The Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge in Paris, France. For a season, the cobblestone icon has been transformed. Take a step from the bright riverfront into a dark passage with pillars and fissures that look like limestone. Sniff the air. It smells of soil after rain, damp stone, and cellar walls. Listen closely. There are low rumbles, echoes, and pulses. Yet the space is made largely of fabric and air. \u00a0<\/p>\n
A French street artist known as JR created La Caverne du Pont Neuf. The artificial cavern opened June 15. Visitors can enter for free any time day or night through June 28. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Pont Neuf means \u201cNew Bridge,\u201d but it was completed in 1607. People tend to pass over the bridge without much thought. JR\u2019s installation asks folks to experience the familiar crossing through their eyes, noses, ears, and feet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The printed fabric is made to resemble Lutetian limestone, which is quarried from underground basins in Paris. The city\u2019s Pont Neuf, Notre Dame, and Louvre museum were all constructed from this stone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Olfactory expert Sarah Bouasse created two shifting scents. She drew on geosmin and isoborneol. Those compounds are associated with the aroma released when rain strikes dry ground.<\/p>\n
The smells change along the crossing. The first whiff is of wet soil and mineral dampness. Then guests encounter something warmer, smokier, and faintly animal.<\/p>\n
Thomas Bangalter, who used to be in an electronic music duo, made the sound effects.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUsually, I cross here without looking up once,\u201d says Michel Dupr\u00e9, a 67-year-old retiree. He blinks as he emerges into daylight. \u201cToday, I felt the stones under my feet. And smelled them too. It makes you walk like a child again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Visitors raise their phones to activate an augmented-reality experience developed with a tech company. Digital bats trail light through the cave. Passing bodies leave ghostly traces. A dancer materializes.<\/p>\n
From suppliers to workers to engineers, it took 800 people to \u201ccontribute to the artwork\u2019s success,\u201d according to JR\u2019s website. La Caverne du Pont Neuf\u00a0measures 393 feet long and almost 66 feet wide. The highest points of the structure range from 39 to 59 feet. The peak is roughly the height of a six-story building.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The installation pays tribute to\u00a0artists Christo\u00a0and Jeanne-Claude. They wrapped the Pont Neuf in golden fabric in 1985. The event drew an estimated three million visitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Their work covered the bridge in light. JR sends visitors into darkness.<\/p>\n
JR also considered Plato\u2019s allegory of the cave when he constructed the project. The ancient Greek philosopher described chained prisoners in a cave who mistake shadows for reality. They move from ignorance to knowledge when they escape into sunlight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The artist\u2019s website says he seeks to accompany a movement that invites citizens \u201cto abandon blindness and isolation.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou enter into the darkness,\u201d he says, \u201cand emerge into the light on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n
I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. \u2014 John 12:46<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Pont Neuf is the oldest bridge in Paris, France. For a season, the cobblestone icon has been…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38360,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[26669,26666,26661,647,26664,5,26665,26663,26668,26662,26667,26660],"class_list":["post-38359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-france","tag-best-magazines-for-tweens","tag-christian-families","tag-christian-family-resources","tag-current-events","tag-curriculum-supplement","tag-france","tag-kids-magazine-subscriptions","tag-kids-magazines","tag-magazines-for-6-year-olds","tag-magazines-for-kids","tag-magazines-for-preschoolers","tag-news-for-christians"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38359","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38359"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38359\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38360"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38359"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38359"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38359"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}