Place du Tetre

 This Place du Tetre is where you go if you want a quick self-portrait.  You even have a choice of style - some will offer you a caricature, others a very naturalistic pencil portrait, and others still a more abstract ink and water-colour version. 

You can see that la Place is only a few steps to the left of the Sacrée Cœur.  Here we have an artist, and his young model.

I took this right as I was being accosted by this particular artist.  You see him pointing at me...now imagine him saying, with a thick accent, "You! You are perfect for my style!" 
That is what I call the perfect way to sell your work: compliment people, make them feel they are worth your time and artistry.  His work was in water-colour. 

I like this place.  The buildings are beautiful.  And all of the artists really dress the part, which adds to the "french" atmosphere.  They make sure to wear bérets and cosy vests and sweaters.

The Audience on the Stairs

It is astounding that I had not really explored the Montmartre area until now, a month in.  A thrift-shop and knick-knack filled Rue climbs up hill, and winding steps lead to the Sacrée Cœur.  The many many steps serve as seating pour l'audience - here the show is the view. 

 Le Sacrée Cœur, and the flock of tourists circling it.

The view of Paris below.

The audience, enjoying the view, enjoying the music, or just enjoying each other.

Here you can see one of the musical performers.  I imagine that you have to obtain the right to perform in front of this extremely popular touristic attraction... however, the musical performances were not top notch.  I have been much more moved by singers in the metro. 
The less than adequate music did not, however, ruin the mood.  With all of Paris stretched out before you, even the the most basic music cannot take away from the beautiful city and blue sky. 

The Victor Hugo Performers

The Victor Hugo Courtyard is full of trees, performers, art expos, and free massages.  Here are three of the performers I saw:

La harpe!

Surprising sounds from a surprising man.

 And lastly, operatic sounds.

La Messe

I stumbled into la messe, truly by accident, this past Sunday.  Coralie and I were exploring various parts of Paris, and went into the Notre Dame as the service was being held...and so we got to hear wonderful music.  You can hear in this short clip, first the adult singer and then the young boy (accompanied by the crowd).  I admit to being shocked, at first, to realize that the second singer was a boy, considering the richness and womanly tones. 

Mimes Don't Only Play Air Guitar

After 5 arduous days of rehearsal/creation for a show in April, all of us Magenia students went out to boire un verre. 

Sometimes the work never stops...here, two mime etudiants are having a contest: Who can continue this particular hand motion the longest?  This hand roll, with your thumb held tight against the side of your hand, is useful for creating flickering flames and water. 

Yes, mimes are allowed to use real props.  One 2nd year mime is playing some Brazilian tunes here on her guitar.

The Walls Move

No, but really.
The walls do move, on the building called L'Institut du Monde Arabe, near the Jussieu metro stop.  Devices on the side of the building open and close, depending on the temperature and light.  It sort of works like a camera lens.  So the building moves, and that is wonderful and bizarre, and here it is:

 From the outside.

 And looking out, from the inside.

Metro Performance Appreciated

Normalement, metro performances go unnoticed or ignored.  People are just there to get to work, get to school, etc, and so nobody ever claps. 
So far on the metro I have heard the accordion, violin, clarinet, saxophone, flute, guitar, and bands with vocals.  At first I was overjoyed every time I heard music on a dull trip in the underground tunnels, but it occurs so often that, now, I just appreciate it.


This performance was different, because it was Friday night.  Tout le monde etaient drunk, quite drunk, and perhaps for this reason, they truly appreciated this metro performance.

 

Tout le monde danse!

Et puits tout le monde s'aime.

PomPompidou

The Centre Pompidou looks like an enormous futuristic monster, especially since it is surrounded by the more traditional Parisian buildings.  As a student, I get many advantages, one of which is a free pass to most museums.  The museum in le Pompidou is full of modern art.  Like all art, what I saw here was either shocking, incomprehensible, disgusting, magnificent...and the adjectives continue. 

 There is a large transparent tunnel on the side of the Pompidou, and so once you have climbed high up, you have a magnificent view of Paris.  From here I saw the Eiffel Tower, the Sacré Cœur, and other monuments, all lit up and right in front of me. 

 The view from a strange terrace on the highest floor.

 When you first enter the Museum area on the 4th floor, you see two wonderful sculptures.

 You can guess at the art in this room.  There were many many films here, one of which was a part of this "Genital Panic" section and created by Yoko Ono.

Much of the art was interactive.  In this room, the art was accompanied by instructions.  On this structure, for example, you are instructed to stand on the ledge and look down.  On another, you must lie down and look up, and on a third you must sit down and look straight ahead.

 This was so much more amazing in person than in this photograph...but you can see, the ceiling is missing some chunks of white shapes.

L'art Du Sucre

Sugar is turned into sculpture at George Larnicol, just outside of the Odéon metro stop.

 These kouignettes are a specialty of Bretagne, and I believe this is one of the only places to find them in Paris.  They seem to be made almost entirely of butter and sugar, although they come in many intriguing flavors (apricot, plain, chocolate, etc).  This is what I ended up buying here, one apple and one chocolate.

You can never forget the chocolate, bien sur! 

Chocolate with candied fruit.

Honey.  This is a close-up, and has been turned upside down.  Look close, and in the spoon you will see me, my fingers curled around my camera. (No, I did not intend for this when I took the picture, but - awesome)

And lastly, a beautiful pyramid of macarons. The store was also full of shoe-shaped, champagne-shaped,  and person-shaped chocolates.

and if you are STILL not salivating, visit their website: http://www.larnicol.com/index.html

Festival MO'FO

This weekend I went to an indie music festival.  I love that in French it's la musique rock indé.  The photos I did manage to take are blurry and confusing, but I do have a short video clip for you.  The music we heard was really of all sorts.  Much of the music had classic indie sounds (and most of the French bands chose to sing in English) and some of the music was rather different.
Etienne Jaumet, for example, played some of the strangest contemporary music I have ever heard.  Some call it abstract, global techno, modern... I call it strange and unexpected.  I was especially shocked when he was joined by a (most likely) classically trained vocalist who sang out the most incomprehensible sounds and notes.

On a less confusing note, here is that short clip I was able to capture.  One of the earlier groups, not very well known and so I did not catch his name: