Paris. It has only been four days since I've arrived here and yet it seemed I've spent more time than that. Perhaps it is due to a maladjustment of my system to the different time zone, which is six hours behind Manila's. Thus, I wake up twice during the night and sleep twice during the day: in effect, this gives me surplus hours to work in the evening and to make copious notes of the day past; plus the naps provide me with enough rest to undertake three journeys into Paris, one at sunrise, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. As I write this report of my first week, a night-long art event is taking place in many art galleries, churches and museums in the city. It is called Nuit Blanche, or White Night, or as it was explained to me "when the night becomes day". But I will make my report on that later on.
Adjustment is the first challenge I had to undertake the moment I deplaned from Charles de Gaulle on a flight coming out of Schipol in Amsterdam. There is the issue of the weather. It is currently autumn in Europe and while waiting for the plane from Schipol, my sinuses reacted to the cold air and I suffered an inconvenient headache for the next two days. A French artist and production designer, Marguerite Lantz, met me at the airport and subsequently helped me buy medicines for my headaches, an umbrella for the autumn showers, a power adaptor for all my electronic equipment and a sim card for my mobile. Plus she also provided me with an annotated map of where to buy supplies, where to eat cheap, and where to take the Metro. Note: this kind of local assistance proved to be very essential - something that I think must be incorporated into the residency program in the future. Marguerite had advised against taking a taxi as Paris traffic can be costly to the meter. We took the RER train to Chatelet des Halles and from there took the Metro to Pont Marie Station, whose exit is exactly in front of Cite des Arts, which will be my home for the next three months. Not only was the train conveniently quick, it was also cheaper. (A taxi costs €50 minimum while the train was about €12).
Cite des Arts is an international residency facility for artists of different fields. Each resident or group of residents is provided with an atelier, which is paid for by the artist or sponsored by institutions. My atelier at the 4th floor is at the east corner of the building and affords me a broad view of the city and the expanse of the River Seine. The towers and spire of Notre Dame de Paris are visible from the west, the Pantheon dome in the south and the church of St. Paul and St Louis in the Marais district to the extreme east, along with a glimpse of the winged gilded statue of the Bastille column. This panorama led me to pursue what I call a "line of sight" strategy in getting to know my immediate environs. And so in the following days, I did just that and visited all these sites...on foot. Which is quite tiring, but to be able to walk slowly and to take note of one's surroundings help ease the sense of alienation. There is some sense of familiarity or bond that takes place between one's sole and the pavement, and at the end of the day painful feet would always be a reminder that one has successfully explored that territory...becoming part of one's domain and lifeworld. This is how I intend to make Paris part of my lifeworld. And on the more practical side, I thought it prudent to know one's immediate environs or risk getting lost in your own neighborhood.
After settling in Cite and unpacking my bags, I had to stock up on supplies and understand how to find food in the area. There are two groceries (marché) in the area, FranPrix and Monop. But I bought most of my supplies in FranPrix because of its proximity. Almost immediately I decided to prepare my own food as I do not want to risk problems with digestion because of unfamiliar preparation. (For one I react badly to certain cheeses and to some cold hams). Most products on the shelf, even if in French, can be intuited by their labels and arrangement. A future grantee would really have to take time to learn basic French, as it eases the anxiety of what to get or buy, or even what to say when the cashier starts rambling off. However I have been mistaken for a Latin American thrice this week and I thank my three Spanish subjects in college that I can make the reply that I am not a Mexican, no I dont have a lighter, and yes my surname means "funny" even in French.
Thus settled and having made my budget for the week, I ventured to explore Paris for the first time on my second day. Because I was going to be in Paris for 90 days I thought it best to do some reconnaissance of the sites I want to see sans camera. I did not want my residency to be a series of snapshots and digital images. I want to savor the atmosphere, to exist in the experience and not allow the opportunity to be "there" wasted by a click or a panning of a video. In a sense this is the reason why I brought lots of paper with me. I wanted to draw and sketch because this activity creates more bond between one's consciousness and the subject of inquiry more intimately and more closely. I know that in the age of Facebook this is a longwinded way of saying "Kilroy was here". But that is the problem with Facebook and social media...life becomes a series of likes, photos and wall posts...that one assumes to be interesting. No, an artist residency is NOT a Facebook event.
Notre Dame was my first target and it was the easiest to reach by walking (cross the bridge and another to get to the Ile de la Cite). I arrived quite early, so early that there were no tourists yet in the area and a mass was being held when I got inside...discovered that I like the exterior more for its sculptures and went out immediately. I went back to Notre Dame twice in the succeeding days, and one on a rainless night which quite inspiring because the lighting makes prominent parts of the exterior such as the rows of the kings of France. I also sat in the park at the rear of the church (called Square John XXIII) and sketched the famous flying buttresses and the rose windows of the sides of the nave. I avoided the line to the bell tower simply because the queues are too long and the intervals are too long as well. Give way to the tourists who are on a three day schedule.
I visited other churches, also on reconnaissance, as far as those on the Left Bank: St. Severin, St. Etienne du Mont, St. Germaine de Pres, St. Julian de Pavre, St. Paul and St. Louis, Ste.Chapelle and St. Gervais and Protais. Since my project for this residency involves primarily a study of church art, Romanesque and Gothic in particular, I wanted to know which sites to choose to come back to. Also visited the area of the Musee de Cluny, which is my primary target museum along with Musee du Quai Branly. On these walks I am always aided with a map, which is handily available as an app in my Ipad. But there are areas that I stumbled upon as well by being lost: Bastille, The Pantheon, Musee de Orsay, and the Ecole de Beaux Arts.
The Louvre was of course an irresistible place not to pay a visit. Despite a very long walk, I persisted in reaching this largest museum twice. On both occasions I brought my sketchbooks just to document the moment. As I am still waiting for my museum pass from Cite, I desisted from buying an expensive ticket and contented to explore the great expansive grounds and to study the architecture of the palace. It was on my second visit that I discovered the Artistide Maillol bronzes in the Tuillerie Gardens facing the Louvre. These sculptures have a stylistic affinity between my works and exemplified what I want to achieve in form. Needless to say, I spent almost a third of a day sketching each and every one of these bronzes except those fenced off for restoration. The sculptures so much caught my attention and thought that the Academic marble statues in the Gardens looked insipid to me. There is something in neoclassical mannerism and imagery that throws me off. Perhaps I have been searching for a trait in sculpture that has some sense of vulnerable truth to it, hence my attraction to more ancient objects, and those in ruins. For now, Maillol is my peg for an art project. Looking forward to visiting his museum here soon.
I ended the reconnaissance week to discover how near Centre de Georges Pompidou was to Cite. I discovered that the Atelier Brancusi beside it offered free entrance but that I missed its opening hours by a few minutes. Pompidou looked more like a mall than an art center, perhaps rightly so. A sign that says free entrance tomorrow, the first Sunday of the month made me circle back and think of returning the next day.
To summarize all my first impressions will take a longer essay, yet what stands out is the wonder that a city can host and have a number of cultural events and places is - unbelievable. Perhaps it would really take more than three months to fully appreciate what Paris can offer as a hub of the arts. Yet the challenge, far more difficult than adjusting to the cold autumn weather, is to keep one's head above the din and choose only the offerings that are most useful. In the following weeks of October, I will enter the museums and pay close attention to their contents. Until then, I meditate on the Seine.
Adjustment is the first challenge I had to undertake the moment I deplaned from Charles de Gaulle on a flight coming out of Schipol in Amsterdam. There is the issue of the weather. It is currently autumn in Europe and while waiting for the plane from Schipol, my sinuses reacted to the cold air and I suffered an inconvenient headache for the next two days. A French artist and production designer, Marguerite Lantz, met me at the airport and subsequently helped me buy medicines for my headaches, an umbrella for the autumn showers, a power adaptor for all my electronic equipment and a sim card for my mobile. Plus she also provided me with an annotated map of where to buy supplies, where to eat cheap, and where to take the Metro. Note: this kind of local assistance proved to be very essential - something that I think must be incorporated into the residency program in the future. Marguerite had advised against taking a taxi as Paris traffic can be costly to the meter. We took the RER train to Chatelet des Halles and from there took the Metro to Pont Marie Station, whose exit is exactly in front of Cite des Arts, which will be my home for the next three months. Not only was the train conveniently quick, it was also cheaper. (A taxi costs €50 minimum while the train was about €12).
Cite des Arts is an international residency facility for artists of different fields. Each resident or group of residents is provided with an atelier, which is paid for by the artist or sponsored by institutions. My atelier at the 4th floor is at the east corner of the building and affords me a broad view of the city and the expanse of the River Seine. The towers and spire of Notre Dame de Paris are visible from the west, the Pantheon dome in the south and the church of St. Paul and St Louis in the Marais district to the extreme east, along with a glimpse of the winged gilded statue of the Bastille column. This panorama led me to pursue what I call a "line of sight" strategy in getting to know my immediate environs. And so in the following days, I did just that and visited all these sites...on foot. Which is quite tiring, but to be able to walk slowly and to take note of one's surroundings help ease the sense of alienation. There is some sense of familiarity or bond that takes place between one's sole and the pavement, and at the end of the day painful feet would always be a reminder that one has successfully explored that territory...becoming part of one's domain and lifeworld. This is how I intend to make Paris part of my lifeworld. And on the more practical side, I thought it prudent to know one's immediate environs or risk getting lost in your own neighborhood.
After settling in Cite and unpacking my bags, I had to stock up on supplies and understand how to find food in the area. There are two groceries (marché) in the area, FranPrix and Monop. But I bought most of my supplies in FranPrix because of its proximity. Almost immediately I decided to prepare my own food as I do not want to risk problems with digestion because of unfamiliar preparation. (For one I react badly to certain cheeses and to some cold hams). Most products on the shelf, even if in French, can be intuited by their labels and arrangement. A future grantee would really have to take time to learn basic French, as it eases the anxiety of what to get or buy, or even what to say when the cashier starts rambling off. However I have been mistaken for a Latin American thrice this week and I thank my three Spanish subjects in college that I can make the reply that I am not a Mexican, no I dont have a lighter, and yes my surname means "funny" even in French.
Thus settled and having made my budget for the week, I ventured to explore Paris for the first time on my second day. Because I was going to be in Paris for 90 days I thought it best to do some reconnaissance of the sites I want to see sans camera. I did not want my residency to be a series of snapshots and digital images. I want to savor the atmosphere, to exist in the experience and not allow the opportunity to be "there" wasted by a click or a panning of a video. In a sense this is the reason why I brought lots of paper with me. I wanted to draw and sketch because this activity creates more bond between one's consciousness and the subject of inquiry more intimately and more closely. I know that in the age of Facebook this is a longwinded way of saying "Kilroy was here". But that is the problem with Facebook and social media...life becomes a series of likes, photos and wall posts...that one assumes to be interesting. No, an artist residency is NOT a Facebook event.
Notre Dame was my first target and it was the easiest to reach by walking (cross the bridge and another to get to the Ile de la Cite). I arrived quite early, so early that there were no tourists yet in the area and a mass was being held when I got inside...discovered that I like the exterior more for its sculptures and went out immediately. I went back to Notre Dame twice in the succeeding days, and one on a rainless night which quite inspiring because the lighting makes prominent parts of the exterior such as the rows of the kings of France. I also sat in the park at the rear of the church (called Square John XXIII) and sketched the famous flying buttresses and the rose windows of the sides of the nave. I avoided the line to the bell tower simply because the queues are too long and the intervals are too long as well. Give way to the tourists who are on a three day schedule.
I visited other churches, also on reconnaissance, as far as those on the Left Bank: St. Severin, St. Etienne du Mont, St. Germaine de Pres, St. Julian de Pavre, St. Paul and St. Louis, Ste.Chapelle and St. Gervais and Protais. Since my project for this residency involves primarily a study of church art, Romanesque and Gothic in particular, I wanted to know which sites to choose to come back to. Also visited the area of the Musee de Cluny, which is my primary target museum along with Musee du Quai Branly. On these walks I am always aided with a map, which is handily available as an app in my Ipad. But there are areas that I stumbled upon as well by being lost: Bastille, The Pantheon, Musee de Orsay, and the Ecole de Beaux Arts.
The Louvre was of course an irresistible place not to pay a visit. Despite a very long walk, I persisted in reaching this largest museum twice. On both occasions I brought my sketchbooks just to document the moment. As I am still waiting for my museum pass from Cite, I desisted from buying an expensive ticket and contented to explore the great expansive grounds and to study the architecture of the palace. It was on my second visit that I discovered the Artistide Maillol bronzes in the Tuillerie Gardens facing the Louvre. These sculptures have a stylistic affinity between my works and exemplified what I want to achieve in form. Needless to say, I spent almost a third of a day sketching each and every one of these bronzes except those fenced off for restoration. The sculptures so much caught my attention and thought that the Academic marble statues in the Gardens looked insipid to me. There is something in neoclassical mannerism and imagery that throws me off. Perhaps I have been searching for a trait in sculpture that has some sense of vulnerable truth to it, hence my attraction to more ancient objects, and those in ruins. For now, Maillol is my peg for an art project. Looking forward to visiting his museum here soon.
I ended the reconnaissance week to discover how near Centre de Georges Pompidou was to Cite. I discovered that the Atelier Brancusi beside it offered free entrance but that I missed its opening hours by a few minutes. Pompidou looked more like a mall than an art center, perhaps rightly so. A sign that says free entrance tomorrow, the first Sunday of the month made me circle back and think of returning the next day.
To summarize all my first impressions will take a longer essay, yet what stands out is the wonder that a city can host and have a number of cultural events and places is - unbelievable. Perhaps it would really take more than three months to fully appreciate what Paris can offer as a hub of the arts. Yet the challenge, far more difficult than adjusting to the cold autumn weather, is to keep one's head above the din and choose only the offerings that are most useful. In the following weeks of October, I will enter the museums and pay close attention to their contents. Until then, I meditate on the Seine.
View from my window, the street to Village St.Paul
Maillol sculptures at the Jardin di Carousel at the Louvre.
One of my first drawings. A series on birds and their ubiquity in Paris.
A crow in the metro...
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