La Tour Paris 13

"La Tour Paris 13" is the name given to a massive street art project in Paris' 13th arrondissement.

The building above was destined for destruction when it was spotted by Mehdi Ben Cheikh, director of the Galerie Itinerrance which specializes in street art. He approached the Mayor of the 13th arrondissement, as well as the owners of the building, to get approval to transform the building inside and out into a canvas for 100 artists from 16 countries. The artists spent the last seven months painting 36 apartments in the building. It was opened to the public on October 1st and will be available for viewing only until the end of October. The building will be destroyed after that.

I tried to visit the building last week, but the lines were long and I didn't feel like waiting for several hours for the privilege. However, you can read more and take a virtual visit here or here.

Out West at the Chateau de Monte-Cristo

This weekend we went to visit Alexandre Dumas' Chateau de Monte-Cristo west of Paris. We were expecting to visit the Dumas' residence built in 1846

and the separate building named the Chateau d'If which he used as a writing studio.

 

We weren't expecting to see cowboys and indians!  

There was a children's book fair going on with entertainment for all

Texas line dancing!

Quai Branly

The Musée du Quai Branly houses one of the most important collections of African art in the world.  Isabelle and I started here . .

The museum is huge and we had explored only the section on African art before taking a break. We had a snack and enjoyed the view from the cafe in the middle of the gardens.

I'll go back another day to see the Asian, Oceanic, and Americas collections.
If you don't live in Paris you can always take a virtual tour here.

PHQ4

 My friend Isabelle was recently in town visiting from Denver. We decided to visit the Musée du Quai Branly which houses collections of indigenous art and cultural artifacts from Africa, Asia, Oceana, and the Americas.

While waiting for Isabelle to arrive, I revisited the outdoor photo exhibit sponsored by the museum which features photographs of people from all over the world. I happened to pass by as the director of the exhibit was filming an introduction to the concept.

"Twins" by Rongguo GAO of China

"At a tent near you" by Amit Madeshiya

I was particularly touched by The Car Poolers, a series of photographs by Alejando Cartagena capturing tired Mexican workers returning home from their jobs in the city.

Colorado floods

As a native of Colorado and longtime Boulder resident, I have been preoccupied with the news of the flooding in my hometown. Fortunately, my family and friends are safe and have suffered only minor flooding. Thank you for your concern.

My thoughts will be with them during the long cleanup.

John G. Morris

I've written before about John G. Morris, renowned photo editor of such prestigious publications as the NY Times, Life Magazine, and the Washington Post. We recently attended a preview showing of a new documentary about Morris' life entitled Get the Picture by Irish filmmaker Cathy Pearson at the American Library in Paris. The film explores the work of photojournalists and their roles in the 20th and 21st century in bringing the world's attention to wars and other events, often at great personal peril. The film builds on many of the stories told before in Morris' book by the same name.

John Morris was present for a discussion following the film. He is now 96 years old! He walks slowly and chooses his words with care, but his mind and and sense of humor are still very much intact. Even more astonishing than the history of his long and productive life was his admission that he is in love. Married and widowed three times, he recently fell in love again - at age 93 - with Pat Trocmé.  Ms. Trocmé, herself a widow after 60 years of marriage, never imagined finding love again at the age of 86. The image of this couple, acting as giddy as teenagers, is truly an inspiration.

Sofa delivery day

Our old sofa was over 20 years old. We ordered a new leather sofa in June hoping that it would arrive in time for our friends Phyllis and Cathy who occupied our apartment while we were in Denver. Alas, it did not arrive in time for their visit; it was finally delivered today. And since we live on the second floor with no elevator (and narrow doorways) we decided to take delivery via the window. This is common practice in Paris where almost everyone lives in apartments, often with lots of stairs or miniscule elevators. I wrote about this phenomen before.

And here's what the process looked like today:

 

 And the happy results...

Oh yeah, it reclines. :-)