Atlier des Lumières 2

Some Klimpt faces, or suggestions of them. We are a self-absorbed species, aren't we?

You may have observed that these shots are all taken from the same angle. The steroid shot I got in my back wore off so I needed to just sit, not wander around the atlier as I would have liked. Notice the Hundertwasser eyes sneaking into the third picture. Also the hourglass in the fourth: is white sand just about to run or has black sand run all the way through?         

Atlier des Lumières 1

There is  an amazing new attraction in Paris called the Atlier des Lumières, the Workshop of Lights. It's been open since April. Some visionary people turned an old iron foundry into a complex light show on the walls and floor, ever changing and accompanied by intense music. There were three productions shown in rotation, one about the work of Gustav Klimpt.  one on Friedensreich Hundertwasser, and the last an abstract piece called Poetic AI. These are some from Klimpt. There are many more pictures to edit and post,

The experience is spellbinding. Check its website at https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/  . More to come.  

Coffee, Food, Photography

What else could one want, mixed with young lovers on the streets of Paris? Nothing like the St. Louis Fringe.

Down the street from our apartment.  My mystery French cooties may be a bit better but they are not gone. Then the steroid shot in my back - poof! - wore off, leaving me hobbling around. We went to Sainte-Chapelle today, . Some nice official saw me leaning on my cane and cut us to the front of the ticket line. Once inside all I could do was sit. I started taking pictures of the other tourists with the LED screen flipped down, thinking of a series called Paris On My Butt. May yet edit those. 

Here later today: https://www.atelier-lumieres.com/. Home late Tuesday night.      

In The Pompidou

Everyone knows the Pompidou Center for Modern Art, the one with all the color-coded pipes and escalators in tubes on the outside. We visited yesterday, despite my ongoing health problems. The entryway to one floor was lined with sofas, each covered with oriental rugs and bolster pillows. Some people used them for rest, some for a bit of voyeurism. I did both.

The east side of the building has a long concrete slope down to the doors. Uber was sponsoring a project to cover it with turf, a work of art in itself, I suppose. 

I'll be putting up a couple more pictures from yesterday on Facebook.       

The Streets Of The Marais

We are staying in the Parisian neighborhood known as the Marais, to the east of the Pompidou Center. I haven't looked this up to be sure, but my memory is that was once the Jewish quarter, and once just sort of run down. Now it has a vibe similar to Soho in New York, albeit with much smaller and irregular streets.

We walked to the Picasso Museum today. It's a beautiful old building (the bottom two pictures are the courtyard) but I couldn't appreciate it. My only, constant thought was I need to sleep now. Whatever I have is not a simple bacterial infection but I won't know for sure until I get home and see my doctor. It's a really good 24 hours if I sleep less than 12 of them.

We can easily conclude that Paris has better quality wall art than St. Louis.          

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Friday Morning, Paris

We finally made it. This is the scene outside our apartment on a cool, drizzly morning. I totally stole the composition idea in the top picture from Virginia, but she does it better. The one below is, I think, a shoe store for men with more money than sense. The shutters are still down but note that the tree on the right is smoking a cigarette.

My French cooties are slowly subsiding. Actually ate some dinner last night. The main problem now is the arthritis in my back, which gets much worse with dragging and lifting luggage. Really slowing me down sometimes. But we'll take it easier today and start with the Picasso museum, which is nearby.

And I'm stumbling along okay in French. They appreciate that I try.         

The Third Best Restaurant In The World

There is a web site out of the UK - it's been around for awhile - called The 50 Best Restaurants In The World. Of course it is controversial and subjective but, if they are to be believed, we had lunch yesterday at Number Three, Mirazur here in Menton. Of course it's expensive but not that bad at lunch. Let me put it this way: it's a lot less than tickets to Hamilton on Broadway.

It is on a hillside overlooking the town of Menton and the Mediterranean, right on the Italian border. I can't begin to describe all the things they served us. Let me just note that the picture on top shows two martini glasses containing jellied tomato water (!) topped by tiny flower petals. And I've sure never been given a text by Pablo Neruda with the bread.

This was a chef's choice tasting menu. Impossible to remember all the details but they gave a little card with what we were served (see below). Lastly, a little box with exquisite tiny cakes. We will save then for Ellie.

I felt a bit embarrassed afterward. My palate is simply not this sophisticated. 

Til The Cold WInter's Through

This was the most difficult show I shot at The Fringe, both because of the material and a serious lighting problem that interfered with photography. These are the best I could get. The program describes it:

'Til the Cold Winter's Through, a new dramatic work by Shannon Geier and River A. Dowdy, explores the devastation surrounding the issues of human trafficking and child exploitation, by tracing the stories of those who have suffered and survived. The many facets of these modern tragedies are examined in a way that gives voice to those who are often silenced and raise awareness of issues that are often deemed too painful to explore. Mature Audiences Only.

This is probably the last Fringe material for a while. Other adventures await.

Racecars and Romance, Part 2

Another set from Racecars and Romance. As the story progresses, the has-been race car driver wants to get back to the top, and is also interested in Roni, the female master mechanic who has somehow ended up working in lipstick and eyeliner at an oil change shop. She thinks he is going to ask her to marry her but, instead, asks her to be his crew chief for the big race at Talladega Speedway. Improbably, he wins, but pays more attention to his own glory than to Roni, who helped get him there.

I have a bunch more photos from the show to edit so there may be one more set of these. Fifteen pictures from this set will go up on Facebook shortly.   

Racecars and Romance, Part 1

I am so far behind in my editing. Two heavy weeks at work. Now the pressure is off for a while. However, Mrs. C and I will be leaving Tuesday for two weeks away and that will be a substantial distraction.

Finally to the other Fringe feature presentation, Racecars and Romance. The Fringe program says:

Race Cars and Romance is a fast-paced, hilarious, rom-com that tells the story of a young woman mechanic fighting to earn professional respect in the male-dominated world of stock car racing. She is torn between her desires to find love in a traditional relationship and the reality of her agitated, greasy, masculine working conditions. Her fortunes turn for the better after an unexpected meeting with an old foe and down-and-out race car driver leads to a winning relationship on the track but troubled romance off the track. Meanwhile, traditional relationships are redefined when her best friend, the playful Louraine finds her first “respectful” relationship, former shop owner Paw Paw offers dear Grandma Myrtle appreciation that’s long overdue, and other colorful customers find their connections while keeping the oil change business in non-stop laughter.

It was a fun bit of fluff. I took way too many pictures. There will be more of these on Facebook in a few minutes and another set tomorrow, time permitting.         

Grim Tales, Horrific Vignettes

From goulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night
Good Lord, deliver us!

                   - old Scottish prayer  
 

Fringe mainstay, Pete Papavlasopoulos, and company put on five mini horror plays. In a home for patients with advanced dementia, one gets up when no one is around and smothers another. A bottle contains a mystical  fluid that, when drunk, might give you eternal life, might kill you or might kill someone else.Then there's Death And The Maiden. 

There was a play on Broadway in 1965 called Things That Go Bump In The Night. Although it only lasted for 16 performances, I saw it when I was in high school. Different experience from the Fringe.