hergé • vision'r • la générale • iqons • letrange • quéméner
commentary by francis powell
published 15 february 2007
 
paris: vie et art | volume 1 • number 5
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"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you; for Paris is a movable feast."
-Ernest Hemingway
 
published since August 2006 | Paris: Vie et Art reports on the art scene and artist life in Paris, France.
 
 
Francis Powell (eMail • Web site • MySpace page) lives in Paris, France, where he teaches English, paints, writes poetry and short stories, composes music, Djs (under the moniker 'Dj Wise'), and makes video performance art.
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
Advanced Notions (various)
formerly patsymooreDOTcoms Bonus Writings; insightful and inciting literature from artists and about art
 
Amsterdam Dispatch (Karin Bos)
an insider's look at the art scene and artist life in Amsterdam
 
The Art of Fiction (Peter Quinones)
reviews of timeless literature
author interviews
 
bohoTV (various)
noteworthy Arts-centric viral video
 
Cambridge Letters (Kym Cooper-Rodgers)
reports about art scenes abroad
(9/2004-12/2005)
 
Deleted Scenes (Stuart Chait)
a guide to the great cinema and television you're missing
 
Design Psychology (Jeanette Joy Fisher)
a look at how design elements contribute to happiness, well-being, and productivity
(7/2005-3/2007)
 
The Iraq Watch Papers (various)
observations on war and peace
(3/2003-7/2006)
 
Lessons in Creativity (Linda Dessau)
self-care tips for artists
 
London Letters (Shakila Taranum Maan)
reports about the London arts scene and design
 
On Books (Tim Haigh)
book criticism
 
Paris: Vie et Art (Francis Powell)
an insider's look at the art scene and artist life in The City of Light
 
Portrait of the Artist (various)
a gallery of work by compelling visualists
 
Rake on Music (Jamie Lee Rake)
your map to the music underground
 
Savor (Brian Parker)
a passionate survey of food and cooking
 
The Self Expressed (various)
creative writing
 
Special Assignment (various)
profiles and interviews
 
Tending the Planet (Alyssa Stebbing)
ruminations on social responsibility and spiritual life
 
Thus Spake Fred (Fred Clark)
smart, witty examinations of socio-political issues
 
transcripts from A Lovers Quarrel
(Dwight Ozard)
one man's documentation of his restless relationship with faith and culture
(6/2004-9/2005)
 
Verse (Jim Newcombe/John-Paul Gillespie)
poetry laid bare
 
Verse Live (various)
new poetry
 
The World Watch Papers (various)
inspections of matters impacting the globe
 
Write of Passage (Eboni Rafus)
journalings of a confirmed writer

 

The remnants of Christmas remain in evidence—decorations being lazily taken down, despite the fact that it's early February. Winter's been kind—predominantly mild, with only fleeting moments of severe weather; but, true to the way of Paris, even bitter cold does little to stub out a widespread yen to explore new art.


•••


One thing I've learned, since moving here, is that the French love their bande dessinée (or comic strips). On the métro, it's not uncommon to find adults and youth alike engrossed in graphic novels. Another indication of this local affection is the enormous banner now hanging down the façade of Le Centre Pompidou. It's a red and white chequered rocket, easily recognizable to any aficionado of the late Belgian artist Hergé and his renowned creation, Tintin. In full swing, at the Pompidou, is an exhibition (artwork, manuscripts, letters and other documents) celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of Hergé's birth.


•••


There seems to be a move to push Vjs to the fore, in Paris. Take, for instance, "Vision'R"—a large-scale Vj fest that takes place in three sizable venues, over the course of a weekend. Last month, my own project, 22 Code X, kicked off just such an event, in a converted warehouse-like venue called La Bellevilloise.
A stage supported tables chock-a-block with computers, video equipment, and two screens. Video performance artists from all corners of the world participated. I spoke with a pair from Austria, as well as with some Americans living and plying their trade in Istanbul. Some of the videos/Vjs delighted and intrigued, while others borrowed from well-known films (i.e., Altered States and Starship Troopers). Everywhere, images and thumping babel abounded. One project, christened "Vj Meat" and helmed by a team dressed in black, slightly kinky clothing, took to the stage with a filming TV crew in tow. There was a definite shock factor to the act; some of its images were brutal...unpalatable for a vegetarian such as me. Many of the Vjs were technically accomplished, and the talent of others undeniably shone through; but I found a few to be numbing and deficient in originality.



•••


A few days later, I went to a squat—the sizable artistic hive, La Générale—for a surreal experience.

Crowds were seated on sofas (and, no doubt, pilfered chairs), watching videos of a city scene (perhaps in Israel?). People milled from one space to another as projectors cast varied images in each room.



•••


It was just after midnight and a line of mostly fashion types was vying to get into a night club, at the discretion of its bouncers. The coveted affair inside was a party organized by the Web site IQONS.
 
 
 
 

IQON's purpose appears to be squaring up to MySpace, the leader in online music, to become the leader in online fashion. Should you visit the site, you'll encounter flamboyant designer JC de Castelbajac (he of the controversially-named denim line Jesus Jeans), who, in his illustrious career, has designed clothes for a group including those as disparate as Andy Warhol and the Pope, and who serves as the face of the increasingly popular cyber design community.


The club hosting the IQONS party is known as Les Bains-Douches and, over the years, it's been a magnet for A-list stars, jet-setters, models, and the like. Although its heyday was in the '70s and '80s (both Kid Creole and the Coconuts and Grace Jones have honored it in song), the occasional star or two still patronizes this trendy establishment, where the music playlist contains heavy measures of eighties nostalgia and fresher electro; fashion goddess Naomi Campbell recently celebrated her birthday there.


•••


If in Paris, don't expect to discover great art lodged solely in galleries; some artists have been known to show their work in the backs of tempura houses or smoky tapas bars. Such was the case with elusive photojournalist Malie Letrange, lens portraitist of such luminaries as Charles de Gaulle, Margot Fonteyn, Rudolf Nureyev and Grace Kelly.


Her latest show (in rather cramped surroundings) centers on photographs of dancers. "Dans L'O délà de la Danse" captures the very essence of movement—dancers, with arms like the wings of flapping birds; some portrayed in sharp focus, some as ghostly figures, blurred and abstract.
By contrast to Letrange's refined photographs, Éric Quéméner's paintings, sometimes featuring three-dimensional heads poking out in relief, are overtly kitschy, cranky, cartoonish, and fun to look at—reminiscent of work from the Pop Art era. I chanced on Quéméner's efforts while at a nearby bar (appropriately named The Liberty) to see a two-piece band perform. The artist's subject matter included Punks, the Sex Pistols immortal Never Mind the Bollocks... cover being incorporated in one painting. I've never read any substantial literature about Quéméner; but, in my brief exposure to his work, I've concluded that he's inspired by socialist leanings and aspires to pay tribute to the Everyman.

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