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

Bienvenue à Paris - pour les Jeux Olympiques!

Arriving at Charles de Gaulle airport on 11 July marked my fifth touchdown at Paris since the early 2000s. 

Unlike previous visits, mostly for a few days of tourism, Olympic writing or the handover ceremony from Tokyo 2020, this time I'm setting up residence for several weeks.

The longer visit to the City of Lights is thanks, in part, to a certain national Olympic committee which initially (in early 2024) offered a long-term pre-Games volunteer assignment that was later reneged only after some nonrefundable accommodations were secured. 

But I'm not bitter -- in just two days I've gotten reacquainted with Paris, walked a couple dozen kilometers, seen three museums and stopped by Hotel de Ville (city hall) in relation to blogging credentials. Here's one happy writer easing into a summer of experiences on the heels of a week vacationing in the Mediterranean resort of Antalya, Turkey.  

All across central Paris there's a curious mix of activities in anticipation of the Games. Lots of construction, though most of the venues (except for the stadium seating along the Seine) appear to be in place and operational. 

Look of the Games banners and bunting are going up on a few more buildings each day. Not one person -- local nor tourist -- seems to know a thing about Olympic pin collecting traditions. 

But everyone knows the torch relay, and with today's national holiday hundreds of thousands will see Olympic torchbearers at iconic sites across the city, including the Arch de Triomphe, Petit Palace, Luxembourg/Senat and other destinations. After the morning parade my intent is to reconnect with the torch relay convoy at the Louvre, where the flame will visit Mona Lisa herself. Stay tuned for photos.

By the way, thank you for reading. If you made it this far, count yourself among the 851,375+ all-time visitors to this website. 

Will it reach 1 million by mid-August 2024? 

With appreciation to all readers, please share, comment and repost if you care to help achieve this ambitious goal in play since 2008. 

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver

With Simplicity & Class, New Paris 2024 Logo Fuses Flame, Style, Gold Medals and French Symbolism

An email from the Paris 2024 media relations team arrived today like a batch of fresh cookies.

It seems the organizing committee baked up a sweet and golden macaron in the form of a new logo for the post-Tokyo Olympiad.

And like the delightful French confections savored around the world, the new Paris 2024 emblem relies on four simple ingredients, according to the official announcement.

In place of egg whites, sugar, almond powder and food color, the "new face" of the French Olympic Games relies on three emblems and a dash of style, almost perfect in its simplicity at once bursting with multiple flavors of symbolism.

The icons in this case, as described in press materials, include:

-- The medal: a symbol of sport and victory

-- The flame: a symbol of the Olympic Movement

-- Marianne, a.k.a. Liberté: a symbol for all of France. You know, the topless banner-bearing beauty in the Louvre's famous painting by Eugène Delacroix (see below)

When assembled the trio yields a face, embodying the idea of a friendly, people's Games (see above left).

Add to this an original Art Deco-inspired typeface drawn from "a complete artistic movement which reached its height at the 1924 Games in Paris" and you have "an emblem that pays tribute to Paris."

Organizers also point out that, for the first time, the golden visage represents both the Olympics and Paralympics. For this writer, that's the jam or ganache that makes this cookie of a logo even sweeter.

Here's a video the Paris 2024 press team shared with other logo-related materials:

Digging the visuals that tell the story of the logo. The lone hiccup of the day's announcement may be the selection of a male narrator to describe a logo otherwise of feminine physique.

The press materials did not state the venue at which the Paris 2024 Olympic emblem unveiling took place, but photos from the event included the city's mayor, several Olympians and Paralympians, and media. Looks like a fun time was enjoyed by all. I'm guessing they feasted on macarons en masse. 

Can you see the lips of Liberty blowing a kiss in the new logo? What do you think of the design? Is there anything you love about it or would love to change? Please post a comment and let's discuss!

Olympic photo, video and logo via Paris 2024. Image of Liberty Leading the People via this link. 

Foundation Louis Vuitton Basks in Bright Spotlight of its Major Jean-Michel Basquiat Exhibition

A few months ago while pondering art, a news item crossed my desk regarding the first major exhibition in years for Jean-Michel Basquiat.

My eyes and ears perked up for the potential opportunity to experience more works by the artist who rose to prominence during the 1980's.

The attention-grabbing article stated the Foundation Louis Vuitton in Paris would present 120 Basquiat works in one venue during late autumn to mid-January.

C'est magnifique!

In consideration of a potential trip to the City of Lights, I recalled my first encounter with Basquiat's craft, which took place in 2016 at The Broad, downtown LA's outstanding modern art assemblage (the museum was created by a married couple whose family name and art collection each rhyme with mother lode).

At The Broad, Basquiat's grand "Untitled" head canvas transfixed me, though I had no idea nor context that it was part of a series.

"Big Snow" via ArtNet.com

A few months later (spring 2017), at the gift shop for the Pompidou Center in Paris, another Basquiat quietly entered my experience, this time with the a five-ringed connection as the painter's work titled "Big Snow" referenced the 1984 Olympic Games, possibly on a TV in his studio while he worked on the piece. On this canvas (right), Basquiat also referenced Jesse Owens at the Berlin 1936 Games.

Closer to home, in September I was reminded there's also a vivid Basquiat in the permanent collection of the High Museum of Art, perhaps the best acquisition our Atlanta-museum-that-could actually did purchase.

I don't often splurge on "art travel," but a few weeks after reading the initial exhibition headlines, in late October my Moscow-based girlfriend Valentina mentioned she also read about other showstopping exhibitions taking place in Paris -- specifically, a blue and pink Picasso exhibition at Museum D'Orsay, and a Pompidou presentation of Cubism -- and this art trifecta emerged as the tipping point to meet in France.

An art weekend in Paris, just before Christmas, with my Russian girlfriend?

Twist our arms!

As it turned out, during our four-day art adventure (Nov. 30 to Dec. 4) we trekked to Foundation Louis Vuitton deux fois as the museum closed for one of those big weekend protests that made headlines worldwide.

"Sorry, folks -- museum's closed!"

Bummed at our denied access upon our first arrival on a Saturday, we vowed to return and snapped a daytime selfie (left) with the exhibition's promo poster, noting the illustrated figure held aloft something resembling an Olympic torch.

We later learned this image is part of a much larger 1984 work titled "Grillo" featuring likenesses for African gods of war.

Also learned (weeks later) Basquiat did create at least three Olympic-themed works, included at the base of this post, not seen at Foundation Louis Vuitton but "out there" to be experienced in person on a future art sojourn.

I was relieved and so pleased when we finally got in our two hours of Basquiat on a Monday evening, as the exhibition was not too crowded, enabling a leisurely pace to explore not one but four levels of the museum in which the Basquiat paintings hung in near-chronological order.

The image atop this blog post shows the view we experienced upon entering the exhibition. According to the Foundation press release, this "exceptional trilogy of big Heads from 1981-1983" accompanied a "presentation of works ... on the theme of the street, used as a studio, source of inspiration, living body."

Street art was the vibe. Amazing street art.

I found this gateway into Basquiat the most compelling of the exhibition sections spanning almost 10 galleries. In the first rooms, the work titled "Brett as a Negro" (above right) drew me in as it features acrylic applied almost like finger paint to 100 mint-green subway tiles.

This graffiti-like head left me wondering did the private collection owner pry these tiles from a New York metro station wall?

The exhibition's intro section also featured social commentary via the stern gaze of law enforcement portrayed in "La Hara" and "Irony of a Negro Policeman," both from 1981.

On level two we discovered the exhibition's only obvious five-ringed connection with the mostly red canvas "Cassius Clay" on view steps from a much larger "St. Joe Louis Surrounded by Snakes" and facing an installation of nearly three dozen more faces/heads drawn by Basquiat.

We also learned more about his proficiency with oilstick and collage.

The second gallery featured some of the brightest colors, and the canvases started getting bigger and bolder, punctuated by "Boy and Dog in a Johnnypump" (left) on loan from a foundation in Greenwich, Conn.

That was a fast graduation from street to fine art!

Though the bright colors and larger works provided surprises and intrigue, I found myself less moved by some of the artist's homages to musical heroes, notably Charlie Parker.

Instead the showcase of Basquiat's collaboration with Andy Warhol provided the most new-to-my-growing-Basquiat-knowledge and fandom. The vast and complex word-infused works made me dizzy in the best way.

No "Big Snow" on view? No big deal.

The monumental "Unbreakable" (right) seemed to showcase greatest hits of so many favorite painters I now believe Basquiat also studied and admired.

It's tragic the twentysomething artist's life ended too soon -- God only knows what more brilliance could emerge had more time and growth sans drug addiction and other demons been possible.

Through wall text, and later in the exhibition's thorough catalogue (a must-read for any Basquiat fan -- an excellent read on the long flight home), we learned the artist's final months included the loss and mourning of multiple mentors and friends, making the last work on view "Riding With Death" even more somber.

Nevertheless, we left the museum exhilarated and hungry for more Basquiat tout de suite. The exhibition closes 21 January, but will reside in fond memories for a lifetime.

Photos by Nicholas Wolaver except credited image of "Big Snow" and the three Olympic images below, none of which appeared in the museum exhibition.