Centre Pompidou

As I was studying for my 20th Century Artistic Institutions class this morning I was reminded of my trip to the Centre Pompidou.  Although it's been a while, there is one piece that still stands out clearly in my mind because it was just so incredible.

At first glance the panels seem to just have a cool pattern, but if you look closely at the shadows you can see they spell out words! These were so beautiful and ethereal in person - it was kind of like being inside a giant floating nest.

Unfortunately I've lost the paper where I wrote down the name of the artist, so if you have any idea who this is feel free to comment, I'd love to know!

Dear Rob Ryan,

You are awesome.

(Rob Ryan papercuts, seen at Le Bon Marché)

L'Opera Garnier

A couple weeks ago I went to see the ballet Joyaux at the Opera Garnier. I had never heard of the ballet before, I honestly went just to have the chance to see a show at this incredibly beautiful opera house. I would have gone to see just about anything!

The ballet ended up being entirely wonderful and enchanting, with gorgeous costumes and set design by Christian Lacroix (this is Paris, after all). And the Opera was even more breathtaking than I could have imagined - pictures in art history textbooks do not do this place justice. And neither do mine, for that matter, so you'll just have to bear with me and imagine.

The ceilings! Sigh. It's hard to tell in this picture, but there are painted vignettes by Chagall
of different ballets and operas all across the ceiling.

I felt like this girl, completely captivated, leaning over the railing to soak it all in.

Renoir's At the Theatre (La Premiere Sortie)

The Lazy Dog

I went to The Lazy Dog gallery/bookstore yesterday to check out their new show, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." They invited a bunch of artists to create interpretations of the sentence, and the results were pretty cool.

You can watch a fun short video about the show here.

Cultural Activity!

I happened upon the Church of Saint-Sévérin by accident today and was absolutely blown away by its stained glass windows. Designed by Jean René Bazaine, a midcentury French artist and writer, and made by B. Alain, the seven windows were added to the church in the 1960's. My blurry pictures do not do these windows justice - the colors are incredible, even on a cloudy day like today. And while their Abstract Expressionist style is totally different from the style of the much older stained glass windows of the church's upper levels, it all somehow works.