Profound. That was my experience with the French visual artist Céleste Boursier-Mougenot‘s clinamen (V.10), a monumental installation of color, sound, and motion. Since last May, the work has drawn visitors to the rotunda at the Bourse de Commerce—Pinault Collection art space located in Paris’ 18th-century stock exchange.
Clinamen is a 60-foot-diameter, shallow pool containing 365 floating, white porcelain bowls of various sizes and shapes. This armada of vessels is in brilliant contrast with the pool’s blue liner, where they follow a hemispherical current created by a submerged jet of water. When the bowls gently collide, they produce a subtle bell sound, reminiscent of a wind chime. The unpredictability of the movement and the random choreography of contact between bowls of different dimensions create an echoing polyphonic experience under the massive skylit dome. The artist employed hydrophysics to ensure the optimum sonic effect by precisely controlling the water temperature to maximize the ring from each bowl.
A sand-colored wooden platform surrounds the entire eight-inch-deep pool, providing visitors a place to sit quietly and observe this hypnotic visual experience. The viewing platform nests inside a grey, concrete, drum-like structure designed by Japanese architect Tadao Ando as the central feature of the Bourse de Commerce’s 2021 renovation.
The word “clinamen” (klih-NAY-min) originates in ancient Greco-Roman philosophy. It describes the unpredictable swerve of atoms introduced as a concept by Lucretius to defend the atomistic doctrine of Epicurus. This swerving, according to Lucretius, provides the “free will which all living things throughout the world have.”
Céleste Boursier-Mougenot considers himself a musician as much as a visual artist, with a passion for creating sound from objects not designed to make music. He has exhibited nine other variations on clinamen at prestigious institutions and galleries around the world. However, clinamen (v.10) at The Bourse is his largest installation to date.
The “selfie-ready” work has been enormously popular with Parisians and tourists alike. So, before my trip, I purchased a timed ticket to guarantee my spot. Arriving on time, albeit slightly jet-lagged, I followed the queue of eager visitors into the rotunda. People ringed the pool, sitting Buddha-style, riveted by what was in front of them. I’d heard that meditation was a common practice among those who gathered in the space during the installation’s run.
I spent three hours studying Boursier-Mougenot’s installation from various angles and perspectives. Everything about clinamen invites close examination to fully appreciate its wonder. As an artist, I could not resist focusing on how it was made. I imagined the endless challenges that Boursier-Mougenot must have confronted. For example, how did the 60-foot diameter affect his approach compared to smaller installations? Why 365 vessels? How did the controlled current still allow for such a random circulation of bowls? Did the fact that the bowls were empty amplify the sound?
I noticed that the pool depth was ideal as it created both a cast shadow and illumination under each bowl, creating an illusion of floating above the water rather than sitting on its surface. I admired the artist’s deep attention to detail in the selection of bowls, which ranged in size from approximately 10 to 18 inches, varied in depth and thickness, and featured different profiles—some curved, others angled and perpendicular. Anticipating the collision of two or more bowls adds the creative tension of movement and sound that rewards the visitor once a bell sound occurs.
I exited through the gift shop to buy a catalog, in which I found this description of clinamen: “The Bourse de Commerce becomes a space where we can lose ourselves in listening and contemplation, in which each spectator is invited to explore his or her own relationship to time and sound. With this installation, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot initiates a subtle dialogue between material, architecture, and the human presence. He creates an environment in which art is both an individual and a collective experience.”
In all my visits to Paris over the years, this is the first time I’ve traveled there specifically to see a single work of art. It was well worth the trip, and I feel blessed to have stood in the presence of clinamen before it closed the following day.
Clinamen is a stunning example of a popular work of contemporary art whose imaginative concept and monumental execution are powerfully evocative for anyone willing to give it the attention it deserves.
Ken Carbone is an artist, designer, author and educator. From 1976 to 2020, he was the Principal Creative Director of the Carbone Smolan Agency.
All imagery provided by the author.
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