By Susan Aurinko
Despite the insanity of preparations for the onslaught of the Olympic games, the overt and unnatural cleanliness, and the white plastic shroud enveloping my hotel for tuckpointing, Paris was, well, Paris, albeit a different, more sterile Paris than I’m used to. As a photographer interested in capturing the social, political and artistic implications of street art and graffiti, I found slim pickings this trip due to the scrub-down the city has been subjected to. Fortunately, I did find what I needed for a collaboration I’m doing with artist Arica Hilton for a LensFlair Editions silk scarf combining her painting with my photography. Stay tuned, two collaborative scarves between the two of us will be on the site soon! I also spent time with Parisian Artist and longtime friend Corine Bluel, with whom I collaborated on three scarves this spring. I’m doing two scarves for Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation for launch in October, one is a collab with the Chicago artist Caren Rudman, who is herself a breast cancer survivor. They’ll all be on the site soon! www.lensflaireditions.com
Marcia Grunsfeld wearing LensFlair Artist Corine Bluel with her painting and her
Poesie Bleu in Paris. Susan Aurinko x Corine Bluel scarf.
What I did find, almost to excess, was fodder for my series Dog at Flea that started several years ago at Vienna, Berlin and Paris flea markets. (Marchés aux Puces in France and Flohmarkts in Austria and Germany) I have never seen as many dogs as I did in Paris this summer! I couldn’t help wondering if the burgeoning dog population is a result of COVID – I know that happened in the states. Because of the number of dogs on the streets, I’m opening my series to places other than flea markets. It’s all about the dogs – the owners are generally just a pair of legs and feet.
Two Parisians with King Charles. Parisian Dog Walking Chic.
In terms of exhibitions, not too much was outstanding. But two things I saw stuck with me – the wonderful show at the Picasso Museum, where they always do a great job, and a show of Photographs on the Rue du Rivoli walls of the Caserne Napoleon. Along the stone walls of a city block hang large-scale photographs by Tom Bartowicz titled Cri d’alert, (Warning Cry) from an organization called La Voix de Sarah (Sarah’s Voice) founded when former young Olympian Sarah Abitbol came forward in a me-too moment after 30 years, outing her former coaches for sexual abuse in sports. France has come late to the me-too movement, but with the Olympics just a little over a month away this exhibition couldn’t be timelier. https://www.lavoixdesarah.org/la-voix-de-sarah/
The Red Staircase, Paris (Hotel de la Bretonnerie).
This was my second stay at Hotel de la Bretonnerie in the Marais. As I said earlier, the view of the street was obscured by plastic sheeting, and there was scaffolding outside the window, complete with buckets of chipped out mortar, and workmen bright and early, but it was more than made up for by the lovely breakfast, which is served in what used to be the wine cellar when the building was a private home. The highlight of the meal is fresh squeezed orange juice, created one orange at a time by a machine that appears to be from the 1950s, but delivers fabulous juice! I’m sure I’ll stay there again the next time I’m in Paris. https://www.hotelparismaraisbretonnerie.com/
Rose with Bee, Jardin de Plantes, Paris.
My friend Marcia Grunfeld (who was in a Paris rental for a month) and I went to the Turkish Hammam where we were steamed, repeatedly showered and scrubbed to within an inch of our lives, after which we relaxed with classic mint tea. https://www.la-mosquee.com/le-hammam/ It was a lovely relaxing experience I’d recommend, if for nothing else than selfish indulgence! The Rose Garden just across the street in the Jardin de Plantes is remarkable too – don’t miss it!
Café Society, Paris. Cherry Pizza, Paris.
The work on Notre Dame continues. They had hoped to have the cranes removed in time for the Olympics, but there was some sort of accident, people were injured, and now the cranes, as well as the scaffolding will remain, probably until December, if not longer. Regardless, Paris is Paris – and in some form, always will be. The Seine, which they claim is now safe to swim in, (not so sure I believe that after seeing it from numerous bridges…) will always reflect the extraordinary light of Paris in the late afternoon golden hour and the Tour Eiffel will always reign over the landscape. Paris has changed in so many small ways that almost, but not quite, defy detection, and the remaining things that make Paris Paris, we will all stubbornly cling to.
Susan Aurinko, Paris 11 June 2024
Self-Portrait in Parisian Florist Shop.
