected.  It was the inverse image of a bridge - more of an arc than a tunnel.  Buzzing techno music played that made it feel like you were underwater as you walked through.

Notre Dame's windows were lit from behind so it looked like a jewelry box from the outside.  The inside was simpler, but almost heartbreakingly beautiful.  Hundreds of candles illumuniated the hallways, but the only light in the center of the church was that thrown off by the lights against the windows.  The white lights made it look like there was fog floating around the ceiling.  Slowly tinkling piano music and birdsong played loud enough to fill up my whole heart.  It felt like dawn in ruins.  It made me want to cry.

Hotel de Ville wore a light design bearing the message "Love Differences" in more languages than I could read.

Hotel de Ville or City Hall

!حب اليختلافات

In one video, the artist, a very tattooed, pierced middle aged man played every part (always dressed in drag) as he recreated pivotal scenes from cult classics with the original voice track.

A dinosaur and mammoth were taken from a closing amusement park.

If you look closely, there's me making a dinosaur face.

Spectatrice extraordinaire,

Maria