a snapshot

what a joy the lovely maison europeenne de la photographie is. welcoming the guest with a lovely jardin, on a quiet side street in the southern marais, the site is a real gem. a short stroll from hotel de ville or ile st. louis, this exposition space is cool, calm, and (well) collected. it's even open late - until 20h00 (a rare treat for those of us coming from nyc, where galleries and museums rarely hold evening court).

the contemporary collection of works is appealing and thought provoking, and the ancillary spaces supporting the overall theme are likewise well executed.

some go for the wow factor when on a crusade to expose themselves to high art. this institution defies it's larger siblings by keeping it simple ... quality materials, hushed tones, and a lovely, intimate feel. a great forum for reflection.

see what develops -

maison europeenne de la photographie
ville de paris
5/7 rue de fourcy 75004
+33 1 44 78 75 00

papier plus

in a tiny corner of paris, shoehorned in between the lovely ile st. louis and the marais, is a charming and typical parisian 'rue'. on this sweet street, just north of the equally charmant and agreeable pont louis philippe, lies a gem of a shop which has been situated in this local for as long as i can recall.

papier + is a special and unique place. the french, our newly found 'allies' in the post-chirac era, are notorious for their love of the finer things that life has to offer; this boutique is no exception. i can recall a happy, simpler time some twenty years ago when jane and i ambled through this area, pinching ourselves and realizing at that moment how lucky we were to be alive in this place. we stumbled upon our beloved papier +, and spent a great amount of time thumbing through photo albums, journals, and cahiers. i never managed to leave the place without having the shopkeeper weigh me out about a kilo of paper clips, all in sculptural forms, on an old fashioned scale - on one end lay my booty, and on the other end of the scale he would gingerly drop and add calibrated weights to calculate my cost (thankfully, not the method employed at weight watchers!).

everytime i used one of those many paper clips, it was for a special occasion - a card to a loved one, to which a photo was attached; a shot of my work going off to a gallery or museum, or just affixed to a piece of my clothing as a good luck charm.

and do you know what? things didn't turn out too bad - merci, papier + !

h