Paris noise

If you’re feeling nostalgic about the last time you were in Paris then here’s a quick update. The Seine is more swollen than I’ve ever seen it before. Several of the lower quays are flooded, the sun is out, the sky is blue. At the Maison européenne de la photographie you can see yourself diffracted and refracted on nine different television screens in an installation by Catherine Ikam/Louis Féri. Few people on opening night yesterday (Merci, Sylvie!) really wanted to see themselves from the several unflattering angles promised. On the top floor you can chuckle at the black and white images by Richard Kalvar whose works display an acute sensitivity to many things including humor, topography and dissonance. They never bore and they have the advantage of being beautiful. Then descend to the basement to find out all you wanted and more about celebrity Trash. Bruno Mouron and Pascal Rostain rummaged through Halle Berry’s and John Travolta’s garbage for you. They sorted it, they classified it, they placed it on a black surface, and then they photographed it from far up to give you a pretty picture. The Making Of film shown in the small room beside the trashy pictures was, for me, a lot more fascinating than the images themselves. There’s also something for those of you who get pleasure from seeing photos or videos of stimulated people. To each his own! If you are in Paris tomorrow then I’m signing my book and you’re welcome to drop by for a drink at La Librairie Privat-Julliard next to the metro Solférino, 229 boulevard Saint-Germain in the 7th arrondissement which in addition to the Matignon and several other very ministerial structures also is home to two of Paris’ most personal museums the Rodin and Maillol museums both of which have exceptional exhibitions about which I hope to talk about soon. My access to the 7th arrondissement yesterday was during peak evening traffic from the bridge (shown below) at Place de la Concorde to the Assemblée Nationale. The picture is about as noisy as the experience was.