The Narrative Within

Paris as a Cabinet of Curiosities

Posted on January 6, 2016 by Art for Housewives

Paris Day 2

Mindfulness is important if you want to have a photogenic lifestyle because it means being present in the here and now. Once we eliminate our dependence on cognitive clichés, the world around us pulsates with vigor and energy.

Curiosity automatically leads to mindfulness.

Because of Bebina Bunny, I wanted to see what remains of Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson’s Cabinet of Curiosities. Once upon a time, aristocrats did not manifest their wealth by wearing a Rolex or by driving a Ferrari. Instead, they created Cabinets of Curiosities. Thus Joseph Bonnier de la Mosson used most of his incredible inheritance to create his own wunderkammer full of objects relating to natural history, anatomy, science, fine arts and souvenirs from his world travels. When Bonnier de la Mosson died in 1744, he was penniless so his widow had to sell pieces from the collection for her own survival. Luckily, some parts were saved and are now hidden away in the modern library of Jardin des Plantes’ Natural History Museum.

Jarden des Plantes

Adjacent to Jardin des Plantes’ main entrance is the Grand Mosque of Paris. The mosque was built in 1926 to honor the Muslim soldiers from the French colonies who’d lost their lives fighting for the French against the Germans in WWI. And during WWII, the mosque was used as a refuge for Jews to protect them from German persecution.

Mosque Tearoom

Today the mosque is well-known for its hamman, indoor garden and tearoom straight out of Casablanca. It would have been delightful to have had some tea and pastries but it was crowded and people were lined up waiting for a table.

Patria Stood In The Middle

Our touristic pilgrimage continued towards the Panthéon (from the Greek Πάνθεον meaning “every god”) which was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve (the patron saint of Paris). The Panthéon’s pediment shows Patria distributing crowns. She’s flanked by Liberty and History as well as by other figures, including Napoleon, who contributed to the development of the Nation.

Subsequently the Panthéon became a mausoleum for famous French citizens. Revolutionary leader Jean-Paul Marat, today best known for his presence in Jacques-Louis David’s painting, is buried here.

Marat in the Tub

Because of a skin condition he’d developed while hiding in sewers, Marat was forced to bathe a lot. So he transformed his tub into a kind of desk where he’d soak for hours while writing down his political theories. One day while he was bathing, 24 year old Charlotte Corday sneaked into his bathroom and stabbed him to death.

Charlotte was just beginning to blossom as a woman when the French Revolution broke out. She saw nothing liberating about the aftermath of the Revolution and its atrocities. Believing Marat to be a blood thirsty monster who sent innocent people to their graves, she felt that by murdering him she could save 100,000s of lives.

A young German living in Paris, Adam Lux, was so impressed by the actions of Charlotte that he fell in love with her. He followed her trial and was present when she was beheaded. Adam saw Charlotte as a martyr and wrote a pamphlet in her defense which led to his arrest for treason. Tried, he was told he could save his life if he would retract what he’d written but he just smiled and thanked the judges because he was honored to be sacrificed on the same guillotine where Charlotte had met her death.

Charlotte was from Normandy and so were the cheeses we had in our fondue that evening at a little bistrot near Beaubourg– fondue Normandie made with Camembert and Pont-l’Évêque. Fondue is very photogenic as well as very easy to do. Since good health is also photogenic, it’s best to eat cheese with discretion. Fondue is basically just a kind of hot dip so why not try making it using cashews, potatoes or chickpeas instead of cheese?

Related: Al Stewart song for Charlotte on album on “Famous Last Words” + book Beware Madame la Guillotine by Sarah Towle + Mindfulness by Ellen J. Langer + Object Lesson / Transitional Object + Cashew Cheese Fondue

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged cabinet of curiosities, Charlotte Codray, fondue, Grand Mosque of Paris, jardin des plantes, Jean-Paul Marat, Panthéon, Paris, photogenic lifestyle | 6 Comments

Yin Yang Paris

Posted on January 4, 2016 by Art for Housewives

Paris Day 1

He Washed The Streets

I was lucky to be staying near the Beaubourg—well-kept, washed and painted. Looking out my window this morning, I saw the maintenance going on and the streets being scrubbed down…cleanliness is a form of aesthetics and helps keep Paris one of the most tourist visited cities in the world.

The day got off to a slow start but eventually we headed towards the 1^st arrondissement. Because of her photogenic lifestyle, Coco Chanel’s house on 31 Rue Cambon was on my list of things to see.

Here she opened her first boutique in 1910 and sold hats before designing dresses. Coco actually lived at the Ritz Hotel but worked and entertained at Rue Cambon where she sprayed the place with Chanel No. 5 everytime she entered. The famous faceted mirrored staircase designed by Coco connected all four levels of the building. It was said she conceived the staircase so that while standing on one floor she could see what was happening on the others.

I wonder if Coco had been inspired by Duchamp’s 1912 Nude Descending a Staircase, No. 2 (inspired by Muybridge’s photo sequence Woman Walking Downstairs).

Not Far From Rue Cambon 31

We then went to another Chanel location in between La Madeleine and Place Vendôme where a very désagréable doorman provoked our desire to change location. There was nothing elegant about his behavior. Furthermore, Coco’s 1^st arrondissement is majestic but condescending. So we went towards Belleville.

Napoleon III, Napoleon’s nephew and the first President of France to be elected by popular vote, wanted a modern and imperial Paris. So, with the help of Baron Haussmann, instigated an urban revolution. The tearing down of the old to construct the new meant that many of the poorer classes had to leave Paris and find new lodgings on the city’s outskirts. Thus many headed towards Belleville.

Belleville and Ménilmontant were once independent wine-making villages where Parisians would spend Sundays at the guinguettes dancing and drinking tax-free wine. Renoir captured the spirit of these guinguettes in his “Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1880).

Famous French singer Edith Piaf was born, legend has it, in a doorway at Ménilmontant (72 rue de Belleville). Edith’s mother was a street singer and part-time prostitute whereas her father was a Moroccan acrobat. Edith spent much of her childhood singing in the streets with her father. It was their only source of income. And the way Edith learned to sing.

When Edith was about 5 years old, she went blind but the prostitutes who worked for her grandmother collected money to sent her on a pilgrimage honoring St. Térèse of Lisieux. Edith regained her sight and became a devotee of St. Térèse for the rest of her life.

In 1935 Edith was discovered in Pigalle by the owner of a nightclub, Louis Leplée. It was because of him that Edith became famous.

Not far from the Lachaise cemetery where she’s buried is the privately owned Edith Piaf Museum ( 5, rue Crespin du Gast) full of memorabilia—clothing, shoes, letters, photos, and even an image of St. Térèse of Lisieux.

Daniel Pennac’s books based in Belleville made the neighborhood seem magical and full of intrigue and pathos. As opposed to the Latin Quartier and Saint Germain where you can buy only clothes and shoes, says Pennac, “Belleville remains a living district, not fossilized by commerce.”

Towards A Photogenic Lifestyle Observation: for years Belleville was shunned and avoided by the mainstream. Then Pennac‘s books transformed Belleville into a watercolor. Shabby became chic and the dreary became dynamic.

I would like to write about my daily life with the same spirit Pennac wrote about Belleville. Better yet, I would like to give my diary to a talented writer to see if, using description and editing, he could turn my life into a bestseller. Better yet, I would like to learn how to do it myself.

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged Belleville, Coco Chanel, Daniel Pennac, Edith Pennac, Paris, photogenic lifestyle | 3 Comments

4 Days in Paris

Posted on January 2, 2016 by Art for Housewives

“If your vision of the world is of a certain kind, you will put poetry in everything necessarily.” Georges Simenon

I thought my trip to France, the birthplace of photography, had provided me with the perfect setting for the debut of A Photogenic Lifestyle and wrote posts related to my Parisian excursions. But a day after my return home, Paris was attacked by terrorists, and, obviously, there was nothing photogenic about that save for manifestations of solidarity such as that of taxi drivers who gave free rides home to those on the streets, people who opened their doors to offer shelter to stranded strangers, and men & women who stood in long lines to donate blood to the victims.

So I postponed writing about Paris. Until now.

sous le ciel de paris

Mood influences the way we perceive experience. So, the better the mood, the better the experience. That’s why I began my trip with a Live Mood Board: French songs uploaded on my iPod, a few memorized phrases (including Je suis désolé, je ne parle pas français) and a romantic dinner of camembert cheese and French wine.

Having a Low Cost flight, packing light was fundamental. Checked luggage is now an expense and there are major limitations regarding carry-on bags A fisherman vest would be practical in these situations as would a coat with beaucoup pockets so you can stash stuff that won’t fit into your trolley.

Towards A Photogenic Lifestyle Observation: Eliminating extras is a good idea not just for travelling but for daily life as well. Decluttering can make daily life more photogenic. The more you have, the more you have to organize. And organization takes time and energy. Things take up space and space is necessary for energy to flow. So the less time and space I have to dedicate to things, the more I can dedicate to myself.

Posted in Drawings & Paintings | Tagged Decluttering, mood board, Paris, photogenic lifestyle, pockets | 6 Comments

Living like a bird’s nest

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Art for Housewives

My Rob Brezsny horoscope recently referred to Mary Ruefle’s (Madness, Rack and Honey) description of two huge trees uprooted by a storm that are compared to the fragile bird’s nests which, instead, had remained intact. The message: what is most vulnerable will have more staying power than that which is massive and fixed.

Despite the blows, my nest’s integrity remains.

As part of My Photogenic Lifestyle Project, I’d thought about starting a Make-Believe Diary based not on what actually happened as much as what I wished had happened hoping positive thinking and affirmations would achieve desired change. Unfortunately, I have this bad habit of inventing projects for myself since they’re easier to visualize than they are to actualize. And the make-believe diary is too demanding of a project for me right now. But a haiku a day is not!

A haiku is traditionally 17 syllables divided into three lines with a 5-7-5 pattern. But I will use a more freeform sauvage style. Because the intent is to take time out for the moment and exercise mindfulness…to be poetic and not a poet.

Haiku is a way of turning excess into essence. It means focusing on what’s important and ignoring the rest. Because, as Robert Browning said, LESS IS MORE.

Haikus make life photogenic.

References: Pruning a lifestyle + Matisse, Haiku and Muy Marcottage Etsy + Well, less is more, Lucrezia, “Andrea del Sarto” by Robert Browning