On at The Dapper Museum in Paris until the 10th of July is the brilliant exhibition “Angola, Figuras del Poder,” a show made up of 140 artistic objects from villages in Central Africa. Items of exquisite beauty such including masks and statues introduce us a complex cultural history of power.

The Dapper Museum has promoted the knowledge of African arts since its opening in 1986, putting on dozens of interesting cultural exhibitions. It has become a space where we can appreciate, and admire the different cultural aspects of the African diaspora in Europe, opening a platform for the recognition of a rich artistic history.

Angola was a Portuguese colony from 1482 until 1975, when dictator Marcelo Caetano was overruled by the MPLA (Movement for the Liberation of Angola), and UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola.) After the defeat of Caetano, the process of decolonialisation begun, led by Agostinho Neto – which was interrupted by the 25 year long Civil War.

The cultural riches of the country can be described in 9 ethno-linguistic groups – Quicongos, Quimbundu, Lunda-Quioco, Mbundo, Ganguela, Nhanheca-Humbe, Ambó, Herero and Xinndonga, which divide into various different tribes. The culture of the Lunda-Quico is interesting, as well as the Ganguelas who developed ceramics, sculptures and a series of masks used in the rite of male sexual initiation, and other social activities.

In the first exhibition in France dedicated to Angolan arts, one is able to visualise the ritualisation of power and sexuality through the range of religious and symbolic objects; such as the cult effigy of hero Chibinda Ilunga contributed by great Angolan artist Antonio Ole.

Antonio Ole was born in Luanda in 1951. The painter, photographer and filmmaker was highly acclaimed for his first show at the Museum of Afro-american Art in Los Angeles in 1984. His artistic work in photography has always been strongly relate to Angola’s political history, in which the pain of death and poverty are extremely key themes. His conceptual piece Paredes, consists of a series of photographs of the fronts of houses destroyed in the war in Angola, expressing the futility and hopelessness of an ongoing war.

For more information http://www.dapper.com.fr/exposition-en-cours.php

Nancy Guzman

For those who don’t know about the rich Angolan cultural heritage, this exhibition is an opportunity not to be missed if you are in Paris. And since there is nothing better than exploring a new city, rent apartments in Paris and get some rest afterwards.

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Translated by: Poppy
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From May 13th until the 23rd of June the Grand Palais in Paris is exhibiting some of the most important sculptors at the Monumenta 11. The culture ministry has been organizing this exhibition every year since 2007. On 13 500 square meters space artists, critics and the public can come together.

British artist Anish Kapoor is supposed to place an installation of 120m length and 35m height in the exhibition space. The piece consists of 4 gigantic, dark red circles made of PVC and is shown inside the Grand Palais. With this piece Kapoor plays with the viewers’ perception of space and the installations gives away the impression it is bigger than the space it is exhibited in.

Anish Kapoor is considered to be one of the most important sculptors of our time. He turns away from the post-colonial discourse many critics place his work in, saying: “I don’t believe in ethnic origin. Maybe the bad art of today is dedicated to topics like this.”

His sculptures are loaded with formal symbolism that reflects in the monumentality of his work, as well as his choice of color and special textures that he creates with different techniques and materials. The sensuality of the shapes provoke fascination and the desire to touch. His examination of the perception of space is expressed through his installations and special shapes that touch us on a visual level.

Kapoor is really great; his work exalts the senses and stirs. He defines his idea of creating as the act of “managing strictly with physical means to obtain a new emotional and philosophical experience”.

The force that inspires Kapoor’s work is the possibility the chance of thousands of people being integrated to dream up ways and to experience all the emotions that art produces. This democratization of culture, by creating public spaces where sculptures can be permanently exhibited is what has led Kapoor to make interesting projects in squares, parks, open spaces and urban public spaces. Currently, the British Government entrusted him the design of the Arcelor Mittal Orbit Tower, a sculpture of 116 meters that will be the benchmark for the upcoming Olympic Games in London 2012.

In his long career he has exhibited in the world’s most prestigious museums: the Louvre, the Royal Academy Tate Modern , the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, among others. In 1990 he received the Duemila of the 64th Venice Biennale and in 1991 he received the Turner Award.

For further info http://www.monumenta.com/en/2011/the-artist

Nancy Guzman

For those enjoying the spring under the skies of Paris, this is a unique opportunity to see the best sculpture works in the Grand Palais. And as art generates emotions, nothing better than enjoying the apartments in Paris   

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Translated by: Maria
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The Decorative Arts Center exhibits until 25 November, the second chapter of the retrospective A perfect story of contemporary fashion 1990 – 2000, which portrays the most important fashion innovations through 150 costumes selected from the most emblematic collections.

Fashion and costume designs are a reflection of social behaviour and express the great political and economic upheavals and even environmental crisis. Just think back to the appearance of the unknown Mary Quant in the 60s and the final change of women’s skirts’ length, bodily attitude, which reflected the revolutionary transformations of the time. Or the appearance of jeans in the wardrobe of all social classes, breaking down the aesthetic differences between the worker and the banker.

That revolution brought a string of challenges to the old school of fashion design. A name and pictures in the best fashion magazines was not enough anymore to be preferred by women, they had to incorporate the sign of the times to the wardrobe and with it, new and different consumer segments.

This is how the 90s, volatility in tastes and rapid changes would affect market trends and fashion and design. The emergence of a new fraction of young consumers more concerned to earn money in a short time rather than on aesthetics restructured the tastes and trends in fashion. These new trends are shown by the hand of emerging designers, such as Azzedien Alaïa and King Kawabuko. Among Europeans, only Jean Paul Gaultier manages to catch up with the new aesthetic that demands a more aggressive and conceptual fashion.

The new consumers of the 90s were not happy anymore by being well dressed but had the need to communicate their lifestyle through what they wear, therefore, clothing, leather and accessories should be aligned with their desire to communicate.

The appearance of colored hair, piercing in different parts of the body, tattoos and nonsystemic styles will transform not only the costumes, but the depiction of it. Thus, models do not represent the classical European beauty anymore, but paleness, thinness, dark rings under the eyes, ethnic features and imperfection in the face is now the trend.

In the 2000s, economic and environmental crisis mark the fashion industry and affect the design. The unique style is no longer sought, but the use of recyclable materials that are not produced in areas of the planet where human exploitation contributes to outbreaks of social unrest, or that are not produced in situations of child slavery and contributing to pollution of the planet are preferred.

This profoundly radical change will remove the old signs of status in fashion. Regarding leather, which in the 50s and 60s was sign of elegance and distinction, today no designer would dare to use them for fear of the response from environmentalists, and even worse, buyers.

For further info:
http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/english-439/exhibitions/current-events

Nancy Guzman

This interesting exhibition invites us to reflect on the social political changes and their impact on fashion design. It is a must if you’re spending a few pleasant days in apartments in Paris

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Translated by: Maria
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Much has been said about the Boulevard of Clichy. I was there last summer, and a lot has changed – of course, the libertine Paris of a hundred years ago has disappeared a bit, just like everywhere – “gentrification” is affecting everything. Nevertheless, if you look properly, open your eyes, a surprise can always been found. I do suggest you turn up with a bit of cash in your back pocket though, Paris is expensive – but worth it. When it comes to Libertine tastes, there are still a few options, especially in the Boulevard of Clichy. You can go during the day of course, but I recommend it after 7pm, when it’s just starting to get dark.

Start with the Erotic Museum, founded in 97, which has an interesting collection of different erotic imagery and figure from the Aztecs, Nepal, Tibet, China. Plus various different brightly coloured penetration shots – you’ll notice that the positions have changed little in the last two millenniums, only our neuroses have. On the second floor there’s some pornographic cinema, and above, all kinds of nudes – really sexy, best to go with a partner. The most interesting part of the collection is their archive, dating between the end of the 19th century up to 1946, of photographs and documents related to prostitution in Paris – highly recommended.

If carry on towards Clichy, you’ll find the famous Moulin Rouge, which was known for its can-can, the number one cabaret in the world. It was here that the first strip tease took place, performed by a woman who gradually took off her clothes, in search of a supposed flea which itched her body, back in 1890. The decor of the interior conserves the feeling of the Belle Epoque and in the entrance are some incredible murals of women with their legs in the air. As you know, Toulouse-Lautrec did lots of paintings based on this temple of modern erotic performance. He didn’t just live near to Clichy, many other artists did too from Van Gogh to Picasso, so its worthwhile to explore the houses and buildings of the area, some of which have been conserved.

As well as all the erotic historical madness, there are also new strip tease places in Boulevard Clichy and various sex shops where you can pick up the latest vibrators (the triple penetration being a personal favourite). There are loads of bars to drink and meet people, heterosexual and gay, and Oriental restaurants and small cafes. Outside the strip bars are promotors trying to get you to go in, speaking English to anybody who looks foreign – check out prices before going in anywhere, nothing is ever free. In some of the surrounding streets there are small bars, with girls in miniskirts waiting to be asked for a drink… I don’t think I need to say any more. So if you do want to “buy them a drink” be careful with prices, as sometimes they are exorbitant. As with any red light district, have your wits about you.

SISTER RAY

The Clichy Boulevard still retains an element of the “cutting edge” of old Paris. So find apartments in Paris and don’t forget to take an immoral journey through one of the prettiest cities in the world.

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Translated by: Poppy
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Though it would perhaps make more sense if it was near Elíseos, hanging in a wall in the beautiful Musée Jacquemart-André in Paris (158 boulevard Haussmann), it is nevertheless, in the Orsay Museum (62, rue de Lille) that one will find the 1897 Giovanni Boldini portrait of a young gentleman with a distinguished, haughty air and a particularly large nose.

The well-groomed and delicately cared for goatee, the hands inside gloves the colour of a rare pearl – the left jauntily clutching a walking stick, all gives an overall impression of stature and arrogance. Dressed in grey, which – like Brummel with blue and beige, or Baudelaire with black – he adopted in his later years as his signature colour.

It is the famous Count of Montesquiou-Fézensac (1855- 1921), a notorious aristocrat who belonged to a one of the oldest and prestigious families of the French nobility. His impeccable and privileged social standing was accompanied by an artistic flair for eccentricity, making him an unforgettable, individual figure – and a precursor for the dandy. It was all in the little details – such as for example the sprig of violets he often wore between his shirt and waistcoat, like a tie. Or the way that he chose the colours of his outfits to co-ordinate with his hosts or guests. Or the highly original way that he decorated his house in Franklin Street (his Aladdin’s cave, as he called it), which was filled with his bizarre acquisitions, such as the famous sledge sitting on a flawlessly white polar bear skin – or the silk socks displayed in a glass cabinet as though a museum artefact – the church furniture, the turtle bathed in gold, immortalized by J.K Huysmans in À Rebours (who knew about them from Mallarmé, who had, in the Count’s words, left the mansion in “state of silent exaltation” one evening in 1883).

Though as Giuseppe Scaraffia says, “to be a dandy is a state of grace, the result of an exceptional dedication to oneself,” Montesquiou found time to write poetry, and be an inexorable art critic (he was one of the first to extol the virtues of Art Nouveau), and preside, like a king of aesthetics and elegance, over a social ci rcle that included Gustave Moreau, Stephan Mallarmé, Sarah Bernhardt, James Whistler, Gabriel Fauré, Marcel Proust and a young Jean Cocteau, amongst others

However, he has left his mark on history, as the model for Huysman, and also Proust’s Baron of Charlus – some of the most fascinating figures in literature.

Paul Oilzum

When you rent apartments in Paris you can use your visitors card in the above museums.

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Until August 31, the sample exhibits Yvest Saint Laurent’s Rive Gauche The Fashion Revolution at the Foundation Pierre Bergé in Paris. The exhibition pays tribute to the designer who transformed the aesthetics female empowering it from clothing and additional costumes.

Provocative and disruptive, Saint Laurent captivated Paris and impregnated the fashion of his art concept. In 1966 he took out the tuxedo from the masculine wardrobe and installed it in the body of his models, ending the traditional boundaries imposed by clothing. Previously he had intimidated the haute couture with black blouse or Saharan, combining elegance, good taste with ethnic imprint that gave freedom of movement for the modern woman.

Henry Donat Mathieu, known worldwide as Yvest Saint Laurent, was born in Oran, Algeria, in 1936. Despite belonging to a family of the gentry, he lived a difficult time in his childhood product of discrimination because of his homosexuality. He used to remember the terrifying moments spent in the school telling: “The children made ??me a scapegoat, they used to lock me in the bathroom, insulted me, beat me”.

His debut in high fashion takes places with the brand Christian Dior, where he quickly outstood by his creativity and aesthetic improvement in the lines that fit the major cultural and economic transformations of post-war. Saint Laurent picks up the echoes of the street, of the average woman that leaves home to join the process of industrialization and is paid for work. With those elements he designed new aesthetic concepts that unify the freedom of movement with the beauty and good taste in clothes.

In the 50’s he dusted off the female wardrobe with famous Trapeze line, designed to give plasticity and movement to the body, removing the brace that held the rigid female torso and expanding the hem to allow an agile, lightweight step. This meant that a new consumer segment was attracted to haute couture: the youth.

His first store opened in September 1966, at the rue Tournon of the Rive Gauche, which gave name to his first perfume created for women that works and addresses their money to special tastes: Rive Gauche.

Picasso, Van Gogh, Braque, Mondrian, Matisse inspired his creations and gave the passport to transform his designs into works of art that have been exhibited at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

His obsessions and a heavy dose of artistic sensibility kept him on permanent existential crisis that ended in drugs and alcohol excesses. In 1960 a nervous breakdown resulting from the call to military service took him to the psychiatric center Val-de-Grâce for almost three months. In 1989 he was admitted with a serious delirium tremens diagnosis to a mental hospital. Over the years, insecurity, competition from new designers and the ghosts from his childhood took a toll on his health. He died in 2002 and his ashes are buried in the Majorelle Gardens in Morocco.

For further info: saint laurent” href=”http://www.fondation-pb-ysl.net/fr/Acueil-Fondation-Pierre-Berge-Yvest-Saint-Laurent-Copie-485.html” target=”_blank”>http://www.fondation-pb-ysl.net/fr/Acueil-Fondation-Pierre-Berge-Yvest-Saint-Laurent-Copie-485.html

Nancy Guzman

If you come to Paris and cannot afford to buy a legitimate Saint Laurent item, do not worry, you can enjoy watching his main creations and learn the history of this unique designer who revolutionized the way to look at women at the Fondation Pierre Bergé. And to rest in one of the apartments in Paris you do not need large sums of euros, we encourage you to spend the best moments in Paris.?

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127 years ago one of the most controversial and shocking novels of all times appeared in bookstores in Paris. The book in question was signed, but judging by its reading, few could have suspected the nature of its author’s profession: a bureaucrat of the Ministry of Interior of monotonous and routine life called J-K Huysmans.

It was to become soon not only a beloved gospel of the decadence of the late nineteenth century -Paul Valery made ??it his “Bible and bedside book” and Arthur Symons described it as “the breviary of the Decadence”- but also one of the most influential texts in contemporary literature. Indeed, without it, we can hardly conceive of masterpieces such as Wilde’s Dorian Gray and, as noted by Robert Baldick: virtually all unhappy and lonely heroes of the twentieth century novel would could find his family origins in the protagonist of À Rebours (Against Nature or Against the grain, according to translations into English), since this is indeed the title of the book we are talking about, the memorable and celebrated Duc Jean Floressas des Esseintes, whom we have spoken sometimes in the pages of this logbook.

Along with Baudelarire, whose ancestry was already visible in his collection of prose poems Le Dragee à épices (1874), the major factors that influence the novelist Huysmans are perhaps those of licentious Edmond de Goncourt (especially his novel La Faustin, who he and Esseintes admired for his “subtle and elegant depravity”). Also, the supreme stylist Gustave Flaubert (who wrote Salambó only to give a certain impression of yellow and whose Sentimental Education deterred Huysmans from writing a novel about average man on the same grounds that his Madame Bovary made ??him give up writing about adultery, notice the perfection reached in both cases). And, finally, the deceptively realistic Emile Zola (in their quest of truth, Huyssmans consulted countless treatises on topics as diverse as theology, perfumes, flowers, furniture and medicine and his description Moreau’s pictures of the Salome series couldn’t be more seductively detailed.)

These paintings, which despite its huge knowledge of the iconography on the matter were the only ones that Wilde fully liked in relation to his vision of Salome and they also aroused enthusiastic admiration of Marcel Proust, can now be seen in the former home of the painter that today is one of the most poignant, beautiful and secret museums of Paris. For more details http://www.musee-moreau.fr/

In his later years, Gustave Moreau began the task of transforming the family home in a place where countless pictures could be exposed after his death. The place, which also includes as an annex the two-floor building used as a workshop, is a real sentimental museum that apart from the deep aesthetic pleasure caused by his Symbolist paintings, works like a house of memories where each item has a meaning for the heart.

Paul Oilzum

If you rent one of the apartments in Paris this beautiful house is one of the best places you can visit at number 14 at Rue La Rochefoucauld, the Gustave Moreau Museum  

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It opened in 1997, in an old brothel in Montmartre – a neighbourhood not only famous being the 19th hang out for poets and intellectuals, who as well as having important debates, also drank absinthe and frequented the many brothels – but also, famous today for its sex shops, and as a culturally historic neighbourhood in the French capital.

The Erotic Museum isn’t one of the great museums you may be accustomed to visiting in Paris – though it retains the antique air of its building and is nevertheless a part of the neighbourhood. It houses permanent and temporary exhibitions throughout its seven floors. The permanent pieces are based around eroticism and sex through popular and contemporary art, with the second floor dedicated to the brothels of the 19th century – which I recommend for its interesting collection of photos, documents and drawings which depict life in the Parisian brothels up until 1946, when they were shut down.

As well as the permanent collections, the museum, which has always remained free of social and official authority, has presented the work of more than 150 artists who are dedicated to breaking with taboos, and approaching issues often regarded with shame and mistrust due, in most part, to Western religious practice, which has separated the body from the spirit – unlike other primitive religions which made more of a connection between sex and faith.

The museum is at 72 de Clichy, 75018, metro Blanche. Hours: 10am-2am. With these hours, you could have a few drinks, explore the sex shops and stop by the museum. 9 euros / 3 euros discount.

For more infomation:
http://www.musee-erotisme.com/

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Luz Obscura

Montmarte the old poet neighbourhood is now the erotic quarter of Paris. If you’re planning a special trip, rent apartments in Paris and discover all the hidden corners, and break some taboos!

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For anybody who still thinks that there is anything of constancy or permanence in the world – however small – are not keeping up with the times. Even the kilo, it seems, loses weight.

Though it seems unbelievable, of all the kilos there are in the world, only one can claim any authenticity. And it is the small amount of weight, enough to fit in the palm of your hand, that is found inside of a camera in the basement of the prestigious International Office of Weight and Measurement (BIPM) in Sèvres, just out of Paris. It was created in 1880, and has since been not only one of the biggest fetishes in science, characterising an era – but also, the absolute, indisputable reference for all other instruments of measurement of weight for no less than 54 countries – the countries that use the International System of Units.

Once a year, on exactly the same day, three men go down into the basement, where the kilogram is kept, to check that it is still in intact. The number of men is not coincidental, random. These are three high priests of the science of measurement who guard the keys of the door leading to the camera. They are the director of BIPM, the president of the International Committee of Weight and Measurement and the director of the France Archives.

Though nobody really knows exactly what has happened to the weight in the last hundred years, given the analysis and inspection of the experts in charge of it, there seems to be no doubt that it has begun to gradually lose its value, undergoing an inevitable process of having to adapt to the 21st century. In the words of BIPM physicist John Stock (the man responsible for one of the most precise measurements in the world): “an object made in the 19th century is no longer valid as a point of reference for the measurement of mass in the 21st century.” Which basically could mean the redefinition of the kilo, according to new, stable parameters.

The thesis on the new kilo has predicted that it won’t be possible to announce details any time before 2015, due to the discrepancy of results using different methods of weighing – such as the Planck technique, and that of Amadeo Avogrado.

Paul Oilzum

Even though 2012 is near, and the world is always changing, the beauty of France’s capital remains intact – if not getting better. Enjoy the city whilst you still can – and rent apartments in Paris

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Between 6th of April and 11th of June, the National Quimet Museum of Asian Art in Paris will be exhibiting a grand, international retrospective of the cosmopolitan culture of Lucknow. India’ s Fabled City: the Art of Courtly Lucknow is organised by the Los Angeles County Museum, and curated by Jacques Guíes, president of the museum, and Amina Okada, the museum’s principle curator.

The exhibition is centered around the Lucknow culture during the 18th and 19th centuries, with 200 pieces acquired from museums all around the world. Objects on display include European oil paintings, watercolours, engravings, Indian tribal paintings, textiles, ornaments, jewelry, and glassware.

Lucknow was the cultural capital of India and eclipsed New Delhi during the 18th century right up until the establishment of the British Empire in 1856. Located in the Awadh region, it was founded in the 13th century, as part of the Mongol empire, who designated a Nawab to govern, forming the Nawab dynasty which would last until the arrival of the Brits – which would transform the city, and see problems caused by the cruelty of the sepoys.

It’s courtly manners gave Lucknow a particular cosmopolitan air, which contributed to an economic boom in the city, and a development of the arts, with new forms of expression in poetry, music, food, and architectural design of courtyards and gardens, transforming it into a place of attraction for India’s artists, who christened it The Eastern City of Gold and the Constantinople of India. This special creative status also inspired European artists to travel to the region in search of new techniques to develop their work.

The urban development that came with the expansion of the city included the development of monumental palaces to house the Nabab dynasty – such as the Bara Imambara, built in 1784 by Asaf-ud-Daula for him and his family. The palace is of a colossal stature; the main room is 50 meters long, and 15 meters high, reflecting the wealth of the Nabab empire, and it’s taste for beauty.

Another stunning example of this is the Chota Imambara, with its gold and silver dome, which was started work on in 1837 by order of Mongol emperor Shah Muhammad, and was finally completed in 1840. Each of these monuments illustrate the development of architecture, urbanisation, and engineering techniques which have endured right up to the present day.

All of this development has made for a rich cultural heritage. Today, Lucknow is one of India’s most prosperous cities, and it has maintained the cultural traditions, and art techniques which have so influenced the West and which continue to do so to this day.

For more information http://www.guimet.fr/spip.php?page=recherche&recherche=lucknow&x=15&y=15&id_rubrique=1

Nancy Guzman

To experience the amazing Lucknow collection of art works, you only need to go to the National Museum of Asian Art in Paris. Enjoy the rest of the city, and rent apartments in Paris

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Translated by: Poppy
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