My intention was, in fact, to look back at some of the specifics of the recently concluded Olympic Games (officially, in French: The 2024 Summer Olympics, the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad of the modern era - or in English: Paris 2024 Summer Olympics Games of the XXXIII Olympiad - with a note that the brand is titled briefly: "Paris 2024") - with a special emphasis on the so-called spatial aspect (whatever that means) - until the moment when the focus of my interests definitely shifted towards the opening ceremony (officially: La cérémonie d'ouverture des Jeux Olympiques de Paris 2024 - or: The opening ceremony of the 2024 Summer Olympics) - that is, to the man who stood behind that ceremony.
So, the day is gloomy (in all possible and impossible shades of Parisien Bleu)... In the background, in the third plan, on the left, we have the facade of the Cathedral of Our Lady (Notre-Dame) and the Double Bridge (Pont au Double) which is barely looms in the distance - in the background is the Small Bridge (Petit Pont) - while in the foreground is the undulating Seine - which is sailed by none other than li Tom Joly (Thomas Jolly), artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024 - and in a sleigh (be careful: in a sleigh - not on a sleigh) - that is, in the inner tire of a truck - in the pose of a thinker - to which he contributes dark blue skater (Maison Margiela) - while he is accompanied by three snow-white swans (on the left) and one (on the right) that is not so snowy - and all this under the arch of a bridge that does not exist - or, more precisely, not it exists in that place - and the Seine, speaking of that, doesn't look like that in that place either - so take the "wavy" thing with a grain of salt...
He signs the photo Ani Libovic (Annie Leibovitz - realization Pay Ortega - Max Ortega), and appeared in the magazine Vogue (Vogue) - probably in all editions, including the French - at the end of the happy month of May of the current year - with the text that is in Vogue USA - Summer 2024 - entitled "A Wattery Stage" (Vodena stage) and which he signs Gabi Wood (Gabie Wood) - with a note that the text is titled differently in other editions of Vogue (to avoid confusion).
Why is Ani Libovic's photo so interesting? - because it very explicitly portrays the position of the editorial office of Vogue about the - at that time upcoming - OI opening ceremony - and also if we know that behind every text published in Vogue (and all other magazines that aspire to a global audience) there is comprehensive research, i.e. material which would be sufficient for an entire (thicker) book, as well as the vast experience of the author of the text, and that the text itself rests on the views that represent the finest distillate of information that was the result of the research process - then it is quite certain that Vog two months ago at the opening of the OI (bravely) stood behind Žolij - but the so-called unreserved support - which means that the whole thing was very controversial from the start - and it was not advisable to predict the outcome - that is, the reaction of the global audience - so a certain distance was simply necessary.
With a warm recommendation to look for that photo - which I did not attach because it would be the so-called copyright infringement - which could lead to certain (unwanted) consequences - I would like to focus on a few details related to Mr. Žoli and some of the features of his approach to designing the grandiose opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
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"Jolie has a permanent aura (enduring air)", writes Gabi Vud, "a miracle of a child: he is expressive, agile, restlessly imaginative. From early childhood, he was a walking advertisement for the catchphrase 'think big' (or 'thinking big' - op.a.). While growing up in a small village in the north of France, he staged imaginary plays in which he played Cleopatra (Jolie declares himself to be a member of the LGBT cast) and imaginary operas, directing dance numbers with Verdi's the opera "The Power/Force of Fate" (Giuseppe Verdi, The force of Destiny). As an actor, he said of himself that he was liquid - that he possessed the qualities of a liquid. He cried and sniffled, he sweated, he expelled his emotions through his pores - but the most significant of all the things he did as he knew and knew how, the very imaginative ways in which he brought people together and united are considered the most significant".
When it comes to the design and organization of the opening and closing ceremonies of the OI and Paralympic Games - Joly from the very beginning held Senekine (Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger - Roman philosopher) phrases: we do not hesitate because the circumstances are unfavorable, the circumstances are unfavorable precisely because we hesitate - and that is why his approach, from the very beginning - since September 2022, when the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, which he heads Toni Estonge (Tony Estanguet), decided to appoint Joli - French actor, stage director (stage director), and one of the founders and artistic director of the theater company "La Piccola Familia" - for the artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies of this year's OI and Paralympic Games - exuded a very complex and very specific ambition, which rested on the general visions of the Organizing Committee - regardless of the fact that the decision on the selection of the artistic director was evaluated by the public as very bold.
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"France is a story that we are constantly constructing, deconstructing and reconstructing," says Joly (Tom Nouvian, "How Olympics opening ceremony artistic director Thomas Jolly is capturing the essence of France", The Seattle Times, July 20, 2024). "That story is alive, it remains alive" - and precisely this dynamism, Joli assures us, is the fuel for the protests and strikes that are typical for France - and which are a manifestation of the constant questioning of the identity of France and all the values, respectively, that are linked to France .
"The most amazing fact," said Joly after the opening of the OI (olympics.com), "is that everyone in France, as well as in the rest of the world, has an idea of what France is and what exactly is being done there - and I just wanted play with those performances, that's where I wanted to start - breaking down clichés, because clichés go hand in hand with other things - and above all, I wanted to include everyone and everything in the ceremony. We all have to celebrate that diversity" - which earned him an edge over other contenders for the position of artistic director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the OI and Paralympic Games.
Bonus video:
