Resulting from ancient volcanism, Mont Gerbier de Jonc is a phonolithic juice. Discover the longest river in France through the indoor film (7h20) and outdoor illustrations. Work by Olivier Leroi as part of the Sharing of Waters.
Description
This film conveys the grandeur of the Loire and its majestic character. Filmed from a helicopter, it allows you to fly over the Loire in real time from its sources to the estuary, thus offering a poetic and sensitive approach to the river.
“The first time I saw the “Watershed” sign as a child, I thought it was a special place where the people of a village shared each side of the river! When I found out what it was about, I found it to be a very effective tool for understanding the country. Everything flows towards the sea.”
Olivier LEROI
The Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc site has been the subject of a complete redevelopment undertaken in recent years by the Department of Ardèche. It is in this context that a public commission for 1% artistic was launched and entrusted in 2009 to the artist Olivier Leroi.
“1 km” focuses on the Loire and its route. A conscious or unconscious echo of the artist to the river's three official sources, this work uses three different approaches and three different mediums. It can be discovered in several places on the site: outdoors (at the foot of Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc) and indoors (in the Site House).
Inside, a film made by the artist Olivier Leroi in collaboration with the filmmaker Gilles Coudert offers an immersive, poetic and sensitive approach to the longest river in France, as we have never seen it: shot from a helicopter, it allows you to fly over the Loire in real time from its sources to the estuary.
Outside, three enameled steel plaques are placed near the three official sources of the Loire. They thus signal their singularity and their geographical location. A fourth plaque is installed on the facade of the Site House and presents the map of the route of the Loire. These four plaques form a symbolic and quirky whole which instills both poetic and humorous clues about geography and local fauna.
Olivier Leroi also suggested to photographer Thibaut Cuisset (1958-2017) to produce a series of photographs taken every fifty kilometers along the river in order to convey the amplitude of the landscape from the sources to the estuary. Deposited at the Artothèque de l'Ardèche, they are regularly the subject of exhibitions in different places in the department.
Creation: 2009-2017.
This work was carried out as part of a public order from the Ardèche Departmental Council with the participation of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the State (FEDER).
Olivier Leroi
Olivier LeroiOlivier Leroi
Olivier Leroi has a unique background and perspective. Born in Sologne in 1962 and trained as a forester, he studied with Pontus Hulten at the Institute of Advanced Studies in Visual Arts. Enlightened by this new experience, he developed a work of drawing and sculpture whose common thread is the relationship with the environment. He readily draws inspiration in his work from the mysteries of the landscape and a refined perception of the territory, while handling humor with sensitivity.
Winner of the Altadis Prize in 2002, he has notably exhibited as part of La Force de l'art (Grand Palais, 2006), at the Parvis contemporary art center (Ibos, 2005) and at the Château d'Oiron (2004). He was also invited by the Fondation de France to create a “curious cabinet” in Branféré Park.
Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc
Mont Gerbier de JoncMont Gerbier-de-Jonc
Resulting from ancient volcanism (10 to 5 million years), Mont-Gerbier-de-Jonc is the archetype of the phonolitic juices of the Ardèche territory. Located on the watershed, at the base of its southern slope it hosts the sources of the Loire which flows into the Atlantic, while the water which escapes via its northern slope joins the Mediterranean. From the height of its 1551 m, the second most popular tourist site in Ardèche after the gorges of the same name, offers a magnificent view of the Alps, the Boutières, the Rhône valley and the Cévennes and is home to wildlife and an exceptionally rich flora.
Also to be discovered at the foot of Mont Gerbier-de-Jonc
les Mires de la Ferme de Flotte (the site is accessible on foot from the end of the Gerbier-de-Jonc car park: the signposted access path is located opposite the D116 towards Sainte Eulalie.
Allow 15 minutes of walking round trip. (see topoguide) & Two designer pieces of furniture by Eric Benqué: a platform installed behind the Maison de site face and a bench located near the real source of the Loire.
Opening
From 06/04 to 03/11/2024, every day.
Exceptional closures on 27/06 and 28/06.
Spring and autumn holidays: Wednesday to Sunday - 14 p.m. to 17:30 p.m.
We also offer:
What if the Loire, in addition to its path to the Atlantic, also flowed into the Mediterranean? This is G. Clément's hypothesis: Mont Gerbier de Jonc would function as a “water tower”. Work by Gilles Clément in the context of the Sharing of Waters.
Prices
| Free. |
Location