Description:
A man escapes the chaos of the modern city-world by zoning out and imagining that he has some kind of control over it.
Starring: Caspar Schjelbred
Directed, filmed and edited by: Jethro Massey
Back in Paris two years after my first visit. I love this city! It is gorgeous. The beautiful architecture, the language, the sophistication, the food, the art, the music, the history – everything. Three days is too little time, so I´ve decided to go back in July for two weeks! Two weeks of strolling along the streets of Paris and of learning the language. Can´t wait!
“Mountain of the martyr”, once home and workplace for the great artists Monet, Dali, Modigliani, Picasso and Van Gogh. Apparently it was outside city limits during the 19th century, and there were a lot of nuns making a lot of wine in the area, making it a popular place for drinking and decadent entertainment in the cabaret Moulin Rouge and Le Chat Noir. Montmartre is the artists’ and bohemian quarter of the capital and is situated in the 18th district. It is a vibrant place full of art, little bistro´s, stores and charm. The Basilica of the Sacré Coeur on top of the hill is impressing, and holds a magnificent view of the city. The area is much calmer than central Paris, and still holds the charm of the bohemian history. I did not do much shopping in Paris, but here I found a lovely store called Roxan, and bought the cutest ear rings, and a bracelet. I am just so in love with them. Listen to the lovely piano piece! (second below)
Filed under: Events, Music, Photo, Travel | Tags: Concerts, France, Lucinda Williams, Music, Paris, Photo
Kaja had the great idea of getting us tickets for the Lucinda Williams concert at a venue called Alhambra, on the 23. July in Paris. She is one of Kaja´s favorites, but I had not heard much of her songs, or much about her at all. I must say I really liked her voice. It was rough and fragile at the same time. She seemed a little nervous and stiff on stage, but the shyness was kind of cute in combination with the rock´n roll country songs. Her band consisted of some very talented musicians which on their own were called Buick 6. They did the warm up with an acoustic performance. The closing song was a very nice solo acoustic version of Jimi Hendrix’s “Angel.”
Filed under: Architecture, Art, Photo, Travel | Tags: Architecture, Art, France, Musée d´Orsay, Paris, Photo
The Musée d´Orsay is also an obligatory visit when in Paris. A great collection of mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography. The museum holds an extensive collection of impressionist masterpieces by painters such as Monet, Degas, Renoir, and Cezanne. The building is a former train station, and is amazingly beautiful. I would recommend not doing the Louvre and Musée d´Orsay on the same day as I did. Unfortunately the last hour of the visit was with out taking anything in. I guess there is a limit to the amount of input in one day, but I did enjoy it a lot. Especially the light and airy paintings by Monet.
Filed under: Architecture, Art, Photo, Travel | Tags: Architecture, Art, Centre Pompidou, France, Paris, Photo
On the first day in Paris we went to the Centre Georges Pompidou which accommodates the leading collection of modern and contemporary art in Europe. It also holds a large public reference library, performance spaces and cinemas as well as an institute for musical research and creation. The architecture of the place is quite interesting with most of the technical installations out in the open marked with different colors. It stands out though quite harshly in comparison to the surrounding historic architecture. In front of the building is a big square which is eagerly used by people sitting on the ground reading, talking, playing music and so on. From the upper floors you can observe the activity on the ground from a birds perspective. Here are some photos from the collection and the museum, and a few artworks by two of my favorite artists Mark Rothko and Gerhard Richter, that I got on post cards.
Filed under: Architecture, Art, Photo, Travel | Tags: Architecture, Art, France, Louvre, Paris, Photo
Early in the morning on wednesday 22.7, I went by metro to the station of Palais Royal Musée du Louvre. It was a tip in the Lonely Planet France to go to the museum trough the metro station to avoid the line at the main entrance by the pyramid. There was a bit of a line for tickets at the counter though there as well, but it went pretty fast, and I could by tickets for the Musée d´Orsay at the same time.
Musée du Louvre is the national museum of France and is housed in the Palais du Louvre. It is an enormous museum where 35,000 objects from the 6th century BC to the 19th century are exhibited. The collection is divided among eight curatorial departments: Egyptian Antiquities; Near Eastern Antiquities; Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities; Islamic Art; Sculpture; Decorative Arts; Paintings; and Prints and Drawings.
It has been said that it would take nine months (!) to have look at every piece of art in the collection, so you just have to choose some part of the museum, and leave the rest for another visit. I decided to go for the Mona Lisa first, and went to the Denon wing on the 1st floor. On my way to the most famous painting in the world, I passed all the french and italian paintings from the 13th – 15th century. I must say the sight of these masterpieces hanging on the walls of this amazing palace is quite impressing. All though I was at the museum when it opened, the place was already packed with people. When I arrived at the Mona Lisa, there was a big crowd in front of it taking pictures. Pictures of Mona Lisa, of themselves with Mona Lisa, of their mother,sister, girlfriend with the Mona Lisa… puh… What a fuzz there is over this painting. It is quite small, and to be looked at from a bit of a distance since there is a rope holding you back. I think it is hard to point out the superior greatness of this painting to the others of the same time. I had a few other favourites.
From there I went on to the Napoleon III apartments in the Richilieu wing. The rooms are an explosion of gold, crystal and velvet. The Louvre was still being added to by Napoleon III. The new wing of 1852-1857, represents the Second Empire‘s version of Neo-baroque. Oh I wish I could close my eyes and when I´d open them I would see how people were moving around in these incredibly pompous surroundings. I am thinking the same thing walking around in the streets of Paris. The beauty of the architecture inevitably diminishes somewhat in combination with the signs, traffic and trash of the modern times.
Paris, the city of love and noise! What an amazing place. On every street corner a new magnificent historic building. Art museums to drown in forever. Energy is given and taken from you in waves. On my fourth day here I feel both exhausted and incredibly inspired. I met my friend Kaja here on Monday. She had already been in Paris for a few days, and had checked in to the hotel Villa Opera Drout, which I had pre booked. I thought I had booked a hotel in the 3rd district, which is supposed to be one of the nicest. By some kind of misunderstanding I had booked one in the 9th district. It is a nice 4 star, charming Parisian hotel, but it is extremely noisy. The air condition is not working, and it has been really hot, so when it rained last night I was quite relieved. Luckily my ear plugs are helping me sleep at night. We have been working our way through the city by Metro and Taxi. The Metro system is very good, and you can by a day pass for only 5,70 eur. We had one uncomfortable experience down there though, when the station was over crowded with police on a mission to fish out the illegal immigrants. They were lining up everyone with a darker tone of skin to the wall asking for papers. I felt the hairs raise on my back seeing this, and thinking about the humiliation they cause, and the hatred that follows…
Here are some photos of the city and the people:
