Kind Parisians and Head-Scratching Art - Wednesday, 5 June

I ordered a G7 taxi for my trip to Accents Table Bourse today (all about that lunch in my next post!).  Normally, the driver can stop right in front of my apartment, but today he called to say that he couldn't get through because of an accident and stoppage on rue de Rivoli, so he was waiting on the corner of Rivoli and rue du Pont Louis-Philippe, just under a block away.  I said I'd be there in a couple of minutes.  He saw me hobbling along and quickly jumped out of his cab to cross rue de Rivoli and help me across the street and into the cab.  If you think Parisians are rude, talk to me!  (And, BTW, G7 is a terrific service https://www.g7.fr/en/ ).

On the way to the resto, I saw this strange sculpture/installation outside the Bourse de Commerce (the former grain exchange, the big round building on rue du Louvre at Les Halles, now the Pinault Collection of modern art).  Boulders in a tree.  Hmmm.  Need to think about this for a bit!

Here's a short blurb about the Pinault from the current issue of a free magazine offered at the airport!  (Note that you can click on any photo in this blog to see a bigger image.)

Well, I saw SOME of the Gaudí Exhibit! - Friday, 22 April

This morning I visited the Musée d’Orsay for their Gaudí exhibit.  I am pleased to report that I got there in one piece!  Usually taxi drivers, especially ones who work for G7, are fabulously capable, alert and helpful.  But my driver today seemed to be having vision problems - eek!  After he picked me up at the apartment he pulled over to the side and took off his glasses and squinted at his phone/map device for a couple of minutes, then put his glasses back on and drove for a bit, very gingerly working his way through a crowd on rue Montorgueil as if he had a hard time seeing people clearly, then putting the glasses on and off a few more times before we got to the d’Orsay.  But we made it and no pedestrians were injured.  Phew!

It must be at least 10 years since I was at d'Orsay - gotta say it’s as gorgeous as ever, and even more popular!  But wow - huge crowds and tour groups for a Friday morning!  I could handle only about half of the exhibit because the crowds were making me feel a bit claustrophobic (and not everyone was wearing a facemask).  I did get to see several objects of furniture and other practical household (or mansion-hold, to be exact) items that I loved - one of my favorite things is to see practical objects and implements taken to a very high artistic standard.  And of course, Gaudí fit that bill (as well as several others)!   https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/gaudi-213307

Read more about the exhibit on their Facebook page:   https://www.facebook.com/170924542917905/posts/5514532755223697/?d=n

I thought about taking a peek at an Aristide Maillol exhibit and an Yves Saint-Laurent exhibit, as well as some of the permanent collection, but I wimped out given the crowds.  

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/yves-saint-laurent-museums-201146

https://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/exhibitions/aristide-maillol-1861-1944-quest-harmony-201198

Pionnières Creating Beauty and Doing What Needed to be Done - Thursday, 21 April

So this afternoon I headed down to the Musée du Luxembourg to see their recently-opened exhibit of works by Parisian female artists of the Roaring ‘20s - mostly paintings, but also works of sculpture, architecture, literature and design.  

As you entered the exhibit you encountered videos from the late 19-teens of women performing what were formerly men’s jobs before they went off to war - in factories, on railroads and trams, on roadways (including devising fulcrums and levers to get trucks out of muddy ruts), assembling and packing munitions, sweeping chimneys, lighting streetlamps, etc. - many of the snippets were quite amusing.  

Another video presentation, though, was the most affecting for me - you saw women artists and craftspersons creating masks for soldiers who lost parts of their faces in WW1 - measuring the portions of the faces that should be covered, forming the masks, fitting them, painting them to look realistic, calculating and attaching straps that allowed the masks to stay in place without being too obvious, all while obviously interacting with the wounded men in a very caring and sensitive manner.  It was moving and heartwarming and inspiring.

Ya, the artwork was great (although there were a few too many nudes for my taste), but the video glimpses into the century-ago world of clever and hard-working women at work was most rewarding.  

https://museeduluxembourg.fr/en/agenda/evenement/pionnieres

I took a walk in the gardens after viewing the exhibit.  The spring bulb flowers have gone kinda wild and are on their last legs, but they’re still beautiful. Perhaps a lesson for us all!

A Dark and Stormy “White Night” - Saturday, 2 October

Well, it was a dark and stormy night for the 20th annual “La Nuit Blanche à Paris,” which also happened to coincide with the launch of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad.  

La Nuit Blanche, held the first Saturday of October each year all over Paris, incorporates concerts, art installations, dance, exhibitions, staged scenes, video shows, neon light shows, disco-rollerblading (I kid you not!), etc. - mostly performing events but some participatory ones - from both French and international artists.  It was canceled last year due to the pandemic and apparently was a bit underfunded this year, yielding more video productions of performances than actual live performances.  Still, about 200 artists registered for the event.  It’s an all-night festival - the buses and Métro run through the night and some streets are closed.  

Sad to say, after a week of glorious sunny and warm weather, it drizzled all day today, started raining more heavily tonight, the wind picked up, and the temperature was in the low 50s F.  I had thought about venturing out to see something - there were some dance/orchestral events scheduled for Place de l'Hotel de Ville just a few blocks from my apartment, but I wimped out.  A sad response for a Duluth native - what happened to that old Nordic toughness?!?  In any case, I read that some events were canceled at the last minute.  Hey, I wouldn’t have wanted to be out performing in those conditions either!

https://quefaire.paris.fr/nuitblanche

What's Happenin' in Town - Thursday, 19 September

So, back in the day my favorite thing to do upon arrival was to pick up a copy of the weekly "pariscope" magazine - usually about 180 pages of in small fonts on light newsprint that listed all of the "stuff" going on in town for the week (published every Tuesday) - resto news, theatre listings, movies, special art exhibitions, music of all kinds, festivals, industry shows, events for children, etc. etc. etc.  I would grab one at the airport and start planning my entertainment on the journey into town.  For a while it even had an English-language section.

When it went out of publication a couple years ago, another similar magazine called "l'officiel des spectacles" picked up the slack with a similarly formatted weekly.  Today I didn't even see that at the neighborhood newsstand (perhaps they were just out of stock).  Happily, you can find articles, listings, photos, etc. on their website:  https://www.offi.fr/

Today I didn't even see l'officiel des spectacles at the neighborhood newsstand, but I did find a new monthly color glossy called "Arts in the City."

It's a little hard to tell from this photo, but the descriptions are mostly in French with an English synopsis just below the green separator line.  (Click on the photo to get a larger view.)  Lots of fun stuff in this month's 135 pages!  And it's only 3.9 euros - do yourself a favor and pick up a copy!

Incense, Architecture, Etchings, Sculpture, Memories, Tears - Sunday, 7 October

Incense hung in the air of l'Église Saint-Séverin as I stepped inside on Sunday afternoon. This just might be my favorite church in Paris. I’ve been here many times, but I’ve never experienced the incense so present - sandalwood and floral - there was something very purifying and holy about it. There has been a church on this site since the 11th century; it is named after a 6th century hermit who lived in the area. It sits in the midst of the insanely bustling Latin Quarter, a welcome refuge from the madness of the world, a quiet and sacred space. I shuffled around the double ambulatory (stepping cautiously on the very worn-down paving stones), stopped at the side chapels, sat and breathed deeply in the nave.

Then I proceeded to the small elliptical Mansart Chapel in the southeast corner of the building. This simple chapel, with its etchings by Georges Rouault, and beautifully cast bronze Madonna and child by Georges Schneider, and crucifix, altar and lectern by I-wish-I-knew-who is a beautiful spot for quiet reflection.

And reflect I did. And cry. Many many years ago, I told my friend and college-freshman-year-accompanist Leah Harding about this place, and about the etchings. As an artist herself, she knew of them, and told me that they were by Georges Rouault. Then, in April 2008, Leah came to Paris with me and we visited Saint-Séverin, where she was also enthralled by the three organs in the church. We ate lunch across the street (where I had my confit de canard today). The incense in the church reminded me of the perfume she always wore.

Leah died almost a year ago of cancer. So all the memories came rushing together as I sat in the Mansart Chapel, and tears ran down my face, and my sniffling was quite loud in that elliptical stone space. Happily, there was only one other person in the chapel whose prayers I disturbed. He smiled at me kindly when he left.

Street Scenes and Other Fun Stuff - C'est la Vie! - Wednesday, 2 November

It’s a wrap for this trip! Just a few more photos and brief explanations….

The sculpture “Écoute” (“Listen,” or as I like to call it, Big Giant Head) sits just outside Église Saint-Eustache a few blocks from the apartment, and it’s been a favorite of mine since my first solo trip to Paris in 1989 when I stayed in the cute little Hotel Tonic on rue du Roule. There are always little kids climbing all over it – into the hand, then up on the nose, then to the eyebrows, then to the top. No soft landings on nice grass if you tumble – the sculpture has always sat on stone pavement. I wonder how many arms have been broken there over the years!

Fashion!  I wish I had been quicker with my camera to get a better picture of this woman’s outfit – the skirt had pieces of fabric of various shapes and sizes sown onto a few petticoats.  And the fake fur shawl! And the hat!  And the boots! Loved it!

Checking out the architecture? Contemplating profound truths? Wondering how soon I’ll be in a café with a decent … um … water closet?

A little silverware sculpture for all of my bass player friends!

The late-night crowd on our street – it’s a lively part of town, and the partying often continues until about 2 am!

A new vehicle for the conveyance of packages – trucks get stuck in massive traffic jams, and this thing could slip between lanes. Have nerves of steel? You too might be able to get a job like this!

There are specialty shops for everything, including rodent traps. Here’s one that displays taxidermied rats caught at Les Halles in the 1920s in its window. Charming. But there’s no doubt what kind of store it is! (The building across the street is reflected in the top portion of this photo.)

How I spend half my day, it seems, at least when I’m not in a café watching the world go by! But since my legs can’t handle a lot of walking, and since technology allows me to work anywhere, I really don’t mind spending time in the apartment writing blog entries, reading emails & Facebook & news articles (given my hand-on-hip posture here, I’m probably reading an irritating article about a certain Presidential candidate!), doing work for various nonprofits I’m involved with, etc. And back in my pre-retirement years I was even known for participating in the occasional work conference call via Skype. Of course, my habits can be a bit irritating to my travel companions!

Driving through the northern part of Paris in an Uber one night, we saw lots of little tents and groups of people standing around. These were likely migrants who had shifted from Calais to Paris, according to this NY Times article (photo from the article). So sad:  http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/world/europe/paris-migrants-refugees.html?emc=edit_th_20161104&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=25767547

The weather was great the whole 10 days – this might be a record – just short spurts of drizzle a couple days. I did carry an umbrella in my purse the whole time, so I’m sure that that’s what kept it sunny for everyone! It was in the 60s F. most days.  (P.S. the forecast for the week after we returned is highs in the 50s F. and rain most days!)

This was the scene walking home from Maison Eric Kayser with our morning baguette and croissants one day. C'est la vie!

Patronne de Paris and Some Other Patroness - Tuesday, 1 November

Sainte Geneviève is the Patron Saint of Paris (or, as it says on her statue, Patronne de Paris, 423-512). A peasant girl from Nanterre, she saved Paris from Attila the Hun. And she influenced subsequent marauders to show clemency. Impressive. She deserves a visit to her statues at Jardin du Luxembourg (at the top of the stairs on the east side of the big pond) and other locations (I just learned that there’s one on Pont de la Tournelle – next trip!).

the Patronne de Paris
and one of her big fans

Here’s her story (my summary from a Wikipedia article and other sources):

A peasant girl born in Nanterre, Geneviève became a nun at the age of 15 and moved to Paris to live with her godmother Lutetia upon the death of her parents. Later, the bishop of Paris appointed Geneviève to look after the welfare of the virgins dedicated to God, and by her instruction and example she led them to a high degree of sanctity. In 451 Attila and his Huns were sweeping over Gaul; and the inhabitants of Paris prepared to flee. Geneviève encouraged them to hope and trust in God; she urged them to do works of penance, and added that if they did so the town would be spared. Her exhortations prevailed; the citizens recovered their calm, and Attila's hordes miraculously turned off towards Orléans, leaving Paris untouched. When Childeric I besieged the city in 464 and conquered it, she acted as an intermediary between the city and its conqueror, collecting food and convincing Childeric to release his prisoners. Some years later Merowig (Mérovée) took Paris; during the siege Geneviève distinguished herself by her charity and self-sacrifice. Through her influence Merowig and his successors, Childeric and Clovis, displayed unwonted clemency towards the citizens. It was she, too, who first formed the plan of erecting a church in Paris in honour of Saints Peter and Paul. It was begun by Clovis at Mont-lès-Paris, shortly before his death in 511. Geneviève died the following year, and when the church was completed her body was interred within it.

Now, that's what I call a Patronne! Her feast day is January 3. She was a vegetarian and fasted all but a couple days a week, but let's not hold that against her, OK?

Here are some other photos I snapped at Jardin du Luxembourg today:

La fontaine Médicis

plantings at la fontaine Médicis

Le Palais du Luxembourg (le Sénat)

just two little boats on the big pond today

but plenty of waterbirds

Brâncuși’s Sculptures and TOOLS! - Wow - Monday, 31 October

Who loves Constantin Brâncuși’s sculptures? Who doesn’t?!? Here’s a photo of his iconic polished bronze “The Newborn” at MOMA in New York.

Brâncuși moved from Romania to Paris in 1904, and he built and occupied a studio in the Montparnasse district from 1916 through his death in 1957. It contained his huge array of tools and also his unique grouping of his sculptures – the studio became his preferred place for the presentation and comprehension of his works. He felt that his works needed to be in a particular spatial relationship to each other. So when he sold, for instance, a marble sculpture, he replaced it with a plaster cast to preserve the integrity of the whole.

He bequeathed his studio and its contents (including works, sketches, furniture, tools, library, record collection, etc.) to the French State, and the Centre Georges Pompidou has just installed a reproduction of the studio on the north end of the big square outside its entrance. It’s free (no tickets required, so no standing in the long lines to get into the museum), and it’s fascinating! I took lots of photos through the windows that enclose the studio (you can click on any photo in this blog to see a larger version). Almost as amazing as the sculptures are the tools that he acquired, adapted, and/or built to accomplish his vision on both small-scale and enormous-scale pieces.

This exhibit runs through next March 6, so check it out if you happen to be in Paris in the next few months! Open every day except Tuesday.

Some GIANT saws and an amazing variety of other tools!