Tokyo | particular artist | construction site | decrepit-looking paint
Michael Stipe Sings A Song Of Paris
by
James MayfieldI would highly recommend the Palais de
Tokyo. What it is is a kind
of destroyed building that's superdeconstructed. You just kind of
wander around in what appears to be a construction site. The shows
the museum has are really extraordinary. There's a fantastic cafe,
too, and an outdoor area where people go to read the newspaper, and
you can get drinks there. When I was there last, the floor of the
cafe had been painted by this artist, so people were walking around
on a piece of art. The gift shop at Palais de Tokyo is unlike any
museum gift shop you've ever been in. They have little handmade
sock puppets, made by a particular artist, that you can only find
there. There's also a really incredible bookstore. It's a huge
building, so it's a great way to get exercise. And you know, half
the time the walls are maybe raw concrete or kind of
decrepit-looking paint, half falling off. And you're looking at it
and wondering if this is part of the exhibit or if this just
happens to be the wall.
WANDERLUST
In a way,
Paris is the New York of
France. People are brusque and
moving pretty quickly through their day. And if you're in the way,
you're in the way. I'd say it's become much friendlier to
non-French-speaking people in the past six years, though. But it's
still a big city. And it's everything you'd imagine it was if you'd
never been … to the 10th power. It is that romantic. It is that
civilized. The parks are that unbelievably lovely. And the way the
city has melded its history with the 21st century and more modern
ideas is really, I think, to be applauded.
I'LL TAKE THE RAIN
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