Le mur des je t'aime
Coordinates: 48 ° 53 ′ 5.5 ″ N , 2 ° 20 ′ 18.9 ″ E
Le mur des je t'aime (German: The "I-love-you" wall) is an artistically designed wall on Montmartre in the French capital Paris . The work of art is dedicated to love : The lettering “I love you” can be found here in over 300 variants and 250 languages around the world. Since its establishment in 2000, Le mur des je t'aime has become a much-visited tourist attraction.
history
The Parisian singer Frédéric Baron , a fan of Phileas Fogg , originally had the idea of depicting a trip around the world based on Jules Verne's trip around the earth in 80 days with 80 different versions of the sentence “I love you”. From 1992 he himself collected many examples on the streets and squares of Paris. His brother, who traveled a lot as a sailor, brought him new variants from distant countries from his travels. Baron also asked foreign neighbors, friends and acquaintances for help and also turned to the diplomatic missions abroad in order to obtain further versions of the sentence. Over the years, a collection of declarations of love was created in a wide variety of languages, dialects and scripts, comprising three folders with a thousand different scripts.
Frédéric Baron commissioned the calligrapher Claire Kito to artistically edit the collected lettering and to arrange them. During their collaboration, the idea arose to realize the project, unlike originally planned, not on paper, but on a wall. Daniel Boulogne , an artist who specializes in painting walls, was also enthusiastic about the project and was involved in its realization.
description
The work of art was created in 2000 on the eastern facade of an older residential building in Montmartre. A total of 612 rectangular, dark blue enameled plates were arranged in eighteen horizontal rows one above the other. With their exact A4 format , the plates are supposed to be reminiscent of the sheets of paper on which Frédéric Baron originally collected the sentences. The "I-love-you" wall covers an area of forty square meters; it is four meters high and ten meters wide.
On the blue background there are 311 bright white lettering with the declaration of love “I love you” in 250 languages, dialects and different scripts. In the top row there is still space for further lettering. Between the declarations of love written in white, irregularly interspersed bright red spots of color are supposed to represent pieces of broken hearts, a symbol for the fragmented humanity that is to be reunited through the power of love. The names of the three artists can be found in the lower right corner of the wall and the names of two sponsors in the lower left corner.
Le mur des je t'aime is framed by a small urban green area with ornamental shrubs and some shade-giving deciduous trees. Immediately in front of the work of art there is a small paved open area with a few benches.
reception
After its completion, the work of art quickly developed into an attraction for Paris visitors from all over the world. Wedding couples and freshly in love, but also individuals and travel groups stand or sit in front of the wall and look for a declaration of love in their own language, in order to be photographed in front of the work of art - as close as possible in front of "their" lettering - or with the help of a selfie stick do it yourself. A tour of the “I-love-you” wall has become an integral part of organized city tours; it is listed as a sight on city maps and in printed travel guides. There is also a large selection of merchandising products such as posters, postcards, exercise books, pens, mirrors and individual photo montages available.
The press, radio and television reported worldwide about the new tourist attraction in Paris.
Location
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Le mur des je t'aime is located at Square Jean Rictus, Place des Abbesses, about 100 meters north of Abbesses metro station in the 18th arrondissement of Montmartre. It can be easily reached with the Métrolinie 12 and is freely accessible.
Web links
- Le mur des je t'aime Official website (French)
- Le mur des je t'aime on YouTube
- Audio samples of the sentence “I love you” in other languages
- List of rare languages that are represented on the wall
Individual evidence
- ↑ Le mur des je t'aime , Paris with a difference, August 13, 2014, parismalanders.com, accessed February 12, 2017.
- ↑ Presentation of the artists , website Le mur des je t'aime , lesjetaime.com, accessed on February 12, 2017. (English)
- ↑ Le mur des je t'aime , Paris Tourist Office, parisinfo.com, accessed February 12, 2017.
- ↑ Note: As of 2016
- ↑ Press review , Le mur des je t'aime website , lesjetaime.com, accessed on February 12, 2017. (English)