Photography and India

So, we finished up the course talking about film and photography. Tuesday we all met at the Forum des Images, which is inside Les Halles and really confusing. What they do is really cool. They collect and preserve any and all films that have anything to do with Paris. So they have an amazing and extensive library of film, and really cozy and comfy theaters to view them. We saw ones about the world's fair, surrealism, and a couple silly ones made in the 1910s. It was really cool. Afterwards I headed over to the Musee Jacquemart-Andre for the Caillebotte exhibit. I'm not a huge fan of Caillebotte's impressionism, but the exhibit was really amazing. What was cool was that his brother was a photographer, so in each room there were the same subjects. It was really interesting and insightful, and made me appreciate the paintings more. Defiantly worthwhile. It was also in a really beautiful museum, which was very ornate and neo-classical with furnished apartments. Afterwards, I walked over to the Arc de Triomphe and down the Champs-Elysees. It was obligatory and not as enjoyable as I thought because of how crowded and touristy it was. All of the shops were chains. But then it started to rain and everyone cleared out. So that was really nice. 

Wednesday we met at Accent for the last time, and got all the info for moving out. I'm having very mixed emotions about leaving, but our time is up. Afterwards Val, Amy, Sam, and I went for falafel, which was delicious! Then we all went to the Maison Europeenne de la Photographie. That was the hardest visit ever. For some reason all of the photographs were really heavy subject matters. There was a series on female inmates. Another on landmines, and one on Haiti. So this kept building, until the final floor, which was dedicated to war photography. There were all of the famous photos there but also a lot of unknown ones. I lost it after a couple of Korean War photos, had an emotional breakdown, and ended up leaving to sit outside and cry. It was really rough. A couple of other girls couldn't handle it either, but were more composed than me. I suppose that's what makes it art, and meaningful; to have such a strong emotional reaction. But it was really draining. After piecing myself back together, Sam and I went over to the Pompidou. There's an exhibit right now called "Paris-Delhi-Bombay" that a couple people went to see and loved. And it was amazing! By far the best exhibit I've been to during my time in Paris. It defiantly made me feel better, and reaffirmed why I love contemporary art. There was so much and it was so inspired and wonderful. There aren't words, as usual. I was so in love, I bought the catalog even though it was pretty expensive, and in French. Then that evening we were supposed to go to the ballet, which was the world premiere of a Francis Bacon inspired ballet. But when we got to the box office to pick up our tickets we found out that there's a strike and the show was canceled. It was really disappointing and Lauren was ready to cry and throw a fit. So we got our money back and had a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in the area with Becca, Heidi, and Amelia. We were all pretty upset, so after dinner we parted ways and I just went home. Oh well, it seemed to perfect and I haven't had to deal with a strike in Paris yet so it was inevitable. C'est la vie. And now there are just two days left in Paris, no more class (with the exception of a class lunch Thursday), and way to much left to see. Plus packing and cleaning the apartment. A little overwhelmed and devastated to be leaving the city of lights and love so soon.

Arc de Triomphe

Pompidou