An afternoon at the Petit Palais

I've been immersed for the longest time in this enormous book that I haven't had much time to look up the city's current cultural offerings. That said, I tore myself away from the book to catch the YSL Retrospective at the Petit Palais. It has unfortunately ended and I am heartily congratulating myself for having gone. It was simply magnificent. It featured over 300 of his gorgeous and emblematic clothes and as such gave both a grand and intimate view of YSL's oeurve. I know the word genius is pretty much bandied about these days but there are times, such as now, when the word is merited. I don't presume to be a fashion expert but seeing the exhibit made me realize just how innovative and wonderful YSL's work is. Put in the context of those times, his clothes were really a breath of fresh air and its amazing to see how they've aged so well. There are a great number that one could, assuming money is no object, still wear today. Some outfits, notably the animal print inspired ones, are still very much the rage.

Aside from the beautiful dresses on parade, I loved the accessories and shoes that went with each piece. There were some exceptional ones that I wouldn't have minded coming back home with! I wondered if they were also YSL but the people I asked at the Petit Palais weren't sure. I'd like to think they are also part of the collection as they too had the signature YSL style.

The only thing I didn't like was the fact that we weren't allowed to take photos. And they seemed to be well aware that phones had cameras as every time I so much as looked at my phone, I had someone going "no photos please". What a bummer! Imagine then my surprise when a quick check online revealed photos taken by people at the exhibition. I guess they were far more audacious than I! These photos are courtesy of one such audacious blogger--Ritournelle, thank you for these photos!

Poudre aux yeux

La BNF présente une exposition de photos de Bettina Rheims intitulée Rose, c'est Paris. Selon les différents articles que j'avais lu, les photos étaient censées retracer un portrait de Paris à travers différents portraits, notamment de Rose. On la retrouve donc en Joconde dans le métro, ou en Fantomas sur les toits de Paris. Cela me semblait donc être une bonne thématique.

J'avais compris que les nus faisaient partie de l'univers de la photographe, mais je me suis sentie particulièrement agressée à l'exposition. Je ne pense pas être particulièrement prude, mais j'ai toujours pensé que la suggestion était beaucoup plus belle (et excitante). Certaines photos de nus sont cependant sublimes, et j'avais trouvé la série de nus à l'exposition de photos de Patrick Demarchelier très esthétiques. L'optique de Bettina Rheims est différente, beaucoup plus crue, et je n'en ai pas vu l'intérêt.

Trois vidéos sont également montrées expliquant le parcours de "Rose" dans Paris. La voix narrant le texte était tellement insupportable que je n'ai pas eu la patience de les regarder. Quelqu'un qui s'écoute est exaspérant, et me fait fuir.

Une exposition qui m'a donc fait l'effet d'une grande mise en avant de soi, et d'un contentement certain, où Paris a finalement une place tout à fait minime. Rose, Rose et encore Rose (dont je me fous) s'impose et comme j'ai du mal avec les gens qui se mettent en avant, je n'ai donc pas apprécié du tout l'exposition. C'est fort dommage, car certaines photos (dont les quelques rares où les personnages étaient habillés) étaient superbes.

Filmer les camps

Dans la lignée de Jan Karski et HHhH, une exposition sur la façon dont les camps de concentration ont été filmés lors de leur libération semblait légitime (pour une obsessionnelle comme moi). On connaît tous les images, mais jusqu'à là, je ne m'étais jamais demandé comment cela avait pu être fait dans un moment si critique.

L'amont, l'aval et les documents sont donc montrés. Les images et films ont été pris d'une part pour montrer aux populations (notamment américaines, dont la guerre au quotidien était moins réelle) quelle est la réalité (sous-estimée) des camps, et d'autre part pour servir de preuve au procès de Nuremberg.

Comme toute exposition sur ce sujet, les imageset vidés sont dures, voire insoutenables, mais le Mémorial de la Shoah qui est paradoxalement un lieu très paisible et agréable à visiter, constitue peut-être un passage obligé dans le devoir de mémoire collection, ou peut-être juste pour l'histoire.

An exhibit on Black

As I mentioned in my earlier post, the Mode Museum is one of those museums worth checking out in Antwerp. They always have the most interesting exhibitions. Currently running is the exhibit: Black: Masters of Black in Fashion and Costume. Now we are all in agreement that the LBD is every girl’s fashion staple but how many variations of the LBDs could there possibly to justify devoting an entire exhibit on it?

In fact, the exhibit was much more than dresses. To quote the brochure the exhibit “illustrates the different historical phases of the color black, with examples from painting, historic costume and contemporary fashion.” So while we may think that black as a fashion staple was always a given, it apparently wasn’t always the case. In fact, the exhibit takes pains to point out that during the 16^th century, when scientists were immersed in the study of color, there was a whole debate about whether black could even be considered color. What was even more interesting is to find out that for a very long time, dyeing cloths black was a long and expensive process. As such black fabric was reserved for royalty or the very rich. To have clothes made of black fabric denoted wealth and status. A far cry from the ubiquitous black dresses we now see.

The exhibit very cleverly juxtaposed ancient mourning costumes with the more extravagant creations of such designers as Tisci of Givenchy, Comme des Garcon, Viktor and Rolf and Gareth Pugh. The exhibit also took pains to include whenever possible some references to the costumes cultural context by showing paintings and drawings reflecting the evolution of the use of black in fashion. Some of the clothes on display are wonderful exercises in extravagance (I can imagine Tilda Swinton in many of the dresses) while others are just plain old bizarre. An outfit made completely of black hair to cite just one example of the more bizarre ones.

What I enjoyed the most were the accessories featured. There were two wonderfully eccentric headdresses ( the word hat doesn’t come close to describing them) by master milliner Philip Treacy that I can perfectly imagine on Grace Jones. And because jewelry cannot be far behind where there are clothes, the exhibit also featured some lovely jewelry made of jet. I loved the beautiful lace fans even if they probably aren’t the most practical things to carry around.

Fortunately we could take pictures of the clothes ......

A dress by the late Alexander McQueen....

Gareth Pugh's black and white dress..

A general view of the room.....

It wouldn't have been complete with Chanel's LBD... this is a reproduction of the Ford T-Dress from 1926 but the drawing is one by the lady herself

Some lovely period pieces
See what I mean about Grace Jones being perfect for these hats?
My favorite of the jewelry..

La Pinacothèque présente (selon ses dires, et en se jetant des fleurs au passage) la première exposition majeure en France sur Edward Munch, l'auteur célèbre du Cri.

Londres avait en 2005 déjà exposé des oeuvres de Munch à la Royal Academy of Arts, sur le thème de Munch à travers ses oeuvres. De la même façon que Frida Khalo exprimait sa souffrance et les différentes étapes de sa vie à travers ses oeuvres, les tableaux de Munch reflètent sa dépression, son alcoolisme et sa détresse, dont le Cri en est une formidable illustration. Les distortions de figures humaines et les couleurs reconnaissables du peintre amplifiaient les différents sentiments que pouvaient ressentir le public, et ne laissaent définitivement pas indifférent.

La Pinacothèque, en intitulant l'exposition Munch ou l'anti-cri se place radicalement à l'oppopsé de cette thématique et cherche à montrer que le peintre est plus que son oeuvre majeure et que son style est plus que les distortions humaines et couleurs vives que l'on peut lui associer. L'intérêt de l'exposition est également accru par le fait que la plupart des oeuvres viennent de collections particulières et donc habituellement inaccessibles au public.

On peut donc admirer divers styles et diverses techniques. J'ai eu beaucoup plus de mal à me laisser toucher par ses oeuvres, mais les peintures de paysage ne m'ont jamais ému. Les lithographies et gravures sont en revanche superbes, et le rendu de ces tableaux en noir et blanc est superbe, et dégage définitivement quelque chose.

Une exposition intéressante, qui complète bien celle de Londres, mais qui de mon avis ne donne pas une vision totale de l'oeuvre du peintre. Si une oeuvre majeure ne résume pas le travail d'un artiste, elle le définit quand même que l'on le veuille ou non.

The Vionnet Exhibit

I don’t know why I left it till almost the last week of its run but I finally got around to seeing the Madeleine Vionnet exhibit at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs today. It’s a good thing I did as this exhibit is definitely worth the entrance fee. Madeleine Vionnet –Puriste de la Mode as the exhibit points out has always been considered as the “couturier of couturiers”. Her body of work, which masterfully shows the bias cut, continues to influence a number of our current designers. She had very humble beginnings but was fortunate enough to have found a place with the Soeurs Callot and later on Jacques Doucet. It was during this time that she perfected her technique of draping and cutting without working with a live model. It was a revolutionary idea at that time. At the height of her business, she employed over 1,200 seamstresses, embroiderers and other specialists.

Before seeing the exhibit, I knew that Vionnet was synonymous to the bias cut but the dresses on view at the exhibit shows much more than that. Thanks to the collection of 125 dresses, we can really appreciate Vionnet’s mastery of cut and proportion. But who knew that she was also capable of a great sense of drama as can be seen in the number of her evening gowns that made sumptuous use of gold and silver thread, sequins and shiny beads. And I haven’t even gotten around to mentioning that she made use of glamorous fabrics that carried their own shine. Clearly she designed for women with a high sense of style, confidence and affluence. It’s amazing how contemporary the evening gowns still look. They would certainly not look out of place on the red carpet or some ball. They’re that beautiful! There was one particular beauty in ivory decorated with gold pailletes that I would love to have hanging in my own closet. Never mind that I probably won’t fit in it!

I tried to capture the beauty of the dresses with my camera phone but the pics I have don’t do the clothes justice. Nothing to do but run and see the exhibit before it ends on the 31^st of January!

Here, I tried to take a picture of a beautiful red lace dress with a black lace bolero ......

And here the too beautiful champagne-gold colored gown ...

Treasures from the Holy Mountain

I have such great memories of our visit to Meteora in Greece. Those jutting pinnacles and cliffs are home to several monasteries, some of which still retain its strict tradition of isolation and life of contemplative prayer. One of the changes wrought by modern times is that nowadays monasteries that allow visitors are reachable by steps hewn directly into the rock (as opposed to the being hauled up on the mountainside in baskets) and several asphalt roads. I remember being awed by these monasteries that are filled with Byzantine treasures. Magnificent Frescoes and Icons adorn their humble walls and one can see how lovingly the monks have treasured and preserved their treasures. It was something to see so much beauty preserved from the distant Byzantine era and in a way it felt like stepping back in time.

North of Greece, we heard of another area that is likewise home to monasteries dating back to the Byzantine times. We would have been extremely interested in visiting but unlike the monasteries of Meteora, those of Mt. Athos which occupies most of the Athos Peninsula severely restrict their visitors. Only men, and only 10 foreign males at that, are allowed to visit for a maximum of 6 nights but women are completely barred from entering. A bit strange this interdiction on women visitors considering that Athos is also called the Garden of Mary. So there went the idea of visiting the monasteries of Mt.Athos.

Imagine my surprise then when we heard that an exhibition titled “Le Mont Athos et L’Empire Byzantin, Tresors de la Sainte Montaigne (Mt. Athos and the Byzantine Empire, Treasures of the Holy Mountain) is currently running at the Petit Palais. This was amazing news and we didn’t waste any time. After all this was the closest we were going to get to Mt.Athos.

Quite simply this is an extremely rich and exceptional exhibition that musn’t be missed. Granted, you have to be at the very least, interested in what is mostly religious art but even without being passionate about such art, it is an important exhibition for anyone with an interest in history and culture.

The exhibition is thoughtfully curated with bilingual explanations of each major part. The organizers have taken place to situate the Mt.Athos collection within the context of the Byzantine times. As such, viewers can better appreciate their historical significance. About 200 works of art are meticulously displayed at the Petit Palais, many of which have never been seen outside the walls of their monastery. They range from the 9th to the 18th century and were taken from 9 monasteries. There are a number of magnificent icons as well as beautiful manuscripts and Psalters that have retained their lustrous illustrations (often gold was the metal of choice for the book’s bindings), a good number of parchments that are actually official decrees from the Byzantine emperors granting protection to the monasteries or deeding over land to their exclusive use and some beautiful religious inspired jewelry. All of them are beautifully and lovingly preserved. Considering their great age, this is quite a feat on the part of their guardians.
This is definitely the one exhibition of the year you musn’t miss. After all, we don’t know when another opportunity like this will come along…

Practical Details
Petit Palais
10th April - 5th July 2009.
Open every day from 10am - 6pm except Mondays and public holidays
Metro: Champs Elysee Clemenceau

Sailor chic

Think stripes in blue and white. And jaunty hats and gold buttons. Sailor chic is one style that never goes out of fashion. I’m sure that you too have got a piece or two in your closet just waiting for your inner sailor to take over. And if you look around you, you’re sure to spot someone sporting the stripes! These days, the best way to brush up on nautical fashion is to visit the Musee de la Marine where they are currently running the exhibit “Les Marins Font La Mode” (Sailor Chic in Paris). The idea for exhibition came about when a big fashion house asked to study the Museum’s archives in preparation for their own nautically inspired collection. From here the idea grew till the Museum put together the current exhibit which has about 50 uniforms, emblems and accessories and around 100 outfits and accessories from haute couture houses from the 60s to the present. Not to mention the numerous photographs, prints and portraits that decorates the exhibition halls.
The exhibit is roughly divided into three major parts. The first one deals with the beginnings of the sailor costume. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t until 1858 that the official sailor uniform, consisting of a jacket, a hat and the striped navy and white shirt was required for sailors. Previous to that, sailors brought whatever clothes they had on deck. Since then it has not changed much, the costume being adapted slightly when women started to come on board. One of the key pieces of the first part is the suit belonging to France’s first woman Rear Admiral Chantal Desbordes.

Here you can see the official Sailor's uniform in 1858

A whole row of marine uniforms ....

The second half of the exhibit shows the jump of sailor fashion to the landlubbers. For this, credit goes to Queen Victoria of England who liked it so much that she had her children including Edward VII wear it all the time. Inevitably it was soon sported by all fashionable ladies. Initially worn only during vacations by the sea, it soon became something one could wear in the city during the rest of the year. From here, it was only a matter of time before designers took notice, Coco Chanel being one of the first to jump into the fray. There were a number of interesting paintings from this era which really shows the evolution of sailor wear into daily wear. And I have to say that the children’s outfits were really cute!
From city wear, sailor fashion took one more jump when haute couture houses turned their eye and considerable talent to it. For this third part of the exhibit, the clothes are arranged run way style on mannequins. It’s funny to see how sailor fashion has evolved from its previously humble beginnings. As re-imagined by such designers as Yves St. Laurent, Chanel and Jean-Paul Gautier, to name a few whose creations are included in the exhibit, these dresses are sumptuous, fabulous and would be completely out of place on an actual ship, unless you were going to a ball. My favorite was the navy and white striped ball dress in satin designed by John Galliano and worn by Princess Caroline of Monacco at one memorable ball.

What a pleasant way to spend the afternoon at a museum. And from the glimpse I saw of the permanent collection of the Museum, I’m sure to go through their doors at least one more time! Now, let me go see what I have in terms of nautical wear in my closet….

Practical Details
Les Marins Font La Mode
Musee National de la Marine
Palais de Chaillot
75016 Paris
Exhibit runs until the 26th of July 2009

If you have a hankering for some stripes of your own, Jean-Paul Gaultier has designed a line of sailor inspired shirts available at the Museum shop!

Controverses

Vous n'avez pas pu échapper à l'affiche, la BNF ayant probablement eu le même responsable de la communication que pour l'exposition David Lachapelle. Ce qui a pour effet d'entraîner de la même façon deux heures de queue pour le visiteur. La patience n'étant pas ma première qualité, une deuxième tentative à l'ouverture fut plus fructueuse.

Bien m'en prît car le rapport qualité/attente pour ceux qui ont attendu deux heures est bien faible. Concentrée dans une seule pièce -ce qui veut aussi dire une densité de population fort importante-, l'exposition regroupe des photocopies de toutes époques, et le terme de "controverses" est ratissé bien large. Certaines photographies ont donc définitivement leur place, notamment celles des horreurs des horreurs de la guerre, des camps de concentration, et des catastropes naturelles puisqu'elles posent en effet la question du témoignage. Tout est-il montrable sous prétexte de faire connnaître à ses contemporains ce qu'ils n'ont pas vu de visu? La dignité humaine doit-elle être outrepassée sous prétexte de témoigner?

Les publicités (cf. affiche) pour Benetton d'Oliviero Toscani ont également évidemment leur place, puisqu'elles ont alimenté la polémique pendant une bonne décennie. Et les photos d'enfants nus aussi, puisqu'elles sont sur un fil tranchant. Ou encore la retouche de photographies historiques pour s'aligner sur les nouvelles régulations (cigarettes...).

En revanche, la place de certaines photos au sein de l'exposition est totalement tirée par les cheveux. La controverse? Les droits d'auteur! Le problème juridique (et financier) est loin d'être négligeable, mais pour celui qui regarde la photo, cela a peu d'importance que cela soit Pierre, Paul ou Jacques qui recueille les mérites (et les bénéfices) de la photo. Ou en tout cas, le fil directeur de l'exposition tel qu'il était annoncé ne laissait pas entendre que cela faisait partie du thème.

D'autre part, les photos sont majoritairement connues du public. Qui ne connaît pas la photo des camps de concentration à la libération? Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville de Doisneau? Le portrait du Che? La petite fille de Tran Bang?

Même pour une inculte comme moi, cela faisait déjà beaucoup de photos connues. Et comme la scénographie est digne d'un amateur (le contenu comme la forme), seules les photos ont leur importance.

Il n'est jamais inintéressant de voir un exposition de photos, surtout quand elle exprime un thème aussi crucial. En revanche, un minimum d'exigeance et de profondeur devrait être respecté. Qu'en est-il de la publicité conte l'anorexie qui avait fait tant de remous il y a quelques années (encore une oeuvre d'Oliviero Toscani)? Le thème est pourtant extrêment actuel!

En conclusion l'idée de Controverses était bonne, les photographies sont intéressantes, mais l'exposition est beaucoup trop overrated...

Transported back in time

For a real trip back in time, fashion wise at least, there are two current exhibitions well worth checking out. One is at the Chateau Versailles and it features an impressive collection of royal court dress, reunited together for the first time. The other exhibition, hosted by the Musee Galliera, features fashion from the Second Empire. The Galliera being located closer to us than Versailles, we headed there one rainy Saturday afternoon.

It certainly wasn’t a hard trip to make considering that I love the Musee Galliera. It is the city’s Museum of Fashion located inside a lovely 19th century building originally built for the Duchess of Galliera. It opened as a museum 1977. There are about 90,000 pieces in the Galliera collection, all of which which illustrate and display the developments in historical and contemporary fashion. The collection can only be viewed through special temporary exhibitions. In fact the museum opens only for these exhibitions which are either on a specific theme or designer. The rest of the time, the museum preserves and takes care of their collection. The first time I visited the museum was last year for the memorable Roaring Twenties Exhibition and I enjoyed it immensely. It was a rich exhibition featuring a number of rare Poiret dresses and early Chanel.

This time around, the exhibition (titled “Sous L’Empire des Crinoline") is all about fashion from the Second Empire or the years between 1852-1870. During this period, the crinoline was the symbol of the Second Empire’s fashion. Its form reflected the elegance of an époque that was living through the beginnings of the modern age. Crinoline fashion reflected this modernity with the rise of machines that allowed for greater production and the rise of designer as an artist in his own right. Rapid production meant more dresses could be more quickly available and innovations were quickly realized on even the way the crinolines were shaped. And the designer as artist, we only have to look at Rose Bertin anointed as Minister of Fashion by Marie Antoinette herself to see how the cult of “designer worship” may have had its beginnings. Also it wasn’t that long into the period of the Second Empire when the first formal house of couture was established by Charles Frederick Worth in 1857. I should also mention that it was at this time that the Grand Magasins saw their rise to pre-eminince. All these factors contributed to make Paris the luxury fashion capital of the world.

However uncomfortable some (if not all) of the dresses may have been, there’s no arguing that these dresses conveyed elegance and luxury. Appropriately enough, the first part of the exhibition begins with magnificent ball gowns. They are memorable confections in silk that have retained their luminosity even after all these years. Most of them have wonderfully intricate Chantilly lace shawls that reach almost to the floor. A peek at the labels reveals that some of them belonged to the Empress Eugenie herself. Of course one cannot always swan about in ball gowns so the second act was a display of more “modest” dresses for the day. These were dresses meant to be worn while living one’s daily life. This time they were colorful and richly patterned with flowers such as one dress worn by George Sand. Another beautiful day dress worn by the Princess Mathilde was a striking red and black stripes combination. Whether they were ball gowns or day dresses, one thing that struck me was how tiny the waists were! It must have been some work to fit into these clothes and makes me glad for the more forgiving fashions of today. I don’t think my waist could handle it.

Of course this exhibition wouldn’t be complete without the accessories that go with it. Some big names naturally accompanied the dresses---Mellerio dits Meller, Cartier and Boucheron came up with some fantabulous pieces. But accessories did not only mean jewelry. The exhibition featured the whole gamut, from delicate lace tipped fans, to ivory buckled shoes (again, the women must have had tiny feet because the shoes on display look like children’s shoes compared to today’s sizes), carved flacons of Guerlain, tiny purses and even tinier notebooks called carnet de ball which could sometimes be worn on the wrists. It’s amazing how much work went into the creation of all these objects that were designed for pure luxury. Devoted fashion students could literally spend hours peering into every detail that went into each and every dress and accessory.
For the price of a museum entry ticket, we were transported back to an era and style of living that has completely disappeared now. And I emerged from it lost almost in reverie, dreaming of the gracious life draped in silks and lace.

Some photos to induce you to make the trip...

Robe de ball vers 1866

Another lovely ball dress

A summer dress, complete with bolero, belt and skirt vers 1865

Practical Details:

Musee Galliera

10, avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie – 75116 Paris

tél.: 01 56 52 86 00

M° Iéna ou Alma Marceau

Until the 26th of April 2009

Sonia's World

For me, the first thing that comes to mind when I hear Sonia Rykiel is her famous striped sweater. Funnily enough, I have always associated her style with someone a little older, someone more sophisticated. It’s only been in the last two years or so that I’ve come to really appreciate her style and I’ve come to like immensely her Sonia line which is a lot of fun. It was thus interesting to learn that the Musee des Arts Decoratifs has an ongoing Sonia Rykiel retrospective. I didn’t realize that she’s been around in the industry long enough to have a restrospective.
When Red Addict asked me if I was interested to see the exhibit, I jumped at the chance. Featuring about 200 dresses, sweaters and tops, the exhibit commemorates her 40 years in fashion. Divided into her dominant themes (Laura, Stripes, Rhinestones and Lace, etc…), the exhibit juxtaposes each capsule theme with magazine covers and articles featuring the clothes. It was interesting to have the clothes put within the context of its times. It makes one really appreciate the innovativeness of her designs during those times as well as see how they have evolved to become modern classics or wardrobe staples. We take it for granted now, but back then, it was quite revolutionary to have sweaters that actually hugged the body and moved with it in a flattering way! One memorable cover with Francoise Hardy shot in 1968 features a beautiful striped sweater dress, designed cleverly to look like a shirt and skirt outfit. It’s something I would have no problems wearing today and as Red Addict pointed out, that’s because it’s now a classic look. It was also funny to see how much Rykiel pioneered some styles that fashionable brands now have. Her Velour jumpsuits look exactly like the now ubiquitous Juicy Couture track suits sans the Juicy across the bottom of course, that is now so beloved by the bling bling set. A number of her Slogan sweaters calls to mind those of Zadig et Voltaire’s. Her big drapey cardigans that you tie and wrap around yourself in different ways could well be the predecessor of the soft wrap around cardigans being sold now at Les Petites. Just goes to show how modern and forward her styles already were way back in the late 60s and 70s.
What we both loved at the exhibit were the big publicity shots for the label over the period of 1968-late 90s. They were beautifully shot in evocative black and white that showed off the clothes to perfection yet were so much more. Haunting and striking, it was hard to believe that these shots were publicity ones. They could very well hang in one’s living room or boudoir. They were that nice.
Towards the end of the exhibit, there are a number of “homage dresses” designed by such diverse designers as Matthew Williamson, Ralph Lauren, Rodarte and John Galliano to name a few. Along the wall, one could see the sketched designs of each dress and it was great fun to see how other designers interpret the Rykiel look. Most were gorgeous though I have to admit that some of them looked better on paper.
If you have the chance to do so, visit the exhibition before it closes on the 19th of April. It’s a good opportunity to get better acquainted with the world of Sonia Rykiel.

Some of her sexy sweaters...

Stripes galore...

David Lachapelle se la jour provoc'

Que vous le connaissiez auparavant ou pas, vous n'avez pas pu échapper à la campagne d'affichage pour l'exposition des photographies de David Lachapelle. Et inconsciemment ou pas, vous n'aviez probablement pas pu échapper à ses oeuvres: publicités, photographie parues dans des magazines, clips vidéos (Hello Britney!), rien ne lui échappe.

Un inabordable (financièrement parlant, pour le commun des mortels) coffee book était paru il y a quelques années. La crise étant passée par là, avant d'élargir la cible, une exposition est organisée afin d'exposer quelques oeuvres du talentueux artiste, connu notamment pour son travail de photographie dans le milieu de la mode et des people.

On ne va pas vous cacher que l'expo est au moins autant un attrape-touriste qu'une expo intéressante. Certaines personnes attendent deux heures pour rentrer, et en lisant et en regardant attentivement tout ce que l'exposition présente, il vous faut au maximum 30 minutes.... Cela fait cher la demi-heure.

Cependant, cela vaut les cinq minutes de queue de la nocturne du lundi soir. Connu pour être provocateur, les photos de David LaChapelle sont souvent inspirés de la pornographie. Si l'on sait dépasser cet aspect, ainsi que les couleurs très vives (voire criardes), on atteint le deuxième niveau de compréhension de son oeuvre, qui est tout simplement fascinante. Contestation de la société de consommation, humour au vitriol quant aux people, ses photographies se révèlent extrêmement bien conçues, et pleines de détails invisibles lors de la première lecture. Alors quand vous finissez le parcours balisé de l'exposition, vous ne pouvez que vous précipitez sur le livre proposé, afin de découvrir d'autres photographies, et de tenter de comprendre le message qu'il a voulu faire passer par ce biais-là.

Pour les détails:

Hôtel de la Monnaie, 11 Quai de Conti, 75006 Paris

Tous les jours de 10h30 à 19h sauf lundis et vendredis jusqu'à 22h

A night at the museum

Recently, I had the funny experience of visiting an exhibit in the wee hours of the morning. But this was no ordinary exhibit. It was Picasso et Les Maitres which due to its great success included a 3 hour queue before being able to enter the Grand Palais. Luckily its great success also persuaded its organizers to open the exhibit for 24 hours during its last three days. Having said endlessly to each other that we simply could not miss this seemingly once in a lifetime exhibit, we found ourselves at 130 in the morning before the Grand Palais. Believe it or not, even at that hour we still queued for a good hour. Enough time for our feet to freeze in the winter air. Once inside however we forgot all thoughts of the wait or the cold. Awesome is definitely the word to best describe the exhibition. Not only was there a huge number of works by Picasso (there was 197 works in all) there was likewise a good number of different works by Velasquez, Ingres, Courbet, Goya and Manet. The works covered a whole gamut of Picasso’s oeuvre from his Blue, Pink, Black periods to his still lifes and portraits. The juxtaposition of Picasso with the other great masters enabled us (lucky) viewers to see, and study the echoes and equivalences between their works. Of course, being Picasso, these echoes were done through the prism of his own peculiar and particular genius. Often, the inspiration from the masters reflected in the composition of the tableau, or the colors he used. Sometimes the echo was so light that you couldn’t see it till you saw the work that inspired it. Seeing all these works together was a wonderfully instructive experience. It is amazing to see how much a particular piece of art can inspire another even when the two are separated by time and distance. And it illustrates to great effect what Picasso always believed –that art does not merely reflect what is present, but what should or could be present.

Some photos of the exhibit...

Velasquez' Las Meninas

Picasso's version..

Picasso's portrait of Olga, inspired by Ingres' Portrait of Mademoiselle Caroline Riviere.

Currently running at the Cite de la Musique till the 1st of March 2009 is an exhibition on Serge Gainsbourg. One of France’s most beloved composer and singer, there is no doubting the influence that Serge Gainsbourg has exerted over the years. What this exhibition does is to present a rich trove of material on his life and works. And if you look carefully, much of the material was donated by his daughter Charlotte from her own collection. There are over a hundred pictures and television clips spanning the forty fruitful years of his career as well as interviews with numerous people he worked with. For the benefit of attendees, notably those not so familiar with his work, the exhibition also takes pains to highlight certain milestone periods of his career and the way he took the current trends and made it his own. He was an artist frequently way ahead of the times and the exhibition shows this facet of the man. It was fascinating to discover how much work he was able to produce. I didn’t even realize that he had published a book (Evguenie Sokolov) or that he had directed films. Another fascinating detail I learned was that he was so shy that he stopped performing in public in 1968! For such a provocateur, that was a real surprise. Of course, we can’t talk about Gainsbourg without dealing with his controversial private life and the exhibition doesn’t flinch from it. There are photos (some more provocative than others) of the famous women he was with, Brigitte Bardot and Jane Birkin, to name just two of the more prominent ones.

The nicest part about this exhibition is the room showing all the records he ever made. It was an impressive sight to see them all lined up against the wall. But even better than seeing the records are the computers set up where visitors could listen to a great number of extracts of his music, as well as the musicians that inspired him in all his long years. It also includes commentaries on his music. This is an invaluable resource and alone merits the visit to the exhibition. And because the organizers were nothing if not thorough, they have arranged for special showings of films Gainsbourg loved and more importantly, different tribute concerts throughout the period of the exhibition. All in all, this is a great way to spend a precious Saturday afternoon.

For practical details, feel free to consult the following site..

http://www.cite-musique.fr/francais/musee/expo_temporaires.aspx#

An Art Afternoon

If last weekend was devoted to Cars, this weekend is shaping up to be devoted to art. This weekend the Grand Palais and the Cour du Louvre is the place to be for the 35th annual Foire Internationale D’Art Contemporain, or more simply known as FIAC. This year’s FIAC hosted two hundred participants, of which 114 were foreign exhibitors. And I can tell you that they had a very fine and diverse selection of modern and contemporary art.
Our visit started with, funnily enough, champagne (thanks to a friend who had invited us to a private “brunch” if you will) and a guided visit. And when we had finished the guided visit, we leisurely made our way among the different stands and it proved to be one of the most visually arresting visits I’d ever made outside a museum. Imagine if you will, the variety of modern artists available for viewing under the elegant completely restored dome of the Grand Palais, where the autumnal light bathed everything in a rosy light, and you can see why it makes for one of those unforgettable afternoons. Unlike literature with its more easily categorized characteristics for what distinguishes bad from good, art appreciation tilts more towards the subjective. All the more so when the art in question is modern or contemporary. The question of what makes something a piece of art as opposed to squiggles on a canvas, is never a line drawn in stone. For me (as I imagine it is for other people) the line is more often than not drawn where the piece of work touches or moves me, an answering call, if you will, to the art work’s siren call. What is clear is that modern art provokes questions, debate and contemplation as to why we should consider it as art. Whether or not we agree on what we like or dislike, what is most reassuring is that artists nowadays are more free than ever to experiment, and express, in whatsoever way they choose, their artistic urgings. And there are people ready to support such endeavors.

This year's FIAC ran the gamut from established artists like Warhol, Basquiat and Calder to relatively new comers who had some very interesting works.

Here are a few of the more striking ones..

Untitled (Union Street) by Gregory Crewdson-- we were surprised to learn that this photo is actually a composed one. The artist had painstakingly assembled each and every element in this photo to create what we can see now...




The bronze sculpture that is the model for the the large Kate Moss free standing scuplture called Sphinx by Mark Quinn...

The Nebula Crab, again by Mark Quinn. A genuinely interesting artist whose been known to use his own blood (among other things) in his art work..

One by Alexander Calder..

A personal favorite...one by Mimmo Rotella

And because this weekend is devoted to art, we had the pleasures of the Petit Palais waiting for us at the end of our FIAC visit. A short hop across the street and we were in the equally elegant interiors of the Petit Palais where the Patrick Demarchelier exhibition is currently running. And while Red Addict has already done a great job reviewing said exhibition, permit me to add a few words.

What struck me the most about the exhibition was the clever juxtaposition of the temporary exhibition with the permanent collection of the Petit Palais. It permits the viewer to discover the works of Patrick Demarchelier and at the same time view an older artwork with fresh eyes. To view them was to see mirror images that echoed each other despite a difference in a few hundred years between their creation. And it allows for a deeper appreciation for both works despite their seeming disparity.

One with Sandra Bernhard and French First Lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy...both could have been called Portrait of a strong willed woman

Ideas of the feminine beauty...one by Courbet, others by Demarchelier

While Demarchelier is most renowned for his fashion pictures, he was also an excellent portraitist..

And last but not the least but just because I thought this was funny..