The L’Atelier des Lumières is always on my list of things to do in Paris.   I always recommend it to friends visiting the City of Light. 

Why?  It’s interesting.  Stimulating.  Huge scale. Mesmerizing.  A wonderful break from all the traditional art museum experiences.  

I always wonder:  Could this be the future of art? 

It certainly is an opportunity to see art in a new way.  Technology and Art combining to create opportunities for unleashing artistic expression.

The  digital art museum located in an old foundry in the 11th Arrondissement not far from the Père Lachaise Cemetery (a must visit sometime) and walking distance to the Marais, a part of the city I’ve alway loved. 

L’Atelier des Lumières  opened in 2018. Currently it features the artist Marc Chagall who lived from 1887 to 1985.  According to an internet source, he was a pioneer in the early 20th century art world. Chagall’s style of painting combines  elements of Cubism, Surrealism, Expressionism, Fauvism, and Symbolism.

 We also saw a feature on Paul Klee.   This was our third visit to L’Atelier des Lumières. 

So why is it so different from traditional art museums,  many that are increasingly corporate focused, that some say are boring. Some modern museums seem to value the architecture more than the art inside.  Some commentators say digital art museums bring art to people who might not go to traditional museums.  

The art is projected all around the space, on the floor, walls, ceiling and on people. It’s everywhere, constantly moving and disappearing and reappearing to carefully choreographed music. 

It is very intense.  

Images flash around the room.  Here are some images from the end of the space where we parked ourselves on a balcony and I tried to capture some of what we saw.  I hope it gives a bit of an overview. 

The other end of the space offered photo opportunities as well.  Constantly changing art surrounds us.  Images appear and dissolve. Actually every spot in the L’Atelier des Lumières offers different views.  I found my head swiveling around to try to capture it all. 

Sometimes we saw details and other times big chunks of colors in a constantly changing panorama.  

I loved trying to capture people as they enjoyed the experience. I wonder if they knew that the boundaries between them and the art were blurred. 

Of course, other visitors took photos as well. 

We also really enjoyed seeing images of Chagall’s ceiling at the Palais Garnier opera house which was installed in 1964.   I understand this was quite controversial in the time. 

I recently published a blog post about the Opera House because we had enjoyed a lovely ballet performance there.  Here are two photos of the ceiling at the historic building that appear on that blog. 

It was quite the experience to see the ceiling interpreted digitally and splashed on the walls.    Futuristic? 

If you are going to Paris be sure to grab a ticket. You can get them at the door but best to get a timed ticket.  I’d suggest first thing in the morning before it gets really crowded. 

I have done other blog posts about digital art experiences. 

Here are the links if you’d like to explore more. 

1. Paris l’Atelier des Lumières.

2.  Step inside a Frida Kahlo Painting 

3.   teamLab: Bordlerless in Tokyo 

4.  Palais Garnier blog post

And If you have Netflix,  check out episode five of Emily in Paris.  She visits the L’Atelier des Lumières.   It’s a fun way to get the idea of the place but be forewarned:  it isn’t  as fast moving or as crowded as my experience.