Then and Now

The small museum Cognacq-Jay in the Marais, with its collection of 18 Century art and furnitures has reopened after a three months renovation. It still needs time with the renovation and reorganization of the art works which will be done May 19, 2015.   the months until then,French fashion designer Christian Lacroix got carte blanche in curating an exhibition shown in all the rooms of the museum. He juxtaposed the works of contemporary artists with the historic paintings, sculptures from the Cognacq-Jay collection and costumes from the Musee Galliera collection.  And this clever 'Then and Now' comparison made for an interesting visit.

Christian Lacroix used some costumes of his own collection too.  As a former art historian specializing in 18th century art and the enlightenment, he was well chosen by the museum administration.  

http://museecognacqjay.paris.fr/les-expositions/lumieres-carte-blanche-christian-lacroix

New Foundation

Not even a month ago, the Louis Vuitton Foundation opened its building - 8 years under construction - and is now a new attraction for Parisians and visitors.  The architect Frank Gehry created a building which defies everything we normaly expect from a building: solid grounded, straight walls and a sturdy roof.

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-28/fondation-louis-vuitton-designed-by-frank-gehry-opens-in-paris

 It is an amazing construction and impressive too is, how well the directions from the Metro station 'Les Sablons' were given.  It is just a 10 to 15 minute walk......

 But at every corner are signs to lead the way.

 Not enough, just in front of the building, a label for the visual impaired in relief and sign language.   Very thoughtful gesture to include everyone who visits.

  We feel a tiny bit guilty of not owning a LV handbag!

Mixed up

r At once, entering the great hall in Musee d'Orsay, we noticed the long neck of a giraffe.  A new sculpture?  Curiously approaching - and we were not the only one - the label explained that the little giraffe entered the M d'O during the celebration of the Great Gallery of Evolution 

which is part of the Natural History Museums at Jardin des Plantes.

http://www.mnhn.fr/fr/visitez/lieux/grande-galerie-evolution

The students seemed to prefer the natural history to art history and drew at once their artistic interpretations on their sheets of paper.

Phantasy Games

 I do not know anything!   Looking into a game store I asked for Pokemon  

cards (which they did not carry) but then realized that there is a world of 'games' I had no clue existed.

 Boys in all ages were full concentrated to paint the phantasy toy figures. They had the chance to play too.  I asked for the prices and the phantasy suddenly became cold reality.

  Puzzled I left the store thinking how much fun we had with "Mensch aergere Dich nicht" .......at least the dices are the same.

http://www.games-workshop.com/en-US/Lords-of-Icehorn-Peak

Royal Theatre

Weekdays it is nice to stay cozy at home during the long evenings. Then comes Friday night with the weekend and long dark sleep-in mornings. A surge of energy suddenly to have some fun in town!

 The Royal Theater - Dramaten- is very popular and it is hard to get tickets.  We chanced and got 'last minute' tickets for Rickard III - the last two available.

  High up and in long distance to the scene but no complaints as the actors could be heard and seen and the ticket was less then half price.

http://www.dramaten.se/Repertoar/Rickard-III/

Short Days

  First question when announcing a visit to Stockholm is " how long are the days?"   Not easy to answer because it depends if the sky is blue or grey.  November is usually grey and electric lights are needed most of the time.  Here the view of Nybroviken in the middle of the day yesterday and today probably the same.....

 Easy to visit Sweden in the summer - true fans come during Fall and Winter!

   http://www.visitsweden.com/sweden/Sweden-Facts/Worth-knowing-about-Sweden/Time--daylight-hours/

Cannes? No, Stockholm!

   As all filmfestivals go, there are too many films shown and one has to choose carefully. We were not sure about the film but knew that the Skandia-Teatern was worth a visit.  Famous architect Gunnar Asplund was involved in the creation of this beautiful cinema theater. It opened 1923 and was renovated to its former splendor. In red and gold and in a style known as 'Semi-Atmospheric'.  Not knowing exactly what that is, we admired the freeze along the balcony and the golden Adam and Eve figures framing the screen just before the lights dimmed.

  

Eve made us think about the starlets in Cannes. The film 'Girlhood' was a French new film about girls becoming women and with the classic themes of beauty, love, hate, violence and family.  

http://www.stockholmfilmfestival.se/en