The Louvre

Two things I did not know about the Louvre. 

Firstly, its build on the site of a medieval castle, the foundations of which were excavated when they built the glass pyramid. I'm a fan of the glass pyramid btw, it is holding up rather nicely, it still looks fresh and exciting and at night it glows like a gem.

Secondly, there are several contemporary projects around the place, including currently an installation of pieces by Anselm Keifer.

Walls

My initial obsession in Paris was cakes. Eat a different one every day and try like hell to walk it off. Now instead I seem to be obsessed with the walls, the delicate colours of the lime stone, the visual consistency of the city. I am teetering on the brink of taking alot of seriously boring photographs of Paris.... here are a few of my current faves, of course I love them! What a minimalist I have become... The most perceptive of you will see in these photographs the special glow of early spring light. I even saw blossom yesterday. Patrick, not sure if walls can ward off - 30 C winter blah, but hope these are helping!

Old bones

Yesterday I went to the Natural History Museum and it was totally fab. I forget just how happy being in a room full of wood, metal, glass and bones can make me feel. I'm an installation artist at heart, I'm inspired by spaces, and these sort of spaces make me tingle. In my mind, the best type of NHM is slightly shabby, maybe even a bit dusty, big and grand, wore bare stairs. Flecking paint is a bonus. This one in Paris is a beauty, all skeletons and gross pinky grey things in jars. A cabinet of livers, a cabinet of colons and best of all, a cabinet of deformed things. In the central hall, all the animal skeleton face in the same direction, sizing you up as you enter the space. Its like a crazy Noah Ark, all these miscellaneous species forced to get along, side by side, one in front of the other, all hues of milky pale yellows like Paris its self.

Daniel Buren project at the Picasso Museum

Site-specific installation 'La Coupure'. Given the grandness of this huge, mirrored, optical gesture, its hard to 'see'. The building is basically sliced through by black and mirror panels....

VIDES

On Monday I had a most fun day out with artists Prayas Abhinav and Renee Ridgway. After lunch in a Vietnamese place, we headed to the Pompidou centre to see the new 'void' show, a retrospective of artists projects that have involved showing empty spaces.... Who knew a show with nothing in it could generate such a lively afternoon! If you know anyone who really despises conceptual art, take them to this show!

104

On Sunday I went to the arts complex '104' to check out the activities there and see a film of Georges Perec's short novel 'A Man Asleep'. 104 is way up in the north east of Paris, a series of renovated old buildings turned into studios, performance spaces, screening spaces etc. Formally a funeral parlour, the space is stunningly impressive and the whole place is a thriving hub of activities at the weekends when the doors are open to the public. I went to see a film but managed to also bumble firstly into a large scale gardening installation and secondly into a highly energetic, kooky performance piece. The film was wonderful and being Paris very well attended and followed by an intense and lively discussion, hosted by a local film magazine.

http://www.104.fr