Art intern perks: a night of crystal

Bonjour à tous!

So last week, my boss casually passed me an invitation - "It's to the private premiere of an exhibition on crystal at Petit Palais," she said, "I can't go that night, so there, if you want it."

I honestly could not believe my ears. What! A private premier (vernissage)! At Petit Palais! On an exhibition about crystal!

And so quite obviously, there I was, at the front gates of the Petit Palais under the huge poster for the exhibition "Baccarat: la légende du cristal." Needless to say, I was positively floored by the exhibition. As I walked through the dimly lit exhibition hall, maneuvering my way through the shiny glass-cased displays of glittering crystal everything - from all kinds of flasks to perfume bottles to entire vanity tables made of crystal and gold - all my brain was capable of thinking was, "holy cow, how does something this magnificent exist on Earth!"

The dark exhibition halls made the crystals shine even brighter, stunning everyone, reflecting in all visitor's awed eyes. One of my favorite sections of the exhibition was a dining table decked out with crystal dinnerwares in the way the French royals used to take their meals. The most genius part was the mirrors placed at both ends of the table, turning the average-sized table into an endless banquet. The crystals glowed so much I was scared that they were going to set themselves on fire. Staring at this extravagant fare, I almost heard the lighthearted laughs from hundreds of years ago, the leftover scent of the women's perfume, the men's talks about hunting and politics, and the whispers of royal gossip among soft clinking of crystal champagne flasks.

The climax, however, was well tucked away in an obscure room near the exit of the exhibition. I almost missed it - if that was the case, I would have only had more or less half the marvel I actually had. 

The room is very dark, almost pitch black, save for the brief moments each of the handful of chandeliers lights up. They are such breathtaking objects that I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me that they had souls in that moment. The room was moving, to say the least. It was simply too beautiful to be real. The reflective floor made me feel like I was floating somewhere midair, and all around me was magic. In the almost sacred silence, all I could see and feel is the light, the heat, the shine, the dying down of the everything, and the rebirth of another round of light, heat... If I held my breath, I could almost hear the sound of the light coming and going, illuminating every tiny piece of exquisite crystal. 

To everyone who is currently in Paris or coming to Paris this winter, I recommend this exhibition with all my heart. It is truly a work of genius, a sight of pure wonder. As I'm typing, I can feel my heart swell with that awe again.

xx

Vanessa :]

100 liters of champagne in my office? That intern life

check it out - 100 liters of champagne that's right

Bonjour à tous!

I know when you saw the title, you're probably like, what? What kind of internship is that? But you didn't read wrong - indeed, I was quite stunned myself when I opened the office door and saw all these boxes of champagne in my office. And that was only day two.

Bizarre things aside, I am glad to announce that I have started my internship at Musée Guimet in Paris! Musée Guimet is a French national museum dedicated to asian arts, and it has Europe's largest collection of asian artworks! 

I intern in the Marketing department of the museum (yes, there is such a thing in a museum, unexpected, right?). With my two awesome bosses, I mainly work on the upcoming exhibition on the Han arts, an exhibition in the context of China and France's 50th year anniversary of diplomacy. So far I've mostly been doing a lot of translations of texts for the exhibition, French to English, English to Chinese, so on and so forth. It's quite exciting! 

To be honest, I never knew working full time is this tiring! Every day on the metro back, all I want is a long nap. Compared to this, schoolwork and classes is a skip in the park... The main reason might be because at school, I usually switch between subjects and activities, so my brain is never too "tired" or "bored" of one thing. At work, sometimes a task requires a long time of concentration, which is very different from classes.

However, if you asked me, I would still say I prefer working. Even though it's not even been a week yet, I already love my job. Different from studying, which is more like brain exercises, working makes me feel like I'm creating value, that I'm in some way contributing to the good of the society. And that is a very empowering feeling. 

Anyways, stay tuned for more rants from this excited intern!

xx

Vanessa :]

Van Gogh and Arles

Bonjour à tous!

I've always wanted to write about Arle's rich art historical ties, but the topic is so broad that I frankly don't know where to start. So I guess I'll start with something that interests me the most - Vincent Van Gogh's stay in Arles.

Van Gogh came to Arles in 1888, after his malcontent time in Paris, in search of warm colors that Eugene Delacroix declared to have inspired his paintings. However, Van Gogh didn't have quite enough funds to travel to Africa, where Delacroix had found his inspirations of warm colors and bright sunlight. Instead, Van Gogh decided to settle down in Arles, this small, unpretentious town in Provence, the South of France. It is here that he spent that last two years of his life, and it is also here that he shared his dream of opening the utopic "Studio of the South"with his comrades Paul Gauguin and Emile Bernard. It is also here that he painted the world-famous Starry Night (1889).

source

Ever since I got here, I've been trying to retrace Van Gogh's steps and relive his experiences some 120 years ago. Unfortunately, many original sights that Van Gogh has based his artworks on have been bombed during WWII. However, I did succeed in finding three great spots that are faithful to his paintings.

The first spot is the Cafe of the Night, reconstructed on its original site to mimic Van Gogh's painting Cafe Terrace at Night (1888). The side-by-side comparison is the first picture in this post, a collage made by me.

The second spot is the hospital garden/courtyard where Van Gogh had stayed at during his ill days. Today, the hospital is no longer in use, and has been converted into a tourist hotspot. Every day, many people pay visit to this serene garden, hoping to catch a glimpse of the peaceful sensation that touched Van Gogh back in 1889.

The third spot is the Roman arena in Arles, where Van Gogh had painted a scene of spectacle back during his stay in Arles. Even today, this Roman arena remains a hugely popular (both literally and metaphorically) tourist attraction to travelers all over the world.

That's all for now, friends! Have a wonderful weekend - for those in France, fêtez-bien lundi prochain!

xx
Vanesa :]


UPDATE:

Yesterday was Bastille Day/France Independence Day/National Day, and when I went to watch the firework show with my host family, I chanced upon a fourth Van Gogh artwork-lookalike!

Left: a photo I took on the bank of the Rhone river
Right: Van Gogh's Starry Night Over the Rhone (1988)

pre-departure excitement

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I opened this blog last night after I received an email from my study-abroad program with details concerning my classes in France. Fear not - I am not here to write about academic things, even though I might if what we learn is worth sharing. The point is, I started this blog with the intention to document the next six months of my life as I discover what it's like to be living in France.

From mid-June to the end of July, I will be in a small city in Provence called Arles, where I will study art history and French. (Fun fact: Van Gogh and Gauguin have lived here for some time during fin de ciècle, while Cézanne and Picasso also made some important life journeys in the area! In fact, Van Gogh's Starry Night is a depiction of the night sky at Arles.) After my stay in Arles, I will move on to Paris and spend the fall and early winter there, staying in a student apartment. In Paris, I will study more art history (yay!), European foreign policies, as well as intern in an institution of art.

Right now, as I enjoy my last few days on my college's campus sipping iced tea and pretending to not have homework or finals, I can already feel the excitement of adventure bubble up in me. Here is a song that perfectly captures my anticipation: 

I probably won't blog much between now and my actual arrival in France, but as soon as I get to la belle France, I will try to post updates at least once a week!

Stay tuned (and excited!)

xx

Vanessa :]