Most times, sculptures are just that. A piece of art work on display, usually high up on a pedestal of some sort, or protected in some other way. They certainly give an air of “do not touch” although usually when someone do disregard the convention, then the poses are inevitably to (1) evoke humour of some sort, or (2) have photographic proof that one has visited that particular point of interest.

“Interactive” sculptures are less often found publicly. L’écoute by Henri de Miller is not exactly one intended for such, but there’s a certain quality to it that invites people to treat it more casually and to form an interaction of some sort, most commonly to perch in its palm and be photographed. Kids absolutely love it. A bit like the column sculptures in Palais Royal, where they can run about and hop between the columns.

The reconstruction works around Les Halles continue since I last spoke about it. To be frank, I haven’t really explore much of the area for lack of something to draw me there. Or maybe I’m just not looking hard enough. Formerly the site of a market (nowadays housed out in Rungis), and for the time being still quite boarded up in parts, it hasn’t appear too interesting.

Giving it another go, I was out there again today. I circled around the ground-level park and briefly peered into the entrances to the underground-levels of the complex. However, I still haven’t find something particularly inspirational yet I feel somewhat dissatisfied with my effort. Perhaps I need to come out here one day with fresh pair of eyes and clear mind, and not at the end of a work day with soggy brain?

Given a mention of Paris and Impressionist art, most would think Musée d’Orsay right off the bat. I don’t blame them. It is a magnificent museum and perhaps my favourite among the many in this city. However, just across the Seine, there is a smaller museum that boasts a quaint collection of Impressionist art. It’s a pity that this place is often overlooked by visitors but for me, that’s good news because it means it’s never too crowded at Musée de l’Orangerie.

The main attraction of this museum though lies in two oval rooms, forming the sign of the infinity loop. Within the rooms, eight rectangular painted landscapes with waterlily can be found. This is where Monet’s masterpieces are on display for everyone to admire. It is so very easy to just sit in quietly (there are benches in the centre of the rooms) and gaze at the paintings. Of course, to get the real thing, I could also take a trip out to Giverny. If only time is not such a premium nowadays…

The city is becoming void of locals as everyone goes away for their summer holiday. Its effects be seen everywhere. Shops closed for their congés annuels, less passengers on the bus (still plenty on the métro though, which tourists feel more secure taking than buses), free flowing traffic for a change… When August rolls in, there would be even more who leaves Paris. I wonder if there would be more tourists than residents then?

Over at Louvre though, there are still throngs of people passing through at all time. Quite a stark contrast in comparison to the quartier where I work. It seems regardless of the time or day that I go by the palais, the queue is always long and a ton more other people are posing for various photos including play look-I-can-pinch-the-top-of-IM Pei’s-pyramid. Obviously this is the social quartier of the season ;)

The very first time I walked past the kiosque des noctambules (sure, I didn’t know the name back then either) I was perplexed by its colourful bejewelled state (who installed a glass bead-like art sculpture here?) and then noticed people coming up from underneath. Curious. A quick investigative effort revealed that it is the entrance to the métro station of Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre.

A contemporary art piece by Jean-Michel Othoniel, it was commissioned for the centenary celebration of the inauguration of métro in Paris. First introduced in 1900, métro line 1 was used to transport visitors of the city to enjoy the sites and sights during the Exposition Universelle of 1900. Back then, the line runs between Porte Maillot and Porte de Vincennes and Palais Royal-Musée du Louvre was one of the eight stops of the line. Pretty steep in history eh?

It has been a while since I last visited Louvre. Well, no time like present to revisit, when a recent acquaintance suggested a trip to say hello to Miss Mona Lisa. Of course, Louvre is more than just this masterpiece of Leonardo. We’ve all heard of the time any visitor would need should each piece of work in the collection of Louvre be examined for mere 30 seconds each (some 12-13 days!) and so most time, tourists only zoom from one room to another in search of the most well-known pieces, snap a few photos, and off they go.

In any case, not all rooms are opened nor all items on exhibit at any one time. In fact, several rooms are currently closed for renovations, and some other rooms clearly have just been re-opened. Rather to my horror, these rooms now spot a modern office look with the beautiful old ceiling frescoes nowhere to be seen. Or worse, some rooms have had new frescoes painted to “themify” the rooms, e.g. Egyptian motifs in rooms where Egyptian artefacts are exhibited. I couldn’t even bring myself to photograph that. Seriously, why would one authorise such atrocity?

I don’t know what’s up with me today. Monday blues? All I managed was a couple of rushed shots and nothing really striking or interesting to show you. So I am a bit annoyed with myself right now, frustrated that I didn’t do a better job and get something more inspiring…

This week is going to be a bit all over the place for me. No time to be playing at Fête des Tuileries for sure. The funfair has just started last week and would run for a couple of months, into late August. Good to keep the school kids entertained as they go on their summer holiday at the end of this week. For now, more work awaits, along with paperworks and conference to attend this week. And a big day coming up soon too!

Adjacent to the Louvre is the Palais Royal, with distinctive black and white columns of varying heights at its forecourt. Les Deux Plateaux, also known as Colonnes de Buren, were a total of 260 columns installed by Daniel Buren some 25 years ago for considerable costs. They were recently restored over a period of about a year for an amount close to €6 million.

Each time that I’ve passed by these columns, a few common activities were observed. One, children running around and jumping on and off the shorter columns. Two, people standing on the columns, often pretending to be statues, taking posed photos. Three, teenagers congregating around certain columns. And last but not least, folks with camera trying to find a way to photograph these columns and still do a good job of it. I was in the last group and I’m not even entirely sure if I did a decent job with my shot…

One thing about living in Paris is the availability of artworks everywhere. There are galleries – indoor within premises or outdoor open air stalls – catering to all kinds of arts, from the antiquities to the contemporary, from the cutesy to the vulgar (trust me, there are etchings commonly sold along the river bank that had Eiffel Tower does funny thing to itself), from paintings to sculptures to installations. Anyone can be a collector. The only points of the question are, how much do you value one and how much are you willing to spend to acquire one?

Artclub Gallery on rue de Rivoli is one of the many galleries that I often take a peek into. They often have rather particular pieces, and today, behind the windows to the side of Louvre, there’s a series of burlesque dolls peering out with their coquettish pouts. I think they are rather adorable. And fun enough to compete with a couple of paintings on the window to the side of Place Andre Malraux, which featured surrealistic Simpsons in a Parisian metro surrounded by Charlie Chaplin, Hulk, Vishnu, Tintin et al and another, also similar in style, of Simpsons visiting Parisian museums (it was a “portmanteau” of Louvre and Musée d’Orsay) with Mona Lisa guarded by a couple of Terminators and surrounded by Bruce Lee, Mickey and Minnie Mouse, Asterix, Smurf et al.

It feels so good to have a solid night sleep. I don’t know how some people can pull one all-nighter after another. I certainly couldn’t, and wouldn’t want to if I can help it. I can make do with the odd sleepless night here and there with huge interval in between, but that’s about all the concession I’m going to make for work.

This evening, Anne and I dropped by l’Occitane for a little soirée Angélique to check out their new range of product. While we were there, the staff conducted a little questionnaire and with just 4-5 questions, she pegged down my personality as “Angélique splash”* which Anne agrees to. Am I that easy to “get”? Never mind… time enough to grab some candies and drinks after a short skincare demo session plus having a funny photo taken. I wonder if they’ll email a copy to us. Maybe not.

* l’Angélique splash: full of vitality and you believe in living life to the fullest