... ever since BBC Romania closed its doors in August 2008, I was looking for a decent radio station to replace it in my efforts to keep alive my modest knowledge of the Romanian language, and I recently found the wonderful programme ZEBRA presented by Mihaela Dedeoglu on RFI România (so basically the French equivalent of the defunct British radio station). In one of the Zebra programmes that are also available as a podcast, Mrs. Dedeoglu talked to the team of GraphicFront, who edited a beautiful book entitled GRAFICA FARA COMPUTER (Graphics without computer), uniting some beautiful examples of the pre-digital era of graphic design from Romania. The posters and packaging design items are manifold, and beautiful to look at. Foarte frumos, that's all I can say ...
... depuis que BBC Romania a fermé ses portes (auditives) en août 2008, j'étais à la recherche (entreprise à intervalles irréguliers) d'une station qui puisse fermer le vide et me soutenir dans mes efforts d'empêcher que mes maigres connaissances de la langue roumaine soient anéanties. Et voilà donc que j'ai trouvé il n'y a pas trop longtemps le podcast de l'émission ZEBRA présentée par Mihaela Dedeoglu sur RFI România, une station de radio assurant le lien, toujours vif, entre Bucarest et Paris, la Roumanie et la France. Bravo! Dans une des émissions les plus récentes , Madame Dedeoglu s'est entretenue avec l'équipe du projet GRAPHICFRONT, laquelle vient d'éditer un volume intitulé GRAFICA FARA COMPUTER, soit : le graphisme sans ordinateur. Voilà donc des exemples de dessins montrés dans ce très beau livre, intéressant de se rappeler que l'ère avant l'arrivée du numérique a bel et bien des trésors à offrir ...
... da quando non esiste più la versione rumena della stazione britannica BBC, stavo cercando un'alternativa che mi aiutasse a non dimenticare completamente il poco che so della lingua. Qualche tempo fa ho finalmente trovata una soluzione: la stazione RFI România, e soprattutto il programma ZEBRA presentato da Mihaela Dedeoglu. L'emissione s'interessa d'arte, di cultura, pittura, persino un po' di moda - bellissimo, simpaticissimo, e d'altronde intelligente. Sono sulle nuvole. E poi, in una delle emissioni che ho ascoltato in versione podcast, la signora Dedeoglu aveva come invitati la squadra del progetto Graphic Front. Questi ragazzi avevano uscito un volume intitolato Grafica fara computer (scusatemi, non trovo gli accenti necessari per il rumeno sulla mia tastiera), cioè Grafica senza computer evidentemente, collezionando esempi di grafica in Romania dell'era prima del digitale. Bello, oppure per dirlo come si vorrebbe magari: foarte frumos ...
... Paris seems to have discovered its rooftopss (no wonder you'll tell me, given how fantastically beautiful the city of lights is when seen from above), a discovery that makes more or less sense, according to what people decide to do with their rooftops. The Galeries Lafayette, for example, took this year's French Open tennis championships as an occasion to heap up some red sand and install a rather narrow-looking tennis court on its rooftop. Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Samantha Stosur and Ana Ivanovic were the players that hit some balls with a view to accompany the kick-off of Roland Garros. I'm not a tennis champ myself, but even my range of play would exceed this tiny little space, let me assure you ... Paris a découvert ses toits, ce qui ne surprendra pas, car les toits, c'est pratiquement ce qui se trouve immédiatement SOUS LE CIEL DE PARIS, et là, par contre, on sait bien que c'est ce qu'il y a de plus attirant et romantique, violons dans les nuages et tout. Bon, pour commencer, les Galeries Lafayette ont installé un court sur le toit de l'édifice, et pour inaugurer le championnat de Roland Garros, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Samantha Stosur et Ana Ivanovic ont frappé quelques balles, pas trop fort s'entend, sinon la place n'aurait pas suffi ... Parigi sembra aver scoperto i suoi tetti, cioè, anche in contesti più o meno comerciali, con qualche iniziativa svolgendosi sui tetti della città delle luci, ad esempio quello du GRAND MAGASIN delle GALERIES LAFAYETTE dove, all'occasione del campionato aperto di tennis, i FRENCH OPEN, è stato installato un campo piccolino, proprio delizioso sebbene ovviamento un po' stretto per i giocatori che vi si sono mostrati, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Samantha Stosur e Ana Ivanovic ...
courtesy of Hermès
... and then of course there's that Hermès rooftop garden that allegedly inspired the maison's legendary nose, Jean-Claude Ellena, to create the latest fragrance UN JARDIN SUR LE TOIT, where the aromas of rose, apple and pear unite. I mean, I was there for the launch of the perfume which sure smells very nice, and we were asked to prepare some stewed fruit and did some rose gardening and listened to Mr Ellena talk about his inspirations - but I couldn't help wondering whether the rooftop garden hadn't actually seen the light of day AFTER the fragrance was created. Anyhow, if you look at Google maps, it is still there apparently, so whether or not it existed before the perfume turns out to be (almost) unimportant ... et puis et puis il y a ce désormais fameux JARDIN SUR LE TOIT qui couronne l'immeuble sis 24, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré, eh ben ouais, c'est le siège traditionnel de la maison Hermès, où, il paraîtrait, il existe depuis toujours (j'ai quelques petits doutes, mais bon) un jardin qui a inspiré le nez de la maison, Jean-Claude Ellena, lorsqu'il a entamé la création du nouveau parfum qui vient d'être présenté au grand public, UN JARDIN SUR LE TOIT notamment ... e poi c'è anche il giardino sul tetto dell'edificio 24, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, dove batte il cuore della famosissima maison di lusso HERMES, un giardino che sembra aver ispirato il celebre "naso" della griffe, Jean-Claude Ellena, quando ha creato il nuovo profumo UN JARDIN SUR LE TOIT - sono stato lì quando è stato presentato il profumo per la prima volta, e siamo stati invitati a fare un po' di giardinaggio con la simpaticissima giardiniera YASMINA - se cercate l'indirizzo su Google Maps, troverete persino l'immagine di questa macchia verde in piena città ...
that's what was sent to our office, a miniature version of the Hermès garden complete with cress seeds, I tested my green thumb and - there we go: a DIY version of a deluxe Parisian rooftop garden in Vienna's Ottakring district, that's what I call bringing together different worlds ...
Elisabeth Längle photographed by Julia Stix for the cover of Die Presse / Schaufenster
... for an article that came out last week, I met up with one of Austria's most outstanding fashion GRANDES DAMES, and that is Elisabeth Längle. She's been in fashion long enough to know what it's all about, claims to have catapulted Helmut Lang onto the international stage when she took him to Paris to participate in the show programme that accompanied the 1986 exhibition VIENNE - UNE APOCALYPSE JOYEUSE at the Centre Pompidou, and more recently wrote the first authorized monograph about Pierre Cardin. When I met her, we talked about fashion's recent discovery of the BEST AGEING and SILVER SURFING generation 50+. Mrs Längle made it very clear that according to her, superficial communication and marketing strategies targetting the elderly will prove to be inefficient if they don't come up with more innovative ideas than replacing 14-year-old models with others that are maybe 40-year-olds. If the Sun City communities in the US didn't work out because people preferred to live somewhere where they're surrounded by people of all ages, boutiques specialising in fashion for BEST AGERS would be just as pointless - "I wouldn't set foot in one of those", Mrs Längle told me and instead pleaded for high-quality lines of basic garments (Prada already does one, and so do Donna Karan and Céline) - mind her words, is all I can say ...
... today, a quick (and first) look back on some of the works of art that caught my eye on the 2011 edition of ViennaFair, Vienna's most important official art fair (as the name explains pretty well) ... aujourd'hui, avant que cela ne soit totalement décalé, un petit aperçu de l'édition actuelle de la foire VIENNAFAIR qui a fermé ses portes il y a une semaine ... for its poignant wit, I liked "This is not art ..." (2011) by Bulgarian artist Pravdoliub Ivanov ... j'ai trouvé amusant l'installation "THIS IS NOT ART" du bulgare Pravdoliub Ivanov ...
Paolo Grassino / Mauro Mauroner
... Mauro Mauroner gallery went baroque with silver deer by Paolo Grassino as well as a shimmery flying duck by Jan Fabre ... l'espace réservé aux artistes représentés par Mauro Mauroner était caractérisé d'un je-ne-sais-quoi de baroque, grâce aux installations animalières par Paolo Grassino et Jan Fabre ...
Jan Fabre / Mauro Mauroner
... and then there was a little Mel Ramos sticky sweetness ... puis un peu de provocation sexuelle style années 50 grâce à la présence de Mel Ramos ...
... and then of course there was an art performance by Jakob Lena Knebl who had himself transformed into a MEMPHIS DESIGN VASE or something, I didn't take a picture myself but was lucky enough to run into fashion designer EVA BLUT who sent me the image she took of the performance, so THANK YOU EVA!!! ... et puis il y avait encore, et c'était assez drôle ça, la performance de Jakob Lena Knebl qui s'est fait transformer en vase style MEMPHIS DESIGN, la photo a été mise à ma disposition par Eva Blut, ouis, la créatrice d'accessoires raffinés, que j'ai croisé et qui m'a envoyé un MMS quand je lui ai dit que je n'avais pas pris de photo, c'est ravissant, ça, d'ailleurs ...
... now there you go. Anna Wintour shows off the political side of her self by appearing in a spot commissioned by the Human Rights Campain for Marriage Equality in New York. Naturally, it makes one sick to read some of the comments left on the Youtube site since obviously some people still think that it would be the end of the world to allow homosexual people to marry. No comment. Anna W., who ever since "September Issue" and, possibly even more so, "The Devil Wears Prada" is a well-known reference in contemporary popular culture (even though it's always a bit diffcult to judge that from an inside-fashion view), will for sure contribute to some heads being turned. And that's a good thing. What was all that talk about her allegedly being supposed to join Obama's government as an embassador to London? Maybe there is a tiny little political vein somewhere in Anna's sinuous body? As long as she channels her concerns and ambitions for a good and reasonable cause, that's fine with me ...
well, the Tent isn't really New York's fashion hot spot number one any more, but never mind that ...
... alors vous voilà une vraie petite délice : Anna Wintour, la fameuse Mrs. W, oui, la rédactrice-en-chef qui réussit à inviter le président des Etats-Unis à dîner chez elle un soir, a prêté son visage à l'association HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAINen faveur du droit au mariage pour les couples homosexuels à New York (avec son joli petit accent britannique que j'adore). "Dire oui, je veux, c'est aussi important que le droit de voter", dit elle. Eh ben ouais, pourquoi pas ? C'est court, et c'est pointu, et ce n'en est pas moins vrai. Inutile d'ajouter qu'il y a de nombreux pas très jolis commentaires laissés à l'adresse de la vidéo sur le site de YouTube, et cela va sans dire que je ne comprends pas, vraiment, je me vois dans l'incapacité la plus totale de comprendre pourquoi quelqu'un pourrait avoir un problème avec le fait que deux femmes ou deux hommes ou deux trans-gendres puissent avoir envie de se marier, mais voilà tout, c'est clair que de tels gens existent, et en grand nombre. Bon, au moins, Anna W. s'adresse à la fashion community pour y laisser son message, et c'est certainement une belle initiative de sa part ...
... I've always been a great fan of the outstandingly beautiful packaging of KAISER BORAX soap powder (I just learned that the brand has existed for various decades and was bought by Henkel in the early 1980s...) even though I never really knew how to use it and where and when. Whatever. Right, and then there's the equally wonderfully beautiful Acqua di Parma (part of the cosmetics division of the luxury giant Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy, the brand was taken over after it had been relaunched by a team involving no other than Diego della Valle in the 1990s...) soap powder, and I thought, I might actually just photograph the two of them together cos - if I don't know what to do with Borax, Acqua di Parma sapone in polvere leaves me quite clueless, too ...
... as I'm getting ready for my first trip to Finland in early June, I found out about this nice little design cooperation between Converse shoes and Marimekko. The capsule collection was launched in February and comprises some basic Converse sneakers sporting iconic Marimekko designs. According to Marimekko creative director Noora Niinikoski this project "was just waiting to happen as both companies have a very strong heritage". It's not exactly my cup of tea, but I sure like the nature and the output of this project ...
... that's a halfhearted wordplay more than anything else, for if there's anything you'll rather not find in Austria, it's the PROTESTANT "way of life" - as in WASP. But anyhow, when I recently strolled through my new (still feels new, at least) neighbourhood in Vienna's Ottakring district, I walked by this impressive line of parked Vespa scooters. I googled the place, and apparently there's a specialised garage on the intersection Haberlgasse/Grundsteingasse - should you be a Vespa owner and not know where to have it fixed (interesting to see by the way that there's a whole lot of Vespa forum talk going on on the web, but of course, that's just how the web functions) ... récemment je suis passé devant cette file de VESPAS stationnées au bord de la rue dans mon arrondissement, j'ai trouvé cela sympa, puis j'ai cherché sur internet, apparemment il y a un garage spécialisé au coin Haberlgasse/Grundsteingasse, si jamais votre scooter rendrait son âme ...
... some days ago, I decided to check out this year's edition of the most important Viennese art fair ViennaFair and crossed the Prater public gardens by bike. Right behind the grounds of ViennaFair, I passed by this huge construction site for a new building of the faculty of economics: so 90s, so Berlin, right? ... il reste de l'espoir car, il y a quelques jours quand j'ai traversé le deuxième arrondissement viennois pour me rendre à la foire d'art ViennaFair (quelques mots en plus à venir, si je trouve un moment et si j'en ai envie), et je suis passé à côte du chantier où l'on est en train de construire un nouveau site de la faculté d'économie - tant de grues que l'on pourrait presque se croire à Berlin, version années 90, hein ? ...
... I have always found that lost and abandoned toys, you know, teddy bears, dolls and the likes, not the beautiful ones you put in a cupboard and don't really care about, but the ones someone obviously loved and cherished for some time (which usually shows), are something that saddens me. Recently I came across some that I photographed ...
... j'ai toujours trouvé très tristes tous les jouets abandonnés, perdus, paumés quelque part dans la rue mais qui tout évidemment ont été les bien-aimés d'un enfant à un moment donné. Je ne sais pas vous dire pourquoi, mais je trouve qu'il y a en eux quelque chose qui me déprime. Ces derniers jours, j'en ai croisés plusieurs dans la ville, et le les ai pris en photo ...
I thought this one was the most heart-breaking one with the sad expression on its face
... vi dirò una cosa, è che i giocattoli, le bambole oppure gli orsacchiotti dei quali si vede che fino a un certo punto sono davvero stati amati da un bambino ma che poi vengono perduti, abbandonati, venduti sui mercati alle pulci, dunque tutti questi oggetti gettati mi rendono un po' triste. Negli ultimi giorni, ne ho visti vari nella città ed ho fatto delle foto ...
"Everybody thinks they are right" by Stefan Sagmeister
... the thing about public art is that (a) it's exposed to a living urban environment which makes the eventual aesthetic effect somewhat unpredictable and that (b) city users can see it taking shape when they walk by. Now, last week I saw the new inflatable monkey by Stefan Sagmeister in Vienna's Public Art Space on Karlsplatz, rather dowdily struggling to retain the air that was being blown into it. And I witnessed how some of the inflatable plastic sculptures outside Museumsquartier were lying around and looking frighteningly rubbish-like.
And then of course, on my way to work, I witnessed how Francesca Habsburg's pavilion project Morning Line was finally being erected in Vienna. Francesca's art foundation TB A-21 is located in Vienna, as well you know, and after previous appearances in Venice (in a fragmented version), Sevilla and Istanbul (I think London was an option but didn't take place), the, uhm, well, "pavilion" now moves to Austria. Its opening or inauguration (to think that a work of public art should be "opened", I've always found this idea rather absurd) will take place in the form of a music festival spanning several days in early June. And Francesca's artsy flock will hit the town, and I guess they'll arrive right from Venice where they'll have attended the opening of la Biennale. Incredibly restless, the art world ...
struggling: one of the inflatable temporary sculptures outside the MQ
... qu'est-ce que j'allais vous dire ? Eh ben, surtout que l'art urbain, PUBLIC ART, comme son nom l'indique si bien, trouve sa place dans l'espace public , où la dynamique et la vivacitéde la ville rendent impossible de prévoir avec une certitude totale l'effet (esthétique) d'une œuvre. La semaine dernière, je suis passé à côté du singe enflable conçu par l'Autrichien new-yorkais Stefan Sagmeister pour le PUBLIC ART SPACE à Karlsplatz, ce n'était pas si beau à voir je dois dire, et puis j'ai encore vu les quelque peu minables sculptures en plastique devant le Museumsquartier (dont je vous avais déjà parlé) - tant d'œuvres d'art enflables en fait, c'est cela, désormais, la première idée qui vient à l'esprit des artistes invités à créer des installations temporaires ? Bon, sinon il y a encore un projet-phare qui viendra bientôt à Vienne, c'est le pavillon (type Serpentine Gallery Pavilions...) MORNING LINE commissionné par la fondation d'art de Francesca Habsburg (ou Thyssen, si vous voulez - c'est ainsi qu'on la connaît en Espagne de toute manière).
on Schwarzenbergplatz, an interesting combination: Francesca Habsburg's art pavilion, and the Red Army Memorial as an improbable backdrop
Je pense que le pavillon va être inauguré à Vienne (il a déjà été présent à Séville, à Istanboul, et il a été montré en forme provisoire et fragmenté à la biénnale de Venise il y a trois ans) en début de juin, juste après l'ouverture de la prochaine édition de la BIENNALE DI VENEZIA, et on verra donc tous les artistes et architectes qui l'ont conçu, CE SERA UN PLAISIR PARTICULIER (enfin...), et il y aura aussi un petit festival de musique pour fêter l'ouverture officielle. Reste à voir si cela fait du sens d'inaugurer une œuvre d'art urbain que tout le monde peut voir en train de prendre sa forme finale ...
think Mandelbrot, and fractals, and the destruction of the universe (or something along these lines, I already forgot to be honest)
... on one of the first strolls through my new neighbourhood, I walked by the cute little YPPIG fashion shop, run by Cloed Baumgartner, who is also the mastermind behind the sustainable fashion label MILCH. Yppig is ever so nicely nestled up right opposite Ottakring's Brunnenmarkt, definitely one of the city's nicest, and most authentic, markets, and Cloed, who is also part of the Modepalast organising team, regularly invites befriended abels to show their collections (currently, the shop features a brand-new range of garments by Braosewedda). As for Milch itself, the label has steadily been making itself known in Central Europe thanks to various appeareances on different trade fairs, and ensuing awards I may say. The motto is think green, as Cloed is a skilful pro of advanced upcycling techniques. Never was it easier to wear a bottom on your head, and with style ...
... je vous l'avais déjà annoncé, et de toute manière, maintenant qu'il faut se trouver une nouvelle occupation puisqu'il est devenu tout à fait inutile de se plaire à deviner qui sera le créateur de la robe de mariée de la si patiente Kate, depuis vendredi duchesse de Cambridge, car tout est su, tout a été vu, et il reste donc plein de temps pour aller se promener un peu. C'est bien ce que j'ai fait, et j'ai donc exploré mon nouveau quartier où j'habite, quelle grande joie, juste à côté du "Brunnenmarkt", l'un des plus jolis, plus authentiques et profondément pluriculturels marchés de cette ville. Et juste en face, en réalité cela fait encore partie du marché lui-même, je me suis retrouvé devant la boutique YPPIG - et la propriétaire, c'est Cloed Baumgartner, qui est non seulement co-organisatrice du très apprécié salon MODEPALAST (prochaines dates : du 27 au 29 mai), non, elle est aussi la créatrice de la griffe écologique MILCH. Elle a vraiment su se faire un nom au cours des dernières années, et non seulement en Autriche il faut dire, car le grand public apprécie énormément son approche de "upcycling", c'est-à-dire qu'elle recycle des vêtements de seconde main et les utilise pour créer quelque chose de complètement nouveau. Chapeau, vraiment, voire même : casquette, et avec bonne conscience en plus ...
photos de la collection (c) Milch
... qualche giorno fa ho passeggiato un po' nei dintorni della mia nuova casa nel quartiere di OTTAKRING, ve ne avevo già parlato, della mia idea di parteggiare con voi qualche impressione di questa nuova zona, poi mi sono ritrovato di fronte alla piccola boutique YPPIG direttamente di fronte al mercato BRUNNENMARKT, uno dei più belli e più simpatici di Vienna. Ora, la proprietaria di YPPIG è la stilista Cloed Baumgartner che è fa anche parte della squadra responsabile del lancio e della realizzazione del salone MODEPALAST che avrà di nuovo luogo a fine di maggio (dal 27 al 29, per essere esatto). Per ciò che si tratta del suo negozio, Cloed invita regolarmente giovani marchi come per esempio BRAOSEWEDDA, una griffe che è appena stata lanciata mi pare. Da non dimenticare, assolutamente: la griffe di Cloed si chiama MILCH ed è ormai abbastanza conosciuta anche in Germania, in Svizzera, a livello internazionale. La cosa particolarmente positiva è che Milch si è fatto un nome per delle collezioni basate sul principio dell'UPCYCLING (dunque al di là del mero riciclaggio) - dei vestiti di seconda mano sono trasformati, seguendo un metodo direi quasi DECOSTRUTTIVISTA, in qualcosa di nuovo e molto originale. Verde, non solo, anche bello da vedere ...
... incredible but true, I'd like to say - and very practical, too. The other day, in an amusing and very insightful little exchange on Twitter(should you want to follow me, you're very welcome, btw...), Maria/Stylekingdom and I discovered that even though fashion may be the centre around which our universe is revolving and unfolding, one blog-post about FOOD related topices (lunch? horribile dictu!), or even interior DESIGN, not to speak about BEAUTY and COSMETICS, easily doubles or triples the number of daily visits to a blog. Now, even though I'm not exactly in for too radical a change, my decision to include one or two mini articles about my new burrough OTTAKRING could actually lead me onto a food track. Metaphorically at least. The other day, in a local branch of a nation-wide chemist chain, I found that they offered to create, or compose, or put together DIAPER CAKES, which seems to be a heap of diapers adorned with soothers and milk bottles and whatever else one could possibly be dreaming of (?). The perfect gift for a young mother, and maybe even for MOTHER'S DAY, or what would you say ? ...
... il y a quelques jours, et cela s'est passé sur Twitter(suivez-moi, surtout, suivez-moi !), on a dû reconnaître, avec Maria, que, quand bien même la mode serait le centre absolu et incontesté de notre monde (c'est clair, je ne pense à rien d'autre...), pour la plupart des gens elle ne représente qu'un sujet assez marginal. In-com-préhensible, pour moi, alors là ... On s'habille, et c'est tout. Dès qu'on se met, en tant que blogueur bien entendu, à traiter des thèmes du domaine de la nourriture, ou de la cosmétique, voire même du design en général, voilà que le nombre de lecteurs et de visiteurs du blog augmente très vite. Bon. Bien que je n'aie pas vraiment l'intention de réagir à cette prise de conscience par une modification abrupte des contenus de ParisVienne, j'ai eu de la chance. Car après avoir changé d'adresse il y a une semaine environ, j'habite maintenant dans le très sympathique arrondissement viennois qui s'appelle OTTAKRING, je me suis dit que j'allais en parler un tout petit peu sur ce blog. Pourquoi pas, n'est-ce pas ? Revenons donc á la nourriture : j'ai trouvé par hasard, dans une succursale d'une chaîne de droguerie pas trop loin d'où j'habite, un objet tout à fait original. Du jamais vu, quoi - c'était donc ce fameux GATEAU AUX COUCHES que vous voyez ci-dessus, eh ben oui, un arrangement de couches, de bouillottes, de sucettes, de bouteilles à lait. Bref, le CADEAU IDEAL pour les jeunes mamans - ne me dites pas que vous n'êtes pas d'accord
all images courtesy of Graphic Front
