Philippe Petit
Philippe Petit
Philippe Petitis a French high-wire artist who gained fame for his high-wire walk between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, on the morning of August 7, 1974. For his unauthorized feat1,350 feetabove the ground, he rigged a 450-poundcable and used a custom-made 26-footlong, 55-poundbalancing pole. He performed for 45 minutes, making eight passes along the wire. The following week, he celebrated his 25th birthday. All charges were dismissed in exchange for him doing a...
NationalityFrench
ProfessionPerformance Artist
Date of Birth13 August 1949
CityNemours, France
CountryFrance
It's part of my life to feel like a criminal, to have eyes in my back and see if I'm being followed. It's a feeling that comes from street juggling because I have been arrested so many times.
I walk on the wire; it's my profession, and there are no two high wire walks alike.
I've frowned at the idea of breaking records, the first one to do something, or do it longer, higher, more difficult.
It's very normal - when you're not used to the world of the high wire, it's very normal to be simply terrified. The reason I'm not is because I've done it for so many years.
It is very normal for people on the ground to look at somebody apparently walking in midair and thinking first that person is crazy and thinking secondly that person risks his or her life.
It's always easy to describe something complex by applying to it an already known label.
Talking about theater, actually, I built a little barn in upstate New York, and I call it 'the smallest theater in the world,' but it has a mini stage and a red velvet curtain.
When I was learning by myself, despite my parents, despite my teachers, despite society, when I was fighting for building my life as a young wire walker at age 16, I didn't have feelings, I had certainties.
What I think tailors the creativity of most people are the rules that we learn from the age we are very small - in school, our parents.
When art in general, and film in particular, succeeds is when it pulls you away onto a voyage. Then it's a good film.
You see, it's actually very good that a human activity is performed very close to death, because that's where life is. Life is, at its most valuable and most full, very close to the boundary of life.
This moment where we think we rest, when the brain is floating, you know, in sleep, is actually a moment where I could be very creative in a very strange, uncontrolled way.
There was a time when fire and story would fall asleep in unison. It was dream time.
As a high wire walker, I do not allow myself to 'leave the wire' during a performance.