Tuesday, 22 July 2008

Look at me, me, me!

Walking through the streets of Avignon in July is such an amazing experience: posters, posters, posters everywhere. On every wall and every lamp post, tied to every waterspout, fence, railing or window bar... Over a thousand shows and plays are on during the Festival so competition is fierce! Although this wild posting can be perceived as visual pollution, it is part and parcel of the incredible spirit of creativity that takes over the city for a month.

Des affiches, des affiches, des affiches partout. Marcher dans les rues d'Avignon en juillet, c'est une aventure visuelle ! Des affiches sur tous les murs, tous les réverbères, tous les poteaux de signalisation (bien que ce soit interdit !), toutes les gouttières, toutes les grilles, les barreaux de fenêtres, les rembardes, les clôtures... On peut percevoir ce formidable déferlement d'affiches comme un assaut de pollution visuelle, mais il fait partie intégrante de l'incroyable esprit de créativité qui envahit la ville pendant un mois.

19 comments:

Nathalie H.D. said...

Don't be fooled by the apparent quietness of the last photo. Crowds are also part and parcel of the festival and I had to wait quite a while for a gap in pedestrian traffic before I could shoot this one!

Ne vous fiez pas au calme apparent de la dernière photo. La foule aussi fait partie intégrante du Festival et j'ai dû attendre un bon moment avant de trouver un 'trou' dans le trafic piéton pour prendre ma photo des affiches !

Olivier said...

cela en fait de l'affichage sauvage, peut être que trop c'est trop, comment repérer un spectacle qui t'intéresse la dedans, mais bon cela donne des couleurs aux murs ;o)

Anonymous said...

Interesting set of photos. In which the posted posters are there to attract attention. I don't see anybody stopping and looking at any of them. I wonder if the people who post the posters realize that nobody is looking at them?

Janet said...

Looks like a lot of graphic artists had plenty of work to do!

Nathalie H.D. said...

Abraham, no-one stops to look at street ads either, yet they are deemed efficient enough or they would no longer be around. You take in more than you think by just walking past an ad several times a day.

Sally said...

What a visual cornupcopia! I think my brain would hurt!

Kate said...

I like the whole scene. Of course, it's sensory overload, but it's fun to see. Good post, Natalie!

Bill said...

Ticket prices for shows in the US can be rather high, and that is a deterrent. With so may shows going at once, do you find them less inexpensive that they would normally be?

Virginia said...

Where are the performances held? Do you have that many venues? We are a curious bunch today , aren't we? Nathalie has piqued our interest a great deal with her interesting photos. It seems a pity to clutter up your lovely village like this but since it's only for a month, I guess it is rather fun.

Anonymous said...

De mon coté, je suis toute étonnée par le peu d'affichage cette année, peut être est dû au vent et à la pluie et au peu d'ardeur qu'on eu les comédiens pour réafficher, ou peut être que le nombre trop important de pièces a fait que les acteurs ont préféré la distribution de tracts, je ne sais...
J'ai beau cherché, je ne trouve pas l'affiche de la confidence des oisaux, moment de pur bonheur ce matin... Merci pour cela.

Marie-Noyale said...

Si Avignon proposait quelques emplois de "Guardes Champêtres" pendant le mois de Juillet..
Ils pourraient declamer avec leur tambour les differents spectacles et on ferait une jolie economie de papiers et un joli sourire aux forets!!!
Cela eviterait egalement le nettoyage des murs au mois d'aout!!!

Pat said...

I remember learning in a psychology course once that a study was done to see how many times people blinked in a given time frame. The assumption was that when affronted with a mass of "stuff" e.g. posters, one would blink more often. However, people in grocery stores faced with myriads of labels, magazines, etc. hardly blinked at all.

They just sort of glazed over! Same thing happens here?

Jill said...

Very interesting. Certainly a lot vying for attention. July sounds like a great time to visit Avignon.

Maxime said...

Des murs d'images : c'est comme si Christo avait tenté d'emballer la ville avec des confettis !

Jane Hards Photography said...

Visual pollution! What a wonderful expression. I must admit it's the only kind of pollution I would encourage. I adore sifting through the notice boards to see all the wonders of the summer months.

ichandrae said...

Bonjour Nathalie.
Photo excellente.
C'est l'art qui domine la rue et ca c'est bien.

ichandrae said...

Et c'est tellement beau les photos du mariage dans le side bar.

Bonne idée!

MmeBenaut said...

Wow, that is spectacular. Do all the crowds leave at the end of July - will it be quieter in September?

Web-OJ said...

Love these street pics.

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