Dear Paris, I am glad you and I are friends again.

Paris is slow. Very slow.
Imagine a Thanksgiving day in NY only lasting for a month and minus the turkey and you get Paris in August: empty.

The art world is asleep, somewhere travelling.

Only one things left to do: sit and watch the naked city and accept what it is offering.

Back where it all started

Anish Kapor was offered the Grand Palais for this year's MONUMENTA (once a year the great space of the grand Palais is one artist's "property" for couple of months. The artist can invade de space how he/she (though never a she was yet invited) wants. Kapor decided to fill the air with a giant ballon. One color - one piece objet - Gigantic and poetic.

First you enter the balloon. You come in by a tiny door and feel projected into the space. You are inside. Dizzy. The only light that comes in is filtered by the skin of the balloon, changing depending on the time of the day or the weather. The air is rare and the sounds muffled. If it wasn't for the 30 others person in there with you, you could almost feel in an intimate place.
A very intimate place : a womb.

I did surprise myself thinking "that must have feel like that"

Birth.

You experience it from the outside. The Grand Palais itself is an amazing place. Filled with light because of its glass roof, cold because of its concrete floor. And there in the middle like a excrescence, that wins over the metal structure is Levitan.

Of course some will say it is just a big balloon but it is also a color, the sensuality of the material, the need of touching it and above everything is the voice that reminds you that we are tiny. Very tiny.

In bed with (almost) me for only 69 euros : now that's a cheap date"

Ikea is everybody's friend. I have to say it isn't mine (at least for today):

living sculpture

Theo Jansen's STRANDBEEST:

Animaris Umerus walking - June '09 from Strandbeest on Vimeo.

 

happy loony tuesday

 

xxa

moment in time

earlier, my lovely friend tatiana sent me a link to "25 Strange and Brilliant Polaroids of Famous People," a collection of polaroids recently compiled by flavorwire.  i've always loved instant, analog work so this project is way up my ally.

click on the photo below to see the complete project!

No explanation needed... just happiness

Hello friend it has been a long time,

Maia Flore - "Sleepelevation"

I have been really bad at sharing thoughts lately. Sorry.

There was some fairs, so affairs (not really "s" but i thought that was a cool sentence).
Drinks and dinners. Sun and shine. Work and work.

The day is sunny and though it didn't start so well a good friend of mine adviced to listen to Donna Summer and I have to say it works magicaly!

I mean can it get better than "Last dance" or "Bad Girls" ?
Yes, probably with "No more tears". Donna + Barbra = double *shake it shake it*!

Also in 13 days I will be on a plane to NYC and that is enough to make me smile everytime a cloud is around!

brush that dirt off your shoulder

The North Brooklyn Public Art Coalition, (nbART), the lovely arts organization i curate for, got a fantastic write-up in this month's issue of the alluring Papercut Magazine!  my girls and i are oh so proud!  check out the piece on pg. 63:

xxa



not the only one...

see that absurdly long line?  well, those are all the folks who are just as nutso for yoga to the people as i am.  when walking to class tonight i saw the line running down 1/2 the length of the sidewalk and felt compelled to take a snap of this little city treasure nestled amidst the craziness of st. marks st. you see, i'm not the only cookoo taken by the wonder that is this studio.

***

em, when you come to nyc you've got to come to at least one class with me, 

i swear it will change your life!

xxa 

yogi call out

...

is one of my favorite blogs, definitely one of my daily reads.  i love her humor, aesthetic, impeccable taste, and self deprecation. (though she's clearly aware of her coolness!)

***

yesterday her post just had me cracking up because it resonated so...

(just click on the watercolor below) 

hope you get a kick out of it too!

from denmark with love

sometimes food is good enough to talk about. 

who am i kidding, most of the time i'm talking about food...

but it's rare that i talk about junk food.  this, however, is one of those fine occasions. 

my lovely coworker lillian just got back from a trip to denmark and has subsequently treated the office with little goodies since her return. first she shared with 'daim' candies... little chocolate-covered toffee bites.  every time we picked a nibble out of the HUGE bag she brought home, a loud "daaaammmmmnnnn!" exploded from the candy-eater.  they were delicious.

but then yesterday, lil supplied us with the treat of all treats.  SOMBA cookies.  you see, i am a girl who grew up on mallomars, the greatest cookie of all time.  this is an item that somehow says 'new york' to me.  (who knows why... maybe because they were referenced in 'when harry met sally'?  i'm not totally sure.)  anyway, though i thought mallomars were the greatest cookie item on earth, i was proven incorrect yesterday when i met SOMBA!  the ultimate mallomar:

a marshmallow fluff tower
(not a regular marshmallow like that found within a mallomar)

set atop a wafer
(i do prefer the graham bottom of the classic instead)

topped with a thin chocolate shell. 

(a bit more sugary than that which encases mallomars)

HOLY MOLY THESE WERE OUTSTANDING! 

i wish i could have one for breakfast right now...

look at the height on this guy!

and that inner mound of fluffy, whipped goodness...

em, if you can find these in fr, DO! 

THE ARE HEAVEN!!

wonderful wednesday

i stumbled upon this oldie but goodie song yesterday 

when it started blasting in the middle of the best yoga class i've taken in a while.

i.love.this.song.  

from nose to toes, i love this song!  

hope you enjoy 

"Home" 

by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros

wishing you the best wednesday

(also wishing katie pollet a marvelous 25th!  

20 years ago i saw you outside of miss gancey's classroom 

and i knew we were in for a good time!)

xxa

tuesday ditty

i've recently become quite fond of METRONOMY
a funky hipstery band hailing from britain.

Metronomy - The Look from lorenzo fonda on Vimeo.

i think this song is so lovely and get a kick out of the sea gulls!

hope everyone's tuesday evening is mellow and lovely!!

xxa

99 red balloons part 2

lovers, here's the director's cut from the commercial i recently played along in... 

you can even see bitty shots of yours truly here and there!!

(my smile around the opening and later and my arms and back throughout...

keep your eyes peeled for a white t-shirt with a lacy white top)

Pop Directors' cut from Raul Martinez on Vimeo.

i am so thrilled with how this project came out and think robert and raul are immensely talented!

i genuinely have a limitless number of good things to say about each of them!!

good luck, fellas, you're gonna be big stars!!!!!

NOW THE IMPORTANT STUFF!
please vote for the video here:
POP

xxa

weekend love...

this weekend while tooling around barneys coop 

(after a scrumptious molly/sarabeth's brunch)

i happened upon the Jas M.B. Large Peggy Handbag.

**t'was love at first sight**

don't we make a darling couple?!

i know where my tax return will be going.....

xxa

bliss

"and he will enjoy that breath
more than any he has taken
in his entire life.
and her life's work is more than a flash drive.

'my life's work,' she says, 'is the impact that this has.
this is not about what i produce.  it is all about what others receive.'"

click HERE

**i suggest listening to all at once***

have a beautiful weekend!

xxa 

This is it !

american rustic...and swooning!

New York Times Thursday Home & Garden,

thank you for making my commute so easy this morning.

i feel like this article describes spaces that are cousins

to my very own apartment.

i loved the warmth of the photos,

descriptions of materials, textures, and items listed.

great ideas for updating the pad!

**(and my beloved moon river chattel was mentioned to boot.)**

i. am. satisfied.

Fair(s) enough

What is there to do in Paris in the upcoming weeks :

Going to Art Fairs. Indeed it is that time of the year again. Not like the first time in the Fall but like that time in the Spring. Paris will, starting this week end, be living at the art rythm. First Drawing Now, contemporary fair for... drawing. Then we have ArtParis + Guests and then Chic dessin an other drawing fair.

So from this week end I will be wearing my walking shoes(who am I kiding... i don't have walking shoes) and will go see what's out there and report.

99 red balloons

saturday evening 
was one of the best nights i've had in a long time.  

incomparable robert, whom you already know i adore, happens to be a very talented artist - photographer, cinematographer, producer, filmmaker.  his bright energy pervades everything he does. obviously that vibrancy attracts equally talented, luminescent people - cue raul.  these two are the best, most alluring, and wildly energizing directors i've ever met (no wonder they snagged themselves two of foinest women in the game!!) 

***

this weekend, robert and raul were shooting a short film that was essentially a party scene set in a room filled with thousands of red balloons!  

champagne bottles exploded and music blasted.  

we danced, played "flip cup" in our spare time, and got glitter-fied into the wee hours, all in a loft nestled high above soho's sleepy streets!  

here are some photos from the night:

*stills from the film*

the fearless leaders:

pensive robert (long hair)

raul (striped shirt)

*one more astonishing fact about raul:

he's such a renaissance man he even makes his own clothes!

check out that rockin gradient-striped number! ha 

for japan with love

the recent devastation in japan leaves me with little to say.

it's shocking and painful to read about the daily additions

to an already inconceivable slew of jaw-dropping tragedies.

we are so blessed to have our loved ones near by,

to know all are safe and sound

*(dave, so glad you, your friends, and their families are all alright!!)*

on this end, i can pour over the photos,

read the articles,

engross myself in the daily updates...

and then turn off my computer, put away my newspaper,

or simply call my mom.

but in Japan, this is an unending nightmare.

if you can help the relief effort, please do!

i would be more than happy to connect any readers with

for japan with love

where donations can be made easily!

wishing lots of love and hope to all this friday afternoon!

xxa

biondi bowing out

“A photograph is an entity. You don’t crop it, you don’t butcher it, you don’t plaster text over it, you treat it with dignity.”

-Elisabeth Biondi





earlier today it was announced that Elisabeth Biondi, the brilliant Visuals Editor at the New Yorker, will be leaving the magazine.

her eye has impacted this literary and aesthetic publication for the past 15 years.  it is truly worth your while to check out today's Photo Booth blog entry to learn more about this influential member of the arts community.

here's looking forward to the next phase in Biondi's career... as a curator...

Coordination

Ce qu'Arielle veut Arielle a

What Arielle wants Arielle gets

Un post en francais, un qu'elle puisse lire...

A post in French, one she can read...

55 mots

55 words

Pas un de plus pas un de moins

No less, No more

bras, jambes

arms, legs,

Coordonnés?

Coordinate ?

Toujours?

Always?

Boum

Boom

Little Joy

all i want 

is to do the twist

to this song

in my living room...

summery rum drink in hand...

avec vous...

lovelovelove, me

springing forward my dudes and dudettes

today, lovely danny and i had a rather in depth discussion

about what we love most about the spring.

we're both gladly sluffing off these last few bits of winter

and cannot wait for the onset of the best season:

spring

{aviv, primavera, becha, wiosna, bahar!}

here are some of our most favorite things to look forward to as spring springs towards us:

picnics

sidewalk chalk

lazy afternoons spent at east river park with a great mag or book

riding bikes

bulbs starting to bloom

daaaaaafffffoooooodiiiiiillllllssssssss

hyacinths

any bloomy flowers, really

fresh beautiful herbs being sold at the farmers' market

[that can be planted in my window boxes (hooray!)]

watermelon with pits (half the fun is spitting those suckers out!)

bare feet + grass

pig tails or big, fluffy buns on top of my head (ari)

short-cropped hair cuts (danny)

strawberries

heirloom tomatos

sangria and fish tacos and coronas

ghetto gold + spring dresses (ari)

shorts + hoodies (danny)

strolling around with chocolate malt milk shakes

arnold palmers

homemade ice cream

yoga with the windows open

SEDERS (and various passover delights... we're weird ol jewbies)!!

peeper frogs out on the farm

fire flies

hamburgers and grilling in general

THE METS + hot dogs + lemonade

cartwheels

driving with the windows down

limes

cilantro and basil

spring concerts & festivals (esp phish for danny)

out door movies (esp at bk bridge park for ari)

corn on the cob

camping + s'mores

berks (for danny)

keds without socks (fo ari)

***

what about the spring gets you most excited?!

xxa

betu-tiful weekend!

this weekend my family and i headed to vermont for our first vacation with olive betuts in tote. 


cell phones ran out of juice, the baby slept late, we all laughed, cuddled, skied, and hung... what could be better?  i basically held onto the baby the entire weekend (sometimes a fresh auntie can be a little greedy... i don't think oli's parents minded too much...) and i think she rather enjoyed it, if i do say so myself! 

here are some highlights from the weekend:

"my daddy's out of his mind... but he sure is funny"

very sleepy after the yumminess of a hot sink-bath... check out those ruffles on oli's tush!

the engle women doing what they do best.. cuddle

...ahh, perfection

***

so, after coming home to bk and kinda melting down 

with my mom about this and that:

*not wanting the weekend to be done, 

*not wanting the work week to start up again,

*freaking out about various crazy-making life things 

 (my mom is so surreally wonderful at mopping me up from the ground and setting me on the path towards rational thinking... wowzers, did i need it!)

it was beautiful to find my way back to the yoga mat 

for a nice hr long stretch out...

and later go to the market for the week's groceries... 
only to find out that daffodils are back!

spring will be here oh so soon!  

just 7 more days til the solstice...

friends, this is the week to let go of your final bits of winter bs baggage so that you have plenty of room to welcome spring fully!


ps - robert, simone, kaiti-o:
THANK YOU FOR THE EPIC MESSAGE THAT I JUST LISTENED TO...
kait, i hope robert didn't take advantage of you too badly... 
and wendy? has that ridiculous cat survived another weekend in l'house?  
girl's. got. to. go.

xxa