Here are some things I have learned over the past couple of days. Sundays are very very quiet in Paris. The whole city kind of shuts down. I guess this is when folks are supposed to go to church or something. However, my pagan neighborhood has some businesses that choose to stay open so it wasn't all bad. I walked over to the Les Halles neighborhood which used to be a vibrant market place long long ago. It is now basically a big ugly mall that is run down and lonely. But, inside there are two gems. A giant Olympic sized swimming pool (because that belongs in a mall?) and big movie theater. I went to see the the Jean-Michel Basquiat documentary "The Radiant King". It was great and the theater was packed. We had tried to see it in Seattle when it was at the NW Film Forum but missed it. I recommend netflixing it for any of you who are interested in learning about this 80s superstar. To get back to the apartment from Les Halles you have to cross through the Centre Pompidou area. As I was walking through a young lady blew kisses my way (weird) and then motioned for me to sign a petition. She was maybe 19 years old, small and either deaf or took a vow of silence. I motioned "no thank you" and then she got all wound up and actually shoved/poked me in the arm. My first instinct was to punch her (not really) but this potential headline was floating through my brain "Giant American Punches Tiny Deaf French Girl". I just couldn't make us Americans look any worse so I nixed the punch. I have noticed through watching the news that the French are very interested in our mid-term elections. It kind of feels they are more concerned about it than we are in the states with our paltry voting participation rates. People here seem genuinely concerned about Obama and want him to succeed, as do I.
Yesterday I embarked on my first trip away from the core of the city. I went to see a Le Corbusier house in Western Paris. On the way I wanted to find this beautiful old candle shop that I've read about. I double checked to make sure it was open on Mondays as I learned many businesses also choose to close on Mondays. I decided to walk as it was a gorgeous Fall morning - quiet and crisp. Alas, it along with every other shop along the way was closed. I could not figure out why because all of the signs stated they were open on Mondays. A nice British couple asked me for directions (me!?) and I could actually help them find their way. I in turn asked them if they knew why all the shops were closed and they told me it was All Saints Day - a real holiday here in France. I always thought of Nov. 1 as Day of the Dead and not a national holiday. Just one more thing that I've learned to appreciate on this journey abroad.
I made my way to Foundation Le Corbusier - it is tucked away in a very private semi-upscale neighborhood. The apartments in this neighborhood are gorgeous with art-deco touches everywhere. The streets were much quieter than in the center of Paris - definitely felt like the burbs. I was thrilled to finally see a real-life Corbusier building. I have never seen one before but have seen plenty in my old textbooks. To be honest, it was kind of run down on the outside and not as pristine as I expected it to be. The interior was closed (All Saints Day, remember?) but I enjoyed walking around and seeing what I could.
When I returned to the center of the city I somehow felt relieved. I liked the feeling that this is my temporary home and that I have learned to navigate it with semi-ease. I decided it would be a good night to take in the Pompidou. I was waiting for Larisa to arrive to share the experience but I remembered that it is so huge that two visits would be a good idea. I took in three of their exhibits - one by an artist named Arman who was a contemporary/friend of Yves Klein, an exhibit by Nancy Spero and a third titles "Elles" which was a group show of many contemporary women artists. Arman is an artist I knew nothing about - never even heard of him. His work deals with changing the meaning of objects by using them in a repetitive fashion; burning them or encasing them in acrylic. The Nancy Spero show was great. I certainly knew about her but never dove into her work before. Her work deals with societal issues head-on and there is no doubt at what she is trying to convey. She was very active in the feminist and anti-war movements of the seventies and used her work to advance these causes. The last show I saw was the group exhibit and it was absolutely huge and overwhelming. I learned that the museum has made a conscious effort to show women artists over the last two years and has devoted a lot of space (and thought!) into these shows. There was so much to see and so many artists I hadn't heard of. I absolutely loved it and wanted to purchase the catalog to learn more about these artists except it weighed about a thousand pounds. Perhaps I will search on Amazon when I return instead of racking up the airline baggage charges....
This brings me to today - we had so much to catch up on despite the slowness of Sundays/holiday! I went to see the Jean-Michel Basquiat exhibit at the other Modern Art Museum. Yes, they have two modern museums in one city. This museum is near the Eiffel Tower area and in a part of town I had not yet explored. Jean-Michel Basquiat is some kind of pop phenom here because the exhibit was packed. I had to wait for an hour and a half just to get in the door! I listened to the line to see if it was full of tourists like me but it was all locals I have always liked Basquiat's work but never thought of him as a such a star. Well, the show was fantastic. The layout and information provided (even in English) was great. After seeing the movie and then seeing the exhibit I feel very educated in all things Basquiat. There was also an exhibit by American photographer Larry Clark. Fascinating documentary style photos from the sixties and seventies. Very graphic - in fact you had to be 18 years old to enter the exhibit. I left this museum very grateful for the French love of American art and I loved that I could see all of this fantastic art in one place.
I am feeling more and more at home here on this vacation plus. Of course, I realize this is under the pretense of having no job, enough money and no obligations. I do wonder what it would feel like to live here for real - I suppose it is like any other city full of hassles and craziness but the over abundance of culture is amazing and I for one, am going to take in all I can in my remaining weeks here.
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