Making Space for a Creative Economy the Work of La Machine David Calder

Making Space for a Creative Economy The Work of La Machine David Calder

3 July 1987. Ten thousand spectators looked on as the Bougainville, the last ship to be built in Nantes, slipped from the Dubigeon shipyard into the Loire.1 The crowd gathered on the Loire’s northern bank along the Quai de la Fosse, once home to shipbuilding activity itself but by 1987 a stretch of cafés and bars frequented by Nantes’s working classes. It was early eve- ning, the hour for an aperitif among friends, but the atmosphere that day was somber. Writer and architect Thierry Guidet later recalled, “A ship launch had always been a celebration, but not that time. [...] The city was living the end of an ancestral activity, of a culture, of an era, of a source of wealth” (2011:7).2 The day after the Bougainville’s departure, journalist Dominique

1. A Fulbright research grant facilitated by the Institute for International Education (IIE) and by the Franco- American Commission funded research for my dissertation and for this article. Many thanks also to the members of the research group Langages, Actions Urbaines, Altérités (LAUA) at Nantes’s School of Architecture, in particular Laurent Devisme, Amélie Nicolas, and Elise Roy, for sponsoring my grant application. 2. All translations are my own unless otherwise specified.

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 La Machine 121 - and asked, “Tomorrow, what will gather what will gather “Tomorrow, and asked, — Student Essay Contest Co-winner Student Essay tens of thousands for the grander ships

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is a Fulbright Fellow and a doctoral candidate in the Interdisciplinary PhD Interdisciplinary PhD candidate in the Fellow and a doctoral is a Fulbright David Calder examines how His dissertation Northwestern University. and Drama (IPTD) at in Theatre and negotiate deindustrialization factory workers companies and former street theatre theatre essays on French France. He has contributed in contemporary redevelopment (Cambridge English: A Global Experiment to the anthologies Shakespeare Beyond Creation 2013). and A History of Collective(Palgrave Macmillan, University Press, 2013) Caucus of the American as President of the Graduate Student From 2011–2012 he served (ASTR). [email protected] Society for Theatre Research PhD in Theatre and Drama at NorthwesternThe Interdisciplinary trains University rigorous training in researchers and teachers by integrating students to be versatile other discipline of the of theatre studies with at least one methodologies and theories Research is supervised and/or Fine and Performing Arts. Humanities, Social Sciences, two dozen departments with experts from more than by a core faculty in conjunction and related fields, prepare for lifetime careers in academia and programs. Students in scholarship with development of intellectual excellence emphasizing simultaneous pedagogical skills. 30 June 2007. Tens of thousands of people gather for another launch in the park that used of thousands of people gather Tens 30 June 2007. the former shipyards in general and the Naves in particular From one launch to another, Figure 1. (previous page) La Machine’s Great Elephant sprays children with mist as it walks along the Loire. Loire. the along walks it as mist with children sprays Elephant Great Machine’s La page) (previous 1. Figure metal the codes; safety vehicular) than (rather architectural to adhere must it that large so is Elephant The Calder) David by (Photo 2010. Nantes, de Île exit. emergency Elephant’s the is rear the at apparatus such a crowd in Nantes?” (1987:7). such a crowd in Nantes?” Though enor elephant emerges from a hangar. A giant mechanical to be the Nantes shipyards. It raises its flexile, it appears to walk on treading feet. mous tires support the puppet’s weight, It sprays mist from its trunk It trumpets. tusks. reticulated trunk above its formidable wooden Constructed by the street and its ears flap. tail swishes, its Its eyes blink, at squealing children. the 12-meter and leather (for the flapping ears), steel, theatre company La Machine from wood, 1). Loire (fig. hydraulically powered creation can carry 45 passengers along the banks of the tall, project of Les Machines de l’île Éléphant (the Great Elephant) is the first completed Le Grand metal fab- a tourist and cultural destination based in three former (The Machines of the Island), proportions. for their cathedralesque “the Naves” open-ended hangars dubbed rication shops, Naves as metal and woodworking shops where Members of La Machine use two of the three animals that will become part of future urban instal- they construct the interactive mechanical Elephant and also houses the Galerie des Machines The third Nave shelters the Great lations. in which visitors may view and test La Machine’s works in progress. (Machines Gallery), pam- interviews, In public meetings, emerged as Nantes’s most hotly contested symbolic space. defenders and detractors of the Machines de l’île project clashed over how and the press, phlets, an increas- best to commemorate industrial heritage while strengthening Nantes’s position in “creative city script” City leaders have adopted the ingly competitive urban-global economy. position (Levin and Solga 2009) as an official cultural and economic strategy; they hope to and the digital technology, new media, design, Nantes as a European leader in architecture, the strategy is the redevelopment of the Île de Nantes, Crucial to this fine and performing arts. that served as Nantes’s shipbuilding hub city center, just south of massive island in the Loire, Luneau lamented, “The naval construction that has fashioned the city for centuries is no “The naval construction Luneau lamented, the crowds that would assemble to watch every Luneau remembered more than a memory.” launch Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021

122 David Calder International springtomind urbanism, andindustryhavelongintermingled tries, urbanbranding, andcreativeplace-making becomeincreasinglydifficulttodiscern. Art, draws eachpointclosertothetriangle’scenter, astheboundariesseparatingcreativeindus- urban branding, bindstogetherurbanismandindustry (seeRossi1998). The creativecityscript Elephant) carryingpassengersfromonetotheother. The workshopsinsidetheNaveshave ects atadifferentlocationontheÎledeNantes, withtheambulantMachines(likeGreat of theusualimmobilehorsesandcarriages. LaMachinewillinstalleachofitscompletedproj- Carousel; 2012), athree-storycarouselfeaturinginteractivemechanicalseacreaturesinstead (Marine Worldsments: themostrecentlycompletedprojectisCarrouseldesMondesMarins onto thecity. OtherMachinesresembleelaborateversionsofmoretraditionalurbanentertain- of anenormoustree, toppedbymechanicalheronsfromwhich(paying)ridersmaylookout 2017), forinstance, depictanetworkoffreelyaccessibleelevatedgardenwalkwaysintheshape lations willserveaspublicspace;plansfortheforthcomingL’Arbre(Heron Tree; auxHérons La Machineplanstocreateonthisislandatotalof10urbaninstallations. Someoftheseinstal- from the19thcenturytolaunchofBougainville. As partoftheredevelopmentproject, shift fromheavyindustrytoculture industry. The debatesandnegotiations thatconstructthe ration asbothpublicspaceand work aspiring creativecity. The Naves’s(andtheisland’s)discursive, embodied, andbuiltreconfigu- eficiary andagentofanofficial narrativethatturnstheNavesintoanewpublicspacefor an their future” (2009b:39). Citiesmayexhibit, butactorsmustperform. LaMachineisbothben- public spaceisalsoaofrepresentation, wherecities exhibittheirvisionofthemselvesand Frédérique deGravelaine, officialchronicleroftheÎle deNantesredevelopment, writes, “All of theirtriadic relationship. art, industry,art, and urbanism. (Diagram by David Calder) Figure 2. A reconfiguration of the triangular relationship among creative andcultural industry This rescriptingoccursthroughtheperformancesandspectacles ofpublicspace. As industries marketing ofplace urban branding creative tourism script city art — but thecreativecitymodelisadistinctlyneoliberalrescripting

spacedialecticallysustainsand issustainedbytheeconomic creative place-making street theatre public art — urbanism Futurism, theBauhaus, andtheSituationist ist revenue, accomplishedvia The relentlesspursuitoftour 2009; HarvieKwon2002). Aventin 2005;Devismeetal. ests ofartistsandurbanists(see competing orcoincidinginter increasingly bringtogetherthe Street theatreandpublicart 2011; LevinandSolga2009). ers (seeHarvie2011;Jackson the artistamodelforallwork- make theprecariousfigureof as creatorsofsurplusvalueand tural industriesconscriptartists ism (fig. 2). Creativeandcul- among art, industry, andurban- of thetriangularrelationship the ongoingreconfiguration through whichtoexamine are privilegedsitesinand for theislandandcity. forging anewculturalidentity cert withNantesresidents, are members ofLaMachine, incon- become constructionsiteswhere Converted industrialspaces - - La Machine 123

3 île Beaulieu, île Sainte-Anne, île de la Prairie-au- île Sainte-Anne, île Beaulieu, —

and their distinct identities. The western Sainte-Anne and Prairie-au-Duc bear all the The western Sainte-Anne and and their distinct identities.

— La Machine also constructs the massive marionettes for Royal de Luxe. Luxe. de Royal marionettes for constructs also massive the Machine La The Île de Nantes is a byproduct of the shipbuilding industry. Maps of Nantes from the of Nantes from the Maps industry. of the shipbuilding Nantes is a byproduct The Île de Neighborhoods fragmentation. unified geography belies its persistent The island’s physically to to assemble a whole from disparate parts, The goal of the Île de Nantes project is thus and sets apart) rests in its conciliatory The genius of the project (which both unites (the Île) from disparate elements (the different Its task is to compose a whole capacity. city’s intention their customs) and affirm the their histories, their names, neighborhoods, (de Gravelaine 2009a:6) to accept heritage in its totality and its diversity. the As city officials and workers pondered the long-term future of the former shipyards, 3. the other as the location for Théâtre la Chamaille’s site-responsive staging of Othello (1990), Théâtre la the other as the location for

17th century depict a latticework of bridges connecting some 10 or 12 small islands to each some 10 or 12 small of bridges connecting depict a latticework 17th century to on these islands began industry centuries, Over the bank. to the Loire’s northern other and the largest arms of industry, growth of the shipbuilding With the gaps between them. fill in the of larger and larger ships; these to permit the launch and passage the Loire had to be dredged gradually forming a single landmass silt to the smaller fingers of the river, operations displaced while the others part of the mainland, The northernmost islands became out of multiple islands. the single Île de Nantes. formed what is today as separate islands retain their designation Duc eastern Beaulieu displays the mas- while the shipbuilding industry, marks of the centuries-long two city officials remarked In 1998, and ’80s. ’70s, projects of the 1960s, sive French housing when seen from a plane another that the Île de Nantes exists only independently of one 2009:14). (Devisme et al. an invented island: generate a unified affective geography for the island has become a microcosm and its central location, its history, Because of its name, Then-mayor (now French Prime goals. for the whole of Nantes and the city’s long-term Île de Nantes was the symbol of the years ago the “Twenty wrote, Ayrault Minister) Jean-Marc If the island has 2008). (SAMOA of its renewal” city’s decline; today it has become the symbol for the entire then the former shipyard site is a synecdoche become a synecdoche for Nantes, was the impetus for the Île de Nantes redevelop- The closure of the shipyards urban project. official end from the Dubigeon shipyards marked the The 1987 launch of the Bougainville ment. Even during France’s 30 contin- industry. of a long period of decline for Nantes’s shipbuilding and the Nantes shipyards were repeatedly reorganized uous years of postwar economic growth, The global economic crisis afloat (see Durand 1974). required substantial state subsidies to stay well into 1974 but proved devastating to the already of 1973 did not reach French shores until was the last remaining shipyard in Nantes before its Dubigeon fragile shipbuilding industry. Upon his election to the mayoralty in when roughly 1,500 workers lost their jobs. 1987 closure, but the city’s fate “The closure of the shipyards has wounded Nantes, announced, Ayrault 1989, In order to engage the cit- Communication 2008). (in Claudine Colin will be played out here” institutional actors attempted to reconfigure the of Nantes’s fate, “playing out” izenry in the shipyard site as public space. The city leased municipal government actively encouraged temporary appropriations of the site. metal Two and an auto shop. and Destock Ouest, Trocante La the Naves to two resale outlets, theatre com- fabrication shops (separate from the Naves and now destroyed) provided space for de Luxe, panies: one as a warehouse and rehearsal space for the street theatre company Royal - conditions of pos discursive and embodied construct the space simultaneously Naves as public Nantes’s creative economy. sibility for Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021 124 David Calder prototype branch Heron of the forthcoming Tree. (Photo by David Calder) Figure 3. The Naves, Île de Nantes, 2010. A café set against the backdrop of a ple, collaboratinginterestgroupsclaimabuildingassignificant. To savetheheadquartersof A citygovernmentorprivatedeveloperismorelikelytospare thewreckingballifmulti- mon tomostsuccessfulheritagepreservationefforts:thestrategic expansionofnetworks. Nantes residentstoassumesymbolicownershipofthesite. of theshipyards, inparticularthewildlypopularmusic festival, provedcriticalinencouraging connect thecitizensofNantestotheircity’sindustrialheritage. The temporaryappropriations industrial structures. Convertingexistingstructuresfor newuses, hesuggests, canpotentially Tripoteau goesonto argue thatthefestivalprovesvalueoffightingtopreserveisland’s venue, formershipyardworkerGérard Tripoteau replied: festival’s largeststage. When askedifhewasshockedtoseehisplaceofworkbecomeaconcert on whichworkersonceassembledtop-secretsubmarinesfortheFrenchNavybecamemusic Dukes ofBrittanytotheformerslipwaysandmetalshopsDubigeon. The covered slipway decorate theirexteriorwalls. the muralists, whowereoccasionallycommissionedbylocalbusinesses(includingLa Trocante) to

4. Tripoteau’s warmreception oftheSummerFestivalisindicativeaphenomenoncom- tival spoilsnothing. (in Tigoé 1999:n.p.) see theslipways, thepillarfoundations. The functionalityofthesiteisstillthere. The fes- People seethetraces. They necessarilymarkthem. They can’tescapetheshipyard:they The greatmomentsofcommunionweretheshiplaunches. [...] This isn’tanyoldplace. When theseweretheshipyards, theydidn’tcomehere, theyjustsawthemfromthequay. On thecontrary, itwarmsthehearttoseepeopleofNantesreappropriatingsite. In 1999thecityofNantesrelocateditsannualSummerFestivalfromCastle Gauducheau 1990). Director Hervé Tougeron stated that he wanted the heavens to gaze down upon Othello in judgment (in ousy, the theatre company’s production staff would open the building’s roof to night sky.reveal the starry In the final scene, after Othello murders Desdemona and realizes the full, horrific consequences of his jeal- structure’s retractableroof. which madeclimacticuseofthe however, tooknoactionagainst aspiring graffitiartists. Thecity, was itsuseastraininggroundfor tioned appropriationofthespace Finally, theleastofficiallysanc- projects intotheircurricula. soon incorporatedBlockhaus them fromeviction. Professors and architecture, whichshielded prestigious institutional affiliations, Nantes’s unspoken protectionoftheir studio space. They enjoyedthe during World War II, asfree as aworkers’bomb ture adjacenttotheNavesused the Blockhaus, aconcretestruc- fine artstudentsappropriated tioned move, architectureand of theseprojects. Inanunsanc- city ofNantessanctionedboth grandes écolesofart shelter 4 The La Machine 125

5 - (the Loire Naves). As the longest continuously continuously longest the As Naves). Loire (the Nefs de la Loire Loire la de Nefs for the Naves, which were used for non-naval metal fabrication by a a by fabrication metal non-naval for used were which the Naves, for except Within each cavernous hall, skilled metalworkers laboring both independently each cavernous hall, Within 6

, Tripoteau cited the production’s success as evidence that the shipyards were “still success as evidence that the shipyards were cited the production’s Tripoteau Othello,

In their proposal for the Naves, La Machine artistic director François Delarozière and col- La Machine artistic director François Delarozière In their proposal for the Naves, Local commentators regularly refer to 2,000 years of naval construction in Nantes. In his journals of the conquest conquest the of journals his In construction Nantes. naval in of years 2,000 to refer regularly commentators Local first The Crassus. estuary of Loire the on ships direction building mentions the briefly under Caesar Gaul, of Colbert. Jean-Baptiste of command the at 1668 in installed was Nantes modern in shipyard restructurings major (four complex quite is shipyards Nantes proprietary subsequent The history de Île the of losses). job massive and reshuffling, estate real change, name a entailed which each of 1969, and 1955 between on structures shipyard the of all owned Dubigeon 1969, by that crucialonly is it know to here, argument my For Nantes de Île the of end western the city (including Nantes in many Naves, the within worked or owned never Dubigeon Though separate company. 2006, when for- until Naves” “Dubigeon the called the structure press) erroneously and the redevelopers, officials, name, official the for lobbied workers shipyard mer Nantes. in activity shipbuilding all for stand to came Dubigeon shipyard, operating Defenders of Nantes’s industrial heritage welcomed cultural appropriations of the ship- Defenders of Nantes’s industrial heritage metal fab- Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire built the Naves between 1904 and 1920 as The The most successful preservation efforts surpass the limits of interest groups entirely and limits of interest groups efforts surpass the successful preservation The most 5. 6. and in teams would heat and curve large pieces of metal to form hull segments, internal piping, internal piping, pieces of metal to form hull segments, and in teams would heat and curve large went to a neighboring shop for assembly into prefabri- These parts then and propeller blades. the dry slip- at which point massive cranes lifted the 50- or 60-ton sections onto cated sections, ways for final assembly and launch. in them into a new public space for the city, laborator Pierre Orefice promised to transform public spaces: the easternmost of the three which they would then manufacture additional the members while in the other two thoroughfare, Naves would become a public pedestrian mechanical attractions to be installed at differ of La Machine would construct the massive ent points around the Île de Nantes (see Delarozière and Orefice 2003). They designed each They designed each ent points around the Île de Nantes (see Delarozière and Orefice 2003). Such rhetorical moves successfully made industrial heritage indispensable to Nantes’s rede- successfully made industrial heritage indispensable Such rhetorical moves some Nantais against others. also effaced the class conflict that pitted but they velopment, place-based ones in debates over ownership more often than not cede to Class-based claims to heritage preservation. (be they short-term leases to Royal de Luxe or yard site in hopes that these temporary measures the people of Nantes to the shipyards events like Othello and the music festival) would reconnect project in keeping with the area’s history. and generate interest in a permanent redevelopment After encouraged too, City officials, Océan 1990:n.p.). (Presse in the hearts of the people of Nantes” redevel- but as a way of instilling confidence in their own tentative ephemeral cultural efforts, working-class Both strategies involved the symbolic conversion of the site from opment plans. for the Cultural appropriations of the shipyards laid the groundwork heritage to urban heritage. a reconfiguration of the shipyards as public space, and material structural, ongoing discursive, on the Naves and the work of La Machine. tripartite reconfiguration now centered rication shops.

appeal to a site’s universal value. Former factory workers stand a better chance of saving a struc- chance of saving a workers stand a better Former factory site’s universal value. appeal to a with the advent entire city (or, belongs not only to them but also to an ture if it symbolically to universality preserve mate- Claims to all humankind). Sites, Heritage World of UNESCO the preservation efforts; this is the very particularity that initiates rial heritage while eroding shipyard activists adopted this not, Consciously or (see Nicolas 2010). the paradox of patrimony “the history of the shipyards is the making their history public property: tactic by rhetorically 2010:171). (in Nicolas Nantes for the last 2,000 years” it’s the history of , history of all Nantais the Ateliers et Chantiers de Nantes, the Association for the History of Naval Construction of Naval Construction for the History Association the Nantes, et Chantiers de Ateliers the to the region but also throughout not only to works councils (AHCNN) appealed in Nantes aes- restoration on argued for the building’s who then and architectural historians, architects thetic grounds. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021 126 David Calder David Calder) Stairs lead to the Elephant’s boarding Île platform. de Nantes, 2010. (Photo by Figure 4. Beneath Nave, the eastern visitors wait to enter the Machines Gallery. also reliesonfamiliarspatialrepertoirestoencourageparticularpractices. and preparedthemforthemorepermanentappropriationbyLaMachine. ButLaMachine encouraged residentsandtouriststocrosstheLoireexplorepostindustriallandscape of theshipyardsbeyondformerworkerstoencompass “the peopleofNantes.” Suchevents priations discussedabove, particularlythe1999musicfestival, expandedsymbolicownership space fortherestofproject. In themeantime, theNavesthemselvesserveasbothbaseofoperationsandamodelpublic Great ElephantandtheMarine Worlds Carousel Nantes’s redevelopment. These urbaninstallationstakeyearstocomplete, andonlytwo projected urbaninstallationtogeneratepublicspacethroughoutvariousphasesoftheÎlede

make itsprojectintelligibletolocalsasnewpublicspace. the carousel. HereLaMachinedrawsonthefamiliarspatial repertoireofFrenchcafécultureto feature acaféwithoutdoorseatingfromwhichparentsmayeasily watchtheirchildrenrideon revenue, buttobetterintegratetheMachinesinto life oftheisland(2003). The Naves, too, establishes sensorycontinuitybetweenitandtheimmediatelyadjacentpark, offeringvisualper ernmost Naveisacoveredthoroughfareopenatbothends. FloraplantedbeneaththisNave 8. 7. But howdometalfabricationshopsbecomeintelligibleaspublicspace? The culturalappro- Steampunk features prominently at Nantes’s annual International Festival of Science Fiction. tively, or vice versa. An intelligible performances. space encourages but does not dictate certain users. Crucially, though, we cannot neatly identify spatial architects and audience, respec and users as performers - write of spatial repertoires, I refer to a system of intelligibility that functions via both a space’s architects and its be incorporated into repertoire” (2009:7). For Davis, the repertoire and audience. lies in both performer When I nations of tropesperformative and then recognise and interpret others that are unfamiliar, may so that the new intelligibility that create a means by which audiences are habituated to understand one or more kinds or combi- I adopt here Tracy C. Davis’s understanding of repertoires as “multiple circulating recombinative discourses of — of aprojectedtenhavesofarbeenrealized. tion, not, theyclaim, toincrease alongside eachurbaninstalla- importance ofestablishingacafé tial proposalalsostressedthe life andwork. museum devotedtotheauthor’s looking theshipyardshousesa whose childhoodhomeover to Nantes-nativeJules Verne, the steampunkaestheticthanks idents arealsofamiliarwith Worlds Carousel. Nantesres- than thethree-storyMarine arate fromandmuchsmaller steampunk aesthetic. This issep- ter Delarozière’smechanical, able settinginwhichtoencoun- offers afamiliarandapproach- ment ofmanyFrenchparks, The carousel, acommonele- sel designedbyDelarozière. Machine hasinstalledacarou- in frontoftheNaves, La mission toenter. Immediately Delarozière andOrefice’sini- 8

7 The east- The — the - - La Machine 127 - - , theirs is a a is theirs flânerie, Beneath the Naves, too, we are free to look, but we pay to play (see Davis to look, we are free too, Beneath the Naves, 9

Critics of the project accuse Delarozière and Orefice of transforming the former ship- Critics of the project accuse Delarozière Historically, the arcade was the domain of flâneurs, those leisurely individual walkers who gave themselves over over themselves gave who walkers individual leisurely those flâneurs, of domain the was arcade the Historically, 21st-century relationship the examined has scholarship Recently, 2003). [1938–40] Benjamin (see crowd the to distanced always 19th-centurythe between contemporary the and flâneur an outsider, was The flâneur tourist. (Huyssen exterior interior paradoxical arcade’s the in home at always dweller, a remained who crowd, the from practice to said be can they if and dwelling, without consume contrast, by Tourists, 2003). flânerie (Bennett 2008). (Bennett flânerie motivated Alexandre Chemetoff, chief urbanist of the Île de Nantes from 2000 to 2010, heralded the heralded the 2010, Nantes from 2000 to of the Île de chief urbanist Chemetoff, Alexandre Importantly, both café and arcade are spaces of consumption; just because a space is pub- both café and arcade are Importantly, 9. 1991; Bennett 2008). If the space of the Naves is public, it remains regulated by implicit and If the space of the Naves is public, 1991; Bennett 2008). exam- stroll through the easternmost Nave, Anyone may 2002). Wilkie explicit spatial rules (see During off hours, and admire the Great Elephant. ine a description and photos of the project, largely low, cordoned off by a of the Nave, the Elephant remains under the iron latticework the Elephant and to the Machines Gallery requires two Access to the interior of symbolic rail. boarding plat- access either the Gallery or the Elephant To each costing €7.00. separate tickets, turnstiles visitors pass their tickets over scanners that then allow them to pass through form, of the Machines Gallery without purchasing a ticket, It is impossible to see the inside 5). (fig. or three curious people peering through small gaps though during off hours I always saw two The two western Naves housing La Machine’s in the walls of the Gallery’s flexible architecture. A locked door with keypad and intercom to visitors. workshops and office space are off limits to respect La and a sign on the door asks passersby restricts ground-level access to these areas, to the Elephant boarding plat- the €7.00 tickets granting access However, Machine’s workspace. set of stairs to the workshop observation post form also allow visitors to climb an additional one may look down on the members of La Machine as they work on their From here, (fig. 6). and with many visitors angling for a view (most But this platform is quite small, latest projects. there is unspoken pressure to have a peek and move on. with eager children), Disneyland for consumption by tourists. Verne–themed a Jules yards into a theme park, environ- Delarozière routinely responds that theme parks are not integrated into their urban far from the city within a delimited space (usually They enclose their visitor-customers ment. enjoyment and experience the most for their money demanding that they maximize center), the eventual projects of the Machines de l’île contrast, By between opening and closing times. Naves as a means of returning the island to the public: “No one ever came to the banks of the came to the banks of “No one ever the island to the public: means of returning Naves as a - over to the pub have been handed Passage Pommeraye, this industrial Naves, the Today, river. Chemetoff’s 2007). (in Norrito Nantes shop- the small high-end referencing lic” statement, public workspace and between private establishes an opposition Passage Pommeraye, ping mall, workers) only shipyard (i.e., “no one” was part of the shipyards, When the site leisure space. and others approach the river, Now that nonindustrial workers the Loire. came to the banks of of people regularly gathered Though thousands over to the public.” “handed the site has been retroactively as closed in order to the shipyards must be represented to attend naval launches, is the urbanist’s perversion of ear This spaces seem all the more open. make their converted lier heritage preservation efforts in which workers offered up their history to all of Nantes. But their history to all of Nantes. efforts in which workers offered up lier heritage preservation Nantes’s ornate 19th-century the Naves to the Passage Pommeraye, Chemetoff also compares two weeks later journalist Stéphane metaphor echoed by the local press; just a shopping arcade, (2007b). to the Passage Pommeraye” “a kind of extraordinary big brother Pajot called the Naves architecture and general shape of a parallel between the impressive roof This comparison draws it also situ- importance of the café, like Delarozière’s insistence on the But, the two structures. familiar French repertoires of public space. ates the Naves within provided one has pur One may linger in a French café for hours, lic does not mean it is free. displays entice but attractive storefront public street, An arcade is an indoor chased a beverage. us to consume.

Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021 Nantes, 2010. (Photo by David Calder) Figure 6. Part of La Machine’s workshop post. Îleseen from the observation de 128 David Calder Machine assumestheredefined roleofcultureinthecreative economy. ment theregularteam. ity oftheirprojectsnecessitatecollaborationwithoutsideexperts. Contractorsroutinelysupple- permanent companymembersareskilledtechniciansandartisans, thesheerscaleandcomplex- national electronicsconglomerateSiemens(LabarreandNorrito 2006). Though LaMachine’s provided contractworkforatotalof63businesses, from locallaser-cutting operationstomulti- de l’île, includingconstructionoftheGreatElephantand theopeningofMachinesGallery, his companycollaborateswithNantes’s “industrial present”; theinitialphaseofMachines Culture &Patrimoine2009;de Valon 2007). Delarozièreisnotexaggerating whenhesaysthat boarding Île platform. de Nantes, 2010. (Photo by David Calder) Figure 5. Paying visitors scan their tickets to access the Elephant’s industrial buildings. [...] It isnolongerjustaquestionofusingcultureascommunica - The scalehaschanged. It isnolongerjustaquestionofgivingculturalvocationsto By providingcontractworkto local (and, withSiemens, onemultinational)business, La works inprogress(Nantes a workshopandtheMachines all emphasizethattheNavesare media coverageoftheproject Promotional materialsand tion site” (Delarozière2012). of manufacture. It’saconstruc- present, andbesidesit’saspace industrial past, theindustrial in ourgenestoworkwiththe this inour2012interview: “It’s 2011:69–70). Hereiterated city ofDisney” (indeGravelaine to dowiththefake, neatandtidy manufactures thecity, nothing a constructionsite, onethat Delarozière saidin2011, “We’re continued roleasaworksite. erist spacebyinsistingontheir image oftheNavesasconsum- to) consumption. (or moreaccurately, inaddition space ofproductionratherthan remain aspaceofmanufacture, a ist paradisesbecausetheNaves of themeparksorconsumer Delarozière alsorejectslabels the rounds” inasingleday. But out thepressureof “making haps spacedmonthsapart, with- returning formultiplevisits, per the Machinesattheirleisure, itors toexploretheislandand that thiswouldallowlocalvis- Delarozière andOreficeargued ticket boothsforeachmachine. the ÎledeNantes, withseparate will bedistributedthroughout La Machinecombatsthe - - La Machine 129 - (LAUA, dir. dir. (LAUA, Altérités Urbaines, Actions Langages, 10 and, for those once employed in the shipyards, the mere pres- for those once employed in the shipyards, and, establishes continuity between past and present industries while — —

Laurent Devisme). Laurent This point developed over the course of several conversations in April 2012 in Nantes with sociologists Amélie Amélie sociologists with Nantes in 2012 April in conversations several of course the over developed point This group research Nantes-based the of Roy Elise and Nicolas If the Naves physically and discursively bridge the creative quarter to the east and the public and discursively bridge the creative quarter If the Naves physically and the media routinely cite the team’s artisanal Nantes’s cultural officers, Delarozière, tions or public relations tool. Henceforth, culture is also considered a productive force; it a productive force; is also considered culture Henceforth, relations tool. tions or public (Guidet 2011:8) surplus value and jobs. must create subordinating the past industry to present concerns, namely, the fabrication not just of mechan- namely, subordinating the past industry to present concerns, The work of La Machine fabricates its own ical animals but of a common urban imaginary. from industry, the transition from heavy industry to culture namely, conditions of possibility, and (within Nantes’s redevelopment process) class-based solidarity to place-based belonging, from industrial memory park to creative quarter. toire of La Machine’s workers ence of their laboring bodies park to the west, the workers of La Machine are called upon to embody both the new creative workers of La Machine are called upon the park to the west, members are primarily carpenters, La Machine company industrial one. economy and the past them actually began Several of and metalworkers. electricians, sculptors, mechanics, welders, including at France’s only remaining active shipyard, their careers working in heavy industry, (Labarre and Norrito 2006; Blondeel the Chantiers de l’Atlantique in nearby Saint-Nazaire and heritage, Nantes’s deputy mayor for culture Jossic, Jean-Louis 2012). 2012; Pajot 2007a, is real conti- we can say that there the shipyards, those who miss the universe of “To suggests, are We [...] Workshop. the people who work wood and metal in the Look at the Naves, nuity. could “one remarks, Valon Armelle de Journalist 2008:25). Valon (in de in the same universe” Even (26). from the disappeared shipyards” imagine [the workers of La Machine] as coming just as ‘fabricate’ culture we will “In the Naves, claimed, Ayrault before the Naves reopened, In concert with the structural reconfigura- (in Sayagh 2004b). workers used to fabricate boats” the official narrative of Nantes’s heritage preservation and redevelopment tion of the Naves, in the face of to gesture continuity repertoires, calls upon La Machine to embody past industrial traumatic rupture. shipbuilding activities and the Machines de l’île. as evidence of continuity between savoir-faire “the structure of Delarozière and Orefice wrote, During construction of the Great Elephant, metal fabri- will use laser cutting, We a ship’s hull. the elephant will take the form of part of inherited from the shipyards to create a modern and All this savoir-faire etc. welding, cation, Delarozière repeated this in an interview with Guidet: (in Sayagh 2004a:12). inventive machine” from the of the main skeleton...all this savoir-faire the carpentry forging, “Metal fabrication, imagination” that of the we inherit it and we put it in service of a new industry, shipyards, beneath the Many of the industrial and artisanal techniques used (Guidet and Plassart 2007:48). the industry has as Delarozière rightly points out, But, Naves have indeed remained the same. The reper or cultural) industry. (or creative, from heavy industry to the imagination changed, Crucially, it is not an ephemeral event that generates surplus value and jobs, but La Machine’s but La Machine’s jobs, surplus value and event that generates it is not an ephemeral Crucially, it also and in tourist dollars, pays dividends This production process process. entire production - The hub of this net industrial network. city’s artistic and the connectivity of the heightens design, architecture, Here, Naves. creative quarter just to the east of the work is the burgeoning industrial buildings and sleek firms of all sizes work within converted and technology media, which moved Architecture, School of This area also houses Nantes’s contemporary structures. Initial pub- Arts too. of Fine and by 2014 will house its relocated School to the island in 2009, the rest of the former shipyards de l’île project grouped the Naves with licity for the Machines quarter becomes the new focus of redevelopment, as the creative however, Recently, to the west. the shipyards-turned-park and the so that they link reoriented to the east, the Naves have been emerging creative industries district. 10. Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021

130 David Calder 11. of thepost-Fordistmanagementideal reporters alikeciteteamwork, independence, andasenseofcollectiveownership cult” toleaveandworkelsewhere(inBlondeel2012:10). Companymembers, contractors, and and neverleft, citesanatmosphereoffreeexchangeandcreativeconsensus; “it wouldbediffi- ers” (15). JoinerRichard Triballier, whocametoLaMachineforatwo-monthtrainingcourse much sothatyoucanfamiliarizeyourselfwithotherareas. You learneverydaybywatchingoth- project, andifyouwant, youcantakeonnewresponsibilities. Differenttradescometogether, so metalworker forLaMachine, agrees: “Here, youareresponsibleforyourownconstruction responsible forourworkandthatofothers” (inNantesMétropole2007:15). Pascaline, another “an uncommonwayofworking”: “In the Workshop, weareallinterdependent. We’re atonce a metalworkingshopin Ariège butneededachange. InLaMachine’sworkshophediscovered ment literature(seeBoltanskiandChiapello2005). Jörn, anironandsteelworker, usedtohave Machine companymembersandcontractworkersreadlikeasurveyofpost-Fordistmanage- many laborersaredoingthesamekindofworktheydidinanothercontext. PressprofilesofLa more fulfillingthanthebackbreaking, soul-crushingtoilofgenericindustriespast calls backtotheworkofshipyards, itestablishesitsownkindoflaborassuperiortoand shipyards hadnotproventheircreativitybeforethosewhotook theirplace?” (2011:9). risk ofcooption(atleastverbal) ‘creativity’? As iftheindustrialistsandworkersof economy asa “creative” oneisitselfproblematic. Guidetcautions: “How canwefailtoseethe not withtheshipyardsbutnewcreativequarter. Ofcourse, thedesignationofnew labor, butsomehow the artisanalorganizationofworkwithinLaMachinebecomesassociated camaraderie, andcreativity(Barrau1990;JosephRivet 2001;MHT1995; Tripoteau 1991). (which, admittedly, havelikelygrownrosy with time)emphasizeskill, independence, teamwork, the organizationofwork” (Rochcongar1999:138). Testimonies fromformershipyardworkers artisanal characterandthuslentthemselvespoorlytomodern[Fordist-Taylorist] methodsfor (Rochcongar 1999;JosephandRivet2001). “In navalconstruction, thetradeslongretainedan cess; ayoungshipyardapprenticewouldrotatefromteamtobeforesettlingontrade and riveters. All ofthesegroupsneededtounderstandtheentiretyconstructionpro- on thescalemodelsdrawnandcutbyhulltracersregularlyworkedalongsidepipefitters tinued toproducemade-to-measurenaval “couture” (Delauney1982:3). Metalfabricatorsrelied building hasundergonesubstantialstandardizationsincethe1980s, theNantesshipyardscon- skilled, project-basedworkofLaMachinethanitdoesanyFordistassemblyline. Though ship- (the creativeindustry)opposesitselftotheworkingconditionsofother(heavyindustry). west. LaMachineworkersmustperformintwoindustriesatonce, evenastherhetoricofone city officialsuseLaMachine’stechnicalsavoir-faire tolinkthemtheformershipyardsin oping creativequarterintheeast, evenasseparatenewsarticlesandstatementsfromNantes and otherpressreportsprofilingtheworkersofLaMachinelinkcompanytodevel- mative effects(Devisme2001:75–76);theyestablisharangeofinterpretivepossibilities. These happy. Buturbancommunicationcampaigns(andtheiramplificationinthemedia)haveperfor is nottolifttheveilofideologyfromdowntroddenpeoplewhomistakenlythinkthemselves members of the so-called creative class (see Jackson 2011; Levin and Solga 2009). disenfranchised for their own precarity; and (2) blithely ignores the vast politico-financial disparity among various Florida’s problem, as it (1) merely of neoliberalism in blaming echoes the the economicallystaunchest supporters ple Continuity isnotenough;theremustalsobeprogression. EvenastheworkofLaMachine ists, designers,intellectuals,and its thoroughly undemocratic and economically simplistic ascription of creativity to well-educated- engineers, art Along similar lines, Richard Florida’s concept of a single “creative class” has drawn intense criticism in France for Defenders ofLaMachinecitetheparticularmaterialsandskills asatributetoshipyard The webbecomesmoretangledstill, sinceshipyardlabormorecloselyresemblesthehighly I donotmeantoimplythatLaMachine’scompanymembersaredelusional. Mygoalhere are creative, but that those who — of course that creativityharness drive our current economy. This response does not solve — — as keytothefunctioningofNavesawork site. the executives whoprofit from them. Florida countersthatallpeo- — — all hallmarks all hallmarks even as even as 11 Just - La Machine 131 Once the Heron Tree is is Tree Once the Heron 12 next two projects. As the Great Elephant attracts more non- more attracts Elephant Great the As projects. two next

The Great Elephant attracted just over 200,000 visitors in its first year, a number that steadily increased and and increased steadily that a number year, first its in 200,000 visitors over just attracted Elephant Great The - pro codes postal on Based 300,000). roughly is Nantes of population current (the 2010 in topped 300,000 cate- (a nonlocal percent 20 and local percent 80 were riders 2007 Elephant’s Great the buyers, ticket by vided 2010 Department). By Loire-Atlantique the outside from visitors goryFrench and visitors foreign encompassing - increas with Combined nonlocal. percent 80 and Loire-Atlantique from percent 20 inverse: the was figure the the of approval spurred statistic this sales, ticket ing eye local the to project Nantes de Île the and Machines Les return will projects two next the locals, than locals (Orefice 2012). The democratization of creativity extends to those who visit the Machines Gallery. In promo- Machines Gallery. of creativity extends to those who visit the The democratization temporal registers: ephemeral events and the La Machine has inscribed its project in two l’île outlined a total of 10 urban installations. The initial proposal for the Machines de complete, Nantes Métropole will vote on the feasibility of the next Machines. La Machine La Machine on the feasibility of the next Machines. Nantes Métropole will vote complete, 12. tional materials and interviews, Delarozière and Oréfice insist that these visitors actively partici- Delarozière and Oréfice insist tional materials and interviews, The production process is both “testers.” hence their designation as pate in the creative process, visible from the Elephant’s Workshop, “The participatory performance. removed spectacle and construction and mechani- offers the public the spectacle of the Machines’ boarding platform, which each visitor Workshop, of the will operate in sync with the creations The Gallery cal tests. Workshop and Gallery Delarozière and Orefice cite the 2007:3). (SAMOA will be able to test” “The and innovation. testing, in an ongoing process of construction, as interconnected elements process of the Machines laboratory in which to exhibit the fabrication Gallery is above all a They will Visitors will be actors in this process. unfinished objects. tools, models, Workshop: and attend La Machine’s rehearsals in front of thebe able to test the machines for themselves “Spectators will be emphasizes the project’s participatory aspect: too, The press, (3). Naves” Valon (de machines and guide their movements” actors: they will be able to climb aboard the and imaginative engagement with the machines supposedly trans- bodily Visitors’ 2007:23). ephemeral the- But they are not actors in an to actors. forms the visitors from passive spectators theatre” “continuous in what Delarozière has called atrical event; they are rather participants If the (Delarozière 2012; in Brenon 2012). “permanent laboratory” and what Orefice has called a creativity by actively engaging visitors’ imagina- Machines de l’île project claims to democratize it does so to engage Nantes residents and foreign touriststive faculties, in the ongoing process of urban redevelopment. a series and winter the Naves host autumn, Every spring, of urban redevelopment. longue durée paid and free entry each of which features both and art installations, performances, of concerts, Carousel) is Worlds the Marine (the Great Elephant, The completion of each Machine events. All of these events attract both local and nonlocal also an occasion for an inaugural celebration. offers an easily digestible timeline for a visit to Nantes. the event format For tourists, visitors. with no end delimited events instill confidence in the long-term vision of a project For locals, in sight. gauges whether the success of the existing proj- Nantes Métropole’s governing body regularly The Great Elephant proved so successful that Nantes ects merits approval of the next phase. an Carousel and the next project, Worlds Métropole simultaneously approved the Marine Tree. elevated network of self-sustaining gardens called the Heron as the shipyards must be represented as closed and private in order to sell the converted Naves the converted Naves private in order to sell as closed and must be represented as the shipyards - as oppressive to bet must be represented and industrial labor so shipyard public, as open and the This narrative emphasizes emancipatory. as collaborative and La Machine’s work ter portray real- creative collaborative, the artisanal, labor but obscures hardships of industrial (very real) indistinguishable becomes this narrative, in Shipyard labor, workers’ experiences. ity of shipyard work- minimized rationalization labor in which Fordist-Taylorist forms of industrial from other and Nantes’s creative de l’île project, the Machines La Machine, By contrast, ers’ creative input. to represent a democratization of creativity. quarter are supposed Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24 September 2021 Downloaded from http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1162/DRAM_a_00306 by guest on 24September 2021

132 David Calder and sceneshopofNantes’sredevelopment. of theconvertedNaves. The Naves, asafusionofpublicspaceandworkspace, arebothstage Machine (inwhichvisitors, too, participate)generateandjustifytheshiftingspatialrepertoires foreign tourists tices. Performers sive reconfigurationsoftheNavesestablishrealmpossibilityforembodiedspatialprac- trial workers, thatperformersembodywhileabsenting. uses: thecreativecityscriptdemandsthatitsperformersbeindustrialworkersanddisplaceindus- This centralparadoxemergeswhereveracityconvertsheavyindustrialspacetocultureindustry tion, theworkersofLaMachinemustatonceembodyandeffacecity’snavalindustrialpast. quays freeofsquatters” (deGravelaine2010:11). InorderforNantes’sredevelopmenttofunc- abandoned statefrommemory. As ifPlaceFrançoisIIhadalwaysbeensowelcomingandthe industry’s collapse. As deGravelainewrites, “more andmoretheislandexiststoeraseitsformer ect thatpromotesthememoryofindustry’ssuccesswhileencouragingeffacement serves therepertoiresofabsentshipyardworkers, butwhattheyproduceisanurbanproj- the siteofacriticalcontradiction:bodilylabortheatreworkersattheirmachinespre- ing continuitybetweenthateconomyandNantes’sindustrialpast. The siteoftheshipyardsis economic changesthattheythemselvesmark. marketing oftheirownkindlabor. LaMachine’screativeindustrialartisansadvertisethevery of LaMachineretainsapromotionalfunction, butthisisboththemarketingofplaceand longer justpubliccommunication, butalsothegenerationofjobsandsurplusvalue. The work tural, discursive, andembodied)perpetuationofthecreativeeconomy. The roleofcultureisno both viathe(structural, discursive, andembodied)generationofpublicspacethe(struc- into urbanredevelopment. that instillsconfidenceinalargerproject;itis(also, simultaneously)aculturalprojectwoven de ville” (citymachines;Delarozière2012). LesMachinesdel’îleisnot(just)aculturalevent impossible tocleanlydelimitasanevent. DelarozièreevencallstheMachinesdel’île “machines has integrateditscalendarintothatofNantes’surbanredevelopment, adecades-longprocess Davis, Tracy C. 1991. “Theatrical Antecedents oftheMallthat Ate Downtown.” Journal ofPopular Culture Claudine ColinCommunication. 2008. “Projet urbaindel’Île deNantes.” Claudine Colin Chemetoff, Alexandre.2010. Brenon, Frédéric. 2012. “Les Machinespassentauvert.” Presse, Océan 10February:3. Boltanski, Luc, andEveChiapello. 2005. TheNewSpiritofCapitalism . Trans. GregoryElliott. New York: Blondeel, Cédric. 2012. “La raiemanta, unemachined’exception.” Presse Océan, 30January:10–11. Bennett, Susan. 2008. “Universal Experience: The Cityas Tourist Stage.” InTheCambridge Companionto Benjamin, Walter. [1938–40]2003. SelectedWritings: Vol.4.1938–1940. Eds. HowardEilandandMichael W. Barrau, Franck. 1990. “Dubigeon: 250ansdechantiersnavals.” NantesPassion April:44. Aventin, Catherine. 2005. “Les Espacespublicsurbainsàl’épreuvedesactionsartistiques.” PhDdiss., References Chemetoff hascalledtheNavesa “field ofpossibilities” (2010:71). Thephysicalanddiscur The laborofLaMachineisthenewworldeconomyandestablish- The membersofLaMachinearebeneficiariesandactorsNantes’surbanredevelopment, 24, 4:1–15. urbain-de-l-ile-de-nantes (1 August 2013). Communication – Agence decommunicationculturelle, 12June. www.claudinecolin.com/fr/89-projet- Verso. Performance Studies, ed. Tracy C. Davis, 76–90. Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress. Jennings, trans. EdmundJephcott. Cambridge, MA:Belknap PressofHarvardUniversityPress. Université deNantes. — — enact thecreativecityscriptonpublicstage. The workrepertoiresofLa be theyLaMachinecompanymembers, contractworkers, localresidents, or Le Plan-Guide(Suites).Paris:Archibooks. - La Machine 133

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