The International Olympic Committee, IOC, has unveiled a sculpture named ‘Salon’ to honour the legacy of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Paris.
The unveiling had in attendance the IOC President Thomas Bach, Deputy Mayor of Culture in the City of Paris, Carine Rolland; President of the Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024, Tony Estanguet; and Mayor of the 8th Arrondissement, Jeanne d’Hauteserre.
The sculpture, produced by Los Angeles-based artist Alison Saar, has been permanently installed in the public garden of the Champs-Elysees, Paris.
During the unveiling, the IOC President, Thomas Bach said; “Your art is an invitation to take a seat – and reflect on the beauty of diversity of humankind. Each seat in this collection represents different cultures, traditions, and histories. ‘Salon’ is an invitation for dialogue; for exchange; for coming together; for sharing. In this way, your sculptures are a wonderful illustration of what happens at the Olympic Games.”
The “Salon”, a bronze work consists of a larger-than-life figure of a woman seated on volcanic rock, holding olive boughs in one hand and a polished gold flame in the other.
According to the American sculptor, Alison Saar, the flame represents inspiration, illumination and the use of the flame in the Olympics, and the olive branches refer to ancient traditions symbolizing peace and victory.
The figure is seated in a circle of six chairs, each representing a different region in the world, and points to a variety of industries, occupations, and interests.
The seats, positioned in a circle around the Olympic rings, include an honorary stool from West Africa, a hand-hewn child’s chair from Central America, a rustic milking stool from France, a ceramic garden stool from China, a classic European bentwood chair and a curule seat symbolizing the origin of the Olympic Games in Ancient Greece.
Just like the ‘Salon’ created by Alison Saar for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, there was Xavier Veilhan who created “The Audience”, sculpture that was unveiled for the Tokyo 2020 Games.
The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an international multi-sport event is scheduled to take place from 26 July to 11 August 2024, while the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games will hold from 28 August to 8 September 2024.
