Free Museum Day

On the first Sunday of every month, selected museums are free.  That includes the famous ones, The Louvre & Musee d'Orsay.  But they're mobbed, forget them.  If you're in Paris a short time, long waits in lines are a time waster & besides, why do an all day museum on a free day.  Better to hit a couple of small ones.

Our 1st choice was the Pompidou Museum of Contemporary Art, defined as art since 1905.  That includes the tail end of the Impressionists (Matisse), then Picasso, Miro, Chagall, etc.


It also includes wild & weird stuff....some I cannot consider "art".  But then it's all in the eyes of the beholder, right?

The museum building is just plain weird.  Was considered that when it opened & still to this day, very ugly.  But the French do their thing, to hell with public opinion.

It was rainy, so I didn't take the opportunity to get soaked to get more shots.

Some of the art is bright & cheerful.

Some are clever.  This is supposed to be a corner, but the 3-D piece is convex rather than concave.

Some goofy.  This could be considered tango art, except for the guy.

Some subtle.  Your eye is drawn to the man in the center.  Once you settle into the piece, you see the lady on the left, his companion in a see-through dress.  Then you go to the lady on the right, who's not a lady at all, but a transvestite.

Yes, tuxedo-man kinda reminds me of Bogey, too.

The purpose of this piece is to demonstrate the decadence in Paris between the two world wars.

Another piece by the same artist is of a standing lady in a short dress, brushing her hair, with one leg up on a chair.  The artist wanted us to know she was not wearing underwear.  This piece will not be posted, I'll let your mind form the word picture.



Which brings me to a point.  This post cannot be G-rated.  I'm trying to give you a taste of Paris & the French.  It is not a G-rated city, they are not a G-rated people.  But I promise to keep it at PG-13, max.

And there are those I have trouble considering art such as this solid blue canvas.  Some years ago I was in this museum, standing before a piece that had a few random brushstrokes on a canvas. There didn't seem to be a theme or a pattern.  No energy, composition or feeling.  A man standing next to me said "I could've done this piece"  To which I replied: "The difference is, he did and you didn't.".

Somehow, this assemblage of ordinary objects is not really art.  Or is it art because it is so ordinary?

Two views from the Pompidou rooftop on a dreary, rainy Sunday morning. (always good museum weather).

Everyone recognizes the prominent monument here.

Do you recognize the gold dome on the left?

Do you recognize this Paris sight?

=========

The second museum we went to was the hunting museum...Musee de la Chasse et la Nature.  Its displays fall into three hunting categories...hunting weapons, hunting art (think paintings of fox & hounds, still life of game, etc) and the hunted (think animal taxidermy).  Susanne agreed to go to indulge me, but she also enjoyed the exhibits.  Gave us an opportunity to goof off as you'll see in some of the pics.

First the art.  Classical...

I'd call this the European version of a Frederick Remington.

Let's add a bit of whimsy...I'd call this "Fox and Friends".

 On to the weapons...

Lots more than these two photos.
















On to the trophies!!!

The room behind this wall has to be awfully crowded with all those animals standing around.

I call this shot "BDB", (big damn bear)

 Gorilla my dreams....

This fine fellow got separated from the pack and cornered.  He is not amused.

After the museum & a bit of a rest, we went to dinner at the Korean BBQ right across the street from the hotel.  It's run by Madam Tan (scurrying about in the kitchen), her husband (who just sort of fills in, trying to be useful) & her daughter who does everything in the front...greet/seat customers, wait on tables, serve food, bus tables, everything...one very busy young lady.