The Night Owl Kiosk
Night Owl Kiosk, Place Colette, Paris
While in Paris, we were delighted to bump into an old acquaintance, Jean-Paul Othoniel. Well, not literally, although we did meet him in the Church of Our Lady of Bout-des-Ponts, Amboise when his installation Tour d’Or Blanc was inaugurated on 16 October 2021.
Strolling around the Palais Royal area, we stumbled upon his installation Night Owl Kiosk in Place Colette (1st arr) commissioned to commemorate a hundred years of the Metro. Strangers to the City, looking for the Metro, miss it because the artist redesigned the entrance. His installation is the entrance.
Staying true to his passion for bright colours, Othoniel’s blown glass cupolas have ribs strung with necklaces of red, amber, yellow, crystal, blue and purple glass balls. Eight hundred of them. From a distance it looks like one of France’s famous carousels.
The sides are a mesh of hammered metal rings inlaid with coloured cabochons. One side has a pretty little bench.
The classic – dare we say bourgeois - nineteenth century rue de Rivoli is not far away. In sentiment – dare we say kitsch - Night Owl Kiosk is a million moons away (it’s first name was Sassy).
Sentier Metro Entrance, Line 3 Paris
In 1900 Hector Guimard designed Art Nouveau entrances to the Metro. The general public didn’t like them. Sadly, many have been demolished. Palais Royal/Musée du Louvre is one of the eight original stations on the M1 line. It has five entrances. Four are Art Nouveau.
That at Place Colette was replaced with the Night Owl Kiosk. It too has split opinion amongst art critics and the general public.
Tour d’Or Blanc, Amboise
Post by Pamela, Photography by Mark.
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