They say that on a night from the beginning of the 1960s, Orson Welles was looking for, from the observation point of the windows of his room in Hôtel Meurice, help or consolation from the moon. He’d been scrupulously designing for months to get the visual effect he wished that was needed for the decoration of the story of his adaptation of Kafka’s ‘The Trial’ and he’d just received the news that there were no funds to build it.

Maybe in tears, he then seemed to see not one but two full moons, but then he realized that those shapes belonged to two faces of the clock of the abandoned train station of Orsay, built in 1900, where he went to quickly obeying its call. There he found, after walking through its doors close to 4am, everything that he needed to make the film, the world of Kafka intact: the lawyer offices, the justice tribunals, the interminable corridors in an architectonic style, later defined by him as Jules Verne-esque modernist, that could not go better with the aesthetic of the Czech writer.

But he then discovered something more important. He had the feeling that if the station was such a beautiful place to photograph, it was mostly due to the fact that it was full of pain and sadness, the type of pain and sadness that accumulates in a place where people wait, and ‘The Trial’ was above all a book about waiting. Waiting for someone to put a stamp on a paper wasn’t much more different than waiting for a train, with all the angst and tragedy that it could have if, for example, as it was Orsay’s case, trains were sent from there to Nazi concentration camps -the same people who had ordered to burn all of Kafka’s books.

Since the 1st of December 1986, the Gare d’Orsay became a museum http://www.musee-orsay.fr/ dedicated to 19th century plastic arts, whose strong point is its astounding impressionist painting collection, which makes it into one of the city’s main tourist attractives.

To commemorate its 25th anniversary, an extraordinary restoration work on the building has just been completed that, as well as adding new rooms and an impressive cafeteria designed by Humberto and Fernando Campana, which is a total revolution -based on the use of the latest electric lights that reproduce solar light on a special grey colour for the walls that acquire red or green tones according to the light- in the way of exhibiting the paintings, whose colours have been enhanced to an unsuspected and fabulous extreme.

Paul Oilzum

The transformation is magnificent, almost magical. The new colours and illumination create an intimate atmosphere that Guy Cogéval, the museum’s director, has described as the palpitating heart of all galleries. You might want to see it for yourself when you rent apartments in Paris

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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With the attractive exhibition Audrey Cottin: Charlie & Sabrina, qui l’eût cru? Paume Jeu, ends its “Satellite 4″ program. The exhibition will be open until the 5^th of February  2012, and will explore the subjectivity with an interesting proposal, including actions taken by this French artist in collaboration with different people, including several artists, who she invited to join her art world, where the creation works as an exchange.

It seems difficult to define Audrey Cottin’s work, which could qualify as performative sculpture, because of her usage of multiple platforms and the collaborations that she chooses, among which are: writers, artists, sculptors, or simply people. Through them, she ventures into the principles of fusion and association to achieve resonance and perfection. The resonance is inspired by a practice used in theater during the nineteenth century, in which the spectators were committed to clapping, to ensure the success of the play. The same that Cottin defined as: Clapping Groups to her performance. Here people come into a nice dynamic, which leads them to believe in the symbolic gesture of the applause as a collective act of gratitude and happiness. The Clapping last 20 minutes and are shared rhythm.

The exhibition is like a game, in which, Cottin uses multi-support and is fully interactive. To Cottin this is a very serious game, because it seeks to explain the collective vision of art, wondering about the authorship of a work, both in the forms and the results of it. For this, she has taken a series of photographs on the uprisings action of the works by other artists, in order to change the position of the object to be suspended, subverting its original position.

Everything has to do with the exchange, that troubling time when things flow and the point is lost. This is what Cottin investigates with her transfers, for which she connects with another artist at a distance, via satellite to see his performance.

Cottin is passionate about the materiality; nevertheless, her work is a collection of subjectivities. Through these, she explores what stresses the art and creation, as the notion of authorship that refers to the concept of individual development, self-concept of modernity, which is permanently questioned in the twentieth century. Michel Foucault argues that the author played the role of regulator the fiction since the nineteenth century, role characteristic of the industrial and bourgeois individualism, as well as the private property. Also, the notion of authorship was harshly criticized by the Bauhaus, he saw it in the use of the machine an ideal way to avoid the “artistic vanity.”

For more information http://www.jeudepaume.org/index.php?page=article&idArt=1498&lieu=1

Nancy Guzman

It is always a good time to spend some days in apartments in Paris especially because you will have the chance to enjoy its fine cuisine and cultural landscapes of a second to none city.

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Translated by: Hans
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Up until the 11th of March 2012, the exhibition ‘Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)’ will be open at the Petit Palais in Paris. The exhibition takes place a year after the 150th anniversary of the birth of this Indian writer and playwright and it’s organized around 85 pictorial works on paper by him.

The exhibition tries to show another side of Rabindranath Tagore, who is known as a novelist, playwright and composer who obtained the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. However, at the end of his life he began to develop a singular talent in plastic arts, creating works with an amazing talent to reflect the microcosmos of his culture, works which today are still relatively unknown.

One could say his work is eclectic, exuberant and dynamic. In his works and, especially, in his paintings, he shows in a vital way the artistic link between India and the rest of the world. Through the handling of colour and the strokes in the construction of the human figure, he shows us a world of clear limits, assumed in his tremendously sensual culture.

However it will be his literature, his theatre and musical creations, inspired in a deep humanistic current, that we will get to know in depth. Tagore was a reformer of writings and a permanent innovator in his cultural environment. They attribute to him the introduction of the short story with poetic prose in Bengali literature.

He was one of India’s most avant-garde artists. His love for his land, Indian culture and freedom took him to write various songs of support to the Indian independence movement. In 1919 he renounced to his knighthood in protest of the massacre of Jaliyaanguala Bagh. His biggest input to the liberation of his country was the creation of a school in Santiniketan, because his approach on freedom was based on generating an emancipated society from culture and knowledge.

Tagore was born in Calcutta, India, in the middle of a wealthy and numerous family, with a sharp interest in art and culture. Among his brothers there were philosophers, novelists and poets who were respected by the closed circles of the white race. In 1878 he travelled to England and entered University College London where, despite abandoning his studies, British culture would shape his literary and musical creation, which can be seen in his columns which were published as ‘Letters from an exile in Europe’ in 1881.

From 1912 onwards he would be widely demanded for giving conferences in Europe and the United States, where he would establish important contacts with writers and academics who would see with interest the events in his country. The First World War and the intensification of the conflict of Indian independence would shape his outlook, defining his political position together with the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi.

For more information: http://www.petitpalais.paris.fr/fr/expositions/rabindranath-tagore-1861-1941

Nancy Guzman

There’s no better prospect for 2012 than spending a few dreamy days in apartments in Paris so rent yours and prepare your suitcase, you won’t regret it!

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Until the 5th of February 2012, the Jeu de Paume Miuseum exhibits the first retrospective in France of the American photographer Diane Arbus, which attempts to give a new meaning to her work through the universe made up with images which represent the diversity of New York in the 50s and 60s. Among them there are some of her better known photographs and others which have never been exhibited.

Diane Arbus, née Diane Nemerov, was born in New York in 1923. Daughter of a well off Jewish family who liked art and culture, she developed special affinity with images. She fell in love early on with Allan Arbus, whom she married at 18 years old, acquiring his surname and his liking for photography. At the beginning of the 40s they both dedicated themselves to fashion magazines photography, a job which was well paid and allowed them to experiment with photography from new angles, views, the use of light and the use of speed with first class gadgets of the time. These works were for the prestigious magazines Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire and Vogue.

In the mid-50s, together with her divorce, she began photography lessons with Lisette Model, an Austrian artist who had a particular view on image work. She would be an essential influence on Arbus’ work, who despite the ending of her marriage, would preserve her husband’s surname.

The avant-garde irruption in Arbus’ photography would make a mark on many photographers. She went out to the street to capture feelings, culture and human essence. She wasn’t interested in beauty, the was interested in showing what normality defines as grotesque as being full of humanity and what is normal as monstruous. It’s her nonconformist view which she puts in her photographs in a majestic way, and there’s the singularity, because when one looks at an Arbus photograph, they’re observing the world through her feelings and nonconformism with society.

Her centre of activities was essentially New York, where everything is possible and which is the cipty where most number of cultures congregate in the whole world. There she found her base material. The streets attracted her like a magnet and children, women, men, homosexuals and all sorts of people would be captured as a human archeology project. Arbus carefully separated  the images that she wanted, how she wanted them and why she wanted them. In few words, urban life with its ups and downs.

That special sensitivity which she put into every photo and brought her to capture the human essence played a heavy trick on here, like her permanent depressive state and mood and behaviour swings which took her to ingest barbiturates and ended her life in 1971.

For more information: http://www.jeudepaume.org/index.php?page=article&idArt=1470&lieu=1

Nancy Guzman

A walk around the Seine in December isn’t bad at all. In order that it is a complete and infinite pleasure, rent apartments in Paris and then go to all the good shows and exhibitions that the city has prepared for you. Don’t forget to go to the Jeu de Paume and see the work of Diane Arbus.

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Mariette lived in the seventeenth century and was one of the largest collectors in Europe during that time. He was fortunate to be born into a family that had a vast knowledge in the field of engravings and printsellers in Paris, they were book publishers, and this is how from his youth, Mariette was interested in the art world.

Thanks to the business his family had, when he was just starting his enthusiasm for the pictures, he was able to contacted big renowned collectors, who provided him some of the works that they were filing for many years. So he began to gather thousands of works by known and less known artists, which were valued at that time.

Over time, his fanaticism and passion for drawing was extended and he even managed to have works by artists from almost every country of Europe, especially France, Italy, Spain and Germany. Throughout life he met many people who helped and advised him to give more relevance to his collection and cataloged every single of his pieces in a chronological order, to make exchanges of medium value pieces for better ones.

Pierre-Jean Mariette managed to collect more than 10 000 works, which show that he was a man deeply committed to his cause, a man who achieved his intended objectives with love and passion. He never abandoned his business and when his cultural relevance was renewed, he took advantage of the situation to acquire the finest (and expensive) pieces of art in market.

When he was an adult and savored the taste of art with a more mature palate, he also began collecting plates, sculptures, paintings and any object he found interesting. Although afterwards many of his works were sold and auctioned, being distributed throughout the world.

It was Pierre Rosenberg, the president of the Louvre museum, who undertook the project of rebuilding the collection that Mariette created many centuries ago. For this they had to work hard and acquired works that were on display in public and private places, as well as trying to rearrange them in their original order. Hundreds of such the recovered works will be on display for all who come to the museum.

Long after his death (1774), Mariette’s collection remains in force in the cultural and artistic spheres. Thousands of people around the world are interested in visiting this exhibition that will be exhibited in the city of Paris. The exhibition will be held at the Louvre Museum from the 10^th of November 2011 to the 6^th of February next year. Thus, all the tourists and locals will be able visit the museum and enjoy the exhibition of Mariette.

For more information on this exhibition please visit the official event website: http://www.louvre.fr

d.b

Art fans should rent apartments in Paris and pay a visit to the Louvre Museum. Louvre apart of exhibiting many works internationally renowned, will be exhibiting the unique collection by Mariette. A must go.

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Until the 19th of February of 2012, Les Arts Décoratifs in Paris exhibits for the first time in France the work of the Austrian graphic artist Stefan Sagmeister. The exhibition titled ‘Another exhibit on promotion and sales material’ brings the exceptional language of the artist, who from the mix managed from the works of art and graphic arts, make them unique pieces.

The exhibition has the illustrations of jackets, discs, commercial catalogues, exhibition catalogues, installations, drawings, logos, etc. and with them he tries to create an edge through the works of the last seven years, dividing it in four sections who he himself nominated as: the sale of culture, sale of friends, sale of companies and the sale of one self, because all those works revolve around the subject of sales.

With this selection, Sagmeister tries to show that there’s no distinction between the world of graphics as an art expression and the commercial sphere which is directed to the sale of products. It’s an interesting proposal for discussion, because it opens the dialogue on the value of immaterial work, which gathers both art and advertising where they create images or they take art images to promote products, or in this case, creating graphic images to sell products.

Stefan Sagmeister was born in 1962, in Vorarlberg, Austria. He studied graphic design in the University of Applied Arts Vienna, and he received a grant to study at the Pratt Institute in New York. In 1991 he moved to Hong Kong and worked for the Leo Burnett agency with Tibor Kalman, co-founder of the ‘Colors of Benetton’ magazine, along with Olivifero Toscani. After, he got into music and he opened his own studio, being the graphic designer for Lou Reed, Rolling Stones, Talking Heads and Casa da Musica of Oporto, among others.

His success has been such that today he gives lectures in different places around the world. He eve became one of the founders of ‘True Majority’ with Ben Cohen, which gathered 500 artists, influential people, employers and opinion leaders in the USA who publicly showed their opposition to the war against Iraq, by considering it a lie to all citizens of that country, and they asked to reduce the percentage destined to weapons and to invest more in education. To promote the idea they published interesting campaigns in the New York Times and in the Wall Street Journal.

Sagmeister is known for his peculiar way of reaching with messages and the supports used for them. This has been controversial because of the radical way of using his body as a graphic support of a poster he designed in the early 90s for the conference he did at the Cranbrook Campus in the American Institute of Graphic Arts, when he asked his assistant to cut on his torso the information on the conference with a sharp object, and then he photographed it making it into a poster.

For more information: http://www.lesartsdecoratifs.fr/francais/accueil-292/une-486/francais/publicite/expositions-96/actuellement-504/stefan-sagmeister-another-exhibit/

Nancy Guzman

December is a great time to enjoy a well earned break, so rent apartments in Paris and don’t miss this beautiful exhibition on Stefan Sagmeister, a genius of graphic arts.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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Unlike traditional theater, musicals tend to have completely different doses of entertainment, one could say, even higher. The most important factor is the dynamic music on stage that generates, as much as you can take into the song, which is an anthem of singing and dancing. There are resources within the music that are often unnoticed.

The performance takes on greater prominence in the attunement of each new tune, the actors are part of a choreography and stage, and the rooms are full of enthusiasm, people dancing. The Sound of Music is one of the most popular musicals, and is certainly an experience to be lived, if you love the theater and the performing arts.

The musicals are in some way or another also a way to present important historical moments. Consider for instance the classic “Hair”, musical from the 60′s in which the hippie counterculture and radical then, comes to life in a work that suggests more than a condemnation. Could it be that “Hair” was a step system to assimilate all that counterculture? The truth is that this musical brought to the fore the political climate of the time in the United States and did it so effectively. The Sound of Music is, with a much sweeter tone, set between the First and Second World War.

The fact that a play or musical or song, or any piece of art, at some point reaches the expected standards of their gender is not relevant. In art as in music, margins of error and improvisation are essential to reaching the giblets and the proposed heart of theater. In musicals, the audience participates and not just as an observer but as part of the entertainment that is offered, making much more active, which is evident from the work itself.

The Sound of Music was staged for the first time in 1959 and since then, it has only captivated audiences around the world. Of course, all our memories are focused on the movie of the same name in 1965, starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer, movie that won five Oscars.

The musical tells the story of Mary, a young woman living in a convent and her in process of becoming a nun. However, she leaves the religion and starts taking care of the children of a senior captain of the Austrian army. The captain, a widower, gives his children a quite rigid education, which Mary takes care of changing with her great mind. Thus melodies and songs are mixed in the beautiful Austrian hills shortly before the Second World War, the comedy is not lacking, the whole plague musical humor and the romance between Mary and the Capitan. Without a doubt, one of the best musicals you can see until early January in Paris. For more information about the event and tickets, simply click on the following website: http://www.chatelet-theatre.com/

Alexa Ray

Get  apartments in Paris and discover this beautiful musical.

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On the 15^th and 16^th of December, the British rock band Sex Pistols will perform at the Nouveau Casino, with their concert No One Is Innocent, which is the title of their famous song is their way of standing in the world of music, but with ideas.

Sex Pistols in their song No One Is Innocent claim to indolence and to that elusive form of non-taking of responsibility of the atrocities, the double standards established in the society where there is no clear who wear dirty or poor, but inside them, they do not accept any of the crimes committed by citizens who are perfumed and dressed in ties. It’s an interesting bet on today’s avant-garde criticism moves outraged the world.

Sex Pistol was formed as a punk band in 1975 in the city of London. Their name and aesthetic are already classic, and are considered the greatest exponents of punk and founders of the musical and cultural streams in Britain. Their career has been having all kinds of ups and downs, but they are certainly the world’s most famous band in musical expression.

The band was originally formed by Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Paul Cook and Glen Matlock. In 1977 the bass player Matlock left the band and was replaced by Sid Vicious. The Sex Pistols entry on stage was always controversial. Rumor has it that their manager and businessman Malcolm McLaren created artistic strategies for the band to have difficulties in concert, transforming it in an advertisement platform for the segment that followed the band because they appeared in the media much more. Thing that added to the controversial personality of Vicius, who brought the group in addition to their ability to compose, and reply that strong character that were a trademark.

That same year, 1977, their single God Save The Queen was released with all heresy against the world’s most powerful monarchy and a frontal challenge to British conservatism led them to be a punk rock world icon. During 1978 they toured the United States of anthology, however, Rotten to leave the band and predicted its disintegration, something that did not happen for the benefit of those who love their music. A year later Sid Vicius appeared died of a heroin overdose.

In 2006 they were included in the Rock Hall of Fame, despite their refusal to attend the ceremony, considering an elitist strategy to pigeonhole the music that comes from the urban counterculture. Their refusal was based stating that the museum was a urine stain.

Sex Pistols has not refused to any controversy, bringing substantial revenues, but no one denies that they remain a cult band and can be hardly challenged musically, as conceptual work is a matter of musicological and sociological studies.

For more information: http://www.nvivo.es/artistas/Sex+Pistols/

Nancy Guzman

How many times have you seen how the Champs Elysees is illuminated in December, rent apartments in Paris they have been designed thinking of you and your well-being. The best deals for you to enjoy a few days in that beautiful Capital and attend the concert no one is innocent.

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Being a vegetarian is more than being in good health or eating healthy, being a vegetarian is an outlook on life. Morrissey put it well during his time in The Smiths: Meat is Murder. And more and more people adapt to this food trend, for reasons which are ideological and health ones. Among the benefits of vegetarianism there’s a large quantity and variety of vitamins, carbohydrates, fats as well as mineral salts and water. Also, unlike meat, vegetables make intestinal work a lot lighter, avoiding infections as well as other pains. Vegetables, if they’re balanced, can be equivalent to many dishes which contain meat.

Of course that before opting for a vegetarian diet, it’s important to consult a nutritionist, who can give good clear advice on the type of food which is convenient for you. To stop eating meat, pure salads and prepared vegetables isn’t enough. Each body has its different food needs, energy requirements and it’s important to know how to eat according to our body.

If you’re already a vegetarian or you simply want to experiment the best of vegetarian dishes in Paris, you just have to visit these restaurants which are the best ones you’ll find in the City of Light.

Le Grenier de Nôtre-Dame opened its doors in 1978. Since then, it’s served the best vegetarian and macrobiotic food. Maybe the quality of its dishes are in the fact that they’ve always had the same chef. The service in this restaurant is helpful and careful, and they always have fresh dishes with seasonal vegetables, different menus and options which are pretty affordable and the quality of a service and style shaped by their experience which has spanned over twenty years. If you want to experiment the healthiest and most stylish in macrobiotic food, this place is for you. They’re open 365 days a year.

Only a few steps away from the Bastille metro stop, the Grand Appetit restaurant is another important place to sample the best vegetarian food in Paris. With a warm and cozy atmosphere, Grand Appetit offers affordable prices, delicious miso soups and different dishes made out of organic cereals and fresh or cooked vegetables.

If you’re in Montmartre, another place you can’t miss out on is Grain de Folle. This small restaurant is among the most attractive and charming ones you’ll find in Paris. Sometimes it’s already full, but if you wait at the door, a few surprises await inside. The dishes are different, some are traditional, but the service is warm and the place is also very friendly. The prices are more than reasonable considering it’s in Montmartre, and you’ll be able to enjoy fresh food made from seasonal vegetables, as well as macrobiotic products.

Alexa Ray

The best thing to do is to rent apartments in Paris and enjoy these restaurants as well as the vibrant culture life that this city offers. The vegetarian offering is also broad, so nothing better than exploring the city and carry on discovering the best vegetarian cuisine.

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During the month of December, the Paris National Opera presents two wonderful ballet shows: ‘Cendrillon’ (‘Cinderella’) and ‘Onéguine’, which will be showing until the 31st of the month at the Palais Garnier and Bastille Opera. Both are an adaptation of classic works, one by Rudolf Noureev and the other by John Cranko.

‘Cinderella’ is a transport of the story by Charles Perrault to the vanities of Hollywood of the wonderful 1930s, made by Rudolf Noureev. In this adaptation, Cinderella is an aspiring star, and the prince is a shining established star. This curious version of the dreams to be loved and achieve success which the character of Cinderella embodies, is a modern outlook on this illusion which has served for thousands of interpretations in different fields of dramatic representation.

Cinderella works with her stepmother and her two stepsisters who confine her to lesser jobs in her buffet. A wounded man arrives, who is a film producer looking for artists for a dancing role. The stepmother tries her utmost to please this producer so that he sets eyes on the few talents of her daughters. But just like in the story, it will be Cinderella who will achieve stardom. The only difference is that the shoe is not made of glass, but it’s a ballet shoe which is left in the studio.

It’s an interesting scenic proposal where they mix classic and modern ballet, while the scenography is full of iconic Hollywood characters, like Cinderella dressed as Charles Chaplin or a huge King Kong among the colourful lights. Sergei Prokofiev is in charge of the music and the musical director is Fayçal Karoui.

Rudolf Noureev, better known as Rudolf Nureyev, was one of the best ballet dancers in the world. His quality and personality made him into the main figure in the Kirov ballet from Leningrad in the old USSR. Such was his success and love despite his difficult personality, that he was almost considered a socialist state hero. He deserted the Soviet ballet in 1961 when he was touring in Paris and asked for political asylum. He’s considered one of the most important men in the advances of modern dance.

‘Onéguine’ is the second ballet show that the Paris National Opera presents us for the end of the year. It’s an adaptation made by the South African choreographer and dancer John Cranko of the poetic text by Alexander Pushkin dedicated to Eugene Onéguin, written between 1877 and 1879.

The ballet piece, just like the lyrical work, is full of human passions derived from love: desire, jealously, arrogance, guilt and death. A great work of re-interpretation of a literary work which has been used to take it to the stage of opera and theatre. The work has the music of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky interpreted by the Kurt-Heinz Stolze orchestra. This work by Cranko is considered one of his best mis-en-scène both for its strength in drama and choreography.

For more information: http://www.operadeparis.fr/cns11/live/onp/Saison_2011_2012/Ballets/spectacle.php?lang=en&event_id=2140&CNSACTION=SELECT_EVENT

Nancy Guzman

December is a good time to travel. Walking down the beautifully lit Champs-Elysées and enjoying plenty of cultural events such as ballet, music concerts and theatre, are the best reasons to come to apartments in Paris and end the year in the best possible way.

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Translated by: aleixgwilliam
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