In 1999 I lived within the huge Nineteen Seventies residence advanced on the north facet of the Centre Pompidou generally known as the Quartier de l’Horloge. The bottom degree had a number of outlets and pedestrian passages connecting the Rue du Grenier St-Lazare, Rue St-Martin, Rue Beaubourg, and Rue Rambuteau. It wasn’t a very enticing place to hang around (as 70s structure in Paris hardly ever is), however its namesake mechanical clock (l’horloge) made it price a detour.
Le Défenseur du Temps, created in 1979 by the French artist Jacques Monestier, is greater than only a clock. It’s a dramatic automaton sculpture of a hollow-eyed brass soldier that involves life each hour from 9am 10pm to struggle towards time, represented by a rooster (symbolizing sky), a crab (symbolizing sea), and a dragon (symbolizing earth). Simply earlier than the hour, a soundtrack would come on, first with drumbeats to announce the time, then sound results of crashing waves and a windswept clifftop to accompany the clanking mechanical actions, harking back to an previous sci-fi movie. In between the hourly battles, the dragon’s stomach moved rhythmically out and in, his breath marking the passing of time (and, extra importantly, letting the clock labored).
Right here’s a video from when it was first put in (you’ll be able to see the road behind it nonetheless below development as the complete Beaubourg district — one of many final slums in Paris — was razed and rebuilt):
Sadly, though it was restored in 1995, resulting from a scarcity of funds to take care of the clock, it was shut off in 2003. These interested by bringing the clock again to life created a non-profit affiliation, Amis de Monestier, and lobbied the Metropolis of Paris to assist out, however the Mayor’s workplace would solely contribute 60% of the funding because it’s not a public construction, however privately owned by the affiliation that manages the Quartier de l’Horloge advanced (ASLQH). In 2014 the Amis of Monestier acquired a quote from the artist himself for the restoration for €154,000 (excluding tax) with upkeep prices of €1,500/month. Unable to lift the funds or discover a sponsor, they discovered an organization prepared to do the repairs and upkeep for a lower cost. However the artist rejected the concept of anybody touching his creation, and at last the non-profit gave up and shuttered its doorways in 2015, leaving Le Défenseur du Temps to proceed rotting.
I not dwell within the Quartier de l’Horloge, however I used to cease there with tour shoppers each time we had been close by to point out them the clock. Right here’s a photograph I took in 2015, the place you’ll be able to see it lined in chicken poop, a pigeon fortunately perched on the warrior’s head, and the signal beneath it promising that it could some day be restored:
In 2022 the Berlin-based French artist Cyprien Gaillard determined to deliver Le Défenseur du Temps again to life, and organized for Prêtre et Fils — grasp clockmakers since 1780 — to hold out the restoration (the unique artist Jacques Monestier is the technical advisor on the undertaking, maybe it’s as a result of he’s in his 80s now). It was paid for by the Fondation Galeries Lafayette, which owns the modern artwork house Anticipations Lafayette (9 rue du Plâtre, 4th), the place from October 2022 by January 8th 2023, the newly restored clock is on show as half of a bigger exhibition by Gaillard known as Humpty/Dumpty.
For this exposition, you’ll be able to see Le Défenseur du Temps battling each quarter-hour (so…much less of a wait time), with a number of little actions in between, and two completely different soundtracks to accompany the animation. The Lafayette Anticipations exhibition house, opened in 2018 in a multi-level loft house between the Centre Pompidou and BHV, offers a pleasant setting to look at the automaton from beneath, at eye degree, or from above, relying on which ground you’re on. You’ll be able to learn a Wallpaper* interview with Gaillard concerning the present: Cyprien Gaillard on chaos, reorder and excavating a Paris in flux
There are indicators all through the exhibit in each English and French, and some benches to take a seat on whilst you watch for the “present”. Entry is free (mediated excursions can be found in French), and there’s a good café and a small e book/present store. Open each day besides Tuesday, 11am-7pm (till 9pm on Thursday). Closing at 5pm on December thirty first, and open exceptionally on January 1st.
I visited the exhibit with poet and writer Lisa Pasold (pictured beneath in pink), who recorded a podcast episode about Le Défenseur du Temps for her Inconceivable Walks collection, pay attention right here.
In case you have missed the exhibit, you’ll have the ability to discover Le Défenseur du Temps again in his unique residence within the Quartier de l’Horloge (8 rue Bernard de Clairvaux, 3rd) from March 2023.
