paris, day 3

sacre coeur church in monmarte

moulin rouge




we started the day unlike most other day on our trip. after getting breakfast, we needed to pack up, and move to another hotel down the street. so we did that, then decided to go to monmartre (since it seemed like tuesday all the museums are closed). we took the subway up there, and started on our trek.

the first thing that we saw up there was a church called sacre cour (im not sure on the spelling, or the actually words), or sacred heart. it was a very impressive church with all sorts of different parts to the architecture (but not as ornamental, or intricate as notre dame, but still nice). then we walked around the tourist sort of neighborhood. there were some restaurants, and a lot of different artists trying to sell their own paintings. they charged a lot of money (some of them wanted 400 euros for a painting), and i wondered if any of them were actually making any money. ah, the life of a struggling artist.

around the corner was a dali museum that had a lot of his lithographs and prints, and a few sculptures (no paintings). it was very impressive because a lot of them involved his drawing, which showed his mastery (which is, in any case, evident in his paintings). however, in these prints (which looked a lot like watercolors), he was able to be a little bit more abstract, which helped give a mysterious edgew to some of the series’ of prints, such his series on the bible, don quiote, and alice and wonderland. although i had already seen some of his don quiote prints (in books), i have never seen the bible series, which is based on stories from the bible, old testament and new. i was very impressed with a lot of the different prints in that particular series. next door to the museum they had a small gallery that sold lithographs and prints from famous twentieth century artists like dali and picasso. one day i would like to get one, since it is like a real work of art, but lower priced (around a thousand dollars). however, i am always weary about buying dali prints because there was a bit of a scandal with his prints. it turns out that he had signed a lot of blank peices of paper, expecting his prints to be on them in the future, but other people were putting their own work there. so, there are a lot of fakes floating around, and it seems to me to be too big a risk to buy one (when it might not be authentic).

after that we walked down the hill (the church and surrounding neighborhood are up on a hill), and saw the moulin rouge; not very impressive during the day. it was at the end of a street that was filled with porno shops. in fact, the moulin rouge show is basically like a vegas showgirls show (at least from what i can tell), topless and all. neither the moulin rouge area, or the tourist area near the church seemed to give off a good vibe. i cant quite pinpoint it, but it wasnt at all as charming as i thought it might be. oh well, not everything can be perfect.

we also saw a chopin concert later at night. it was good. i already have a complete collection of all of his piano works (which are most of his total compositions), but 13 compact discs, it is difficult to listen to them all, and to remember all of the different tunes. in any case, there were a couple of pieces that i do remember, and they happened to be some of my favorites, so that was nice. also, it was amazing to see the virtuousity of the pianist. we were about three rows back, which wasnt actually that bad, but considering that there were probably only about 50 people in this little church, it wasnt as good as it sounds, either. yes, the concert was in a small church around the corner from our hotel. i forget the name of the church, but it claims that it is the oldest church in paris. indeed, the inside looked pretty drab, and empty, without all of the ornamentation that we had become accustomed to in some of the bigger churches around.

it also amazed me that such a talented performer was giving these little concerts in a small church. well, in fact, it doesnt surprise me at all. being a person who tries to be an artist (in different fields), i realize that artists, even extraordinary ones, are a dime a dozen. indeed, good for her for being able to give a concert of any size to an audience (of any size) who appreciates her talent. i (and many other artists, i am sure) would be very happy for such an opportunity. this was interesting because earlier in the day, we saw a photographer selling pictures in the street. this is not an uncommon occurence, especially (i am sure) in a big city like paris. one thing that stood out with this particular photographer, however, was how good he was. he had many great prints. again, great artists are a dime a dozen. i am sure that he realized that himself, and after trying to make it in more commercial and/ or artistic enterprises (and not quite making it), decided as a last resort to sell his work on the street. man oh man, is it tough being an artist.