Musée Rodin and its Five-Ringed Connections

My expectations were simple for a premier visit to Musée Rodin, one of Paris' main museums skipped during prior travels. 

What a treat! 

Nestled a couple of blocks from Invalides -- the 2024 Olympic archery venue -- and the Museum of the Army in the 7th Arrondissement, the museum of Auguste Rodin blends with its neighbors on the exterior while unveiling a grand garden and main building (the sculptor's later-years Hôtel Biron residence of about 116 years ago). 

Of course, the sculptures impress. It was fun, albeit unplanned, to view Rodin's sketches, ceramic models or miniatures for many of his famed works while discovering dozens of new-to-my-eyes concepts, then touring the museum gardens to find the magnificent, and at times monumental, Rodin casts in bronze. 

I knew not that one of his first major works, as a teen, featured a bust of his father, now on view with portraits or other portrayals of family members. 

There were also reminders of works seen at the largest U.S. museums dedicated to Rodin, including venues in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Kansas City and Atlanta's High Museum of Art, home to a gifted sculpture "The Shade" presented by the French Republic to the City of Atlanta as a memorial to arts patrons lost at Orly Field.

Speaking of "The Shade," it was new-to-me info there are multiple Rodin figures by this title, with trios of Shade figures in the galleries, garden and atop a massive portal the artist fashioned with additional accoutrement. 

There are nudes around many corners, including some not-for-kids poses like "Iris, Messenger of the Gods" (previously noted in this October 2022 post also summarizing Rodin past Olympic connections). 

Special for the 2024 Cultural Olympiad, Musée Rodin added content and works of Rodin's partner of 10 years, Camille Claudel, whose dramatic 1897 onyx and bronze work "The Wave" seemingly splashes/crashes from its display (the work is described as Claudel's major break from Rodin not long after she left him).

The best surprise was discovering several paintings by Rodin contemporaries, collected through friendship or investment. Most impressive: Large canvases by Edward Munch, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Vincent Van Gogh. 

Another discovery: Rodin's personal collection of hundreds of artifacts from ancient civilizations, with many figures of antiquity serving as inspiration for his own work. 

An upstairs corridor showcased a 2023 sculpture, apparently designed and assembled by 12 apprentice sculptors, titled "The Flame of Culture" inspired by the Olympic torch relay traditions. 

Exiting through the gift shop, two items caught my eye: a miniature version of "The Kiss" in its own wood crate (these miniatures were not available when this work was on view at the "Rings: Five Passions in World Art" exhibit of the 1996 Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta), as well as a clever pin design inspired by "The Thinker."

I was also captivated by a tin and brass broach pin design, described by the gift shop manager as "piano hands" (it was not clear if this is a Rodin work but likely is). For over 100 Euros, it was time to stop the music and settle with a few postcards. 

Methinks my wallet may be even emptier by Games end.

The Musee Rodin has special hours planned during Paris 2024 -- whether you're in town for the Olympics or a future City of Light excursion, do yourself a favor and make time to discover this Parisian treasure. 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

Atlanta Film Festival's 2024 Schedule Measures About A Bowshot Away From Olympic Relevance

The 2024 Atlanta Film Festival is underway, this year featuring just one Olympic-tethered film among dozens of features and documentaries in the 48th annual event's screening lineup. 

At the Tara Theatre yesterday, a nearly full auditorium of ticketholders met LA 2028 Olympic archery hopeful Hayun Choi, the eighth-grade subject of filmmaker Sangsun Choi's documentary short "About A Bowshot Away." 

Check out the calming trailer at this link. 

Filmed during Christmas 2022 to April 2023, the film also introduced the young archer's Korean American parents Jaemin and Jinmi Choi, Hayun's father and mother who work as a suburban Atlanta law office case manager and lab technician, respectively.

Like the bull's eye on Hayun's backyard targets, the center of the film is the family's teamwork to help the young athlete's hobby-turned-passion since she picked up her first bow in elementary school. When she's not completing hours of target practice or adjusting equipment, the athlete also enjoys another concentration-infused pastime: playing the piano. 

On top of funding their daughter's equipment, competition entries and travel to out of state tournaments, the family shares how they navigated the fallout of a verbally abusive hired coach who inspired the family patriarch to himself take on his daughter's coaching duties, at times testing his comfort zone. 

Through Sangsun's interviews with each family member, their shared and individual goals, and steps taken toward their achievement, crescendo at a Florida tournament, yielding an inspiring audience payoff that may turn heads on Hayun's road to the 2028 Games. 

In a post-screening conversation, the archer explained she was too young to qualify for Paris 2024, but her sights are set on Los Angeles, by which time she'll be a Class of '28 high school graduate. 

From left, Sangsun Choi
with the archery family subjects
of "About A Bowshot Away"

Sangsun, who also works as an assistant professor at Kennesaw State University's School of Communication and Media, noted he may continue to film the family's progress to update "About A Bowshot Away" in new formats. 

"When I made this documentary, I thought that archery was a kind of symbol or metaphor to show a beautiful life and also through my observation I wanted to reveal authentic life, presenting Korean people and the Korean community," said Sangsun. "Hopefully I can make the next version when [my subject, Hayun] is going to the Olympics."

Opening weekend of AFF also included a sold-out screening of the filmed-in-Georgia treat "The Idea of You" with a post-screening Q&A featuring director Michael Showalter, who co-wrote the screenplay with its source material author Jennifer Westfeldt. 

Starring Anne Hathaway as a 40-year-old mother who stumbles into a romance with a half-her-age boy band heartthrob played by Nicholas Galitzine, the crowd-pleasing film got rave audience reviews for its thoughtful writing, natural and perfectly timed acting and killer soundtrack with catchy new pop songs, a longtime Showalter favorite by Fiona Apple and other surprises. 

Showalter took a moment to answer a couple of questions at the red-carpet premiere:

Also viewed at AFF so far (and worth another look when available via the festival's streaming platform): 

• "Naked Ambition" unveiling the decades of hard work, creative techniques, personal struggles and perseverance by pinup portraitist Bunny Yeager. The creators of this film offer a convincing argument the photographer also invented what is now known as a "selfie." 
• 
  "Luther: Never Too Much" unveiling the ups and downs of the accomplished R&B singer-
  songwriter Luther Vandross. Though I was familiar with many of his hits of the '80s and '90s, I had no idea his 1970s connections to David Bowie, Nile Rodgers, Roberta Flack and others, nor his work on commercial jingles. By the time this film crescendoed with the Vandross:Mariah Carey duet remake of "Endless Love" and his autobiographical ballad "Dance with My Father" with Richard Marx -- atop revelations of Vandross enduring weight issues/fat shaming and other personal struggles -- there wasn't a dry eye in the house. 

On deck for screening later this week:

• 
  "Citizen Sleuth" featuring the Mile Marker 181 podcast by Emily Nestor unraveling a true crime murder mystery
• "Thank You Very Much" about which I am cautiously optimistic for a fresh look at the life and work of comedian Andy Kaufman
• "The South Got Something To Say" presenting Atlanta's contributions to 50 years of hip-hop (nominated for two Southeast Emmy Awards)

Check out the complete schedule and buy Atlanta Film Festival tickets via the AFF app and website. See you at the movies!

Photos of by Sangsun Choi and the Choi archery family as well as Michael Showalter by Nicholas Wolaver. "About A Bowshot Away" poster provided by the director via this link; "Luther: Never Too Much" poster via this Moviefone link. "Citizen Sleuth" image via Screen Anarchy.

Opening Weekend Roundup

Days one to and three at the Rio Olympics were smooth, easy and loads of fun.

Saturday afternoon, my week-one travel buddy, Joanne, joined me at Olympic archery in the world-famous Sambadromo, where we witness the men's team competition including Korea and Team USA placing one-two as the sun set.

Later that evening we made our way to the first of three nights of Olympic swimming -- with each evening, our seating in the aquatic center improved, finding our way closer and closer to the action in the pool.

What a thrill it's been to witness several medalists for Team USA, including swimmers Murphy, Ledecky, King and, of course, Phelps & Co. for the 4 x 100 men's freestyle relay.

Sunday also brought time to see women's gymnastics preliminaries after my first full shift in the press mixed zone at Carioca 3 Arena, where Massialas won silver to an Italian fencer. In our media area, we queue to coaches and officials down the proper corridor while the athletes move from one batch of reporters to the next as they exit the field of play.

Very cool to see Massialas' medals up close (though photos are not permitted while on duty).

Geography continues to be the big bear at this Olympics ... one-, two- and three-hour commute times in each direction for events or volunteering tries one's patience, as does the 2-3 km hikes from the transport to the venues.

Some of this is to be expected, however, and we've paced ourselves in spite of four very late nights. Monday was a designated "recovery day" and this morning I am jazzed for a full day of volunteering up the street at USA House.

It is so ... on! Raked in about 140 new pins so far. Running into old friends while meeting many new ones everywhere.

More updates to follow soon. Thank you for reading!

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

We Need To Talk About Olympic Archery

A few weeks back, I blogged about attending the IOC's World Conference on Women and Sport in Los Angeles. The event included a seminar featuring Geena Davis, the Oscar-winning actress who tried out for the Olympic archery team leading up to the Sydney 2000 Games.

Olympic archery was on the brain this past week as well, when my eyes first met the trailers for "The Hunger Games" film based on the Suzanne Collins book. It's no trouble at all to watch Jennifer Lawrence bend a bow and take aim -- interesting to note that a USA Archery athlete (a four-time Olympian who aspires to compete in at the London 2012 Olympics) trained Lawrence for her archery feats in "The Hunger Games," according to the USA Archery team website.

So, last night some friends and I screened the recent release of "We Need To Talk About Kevin" in which archery skills are a key element. Call it a hunch, but my guess is that if USA Archery or GB Archery provided bow and arrow consulting for "We Need To Talk About Kevin," it is doubtful they are publicizing their role in the film. Here's why.

"We Need To Talk About Kevin" is the story of a young yet reluctant mother, Eva (Tilda Swinton), who once lived her dream life travelling the world and experiencing its rich wonders (starting with a tomato festival in which thousands of twentysomethings are crunched together in a mosh pit of wrestling-made ketchup). We learn how her wanderlust took her to Bangkok, Paris and other destination cities around the globe until a reunion with a boyfriend (played by John C. Reilly) led to an unexpected pregnancy, tethering Eva to a joyless married life filled with nonstop screams of an infant son, Kevin.

Viewers learn through a maze of flashbacks and real-time scenes that over time Kevin proved to be, well, evil. Even as a toddler, Kevin's gaze comes from a dark, malevolent place. The more we learn about Eva and Kevin's mother and child tolerance for each other, the more questions arise about the source of Kevin's escalating hateful behavior. Is it his mother's longing for her pre-maternal life that is isolating her son? Is it his parent's passive-aggressive approach to parenting at fault? Or was Kevin just born bad?

I'm talking Mickey & Mallory Knox bad.

"We Need To Talk About Kevin" is rich with food visuals. In addition to the aforementioned tomato festival, viewers experience food in an array of haunting ways that foreshadow Kevin's unfathomable actions in his teen years. We see a lot of food flung at walls. A lot of red jelly smeared on glass coffee tables. Messy Cheezy-Poof smiles and a likely Andy Warhol reference to red soup cans (another art-infused reference arrives in the form of Kevin using black and red paint to pull a Jackson Pollock-style attack on Eva's newly decorated private office).

About the only time young Kevin seems to give his mother a break is during a bout of flu. In her efforts to comfort her now-eight-years-old son, Eva brings out an illustrated copy of "Robin Hood" and Kevin takes a shine to the descriptive pages about the hero's archery skills.

I don't want to give away much more, but it was interesting to me that given Swinton's starring roles in prior films about Thailand, notably "The Beach" with Leonardo DiCaprio, there are a lot of references to the nation, such as numerous Thai travel posters in Eva's offices during the 20-year arc of the film, and a vivid yet disturbing scene with lychee fruit around the family dinner table.

The eye have it in "We Need To Talk About Kevin" in that there are many extreme close-ups of eyes glaring at objects of interest. Kevin's dead brown eyes staring down an archery target. Eva's brown eyes taking in her living nightmare. I was reminded of the clever camera angles in another film about a family in crisis, "The War of the Roses" and its use of curious close-up shots.

After viewing "We Need To Talk About Kevin" many, including this blogger, will not hear a lawn oscillating sprinkler quite the same way.

If you made it this far in this post, you may wish to note the London 2012 Olympic archery qualifying events (for USA Archery and other Americas entrants) are coming up April 20-25 in Colombia. And the London 2012 Olympic archery venue is Lord's Cricket Ground. Let's see if we bump into Tilda Swinton at the competition.

Photos from "We Need To Talk About Kevin are via BBC.co.uk -- photo of Geena Davis is by Nicholas Wolaver copyright 2012. Wenlock Olympic mascot archery pin photo via GlamourousLiving.uk.co.