SOMEONE NEW...

THOMAS HOUSEAGO

The Discovering Maggsie Blog spot had been a wonderful experience and taken up a lot of my time. That was not a problem but towards the end nothing new seemed to be coming in. After months of  chewing this over, I came to the conclusion that most of the exhibitions I wrote about were artists who had belonged to another era. Even if it was 20th century, they were not teaching me much. Also, as I  chewed and chewed, I discovered that over this period I had not gone to see one exhibition of a « past artist ». Not even the latest Picasso. Of course, it was time to move on. The artists or events that I talk about will be from « My Paris Today ». Perhaps not always living artists, but most will be and those who are no longer part of this world will be those I don’t know or for that matter, never even heard of them.

This is not going to be an art blog either - there is enough going on over here to fill one’s day with meaningful, fun or alas disaster events such as Notre Dame on the 15th of April. But as always when there is such a dreadful happening, the French rally around and are solidary. As I can see Notre Dame from my balcony, I lived those fours hours of horror « live ». 



AT THE END OF THE EVENING...

FROM MY BALCONY THE FOLLOWING MORNING....

But onto new discoveries. There were a couple this week.

Thomas Houseago.  (1972) The exhibition is called « ALMOST HUMAN » and it was certainly that. He is English although living in Los Angeles today. His background is modest but nevertheless, his family placed a great importance on art. When he was 16 he experienced two events that profoundly influenced him. The LATE PICASSO exhibition at the Tate in London (I had seen this with my Mother)   and images from Joseph Beuys ionic performance « How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare »  Even the title makes me very curious to know what it is all about. When he received a scholarship to attend the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in London, it was as he said «  a miracle that changed his life ».

His work is monumental.

You can see the influences in the early years. Rodin, Moore and yet as time goes on, his work has an identity of its own. Sometimes it seemed to be « déjà vu » and then very quickly we moves onto something else…

 

L'HOMME PRESSE

PORTRAIT

SERPENT - This was the picture used for the advertising and certainly compelled me to go to the exhibition

FRACTURED FACE FOR MEF - DESCRIBED AS POURED MASKS

This time I only took pictures of works which I really appreciated. Not so many as you can see. I could relate to these. Isn’t that what art is all about? The relation
you have with the work? What is it that makes you

like it? Colour? Form?

Abstraction?
 

CALIFORNIA - FROM HIS OWL STUDIO SERIES

  The Palais du Tokyo is just next door to the MAM, I wandered in. The real centre of contemporary art. I wandered out very fast and wended my home on foot, watching the marathon runners completing their 40 kilometre run - or for most of them then, walk. I only had a 8 kilometre walk home