Architecture without Architects
Passing through a Raoul Hausmann exhibition of photographs, it was pleasing to see the period of his life when he escaped Berlin in 1933 and went to Ibiza. Here the … Continue reading
A Trio of Portes
We made the long walk in from the southern péripherique yesterday, linking three portes we had not done, numbers 31, 32 and 33 on our list of 39. I suppose … Continue reading
J’ai perdu mon chapeau
I lost my hat. I lost my hat within a few blocks. First I stopped at Susan the seamstress and then I went into the post office and then into … Continue reading
Pangaea
Yoko Teauchi arrived from Japan the other day, and in her luggage was the sculpture she made last year called Pangaea. It is made of two sheets of paper 24cms … Continue reading
Waiting for fruit to rot
Everything is a vocabulary lesson. KAKI is the word for Persimmon. I do not know much about persimmons. We bought two and ate them mashed up in a bowl with … Continue reading
The Dossier Exhibitions at Centre Pompidou
The display of the permanent collection at Centre Pompidou has taken my breath away for a couple of years running. The finesse and detail of placing reference material … Continue reading
La Neige 2
Winter in Paris is always cold and grey. There is always more grey than sun in the sky. Some days the grey is so heavy that it is hard to … Continue reading
Wartesaal 1979-82 / 1986
I’m rarely in Paris without remembering Reinhard Mucha’s Wartesaal seen at Centre Pompidou in 1986, in what was the big open space just off the corner of Rue du Renard. … Continue reading
Pas de Coq
The Cock’s Step is the term used in Tipperary to describe the lengthening of the days. I was going to explain the whole expression but I remembered that my letterpress … Continue reading
notes from an urban hibernation 