“What is the best time to visit Paris?” a client from one of my tours asked me, surprised by the state of Paris in August.
“My preferences,” I replied, “in this order, are: October, early April, or August - but you won’t be visiting the real Paris in August.” She nodded, lips pursed.
When I explain deserted August in Paris, people usually raise their eyebrows at me - or I get nods, as if they already knew what I meant. I’m OK with both now. I understand that the concept is peculiar, but it’s the truth: many shops are closed for two, three, four weeks; doctors’ offices are closed for two, three, four weeks; newspaper stands don’t even open… The whole universe of Paris is at a halt. Summer break is sacred.
I like August in Paris - summer is at full blast, and the whole city belongs to me. OK, to me and a lot of questionably sane people who are now more visible simply because there are fewer of us - questionably sane people - around.
One of the perks of an empty Paris is that you can see exhibitions with far fewer people than just a couple of weeks ago. Probably one of the main reasons I live here is that I can go and enjoy art that I thought I would never see beyond books.
On Friday, I went to see the first major exhibition of Hilma af Klint in Paris. The Swedish artist wrote in her will that she wanted her art - almost 1,300 pieces and 16,000 pages of notebooks - to be presented to the general public only 20 years after her death. She knew the world was not ready for her when she died in 1944. And here we are, 80 years later: only now is Paris ready for a big retrospective of her work at the Grand Palais.
I enjoyed the show. I enjoyed the colors, the spirituality and symbolism behind them, the different sizes of the exhibited pieces, the design of the show itself, and Hilma’s story. I usually prepare for exhibitions by reading, watching, or listening to different art critics before heading to the expo. Then, after the show - as in this case - I sometimes buy books to read and learn more about the artist’s processes, thoughts, and ways of working. I’m listening to this book right now; the author learned Swedish in order to understand and write about af Klint. This was a great video about her, too.
A year ago, I wrote about the internal battle between creating on purpose/for clients and creating for the sake of creating. After keeping a daily sketchbook at hand at all times - and using it - for more than seven months, I see again how much difference “creation for the sake of creation” makes to my client work.
Above is my study of Hilma’s huge painting Youth, The Ten Largest, No 3-4 - well, my study of it - and on the right side is the poster I designed for the Summer School of Architecture (a client I’ve been working with for almost a decade and a half), inspired by the colors I used in the study. Hilma’s original work is more red (mine is neon orange) but it pushed me to explore.
Tonight from 19:19, we’ll be able to see a solar eclipse here in Paris, and we got our protective glasses - the pharmacist even gave us protection for our phones. Thank you? I’m excited about this peculiar sunset today!
I only wonder: can’t we have cute glasses with suns, birds, and nature, and not this ’90s design with purple, black, and turquoise next year? I don’t like complaining without taking action, so here’s how I would do it (above).
I’ve been going like crazy through these ink cartridges for my Pentel brush pen. They’re waterproof, and I really like that I can paint with watercolor over them (or any water-based medium, for that matter) when I feel like adding some brightness. There are also sepia and gray versions of the ink pens, if I’m not mistaken, but black works for me for now.
August is busy for me this year, and I’m mostly communicating with clients—sending updated work and finishing some projects that can’t wait for the colder weather. The next canicule - the heatwave - is almost here (on Friday), but at least the nights are longer now, and the mornings bring more breeze and soft humidity to well-warmed spaces.
Hope you’re well, thanks for reading, and have a lovely week. And yes look at more art, art is important. I will do the same too.
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Sonja, I definitely want a pair of YOUR glasses for the next eclipse! Thanks for sharing. 🤓