Grand Palais, Opéra Garnier, and Ladurée

I had the classiest day ever (at least I tried to). We looked at art at the Grand Palais, Keri and I enjoyed Ladurée, then the two of us headed to see Julius Caesar at the Opéra Garnier.

Oh hey, Michael Cera....

At the Grand Palais, Michael Cera showed up. We looked at a couple pieces together, which was memorable, but It's difficult to look at art normally next to someone famous. It was distracting and I felt super creepy. Because he was there, I was consciously not interacting with the pieces the same way. Eventually, I skipped a couple rooms so I wouldn't be in the same room as Michael Cera and could try to look at the work normally. Because he was there, I will always associate Dynamo and the Grand Palais with him, not the art inside.

After the exhibit, Keri and I headed to Ladurée, which I have been wanting to go to the entire time I've been in Paris. I had champagne and macaroons and accidentally ordered a lemon tart. We took pictures and couldn't understand our waiter, so we probably weren't as classy as the rest of the champagne bar patrons.

After Ladurée, we headed to the Opera! We had really nice seats in a box that we shared with just a few other people (maybe 13 total). The box had locked doors which had to be unlocked for the people inside-it felt very exclusive. The opera itself was very different than the others I've seen. Instead of being in a classical setting, it was in the warehouse of a museum and the ancient characters interacted with the modern set. There were modern characters too, the museum workers changed the set and brought out props. Most of the time, they didn't interact with the ancient characters but if they did, they were minor, in groups, and always silent. Because the set didn't change much, the scenes and identities of the characters were dependent of the museum artifacts they were near. It was a huge change from the operas I've seen, but once I got used to it, it was very enjoyable.
Again, I wasn't quite as classy as I was hoping to be. Throughout the show I was figiting more than a ten-year-old, my stockings ripped, and I got some Ladurée tart in my hair. It's impossible for me classy in Paris.  If I leave out a few details, it sounds great.

Another Day of Self Exploration

Performer at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France

Being in Paris has been quite the memorable experience. Having this class out of the country is leaving me with a broader perspective in life. I need time to gather all of the thoughts circulating in my head, and let experiences simmer for a bit to digest it all efficiently. Departing for London, England tomorrow –  I am highly anticipating the trip over there for a few days. While in London, I will be keeping in touch over this blog at least once and posting a few photos and a personal journal entry.

Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy

Inspiration is highly abundant for my studio project right now and I am elated to start conjuring up more of the process to it.

While on my self exploration of the city by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France– and the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy. - these are the two photos that I wanted to share. 

Hope you all enjoy the photos in my next blog post.

- Sincerely, Lauren W.

Dynamo : An Experiment in Duration, or Perversely Dense?

The exhibition at the Grand Palais, Dynamo covered an entire century worth of art dealing with Light and/or Movement.  The works presented ranged from overwhelming light installations, to op-art paintings.  As an enthusiastic, rather naive viewer, the exhibition itself proved to defeat me, mentally and physically.  The works were organized according to sixteens perceptual themes : openwork, permutation, concentric/eccentric, interference, immersion, distortion, tactile, grid, pulsing, abyss, force field, cloud, halo, maelstrom, uncertain space, and celestial.  That certainly seems like a whole lot for one person to think about in the course of a few hours.

Truth be told, I couldn’t wait to leave Dynamo.  I wanted to see everything, but after the first third of the exhibition, my head was throbbing, and my mind was exhausted.  I am enamored with simplicity, and Dynamo absolutely lacked this.  From one moment, I as bombarded by flashing bulbs, and almost immediately, another work was demanding my attention.  Contemplation was at a premium, and sensory experience demanded quite a lot from a viewer.  Dynamo took on a huge task conceptually.  If we consider light and movement as separate conceptual undertakings, there is surely enough quality content available to fill a space like the Grand Palais.  The institution was kind enough to provide sofas periodically for viewers to lounge between rooms, and take a short break, but I argue that the exhibition as a whole would have been stronger if these breaks were curated in to the space to create a more leisurely pace.  Just because movement is a focus in the exhibition, one cannot forget the many forms human movement takes, especially moments of stillness.  

Even as viewers moved in to spaces of darkness or slight blindness, the entry to these spaces was clumsy and anxious.  Entering James Turrell’s work “Cherry” I gripped the walls, stumbling in to other confused viewers and by the time I reached the space, my experience was disturbed.  I believe that the curators had good intentions by developing an anxious speed to move throughout the work, and by using moments of complete darkness to accentuate the presence of light, but these kinds of experiences are not welcome to groups of viewers.  When I attend an exhibition, I don’t go to be alone, I am aware that there will be many other people attempting to experience the work.  

Fairly soon after entering the space, I felt my eyes tiring, repulsed by op-art.  I imagine the rooms of paintings were designed to allow the viewer to rest for a moment and contemplate the work, but the images were visually harsh.  I appreciate ample space between objects, and felt the rooms of Dynamo were far too clustered.  It became easy to pass up whole walls of works because I was so

overwhelmed by the density of objects.  I wish that the curators at the Grand Palais had taken advantage of the abundant space by filling it sparsely, and really honing in on fewer works that better defined their goals rather than filling a space with vaguely connected works.  Sixteen topics of conversation is at least eleven too many topics for any exhibition.  While I appreciate taking on huge tasks, simplicity to me is poetry, and has a greater lasting effect.