offensé

versailles

"Haters gon' hate."

~ moi

It's my own "c'est la vie", but better. If you can't grasp the very basic nature of the phrase, it should be interpreted very much like the southern saying "bless your heart". As a rule, I don't openly hate anything because I feel it is imperative to fight this recent trend within my generation to be averse to everything. To be frank, my biggest pet peeves are apathy, teeth-whistling, and disliking something just to be contrary. I also feel that hate truly is a strong word, and rarely do I use it as a way to describe how I feel. 

But I hated Versailles. 

My inner sassy preservation major was just screaming, "What!? What!? What are you DOING!!?"  

This thing. 

This troll.  

Lurking in the corner of the queen's bed chambers. 

Why? 

I can't describe in words the initial confusion I felt when I saw this monstrosity amongst some of the most beautiful examples of eighteenth-century French art. But it didn't stop there. Every room contained a piece of modern art by contemporary Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos. Not only was it distracting from the design and decor of each room, there were no labels or translations in the self-guided audio tours with an explanation of the modern art. They were just there. 

So to circle back, this hater was hatin'. What I've decided to do is to channel this very obvious rage I feel towards the modern art displayed in Versailles into my topic for my final research paper. I will use Versailles to discuss the negative implications of incorporating contemporary art on historic sites. I will more specifically discuss the destruction of integrity and authenticity of these historic sites by allowing modern art to be displayed. In addition, I will discuss the very real identity crisis of Versailles, and the mixed message being sent to tourists by using Versailles as a format to display contemporary art. 

When I have a finished product, I'll post it for some light reading.  

  

relevant

 

 

amy. hannah. katie.

I tend to over dramatize things... maybe a little. You hear that mom, yes. I'm admitting it.  I'm a self-diagnosed dramatic erratic. Better yet, I'm a classic woman. And the problem is that, until recently, the majority of my friends have been male. So what happens is this: where most girls talk it out with their girlfriends and over-analyze every excruciating detail of the situation, I spend ten to eleven hours at a restaurant every day, and second-guess every element of a person's intentions and a trivially awkward situation. Solo. Or better yet, I'm told to not worry about it, and play Smash Bros. instead. 

No bueno for moi. 

I'm beginning to realize that talking to women is a cathartic process, and that I've really been depriving myself of female company because I figured I'm too weird to hang out with girls. 

Besides the initial bout of culture stress, Paris has been good for me for a lot of reasons.  I was sitting at a cafe this morning with my baguette, my tiny jams, and orange juice, and had some of the best conversation with two girls from class that I have had in a long time. I have met some of the smartest, funniest, down to earth, and weirdest girls I've ever known. Awesome, and so cool. 

I know this is a post that isn't relevant to Paris, but really, it actually is. Paris has drawn me out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. I can now order food without fear, I have been self-navigating an entire city, and I've made new girl friends. Cliche? Yes, of course. But I had to have one post about something like this, right? Plus, mommy has been haranguing me for pictures of my new friends. 

Today made me both happy and sad. I wished I had met the girls from this trip sooner rather than later. But overall I'm in a good place, because I'm happy I met them now rather than not at all. 

Merci, Paris.

 

equisse deux

equisse une

This is a conceptual sketch for my Independent Study final project. I will be creating a painting based on my interpretation of the term: adaptive reuse. For the next couple of days I will be chronicling the painting's evolution.  

jouir.

ce qu'est un monde merveilleux

chocolat hippo

jardin du luxembourg

la grotte

“Two things cannot be in one place. Where you tend a rose, my lad, a thistle cannot grow.” 

- Frances Hodgson Burnett: "The Secret Garden"

 

From the Port Royal metro station to the gates of the Luxembourg, everything is light and open. Constructed during the peak of garden design in France, the Luxembourg gardens are famous for the formality of their gardening techniques, and their elaborately ornate fountains. This very regimented design is evident in their extensive use of terminal vistas and the overwhelmingly symmetrical composition of their plantings. According to the French gardener, he designs nature. 

At the instruction of Marie de Medicis were the Luxembourg gardens constructed. With women having very little power in government at that period in history, they had to be creative in their ways of exercising influence in France. This assertion of power is reflected in the gardens of Luxembourg, where all the statues have been modeled in the image of women. 

Pouvoir fille? Oui.

je veux monter mon vélo

temps calme