Sep 17th, 2016, 05:46 PM

'Grand Orchestre des Animaux' is a Trippy, Emotional Exhibition

By Samantha Stiteler
Image credit: Fondation Cartier
Fondation Cartier takes you on an auditory journey through jungle, deep sea and rural landscapes.

I spent my Saturday morning listening to the moans of humpback whales and growls of jaguars. The Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain is hosting an exhibit until 7 January titled Le Grand Orchestre des Animaux, a visual and aural experience in which you can sit in a dark room full of elderly Parisians, kids, their parents, and stacks of pillows and chairs, and listen to the recordings of animals from all over the globe. Bernie Krause, an American who specializes in bioacoustics (the recording of animals), spent years traveling and discovering these sounds. The compilation of roughly 7 different environments can be heard on a loop, as we are asked to experience "the art of listening with all of our being."


Image credit: Samantha Stiteler

I walked into the museum not knowing what to expect. The entrance floor was unimpressive; to my left, a large-scale, almost caveman wall-style painting. To my right, an exhibit focused on birds. And directly in front of me, there was a dark stairway. I descended, and found myself in a hallway in which the walls were decorated by diagrams and pictures depicting the extinction of animals and habitat loss. I wandered towards one of the diagrams, which showed outlines of animals who, like me, called the west coast their home. I noticed the outline of a coyote, and to my surprise, my eyes instantly filled with tears. It seemed to remind me of a time I stumbled upon a coyote in the hills above the San Francisco Bay. After this bizarre, emotional revelation, I had a newfound appreciation for what I had initially seen as a kids museum. I then entered the dark room, and settled down on one of the cubic chairs to just listen. The walls were full of projections that mirrored the sounds that we were hearing, and their accompanying hertz levels. I was taken to far away coral reefs, the exotic Amazon rainforest, and a distant meadow.


Image Credit: Samantha Stiteler

The experience was bizarre, and I at times felt as if I had been drugged at the front door of the museum. My head was filled with noise, but it was beautiful and heart wrenching and raw, and somehow, balanced and coordinated in its madness. Living in a city, it is challenging for me to be separated from the natural world. But, for just half an hour, I had the opportunity to look at brilliant pictures of deep-sea plankton, listen to Californian gulls, and be immersed in a number of environments that are worlds away. I was forced to just listen, and exist in the earthly clamor that surrounded me: a skill we all need to improve upon. 

Le Grand Orchestre des Animaux is 7 euros for students as long as you bring your AUP student identification card. It is open everyday, except for Mondays, from 11h-20h, and unitl 22h on Tuesdays. It is located at the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain, at 261 Boulevard Raspail in the 14th arrondisement. Here is more information regarding the exhibit.