Saturday, January 19, 2013

Looking for Hopper in Paris

Mercredi 16 Janvier Looking for Hopper workers in Paris
I go out early looking for hot croissants (no go) but catch the veggie guy looking like he stepped out of a Hopper painting.
Did I say my LCD lens cracked enroute to the airport so I can't see what I'm shooting - just a bunch of lines. Shooting 'blind' may be the best way to go
The galette de roi girl at Boulangerie Eric Kayser - rue Monge.
Hopper's lonely, solitary figures have Paris transfixed - many new books out on Hopper and some with no pictures.
The text here talks(more or less) about the penumbra/shadows and how the girl seems wrapped in a mysterious envelope..is she soucieuse(?), fatigued or simply pensive? What do you read in this quiet moment with the theatre usher?
A page out of a young adults book. The French are definitely different than us.
This girl seems wrapped in a penumbre of indecision...macaron marron glace or infiniment vanille? Oh la la
'Night Hawks' is a mysterious Hopper painting driving the French crazy. Yet Hoppers wife Josephine named it because the counter man had a hawk-like nose. Go figure.
Love this angular, geometric sketch from Hopper.
Who would guess Hermes' flower department has the makings of a Hopper painting.
My favorite Hopper shot - this cleaner finishing up late at so-chic Eres at Madeleine.
The hottest of all? A caneles made on the spot. What's not to love? Sorry I've been M.I.A. I'm just fine. Maybe having too much fun in Paris running around comme d'habitude + getting some work projects done to pay for those caneles. Bear 🐻 with me till I get the right balance PBers
Bisous bisous cg

25 comments:

  1. One of my favourite artists and favourite city :) I be that would be my favourite dessert too !

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    1. Anonymous10:46 AM

      Me too! One of my favorite artists and cities! Mais je prefere mousse au chocolat! Donna

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  2. Wonderful post, Carol. J'adore Hopper!!!! xo Jamie

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  3. Oh no the LCD cracked? On it's own?

    love those little crispy golden delights..I have a silicone mold instead of copper they don't quite crisp as much~
    May will be fun :)too..

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  4. What a fantastic idea to look for real-life Hopperesque scenes. I think I'll have to give this a try too. I recently found your blog and have been enjoying it very much. I love your sketches that you start most posts with.

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    1. A couple of Russian photographers here shot setups from Hoppers paintings using real figures, but I find so much here that reflects Hopper's vision...the copies seem uninteresting to me...not much imagination involved and the mystery is lost.

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  5. Carol! You are just driving me crazy with your Hopper photos. I LOVE them! So many times I see things around that remind me of this painting or that and you actually capture the moment perfectly. Genius!

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  6. Oops! That cracked LCD is what drove me to buy my beloved S100 (thanks to your review). You seem to be doing pretty well without being able to see what you're shooting!! I invested in a fantastic retro leather case when I bought the new one. Not going to crack that LCD again if I have anything to say about it. Love the Hopper-esque Paris!

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  7. Loving your calendar sketches, Carol. Charming! If you ever decide to sell that calendar, let me know.

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  8. Hopper is always a great experience. I managed to see the great Hopper exhibition in Lausanne, Switzerland, a couple of years ago. Thank you for sharing your Hopper with us,
    Merisi

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  9. Hopper was a genius of abstraction. I try to imagine what it must have been like 80 - 90 years ago to see his work for the first time. Ahhh, the outrage, the shrill cries.....

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  10. Carol, you got some really good shots. I love the Veggy guy setting up, the Woman pouring what ever she is pouring and the man sweeping.. and well they are all good. I think you need to do a few of those. Fun seeing more of Hoppers work. They make you stop and ponder over them, and make up your own stories about the subjects.

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  11. I love that top watercolor. Especially on the calendar with "Mercredi." I've actually enjoyed your blog for a long time and never commented! http://corpsewander.blogspot.com/

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  12. Carol, I did try to leave you comment earlier today, but something here or there would not allow the transportation.

    Let me try again. It's fascinating to see how Hopper is being embraced by Paris. I also like his etchings very much...perhaps some were in the exhibit?

    Your photographs are marvelous tributes...how do you do it with the damaged lens? Well, after all, you are an artist!

    I continue to be entranced by the views you give us of beautiful Paris, and how you are filling those diary pages with your notated drawings and paintings.

    Bravo, mon amie!

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    1. Thank goodness the Canon lense is fine.
      It's the LCD screen on the back got messed up.
      Still costs to fix it and I may just keep on as is.
      One does need dockets for Paris pastry after all...

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  13. Anonymous8:48 PM

    I was thinking there were a few missing PB posts and then I thought as much as you enjoy creating your blog for all of us followers, having a daily deadline could get a bit tedious. Merci! Jerie

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  14. A great post, Carol, lots of beautiful images; starting with your opening sketch.
    (Maybe it's because I love Hopper & I'm a night owl?)
    The "veggie guy" is fabulous and so is the half-concealed guy mopping the store entrance.
    Great photos!

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  15. Anonymous9:03 PM

    I am enjoying your posts and just love the drawings you have done on the calendar
    pages!
    Hopper's paintings seem such a part of American culture it seems funny that they are 'new'
    to the French. I am glad they get to enjoy them.

    You enjoy yourself, too.

    Cheers!
    Linda

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    1. Thanks Linda!
      It seems funny to me too to see how nuts the French are for 'opper

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  16. Hello Carol! so good to see you are in Paris again. I am going to read back on some posts to catch up. My fav is your photo of the cleaner finishing up at Eres, Madeleine:) Such a contrast.
    Take care and enjoy your city of lights
    FranT xo

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  17. Carol-

    Is that the Ladurèe macaroon shop at CDG? When I was at the airport the line was so long I didn't have time to wait!

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    1. It's Pierre Hermé in Galeries Lafayette

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  18. The veggie man doesn't work for me as Hopper, despite the perfect lighting...I think a lot of the effect comes from the viewer being outside, separated from the subjects. Isolated.
    I gave in against my better judgement when Williams Sonoma offered free shipping on their Kouign Amann...they arrive frozen and you let them rise in the refrigerator overnight and bake them. Probably a mistake, but I figure I may never know the difference! :-)

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  19. Another delightful post. I'm sorry I won't get a chance to see that Hopper exhibition-it looks intriguing.

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