L’origine du monde

I happened across this "only in Paris" moment captured on a Parisian English-language blog, and had to share. A mural-sized and EDIBLE version of Gustave Courbet's "L’origine du monde", considered "the artistic gold standard of female genetalia portraiture" has been installed in Paris by the artistic duo Zoom. It is a highly pixelated version of the painting composed of dark and white chocolate, cheese and bread. Inspired by the 1866 original hanging nearby in the Musee d'Orsay, the artists wanted to "titillate ALL the senses while experiencing art." It's hard to improve upon such a celebrated piece, especially such a beautiful form, but chocolate always adds a certain thrill...! Check out the video below that accompanies a serendipitous meeting.

Bobs, Poodle Skirts, Acid Wash Jeans, and Peas

Today for lunch I brought some leftover brown rice and black beans, and a handful of English peas. Growing up, we grew peas on the vine in my backyard. I don't know if they were specifically "English" or not, but I always used to eat them pod and all. When I bit into one of these English pea pods that I brought, it was so tough and not at all chewable! So of course I googled the proper way to eat these. What I found, in addition to learning that the pods are best eaten when steamed, was delightful! Peas have an under-publicized pop history, according to Leah A. Zeldes of Dining Chicago. She writes:

They were mainly used dried until the 17th century, when green peas became all the rage in the French court as Françoise d’Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon, wrote in 1696: “This subject of peas continues to absorb all others, the anxiety to eat them, the pleasure of having eaten them and the desire to eat them again, are the three great matters which have been discussed by our princes for four days past. Some ladies, even after having supped at the Royal table and well supped too, returning to their own homes at the risk of suffering from indigestion, will again eat peas before going to bed. It is both a fashion and a madness.”

When was the last time a vegetable was all the rage! Too funny.

LISTS

The following is an exercise inspired by Umberto Eco's guest curation at the Louvre, on view in Paris through December 13, 2009. In a fascinating interview with SPIEGEL, Eco attests to the "irresistible magic" of lists and explains the paradoxical manner in which the list is both a liberating and limiting tool, used to express the infinite in a finite way. Here's a cool video featuring Eco and his interesting take on lists.

A List of Lists: Men Describing Qualities of Women

1. Cake, "Short Skirt, Long Jacket"

I want a girl

with a mind like a diamond

who knows what's best

who gets up early

who stays up late

with fingernails that shine like justice

who's fast and thorough and sharp as a tack

with a short skirt and a long jacket

2. Kings of Leon, "Milk"

She saw my comb-over

Her hourglass body

She had problems with drinking milk and being school-tardy

She'll loan you her toothbrush

She'll bartend your party

3. Bob Dylan, "Just Like a Woman"

She takes just like a woman, yes, she does

She makes love just like a woman, yes, she does

And she aches just like a woman

But she breaks just like a little girl.

4. Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, "Home"

Well, hot and heavy, pumpkin pie,

Chocolate candy, Jesus Christ,

Ain't nothing please me more than you

5. Tom Jones, "She's a Lady"

Well she knows what I'm about,

She can take what I dish out and that's not easy

Well she knows me through and through,

She knows just what to do, and how to please me

She's a lady. Whoa, whoa, whoa, she's a lady

6. Elton John, "Tiny Dancer"

Blue jean baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band

Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man

Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand

And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

7. The Rolling Stones, "You Got the Silver"

You got my heart, you my soul

You got the silver, you the gold

You got the diamonds from the mine,

That's alright, it'll buy some time

Perhaps a list is the best way to approximate je ne se quois ...?

"World's Most Stylist Cities" according to Forbes

Here's a piece of an article written in Forbes detailing the world's most stylist cities. (Los Angeles was deemed #6.)

"Why the rush of talent flowing out of Los Angeles? The same could be said of all the other cities on the list, actually. Style-conscious cities, in general, benefit from the disruptive innovation a financial downturn often conjures. While the recession has undoubtedly hurt all of these cities' economies, it's also allowed creative types to take chances and chase their dreams simply because there's less to lose.

What's bad for the economy, it seems, is good for style. And every city on the list--whether it's geared more toward architecture, fashion, or product design--has something the Parisians understand better than anyone: je ne sais quoi."

This falls in line with the idea behind 'creative as savior' that I mention in "Detroit, the new Brooklyn?". Creative-type/Creator creates Something where there once was nothing. Artist conceives design that attracts attention, attention begets buzz, buzz generates revenue, revenue attracts other artists, and the process continues and evolves, constantly filling vacuums.

If a void (absence of money, restrictions, occupation) paradoxically creates space for Creation, this is good news for our economy. If artists are the creators who renew society and generate intellectual and economic momentum, then there is all the more reason to fund the Arts.

Here's the complete list:

10. Barcelona

9. San Francisco

8. Madrid

7. Tokyo

6. Los Angeles

5. Rome

4. London

3. New York

2. Milan

1. Paris