La Chapelle du Souvenir
John M Armleder
Mediator - Mari Linnman (3CA)
Supporters - Fondation de France, Mairie de Paris, Association du Souvenir de la Charcuterie Française
Église Saint-Eustache 1, rue Montmartre 75001 Paris, 2000
Inaugurated in 2000, John Armleder’s piece of work consists of different detachable elements that respect the principles of the historical buildings. Two paintings called “Pour Paintings”, have been made in the church and settled beneath two other paintings of Théodore Pils. A glass table, put beneath the main stained glass, bears a glass pole. On the wood floor, a line of polish nails in brass extends the ambulatory, following the squaring of the marble slabs. A blue video projection surmounts the table.
The artwork engages a dialogue with pre-established forms through a particular set of colors and lights. In one full day, the natural light filtered by the colors of the stained glass moves and is reflected in different parts of the chapel.
During the Charcutier’s annual mass, the names of the pork butchers who died during the year are inscribed on a paper and put into the glass pole. Sharing the ceremony, the piece of art achieves its symbolic dimension, by keeping and rendering visible the memory of the corporation. As years go by, papers are accumulated into the pole and testify to an opening work of art, in constant evolution.