William Eggleston does not know Paris

Today I went to the Cartier Gallery of Contemporary Art. Beatriz Milhazes had her work on display upstairs, and William Eggleston had his work downstairs. The work from Beatriz Milhazes was spectacular. The paintings were enormous, touching the ground and nearly reaching the tall ceilings, when up close the viewer was engulfed in an array of colors. Her pallet offers great compliments of varying colors. 

Beatriz Milhazes, Sinfonia Nordestina, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas

William Eggleston is a photographer who I have long since admired. He has managed to turn such simple subjects into iconic images. He is an American photographer who has truly captured the "All American Charm" of the USA, but his work abroad seems to lack these qualities he is known for. He was approached by Hervé Chandès (Director, Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art) to make a series of photographs documenting Paris. Eggleston's work is best viewed as a body of work rather than appreciating each image individually. He has been said to take his photographs "spontaneously", in a decisive moment manner.

After spending only two weeks in Paris, I certainly can not attest to knowing this city. I could live here for months, or even years, and still not know all that Paris has to offer. With that being said, the photos on display were lackluster. Each image was no larger than 8"x10", and the resolution of the photos seemed poor. Although there were a few images that I enjoyed it did not compensate for the rest that were simply dull. I am not sure if this is a finished body of work, as the literature alluded to the fact that he may still be working on this.

William Eggleston, Untitled, Paris Series, 2006-2008

Van Gogh-ville

Today we ventured to a part in France roughly an hour North of Paris. I walked in the room where Van Gogh lived just before he died. Van Gogh shot himself (in the chest) in his most famously painted wheat fields. He walked back to his flat, and died two days later. The town was having an annual Festival, Cocagne Fete, there were so many vendors and marching bands. It was fantastic.

My friend Keith and I purchased a bottle of chilled Chardonay, and made our way to the wheat fields. We sat for a while and had a picnic in the fields. We found an already existing path that had been forged through the wheat and made ourselves comfortable. 

Keith in Van Gogh's one room palace, 7 sq. ft.

Kisses for the dread-locked donkeys. 

Candied Apples, Cocagne Fete

Wheat!

Poppy with Wheat

Van Gogh's wheat fields.

Farm livin'

No "farmer's tans" allowed at the Gay Pride Parade, Paris.

Chardonay on a hot day.

Foux du Fa Fa

Last night we went to Vaux-le-Vicomte. It was absolutely beautiful! The entire chateau was illuminated by hundreds of candles. My camera was dead, but I really don't think that I could have captured all of the charm of the chateau. We got home around midnight. We walked to Pizza 31 (a near by late night pizzeria, with buy 1 get 1 free pizzas). Morgan, Keith, and I shared wine and conversation with our Canadian neighbor in the dorm. He's a poly-sci major, we chatted on politics for a bit, and agreed that the school system in France is as equally beaurocratically backwards as it is in the states and Canada. 

This is how it feels to be in France, sort of.

mobile children of Paris

Today our mission was to act as Flaneurs. Each group was given one destination to find in the city. We were armed with maps, and with a partner of our choosing. Morgan and I had Le Marais - rue des Rosiers. This is an old Jewish district. We ate Falaffel and embraced the grumpy old Jewish women. Once in our destination (and after exploring all of it's benefits) we were instructed to "drift" back home. This proved to be difficult, but it helped us to really learn the streets of Paris better.

After a long day of walking, Morgan and I took the RER home. We were almost to our destination when a sea of children filled our RER car. Their noises were pleasant, French giggles. The chaperones herded the children into the car once the doors opened, the familiar beep of the RER warned everyone that the doors would soon be closing, but the women seemed confident that they could squeeze every last child in.

When the kids aren't taking the Metro, they're buzzing around the streets on razor scooters. It's fantastic! The adults ride bikes (everywhere!), and the children take their scooters. It's no wonder this country is full of fantastically thin individuals.

Home away from home.

My roommate Morgan and I sharing a delicious bottle of 3 euro wine.

Notre vue est magnifique!