Being Here 1998

Fondation DANAE, Jarnac, France
Natural and artificial light, text excerpts from L’oeil et l’esprit by Merleau-Ponty
Walking about the central staircase and the four landings

Located in the main staircase of the Fondation DANAE in Jarnac, France, the installation Being Here sets the stage for the spectator to interact with the light and the three-dimensional space and, at the same time, proposes a journey up the stairs. Through this action, the spectator goes from the present moment to a cosmic event yet to occur; through his passage and his ascension, he moves from a pure event to the action taking place, that of ascending and of being, in time and in space, at that actual moment.

The spectator’s presence and passage activate the space and complete the work. Strolling through the architectural space, he crosses light beams that cause his own silhouette to appear on the walls, in the mirrors as well as on various architectural elements of the main staircase. At that moment the spectator becomes conscious of his actual presence in space.

The interaction of artificial and of natural light reveals the space and the architecture. While the artificial light connects the spectator to an urban context, natural light, that of the sun, connects him to the earth and to the cosmos.

Being Here raises a question about our own presence in a three-dimensional space and consequently the presence of the other. This art work in situ proposes an active participation on the part of the spectator, a participation that engages him/her and that questions the place he/she occupies on earth.