Paris vs. NYC

As my American adventures have now taken me town to NYC, it only seemed appropriate to post these wonderful illustrations by Paris based illustrator and designer, Vahram Muratyan. Find more on the blog Paris versus New York City - a tally of two cities. {Thanks, Gelo!}

Head of the Charles

Visions from the weekend's Head of the Charles races in Boston...

The Art of Flying + la Grève

For the past week or so I've been scowering twitter, the web and posters in Paris for updates on la grève in Paris. Now up until now, I've found the French grèves (strikes) rather charming. Sure there are transportation strikes, but the trains run every 2 out of 3 or so - I can get where I need, all the while learning what it feels like to be in a moving sardine tin. But when the strikes started threatening flights, and right before I was set to head back to the US for a couple weeks, that's when it started to get personal.

The first issue was getting to the airport. The RER B is the main commuter line servicing the 2 airports. Construction is already complicating things on weekend to get to CDG, but it also happens to be the most affected line for the strikes, making getting to the airport a bit more hellish. I loved Meg Zimbeck's comment of whether she should a) wait two hours for a cab, b) wait three hours for a shuttle, or c) walk [to the airport]? Now I'm not one to take cabs, especially when they cost 50Euros + from Paris, but then the strikes got more complicated when they started involving fuel shortages. These fuel shortages not only affected gas stations, but also airplanes. Lucky for me, the picket lines ended in time to get jet fuel to my plane. I opted for option d) and took the Roissy Bus from Opera. My favorite part of the the ride was that 10 minutes into the trip that they announced that they will not be able to drop us off at Terminal 2 (where I originally thought I was flying out of) due to les manifestations. (Later I came across this link, making me wish I could have witnessed some of the drama).

It wasn't until I got onto the plane that I really started to feel the effects of the flights and delays by the air traffic controllers. Getting to and through the airport was a breeze, but then my flight had a "delayed" message. At first it was just 25 minutes. We got on the plane, and as I dozed off and the delay was more like an hour an 15 minutes, which would have been cool and all, but I only had an hour and 30 minute layover in Frankfurt for my flight to Boston.

As we got close to landing the pilot apologized for the delays and updated us on connections. I knew I was cutting it close. My flight was the last one they announced, and although it wasn't set to depart for another 15 minutes, they were already telling me I was on the flight at 1pm the next day. But from the 3rd row in the back with my 2.5 weeks of travel packed entirely in carry-on bags, I got into my Amazing Race mentality, and said to myself, if anyone can make this connection, it's me. I got of the plane and went straight to the transfer desk. Boston - it hasn't left - I can make it - I have my bags. The woman looked at me, took a deep breath and said RUN. And that I did. My sneakers on, and my polka dot wheelie suitcase in hand, I was out of there, down the hall, up the escalator, to gate 63. I think the guys at customs we're highly amused by me, but I didn't really have time to look. A man greeted me and said, Boston? Yes. He then told me the plane was still there. I ran the rest of the way, which further amused the rest of the airline workers. One gentlemen even had to tell me to slow down as I ran down the stairs. I asked if I won some sort of prize and would be upgraded to first class. No such luck, but, yes, I was successfully the last one on the flight. I did it. And only to be seated by the chattiest woman on earth (which my head cold did not so much appreciate)...

Place + Digital

These days I like to blame my relative blog silence on working on my thesis. I must admit, it's still getting more think time than actual work time, but this video - The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare - is a fun look at some of the ideas I'm exploring in my paper. The thesis is loosely titled The Visual Rhetoic of Tourism in the Age of New Media, case study: Morocco. I'm really interested in the visual language used to create/brand places, looking at ideas like the tourist gaze and how they are affected by digital media, the ways in which narrative is created and how places are consumed. The Sandpit is less about branding place, but I love the idea of looking at New York in miniature form, where the hectic city becomes peaceful through the music and lenses used. I'm also intrigued by the fact that it is a very different look compared to your typical postcards/posters/book shots, yet is still so distinctly New York. {Thanks, Kyle!}

Les Portes Ouvertes {Montreuil}

After coming across this fantastic Top 10 Paris post by Tory Hoen, I'm even more determined to dig deeper into Paris and get off the beaten track. Montreuil is a Paris suburb to the west connected by metro line 9. Today I met up with Lily for an adventure in a new 'hood and take advantage of the creative side of the city through their Portes Ouvertes [open doors/studios]. The Arts Factory opened their doors with great deals by their artists where I went crazy for the prints by IsaPocket and various other illustrators. Then it was off to the former factory, Usine Chapal which is home to Atelier LZC (dangerously good prices in their showroom), Leonor Mataillet (whose mixed media travel photographs I was completely inspired by, yet also works in ceramics) and loads of others. The city of Montreuil put together a great guide (downloadable here) of all the spaces open this weekend (through Monday). Stop by if you can, or visit these talented artists on the web.
{from the program: one of the many sub-neighborhoods participating in the Portes Ouverts this weekend}

The World According to France

As France continues to make headlines and is in their third day of strikes (the government wants to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62), I thought this map of "Europe According to France" by illustrator Yanko Tsvetkov, aka AlphaDesigner was an appropriate visual to post. Click here to view full size, here to buy a print, and don't miss more from Yanko "mapping stereotypes" series. {Thanks, Michelle!}

AMLP: Photomobile

Art House Coop is always cooking up interesting collaborative projects. Their latest edition of the "A Million Little Pictures" project is taking the form of a traveling library of photographs inside an Airstream trailer set to traverse the US and ultimately end up at the Brooklyn Art Library. The photomobile will even be equipped with GPS tracking, a built-in photobooth, live updates from the road, and a way for visitors to turn photographs into postcards from the road. Sign up by March 15th and you'll receive a disposable camera with 27 exposures that are due back by June 15th.

A Million Little Pictures from Shane Zucker.

Where Do Good Ideas Come From?

Have you ever wondered where do good ideas come from? After I posted about openIDEO last week, @StartledMaggie shared this cool video with me on Twitter.

Nuit Blanche {Experienced}

This year Paris took a different approach to Nuit Blanche than in the past, presenting more intimate installations, and in closer proximity to each other making it much easier to make the rounds. We started in Belleville and made our way to Oberkampf before heading down to Hotel de Ville, Ile St. Louis and the Marais. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and all I have to say is that after 6+ hours on my feet, I'm so glad I opted for sneaks. But loved everything we saw! Definitely my best Nuit Blanche yet.
A graffiti alley in Belleville was the perfect spot for a makeshift movie screen projecting beautiful images from Afghanistan as the DJ jammed in the gallery with an open door nearby.
Official and unofficial installations popped up around the city for the night. This car had a special projection inside that lit up the windshield.
One of our favorites was this installation in Parc Bellville, with a truck (with chandelier) in the pond surrounded by water. Very cool to as you got closer (and even cooler when we left and we saw how long the line now was to get in).

We walked this way to see the billowy tubes woven through the windows. The next thing we knew there was an awesome impromptu game of tug-o-war taking place. This was only to be followed by a video in a gymnasium of someone who played the saxaphone while on a hike and played as long as possible. Interesting.
Every work was different, some inside, some out. And ones like this dynamic project of the Tudor Penny Arcade (and Paradise at top) helped change the landscape of the street en route to the next escapade.
Echo was a huge hit for us. We walked into the church along Rue St. Maur (which we decided is definitely worthy of a return to catch some super cute bars and restos) to the sound of techno music. Is this sacreligious? But as we got closer, it took time to adjust to the dark, but there were 2 DJs on their laptops as if conducting a symphony. As the music changed, so did the lighting on the 2 facing rosettes in incredible ways making it look like the stone was popping out of the walls. Then we realized there was a choir on each side of the church adding harmony to the music. Just WOW.

My pictures can only somewhat capture the night. So much was about being there and seeing these works in motion and the people as they experienced them. We totally were fixated by this video projection - an architectural rendering of sorts that came alive as 2 guys pasted the backdrop (a la ads in the metro) to the wall, music blared, and projections changed the color and sense of the scape in front of us.
Before leaving the 11th we visited Mag/Lab. We stood outside the window where our photos were digitally taken, then projected onto the wall next to it, revealing what our portrait will look like when it's circularly engraved in wood. All the pieces created will be in a show at the gallery on October 13th where we can go pick up our "portraits."
Hotel de Ville (the mayor's office of Paris) was covered in neon lights and dozens of languages that read "Love Differences."
Crossing onto Ile St. Louis, a surreal bridge structure, club music and projections change the feel of this classically Parisian neighborhood.All night a vennoiserie factory opened it's doors. Free treats at 2am was just what we needed.
After witnessing France3 filming something inside the Starbucks in the Marais at 3am, it only seemed normal to check out this robot, whose camera bellybutton projected onto the walls around us.

This video which was created as a pre-show teaser of everything in store will give you a good sense of the night and what there was to see.

Nuit Blanche for Foodies

While I'm gearing up for tomorrow's Nuit Blanche, Paris is cooking up - literally - plenty of other fun and festive celebrations. Le Fooding presents LES ÉBULLITIONS PERPÉTUELLES, a series of 4 hour dinners for the next 72 hours with meals prepared by 18 different chefs at various galleries and locations around the city. For only 30Euros a head, you won't break the bank, but a fun idea to do with friends too if you can't make it this year. {Thanks, Kali!}
P.S. The BNF [library] is hosting, A Table!, a series devoted to food this fall. On Saturday October 16th you can hear Clotilde of Chocolate & Zucchini talk about the new role of food blogs. More info here.

{images via LeFooding.com, illustrations by Julien Roux}