Last day in Paris!

It's been a real treat to spend a month here. Beautiful city, beautiful art... Back to NYC this evening!

This picture is so cool - my friends and I went to MAC/VAL, this contemporary art museum on the edge of Paris, and this piece was by Shilpa Gupta and it was totally mind-blowing: essentially you stood and could see your shadow on the screen, and then random objects in shadow form would appear and you could interact with them. We had to take a photo (I'm on the left.)

Versailles

King Louis shows some leg.



The grounds were actually so much more impressive than the palace, if I can be honest.



I wonder how much of this interior decor I can try to emulate in my New York apartment...

Normandie

We took a jaunt over to lovely Trouville, about a week and a half ago. It was so relaxing and refreshing, though much too cold for the beach. We wandered around, ate delicious food, bought striped Norman-style sweaters, and didn't see a single art museum.


Trouville by day...
...and by night.



Crepes at la Maison, our favorite restaurant in Trouville, absolutely adorable cozy atmosphere and incredible sweet and savory crepes.

I know everyone supposedly goes mad for these bright macaroons, but I have to say, this one was my first, and I didn't like it - too sweet for me.

La plage was a bit gloomy, but I kind of liked the chilly weather, it really fit with the look of the place.

some sketches

by me.

inspiration - Parisiennes of old

Contemporary

Ravinder Reddy, Tara, 2004.

The exhibition Paris-Delhi-Bombay at the Centre Pompidou has by far been my favorite of all the shows that I've seen thus far in Paris. Focusing on Indian contemporary art and contemporary artists who are interested in India, the exhibition is bold, colorful and full of hidden surprises. I was really impressed by how the curators combined a heavy load of didactic material without seeming neither pedantic nor pandering. Indian culture was concisely "introduced" to a French audience, but there was never an ethnographic or voyeuristic feel, nor was there any overblown East-West pontification. It was very fresh, very strong, and I greatly enjoyed the hours I spent going through it.

An example of informational painted scrolls made by women artisans.

The exhibition poster on the outside of the Pompidou.

Riyas Komu, Beyond Gods, 2011. Wooden sculpture of footballers' legs.

Jean-Michel Othoniel, Sans titre, 2010.

Hema Upadhyay, Think Left, Think Right, Think Low, Think Tight, 2010. Vertical reproduction of Dharavi, the largest slum in Asia, located in Bombay.

Subodh Gupta, Ali Baba, 2011. Room-sized installation of tablewear, inspired by Indian commercial spaces as well as the idea of Ali Baba's cave of treasures.

Vive la France

Me doing my best French-person impersonation on Bastille Day...

The music accompanying the fireworks display was entirely Broadway show tunes - just want to note that for posterity.