The Passing of Time


Just saw that this installation by Angie Hiesl went up for the QUARTIER GÉNÉRAL DU FESTIVAL TRANSAMÉRIQUES. SO lovely. I must go see this.

Old Masters
Twenty feet above the sidewalk, white chairs are attached to the walls of buildings in the Latin Quarter, with ten senior citizens sitting on them. One is knitting, another folds laundry and a third is eating. All of them appear to be floating above everyday concerns, their strange position adding an enchanting note to the cityscape. Old age becomes urban poetry, insisting that we stop and take a look.

Affixed to the façades of buildings on St. Denis Street, they are an evocative display of passing time, blurring distinctions so that life becomes art. Some might walk by without noticing them, but others will raise their heads and stop to gaze at this surprising image of mature angels adding a touch of grace to the urban space.

An undisciplined and interdisciplinary German artist who specializes in site-specific interventions, Angie Hiesl concocted this “human exhibit” so that we might view elderly people as works of art. After winning over audiences in Europe and South America, her group will make its North American début with this beautifully disconcerting performance installation.

Jodi SharpComment