Saturday, April 30, 2011

Purple Blood



Yesterday was the worst day of my life EVER. I knew it will happen someday but I strongly beleived that I was going to be the one with the tiara walking with my dad along this never-ending red carpet. I had cutted pictures of William in my agenda, posters of him on the wall of my room (just along the ones of the Wu-Tang aha) and a whole family around me that mad me live my dream like it was my destiny.
When I was 10 years old, my father chose to bring all the family in Russia for christmas. In the plane he told me that he was going to be my chamberain during all the trip. I took it in a very serious way, and when we arrived in St Petersburg I felt very at my place between operas and palaces of the Yousoupov and the Romanov families, climbing staircase with my hand delicately laid on my father's.

Yes I had real little girl dreams with all the fantasy and the imaginary we can find in it. It never stops, I mean that nobody ever told me that I was not going to be just how I prepare myself for ages. On contrary, my mum bought me many vintage princess dresses, my sister offered me fake tiaras and I put it on every sunday. Well, even if a lot of people think that a princess life is hell, I know that I could play this role perfectly.

Joke apart, I've watched the wedding from my office where I realized that this kind of event really bring joy to people's hearts. My colleagues were well informed on their relationship "Yes they met...they slipt... he fell in love with her during a catwalk show..." and the TV was on all day long.
I had many things to do so I couldn't watch it entirely but here is my opinion: Kate's dress was almost the most wonderful wedding dress I've ever seen. I hate her everyday look but Sarah Burton did a great job by taking the most interesting part of Grace Kelly's and removing the chaste one. The lace was french, it covers her arms and subtly fell into a V neck. The train of 2m 70 was exactly at the right size. BUT her makeup was atrocious. It was like she was wearing a mask, she looks 5 years older than she really is with a clumsi black khôl line under her eyes. Of course, I can guess that the all thing was fixed with hairspray which provide the impression that she was fossilized.



Ok so lets' remind the do and the don't:
- Don't make your sister your bridesmaid when she is more beautiful than you are, or at least don't let her wear an Hollywood Cameron Diaz red carpet's dress that will make you look like you are an outdated meringue
- Don't wear any make up, sleep well and drink a lot of tea
- Don't crunch you fingers otherwise the ring will by hard to put on
- Look normal and not like a Mme Tussaud or a Musée Grevin doll
- If you have a Cartier designed tiara of 1930's in your collection, wear it
- Inspire yourself of Grace Kelly always

After this hard hard day, I've tried to kill myself in the bath but it did'nt work out, here is the video. I've tried to pay a tribute to the Medusa painted by le Caravage that I've seen at the Offices of Florence few months ago. It looks like I'm bleeding purple.

Cheers,

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Exit Through the Gift Shop at the Espace Pierre Cardin (an appropriate paradox)

Two weeks ago I’ve received a personal invitation [ :-) ]to a street art exhibition at the Espace Pierre Cardin close to La Concorde realized under the patronage of La Fondation Ricard with the collection of Nicolas Laugero Lasserre.

The exhibition opening was accompanied by a projection of Bansky’s film Exit Through the Gift Shop . My friend Emilie from Brussels joined me at the exhibition and we did a tour between works of Banksy, Shepard Fairey, Speedy Graphito, Space Invader, Miss Tic, Dran, Jérôme Mesnager, and Miss Van which I’ve just wrote an article on if you want to have a look.

Miss Van Article on CANALSTREET.TV

The room was full of overstylished people, hungry of camera lenses in order to appear even partially (a distinguishable hair cut in the background is sufficient) on the coolest blogs. After 10 hours at my office, I looked like a little panda with my mascara drawing big black rings under my eyes. As usual, I didn’t feel at my place wearing a coat while the temperature was nearly tropical so I just went to the projection room where I waited for the crowd to come in.


The film starts, we see Banksy hidden under a hooded sweater(Instantly I felt more at my place) and explaining that he is not the protagonist. Then, we meet Thierry Guetta, a crazy funny character with an (very= XIX century) incredible old fashion style with spit curls, that has the obsession of filming every moment of his life. Thierry is the cousin of the French street artist Space Invader and starts filming him before meeting the rest of the street artist superstars. Without any desire behind of putting the rushes together, he kept following Shepard Fairey, Space Invader and even…Banksy and starting building the biggest archive files of the street art movement. Banksy realizing that he was not a real filmmaker but a simple mental deficient man holding a camera advised him to go back to his street art practice and to organize a small exhibition. There, the film starts taking all its sense, after a first documentary part seeping into the real works-in-progress, the last part is an acerbic critic of the art world illustrated by the making-of a supermediated artist in a month just with illusion, communication unblessed of talent. An ambivalent work right in between fiction and reality.

And it is precisely the reason why I found it funny to be there with all these snobbish people working in the so-called artworld watching this man in the shadow giving them back the hypocrisy of their daily lives

Miss Van

Miss Tic


Space Invader
Shepard Fairey

Banksy


And here Pierre Cardin struggling to pronounce pop corn, check it

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Industrial Skylines











In the middle of the 19th century, Paris was exactly showing the same face that in the Middle Age. Streets were deepen into darkness and narrowness. It is when Napoleon III went to England and fell in love with west london that he decided to enter in competition. After the fire of 1666, London was all renconstructed becoming a reference of urbanism.

The master idea of Paris reconstruction was a better air and human circulation in adequation with the hygienic theories of the Enlightement but also a reaction to the choléra epidemic of 1832. This campaign was entitled « Paris embellie, Paris agrandie, Paris assainie »

Another hidden goal was to control popular uprisings. One thing that was and still is very funny is that the high rents in Paris have an historical explanation. Haussman wrote to Napoleon III to rise the rent in order to prevent Paris from the working class provincial invasion.

Haussman had the straight line obsession, the "axial cult". But he also provided Paris its most beautiful parks of which the Buttes Chaumont where I spent all me weekends at the moment. A cute and cosy bar named "Rosa Bonheur" elates me back in centuries. When I'm there I feel like I am in the Déjeuner des canotiers toasting my glass with strangers, observing alcohol spreading all the way to my veins and don't think of anything but sharing happiness.

Sunday lunches are rituals with my brother. After it we can go about our respective businesses. He went fishing and I took a walk to an exhibition. The gallery (Itinerrance that features a street art exhibition called "Degage !") was closed. Of course I should have guessed but sunday brainless hungovers are also rituals. Thus, I could stroll in an era of Paris I've never been to. It doesn't look like the rest of Paris at ALL. During this 2 hours walk, I could observed the whiteness of the buildings that are, for most of them, new and have an industrial aesthetic. The corners of the roof were matching the striking blue sky.

Later I realized that it was a beautiful day, which in Paris means crowds in the streets, shouts everywhere but I did'nt see or hear anyone on my way. Just some grannys pushing their bikes, and lovers whispering, a kind of inbetween times which I am sure is in direct relation to Haussman ideas of free air and human circulation.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Agnès b. Tara dress

Aha look what my best friend suggests me to buy today after having seen the precedent post...

The Tara collection for Agnès b. features planktons and other sea mysterious little treasures. The price is a way too much expensive but the dress is totally extraordinary.

(Last post ever mentioning jellyfish in this blog ! promess )

Monday, April 11, 2011

The lake of the Jellyfishes


As my header suggests, I have an heavy obsession with jellyfishes. On every computers I had since Windows 95, I've always created a "Jellyfish" folder where I put my huge collection. This creature is the prettiest and the strangest form life can takes, moving with ocean flows in majestic ways, playing with its filaments like a ballet dancer.















Sunday, April 10, 2011

Diana Rigg as Emma Peel


I grew up listening my father comparing me to Diana Rigg and it has always got my on my nerves. She was too old, too woman, too vintage to identify to.
At the moment the Avengers are diffused on Arte so I forced myself to kiss and make up with it. Althought I'm still wondering how he saw any similitude with a 5 years old little girl, I've definitely changed my mind, she has become my absolute style icon. A leather packed bomb assuming a submitted role to better drive the men wherever she wanted to. Morevover she has been ennobled by the Queen of England and who ever read this blog knows that the 29th of April will be my grief day...