Hey again! So I just got back from a trip to Paris, France over the weekend. If there's a better city to take in art, you'll have to clue me in. I mean, the Louvre is there, people! Three days spent walking through a city where there's more art history than your country has, well, history, puts things in perspective.
The Venus de Milo. They say she's a size 12-14 today. #realmarblehascurves
After two days of stained glass and relief carvings at Notre Dame and headless/armless marble statues at the Louvre, I was (dare I say) almost full of the art scene. Then on the third day we crossed the Seine river to the Musee d' Orsay. For the most part it was very similar to the Louvre; old paintings, old marble statues missing random body parts, etc. Now don't get me wrong, the Louvre is absolutely amazing; I could get lost in there (quite literally). But the Orsay wasn't an old castle liberated from an old king by the people. Nothing quite as 'regal' but still born out of a history of blood and just as interesting for its own reasons.
The Orsay Museum. Only 4 floors of art, but probably room for at least 4 more. I'm glad they kept the space open to the natural light and exposed the feel that the train station used to have.
The Orsay Museum was Paris' main train station, bombed to almost nothingness in WWII. It was slated for tear down after some renovations, but was instead turned into a museum to bridge the gap between the Louvre and the Museum of Modern Art. I for one am very glad they saved it.
Because of the different surroundings I think it opened my eyes to not only the art on the walls, but also to the walls that the art was hanging on. It made me pay attention to how the rooms were separated, how your eye danced across the entire atrium, how you could look at details so small, then step back and see the bigger picture. It was the first museum that forced me to see this new aspect.
Then I found it. The room I didn't know I had been waiting for. Not a room of wood-framed paintings, but a room full of wood none the less. I'm talking furniture! Furniture as art! Furniture just as fine and curvaceous as Venus de Milo herself! It was very exciting to see (what most people would call) humble desks and chairs and bed frames sharing space with Van Gogh and Degas and Gauguin. The French (with the help of an Italian Architect) had quite successfully turned interior design into art simply by housing it AND creating an eye opening space to show it to the masses.
Special appearance by m'lady.
I may not be opening any eyes with this post, but I can say unequivocally that yes, interior design is indeed a fine art. It's not just about the pretty things on the wall. Sometimes it's about the walls themselves.
Thanks for visiting!