The countdown to 2021 will be done with hope, if not smoothly, from island London, thanks to two supersonic artists whose performances will be projected on the big screen in the heart of London, to the whole world.
Thanks to the digital art platform Circa, Patti Smith will perform at midnight UK time from the giant and legendary screens of Picadilly Circus.
At 73 years old, the American legend considered to be the “godmother of the punk movement” is thus returning to musical roots by delivering his message between poetry and rock from the city that saw the birth of the punk phenomenon in 1977. A clear and clear way to recall the vital importance of culture.
To read also: Patti Smith: "To be free, that requires a lot of effort"
Eternal rocker in boots and black men's jacket, Patti Smith has kept this aura that combines the strange and simplicity, fame and incognito.
In June 2018, she inaugurated with her presence, both delicate and violent, the new Institut Giacometti (in Paris 14th arrondissement) by singing a cappella in front of the magnificent plasters of the six
Women of Venice
presented by Alberto Giacometti at the 28th Venice Biennale in 1956. An angel of music passed, gray hair of an old Indian and pale face, with under his arm the writings of Jean Genet, with the pages torn and annotated, and his own poems scribbled like a shopping list.
Patti Smith, an emotion that seems to spring from a deep and universal world.
© CIRCA, Copyrght THE ARTIST
A sort of antidote to pessimism and gloom, an astounding source of strength and vitality, Patti Smith has become over the years more than an artist, a symbol (she was made Commander of Arts and Letters in 2005).
It is as a writer and a wise man that she presents herself on her Instagram account (840,000 subscribers) where she disseminates, day after day, thoughts and manifestos.
Resilience, love of literature, memories of travels and loved ones, with it the twentieth century passes by and still retains a certain hold.
Ten minutes of Patti Smith's performance to end 2020 and its woes,
"a gift to London, the city
(that she)
loves"
and which will be broadcast for free via Circa on YouTube on Thursday, January 31 at 11:45 p.m. GMT ( France is one hour ahead, so it will be for us at 12:45 am Friday morning January 1st).
This event is reminiscent of the cultural program set up in complete complicity with artists from the British scene by Ruth Mackenzie, then director of the London 2012 Festival, for the London Olympics in 2012.
Before the great rock star, it will be the German artist Anne Imhof, Golden Lion for the best pavilion at the Venice Biennale 2017, who will screen her unprecedented commission,
ONE.
This new work was produced by this powerful temperament, already decked out with awards and recognition, at the Tate Modern, during his exhibition and performance at the Tate Modern in 2019 (ten minutes).
Those who were overwhelmed by his ghostly and dark installation in the German pavilion at the Giardini, in 2017, will not miss this meeting of total art.
It may not be harmless.
Anne Imhof, legend of German contemporary art, is also announced at the Palais de Tokyo, in Paris, in April.
© Photo Nadine Fraczkowski
“It is an honor to unveil my piece
One
on the iconic screens of Picadilly Circus to arrive until midnight and New Years, as part of
'the c.20:20 project'
.
Taking charge of the largest European advertising space and creating a portal for hope in these last moments of 2020 is an opportunity that brings humility.
Peace, freedom and respect for all in 2021! ”
, said Anne Imhof, 42, soberly, that Parisians will discover - if all goes well - from mid-April to July, at the Palais de Tokyo.
While waiting for midnight, while the countdown to 2021 will be displayed, Picadilly Circus will be swept by the gleams of a setting sun.
The image of the artist and painter Eliza Douglas whipping the waves alone on the beaches of Normandy is thought of as the epilogue of a year dominated by the pandemic and which ends with the in extremis and sometimes incomprehensible agreement of the Brexit (where has the City gone?).
Created by artist Josef O'Connor, the Circa platform had already invited Chinese artist Ai Weiwei in October 2020 to invest these giant screens with his films and photos. Building on this success, she invited Patti Smith to digitally occupy the premises in January with a series of new pieces. From 1 January, the public in London will be able to find it every evening at 20:21 GMT (then YouTube). To support the cost of the operation, which will run from 11:30 p.m. to 12:10 a.m. GMT, Patti Smith has created four limited series of posters to be purchased online between January 1 and 31 (£ 100 each, www.circa. art / circaeconomy).
