STL DPB ON THE ROAD - BUDDHA COMES TO THE CATHEDRAL

And other kinds of people followed. We visited Chartres Cathedral, a little more than an hour by train from Paris. I'm so tired (it's late Monday night as I write this) maybe I'll add some more comment in the morning. But then, since I tend to beat myself up when we travel and never have enough spare time, I'll just refer you here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartres_Cathedral .           

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - FILLER - GARE MONTPARNASSE

So many photos, so little edit time. We took a day trip to Chartres Cathedral and I have a lot of pix to clean up. For now a couple of shots in the Montparnasse Station waiting room. Thank heavens for flip-out camera screens.            

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - ATELIERE DES LUMIERES - VIEUX AMIS - LA VIE PARISIENNE

I'm not quite ready for this. Although my back pain is gone after the recent procedures, my gait is a mess and my leg muscles are like putty after a year and a half of under use. The muscles are barking (loudly) and I've become a major customer of the local Uber operation. But the show must go on.

On Friday, we went to the must-visit Ateliere des Lumieres, the workshops of light. It is an old iron foundry which now contains ephemeral, ever changing projections of art on some theme. This year it is Van Gogh and Japanese illustration. Later, we met some of our City Daily Photographer friends for a wonderful meal in an unpretentious cafe. You can't eat badly in France if you stay out of one of the (very few) McDonalds. That's me in the bottom picture, face in phone as usual.          

STL DPB on the road - TEMPS ET ART

I take a picture like the first one every time I am in Paris. It is the clock tower in the northeast corner of the top floor of the Orsay Museum, obviously set up for visual impact. Can't go wrong.

The big show was about Berthe Morrisot, the only woman who elbowed her way into the Impressionists' circle (except maybe for the American, Mary Cassat). It was stunning. I had heard of her, maybe seen an image or two, but knew nothing about her. Her style is often quite loose, shapes dissolving into colored air with a flick of the brush. Note how two strokes define the crimson lips in the detail below from Girl With A Bowl Of Milk. The subject may be her daughter, Julie. If there were time, this would be worth a second visit.       

STL DPB ON THE ROAD - DEJA VU ALL OVER AGAIN

It is fitting to title this post with a quote from St. Louisan Yogi Berra, perhaps the only words of French he ever spoke. We are back in what is probably our favorite city in the world, Paris. Last night we took a tour of the Louvre with a young art historian.  The museum is horrifically crowded these days but it's not too bad at night. Familiar images here. Time to get out on the street.           

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT - 39,000 FEET OVER ONTARIO - SECRETS OF THE BOWER HOUSE

WiFi on airplanes used to be expensive and unreliable. It's different now. We are on an new 787 over Ontario. The signal is strong and the price is not too bad.

This is one of my favorite shows from the Fringe, Secrets of the Bower House. Music, dance, abstraction, symbolism. There was a lot about cleansing and admission to a secret society. Made me think of a combination of The Magic Flute and Einstein on the Beach. (Mrs. C and I saw the 1984 production of Philip Glass' opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. It changed my life.)

Obviously I liked this a lot. Time to get to sleep, though, before we cross the Atlantic.             

MY INFINITE SADNESS

Darrious Varner introduced a new play at the Fringe, My Infinite Sadness. The title made me wonder if it was a little over the top, but not so. A young woman struggles with severe depression, not a new theme. Varner's brilliant stroke was to personify depression, to turn it into a character. She threatens, cajoles, demeans and bullies. The woman, by turns, resists and collapses. She rallies to some degree at the end but the future is not guaranteed.

I thought it was terrific, tightly written and brilliantly acted by Bre Love and and Laurell Stevenson. The play was a highlight of the festival. I decided to edit the photos darkly, in keeping with the theme.