France – Page 3 – Frames of Reference

Le Jardin des Fleurs de Poterie

This summer we decided to drive to the south of France. My brother Anthony and his wife, who hails from Nice, my wife Criselda and I took two cars down to Gattières, a village perched overlooking the River Var, in the Alpes Maritimes. Catching the earliest Eurotunnel from Folkestone allowed for a leisurely drive through Northern France, Picardy and the Champagne region. We were heading for an overnight stay in Corps near the pilgrimage site of Our Lady of La Salette in the Alps, before continuing our drive on the Rue Napoleon through Grasse and on to Gattières. Continue reading “Le Jardin des Fleurs de Poterie”

Caverne Du Pont D’Arc

Christopher Corr was in France recently and sent us some pictures from the new Chauvet Cave Museum in the Ardèche. This one is Chauvet Museum Wall Paintings. Continue reading “Caverne Du Pont D’Arc”

Ascenseur Pour L’Échafaud

A favourite clip from Louis Malle’s 1958 debut movie, Ascenseur Pour L’Échafaud, starring Jeanne Moreau with a wonderful improvised soundtrack by Miles Davis.

Davis was booked to perform at the Club Saint-Germain in Paris for November 1957. Jean-Paul Rappeneau, a jazz fan and Louis Malle’s assistant at the time introduced him to Malle, and Davis agreed to record the music after attending a private screening. On December 4, he brought his four sidemen to the recording studio without having had them prepare anything. Davis only gave the musicians a few rudimentary harmonic sequences he had assembled in his hotel room, and, once the plot was explained, the band improvised without any precomposed theme, while edited loops of the musically relevant film sequences were projected in the background. www.discogs.com

I have to admit I’ve not yet seen the film (though I did once see Jeanne Moreau looking in our gallery window) but I’ve listened to the soundtrack countless times. I bought the LP years ago after reading a recommendation by Richard Williams and I agree with him that it’s one of Miles Davis’s best.

Half-Timbered

Last summer, travelling through France, I wish I could remember where this was, the first of many half-timbered buildings encountered en route. I love this style of vernacular architecture. They seem so obviously hand-made, constructed from local materials, a natural part of the landscape. More analogue than digital, I started to think of them almost as organic sculptures. Continue reading “Half-Timbered”

La Grotte Chauvet

The Chauvet Cave in the Ardèche region of southern France was discovered in 1994. It contains the most perfect examples of Paleolithic paintings ever found. But they are considered so fragile they must remain hidden from view. Copies of the paintings have been recreated and they can now be seen in a full-scale replica cave above the town of Vallon-Pont-d’Arc. A gallery of simulacra of some of the most authentic paintings in the world; it’s an unsettling idea. Continue reading “La Grotte Chauvet”

Contemplating The Depths

Our house swap this summer was to Grasse in the South of France. Grasse’s inland location allowed us to make forays into the mountains as well as get more easily to various beaches along the Côte d’Azur. Our favourite area was Théoule-sur-Mer with its orange rock pinnacles, white pebble coves with azure pools. Continue reading “Contemplating The Depths”

Arbres

This beautifully balanced oak tree, poised like a signpost to everywhere, stands beside the D15 road from Gordes just before the village of Murs in the Vaucluse region of Provence. We discovered it last summer as a result of an earlier trip to Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Continue reading “Arbres”

Forêt Des Cèdres

One day last August, looking to escape the heat of Provence, we found some welcome shade in the Cedar Forest on the Petit Luberon ridge above Bonnieux. The forest was planted in the 19th century to rehabilitate an area damaged by intensive grazing. I’m reminded of The Man Who Planted Trees though I’m sure this forest was not sown by just one man alone. Continue reading “Forêt Des Cèdres”

Little Doric

Doric is the title of a family of paintings by Sean Scully, an ongoing series inspired by ancient Greek architecture, first shown as a group at the Benaki Museum in Athens last year. Since then there have been Doric exhibitions at IVAM in Valencia, the Hugh Lane in Dublin and the MACM in Mougins. Continue reading “Little Doric”

The Man Who Planted Trees

Jean Giono wrote this classic tale in 1953. It tells of a shepherd’s singlehanded reforestation of a desolate valley near Digne-les-Bains in Provence by slowly and devotedly planting acorns. Many who first read it thought it a true story. The author described it as an allegory intended to encourage the planting of trees. This enchanting animated film was made in 1987 by Frédéric Back and it is narrated by Christopher Plummer. Giono’s story may perhaps have influenced Joseph Beuys – 7000 Oaks.