La Machine is a French

production company A production company, production house, production studio, or a production team is a studio that creates works in the fields of performing arts, new media art, film, television, radio, comics, interactive arts, video games, websites, music, and v ...

based in Nantes, France, which is famous for

La Princesse La Princesse is a 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Machine. The spider was showcased in Liverpool, England, as part of the 2008 European Capital of Culture celebrations, travelling ...

, a 50-foot mechanical spider constructed in Nantes, France.

Background

The group was formed by artists, designers,

fabricators Metal fabrication is the creation of metal structures by cutting, bending and assembling processes. It is a value-added process involving the creation of machines, parts, and structures from various raw materials. Typically, a fabrication sh ...

and

technicians A technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skill and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Specialisation The term technician covers many different speciali ...

in early 1990s and is currently led by François Delarozière, Artistic Director and creator of ''

''. It is known for its theatrical machines, permanent installations, and also its own theatrical productions.

Past productions

1999

Le Manège d'Andrea

Le Manège d'Andrea is an art carousel made of steel, wood, and copper. Instead of horses, the merry-go-round has non-traditional animals including a stag beetle, a blowfish, and a sea monster, as well as objects such as an ocean liner and a biplane.

2003

Symphonie Mécanique

A classical live performance in collaboration with industrial machines. Scores were composed by

Dominique Malan "Dominique" is a 1963 French language popular song, written and performed by the Belgian female singer Jeannine Deckers, better known as Sœur Sourire ("Sister Smile" in French) or The Singing Nun. The song is about Saint Dominic, a Spanish-bo ...

Le Grand Répertoire

Exhibition of machines created to be shown in public places. Has visited Nantes, Calais, Antwerp,

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

, and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

, as well as Paris in 2006, where it was seen by over 50,000 people.

2007

Les Machines de l'Île

Les Machines de l'Île or Machines of the Isle of Nantes is a gallery containing Le Grand Éléphant, as well as other creations by La Machine, which the public can visit. It is at the edge of the river

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

, in an old shipyard. Other productions are expected to appear there, with Le Carrousel du Monde Marins, a merry-go-round, opened to the public in 2012 but also La Galerie des Machines, a place where new productions are exposed to be tested by the audience.

2008

Le Manège Carré Sénart

Le Manège Carré Sénart is a square merry-go-round, which showed off insects and buffalo, and appeared just outside Paris. It is scheduled to visit

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

in late 2008, and St Petersburg in 2009.

La Princesse

A 60-foot mechanical spider named

was installed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

in early September 2008, as part of the city's European Capital of Culture 2008 celebrations. It was operated by 12 people controlling the 8 legs and other movements of the spider. It was toured around city landmarks such as St George's Hall and the Albert Dock, and was seen walking down streets and climbing onto the side of a derelict tower block at the end of each performance. The performance was seen by Liverpool residents and tourists estimated at estimated 150,000 over the weekend, despite the poor weather, and attracted worldwide media attention to the city. The show's £1.8 million price tag was criticised by some.

References

External links

La Machine's home page La Machine's webpage on the Liverpool eventLiverpool City of European Culture webpage on the eventMain BBC webpage (portal) about the eventBBC Liverpool 08 portal with many videos
{{DEFAULTSORT:Machine (production company), La Performance artist collectives Robotics companies Entertainment companies of France French artist groups and collectives Culture of Pays de la Loire Companies based in Pays de la Loire Nantes