Paris & Sophie Calle @Bibliothèque Nationale de France
I'm still playing catchup with my blog posts but want to cover allparts of the trip where possible. I arrived in Paris from LeHavre. I met up with Daniel and Sascha and we set about taking the city by storm! :)
We mooched about the city with no real agenda, or alteast no agenda I'm willing to describe in details. I'll let Saschas pictures speak for themselves ;)
We visited the catacombs which was not really too exciting. But an potentially an interesting place depending on your interests. Its hard not to meditate on death whilst down there in the dank dark tunnels beneath les trotoirs de Paris.
I can't remember which night it was but on one of the evenings we went to the Buddha Bar. A really cool place, although it could be any bar anywhere in the world, the music was oppressively loud (yep, I'm getting old) but the decor was slick. The prices obviously meant that it was a bar for tourists or the affluent( 36yoyos for 2 beers and a cocktail).
I love Paris, I always have and always will. One of the highlights of the weekend was a Sophie Calle exhibition I caught in the BnP. I'd seen some of her work in the Dublin MoMA about 5-6 years ago and it had left a lasting impression on me. The exhibition was based on her life( as is usual for her). Specifically about the breakup between her and an ex boyfriend. He had chosen to breakup over email and in turn she responded by forwarding the email to some friends to give their opinions. The exhibition itself contained the responses from her various friends. Responses included such media as photos of their pets eating the email(in printed form of course), friends singing the words of the letter, video footage of them acting out the rage she herself must have felt. It was a pretty straightforward show which encouraged deeper thought. I loved it!
The hall in which the exhibit was being held was a sight to behold in itself( a part of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). Almost overbearing given the subject matter . But it was a great opportunity to see the space too. I have a copy of the letter if anyone ever wants to see it. (i.e. I'll try to put a copy up online).
In summary the trip to Paris was a casual one. I also had the chance to meet up with Martin(on of my house mates from London) who was coincidentally visiting his girlfriend at the same time. We went for a meal and hung out a little. It was a fine evening and he looked in fine form from his travels( he too is traveling the globe at the moment). I recall seeing a glint in his eye that I was slightly envious of, the shine of a person who is truly content. Little did I realise that travel was the elixir that was fueling this fine state ( And soon I too was about to be quaffing it by the jugfull.)
So thats it - my trip to Paris in a nutshell.
We mooched about the city with no real agenda, or alteast no agenda I'm willing to describe in details. I'll let Saschas pictures speak for themselves ;)
We visited the catacombs which was not really too exciting. But an potentially an interesting place depending on your interests. Its hard not to meditate on death whilst down there in the dank dark tunnels beneath les trotoirs de Paris.
I can't remember which night it was but on one of the evenings we went to the Buddha Bar. A really cool place, although it could be any bar anywhere in the world, the music was oppressively loud (yep, I'm getting old) but the decor was slick. The prices obviously meant that it was a bar for tourists or the affluent( 36yoyos for 2 beers and a cocktail).
I love Paris, I always have and always will. One of the highlights of the weekend was a Sophie Calle exhibition I caught in the BnP. I'd seen some of her work in the Dublin MoMA about 5-6 years ago and it had left a lasting impression on me. The exhibition was based on her life( as is usual for her). Specifically about the breakup between her and an ex boyfriend. He had chosen to breakup over email and in turn she responded by forwarding the email to some friends to give their opinions. The exhibition itself contained the responses from her various friends. Responses included such media as photos of their pets eating the email(in printed form of course), friends singing the words of the letter, video footage of them acting out the rage she herself must have felt. It was a pretty straightforward show which encouraged deeper thought. I loved it!
The hall in which the exhibit was being held was a sight to behold in itself( a part of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France). Almost overbearing given the subject matter . But it was a great opportunity to see the space too. I have a copy of the letter if anyone ever wants to see it. (i.e. I'll try to put a copy up online).
In summary the trip to Paris was a casual one. I also had the chance to meet up with Martin(on of my house mates from London) who was coincidentally visiting his girlfriend at the same time. We went for a meal and hung out a little. It was a fine evening and he looked in fine form from his travels( he too is traveling the globe at the moment). I recall seeing a glint in his eye that I was slightly envious of, the shine of a person who is truly content. Little did I realise that travel was the elixir that was fueling this fine state ( And soon I too was about to be quaffing it by the jugfull.)
So thats it - my trip to Paris in a nutshell.
