Wandering in Bercy

I was assigned a walk in Bercy -supposedly a derelict neighborhood only recently renovated. By renovation the city must have meant modernization, because the archecture in clean, geometric and innovative -no more engraved marble or narrow alleyways. Personally I find it refreshing, but is it possible to wander through Bercy? Is it capable of wanderlust? The space is so open and neatly partitioned, does that create the same allure or seducement or, most importantly, the mystery of older, interwoven Paris? I feel incapable of being lost in Bercy but quite possible to lose myself in the gardens, to forget about time as I way by the vineyard or muse through shops. And I can people-watch in Bercy like the skateboarders or other people enjoying the gardens or walking their dogs. So I would say indulge in Bercy, wander if it means indulging yourself but don't expect the confusion or fear of mazing through the older streets.

Found Drawings

Arthur Miller in The Crucible describes the feeling of stripped identity if your name is taken away. Conversely there is a feeling of pride or empowerment when you tie your name to something. I saw great works of art and grand monuments in Paris, but what I found was the importance of the signature on these masterpeices. The metro is a system to be admired and Sophie apparently wanted to add her flourish in the dust on the walls, while Kevin and Matt wanted their marks on ancient and prized constructions like the Arc de Triumph and the Catacombs respectively. Naturally Rodin would want recognition for his sculptural feats and so his signature is neatly curved into the bronze.

Louvre discovery

I was looking for a place to rest my feet when I came into tiny room number 33 with guest exhibitionist Antoine Louis Barye. After a moment's recovery I realized I loved his work of jungle cats and antelopes. His sketches were small and his paintings simple, but somehow with great economy he captured the felines' power and grace. It's ironic that a few pencil strokes would win my admiration in a palace full of large scale, time consuming masterpieces, but that goes to show the unpredictability of what will charm or capture you.

Metro blindness

As explorer John Stilgoe, author of Outside Lies Magic, would realize seemingly innocuous pieces of our surroundings have a history and purpose. On my way back to the hotel, I saw a pair of blind people navigating through the metro. The woman waved a stick over the floor, and the man held onto her shoulder. She had to ask a stranger which way to go: Etoile or Nation, and finding the stairs she nimbly climbed up. I went in the opposite metro direction. My breathing caught when I saw the pair enter on the other side, walking closer and closer to the edge of the track until with certainty they stopped at the bumped stripe that runs along all tracks. From Dans Le Nior I learned the importance of our senses and the importance of being situated in our surroundings, but I never fully absorbed the reliance on certain set ups in Paris. I discovered the meaning of the bumped stripe and its vital importance, something which I never befored considered and wished I had explored.

Dans Le Noir

I expected my heart to be racing but it was my mind that kicked into high gear. I tried to visualize my surroundings or the compsotion of the restaurant: where are the glasses, how is the food set up on the plate, how are other tables situated, where is everyone around me? The restaurant became alive based on the familiar voices and the conservation. A person's touch instead of feeling foreign felt safe. I'm terrible of identifying food only by taste, but the flavors of the dish were strong to say the least. My other senses took over so that I could relax and accept my surroundings, but the importance of placement became all the more important, which is something to remember for works of art.

Blindfolded Drawings

It's apparent how much we rely on sight once it is taken away. Composition, description and timme become essential. What's left, right, top or bottom? What am I drawing? What does it look like? What is it doing? And time is of the essence. Sketching has a sense of urgency. Because scenes are constantly shifting, it takes a mental snapshot to incorporate all the elements of what we see into a cohesive and comprehensive image. Without sight, I felt the need the need to draw quickly as though to capture everything the instant my partner noted it. It shows what a powerful capacity we have to absorb and interpret our surroundings through sight and how we must rely on memory if that sight is taken away.

Montparnasse: Noticing and Noting

Montparnasse is filled with nuances. The past is incorporated into the everyday. What attracted me was the diversity of the doorways. Some were wood. Some were glass. Paint -evergreen, black, cobalt -could be cracked or glossy. Classical engravings or intricate iron compositions outweighed minimal art deco designs. Modern boutiques had simple doors, usually glass, versus the heavy doors of established buildings. Doorways in Montparnasse are used as yet another opportunity to individualize the city.

Metro Drawings: A dot moving through space

A line is a dot moving through space. A person moves through the metro. How to move and what moves us? I push the pencil and the Metro pushes me. It's a consciousness of movement like the consciousness of composition when wearing a blindfold.