La Machine is a French

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

based in

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, France, which is famous for La Princesse, a 50-foot mechanical spider constructed in

, France.

Background

The group was formed by artists, designers, fabricators 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 special ...

in early 1990s and is currently led by François Delarozière,

Artistic Director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

and creator of '' La Princesse''. 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 ''Le Manège d'Andrea'' (Andrea's Merry-go-round) is a carousel that was built by ''La Machine (production company), La Machine'' in Toulouse, France, in 1999 under the artistic and technical direction of François Delarozière. The ride was made ...

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.

Le Grand Répertoire

Exhibition of machines created to be shown in public places. Has visited

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, Antwerp,

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

, 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 The Machines of the Isle of Nantes () is an artistic, touristic and cultural project based in Nantes, France. The project is based in the old covered buildings of the former shipyards in Nantes that were at one time used for ship construction (''l ...

, as well as other creations by La Machine, which the public can visit. It is at the edge of the river

Loire The Loire ( , , ; ; ; ; ) 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. It rises in the so ...

, in an old

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

. 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 A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, which showed off insects and buffalo, and appeared just outside Paris. It is scheduled to visit

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

in late 2008, and

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

in 2009.

La Princesse

A 60-foot mechanical spider named La Princesse was installed in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

in early September 2008, as part of the city's

European Capital of Culture A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can ...

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 event
*
Main 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