Week 9: Pont Neuf

So for Semaine Numéro Neuf we headed to the Pont Neuf ! (I’d love to say I’d planned that, but it was pure serendipity). The Pont Neuf (new Bridge) is – ironically – the oldest standing bridge across the Seine. It was one of the first bridges not to be lined with houses (the King of the time didn’t want them blocking the view of his pad...the Louvre!) and also one of the first to have pavements. While in its heyday it was famously covered with street performers, vendors and charlatans, in its day it was a hotbed of crime and even had its own gallows for a while. Nowadays though, it is a far safer – though no less busy – tourist spot, affording lovely views of the Eiffel Tower and the Seine. As far as I’m concerned, however, the Pont Neuf hit its high point in 1985 when artist duo Christo and Jeanne-Claude wrapped the entire bridge in 40, 000m2 of polyamide fabric.

NOT MY PHOTO
artpool.hu

Yes, you heard me, wrapped it.

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were a married couple who became famous for creating (mostly temporary) “environmental” works of art. They met in Paris in 1958 and travelled all over the world completing enormous, crazy projects like this, this, and this. But they always flew in different planes so that if one of them crashed, the other could carry on their work.

Shirt - Primark

NOT MY PHOTO - francemagazine.org

Hat - Asos

They didn’t have any particular messages behind their work – they just wanted it to be beautiful and to make people see familiar landscapes in a new way. Their wrapped Pont Neuf kept all the principal shapes of the bridge, but also emphasised the details and proportions of it. The art critic David Bourdon referred to their work as “revelation through concealment”.

NOT MY PHOTO - wiki.uoiwa

This may seem like a somewhat arbitrary and fashion-centric link, but this idea of “revelation through concealment” is also relevant to one of Spring-Summer 2013’s big trends: mesh. With mesh fabric you can create clothes which change completely the silhouette of the wearer, without hiding away their shape completely. Take – for example, this middle piece by Stella McCartney.  The cut of the jumper gives the model broad shoulders and a boxy, sporty look, but we are still very aware of how slim she really is because the slight transparency of the fabric means we can still see her arms. It’s also a very versatile material – it can be girly(Helmut Lang), or sleek (Celine), or sexily decadent (McQueen), it can offer a retro twist (Jason Wu) or a futuristic one (Tess Giberson). It’s also great for the warmer months.

Skirt - Yumi at Asos

Shoes - H&M

Scarf - Present

Are you convinced? I was, and opted for this lovely floaty mesh skirt and chiffon top, trying to keep to watery colours so as to match the Seine (over-thinking? Me?) Sadly, it turns out that what is a "midi skirt" on a normal person, is really quite long on me so I channelled my inner schoolgirl and wound over the waistband a couple of times then hid the join with a belt.

Belt - Marina Retro

We had a brilliant day for the shoot – the sun was out, it was warm and we had a nice wee breeze which floated the gauzy skirt around perfectly. We found ourselves a free cubby-hole along the bridge (apparently they are really called "bastions" and they were there for pedestrians to duck into if they needed to make way for a particularly bulky carriage) and got started. Then the oddest thing happened: a group of Spaniards came up to us and asked whether I would mind posing for a photo with a bag of coffee, since one of them owned a coffee brand. Apparently I looked very Parisian – which I took as a huge compliment – but I can't help but feel a little guilty that the potential French face of El Delicio coffee is actually a Brit...

                                                                                                                                    

Week 7: Canal Saint-Martin

In terms of locations, the Canal Saint-Martin may be a funny one to have chosen for a shoot. I mean, it’s iconic and reasonably picturesque, but there’s not an awful lot to say about the canal itself. Let’s see... it’s 4.5 km long, some of that is underground, and it connects the Canal de L’Ourcq to the Seine - but you could find all of that out on Wikipedia...like I did!

Dress - H+M

Cardigan - Charity Shop

From a more interesting point of view one could look at it as one of the early steps towards creating the Paris we know today. In 1802 Napoleon ordered it be built to provide for the rapidly-growing population, to bring in fresh water to prevent disease, and to transport goods. Up until this point Paris would have barely resembled the city we see today – it would still have been a largely medieval set-up with small dark streets unsuited to trade and too many people living in cramped, dirty housing. The canal would have been an important part of modernising the city. Speaking of modernisation – the Canal Saint-Martin must be the first body of water I've come across which has its own blog.

But, I have to be honest, the main reason I wanted to do a shoot at the Canal Saint-Martin was because it features in one of my favourite films of all time: Amélie . In this gem  of a film the heroine (Amélie) goes to skim stones on the lock of the Canal Saint-Martin to relax which makes for - in my humble opinion one of the most beautiful images in modern cinema (middle picture below). 

NOT MY PHOTO
schizoid-personality.blogspot.com

Made in 2001, set in 1997 and directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet many of whose films to share the kooky style of Amélie.  When it first came out it was a BIG HIT and, as well as being nominated for 5 Academy Awards, it won 4 Césars (French Academy Awards), 2 Baftas and the title Best Film at the European Film Awards. Anyone who has studied French within the last 10 years or so, and indeed anyone who has seen a French film made within the last decade will probably have seen Amélie BUT if you are one of the unfortunate people to have missed out  on seeing this film I’ll give you a short synopsis and a strong recommendation.

Amélie is a young waitress living in Montmartre, who spent most of her childhood playing on her own because her parents believed she had a heart defect and home-schooled her. After discovering a small tin box full of someone’s childhood treasures one night she decides she will try to find the owner and return it. If the owner responds positively, she vows to become a regular do-gooder. While improving the lives of those around her, Amélie comes across Nino – a young man who is a bit of an outsider with a penchant for collecting strange things, such as other people’s discarded photo-booth pictures- and falls in love with him. I won’t spoil the film by telling you anymore, but  the clip below ought to give you a taste.

For the outfit this week, I wanted to recreate the shot from the film with the red dress against the green canal BUT wanted a slightly more polished look (think – as roommate suggested – Glam-elie). That said, wanted to preserve some of Amélie’s child-like awkwardness so added the oversize coat and the boots. Joy of a roommate happens to look not only like a perfect 1920s woman, she is also a dead-ringer for Audrey Tautou – the fabulous actress who plays Amélie.

Boots - Jemporium Vintage

Unfortunately we couldn’t get very near to the Canal itself (and certainly not the lock she stands on in the film) obviously too many pesky tourists have had a similar idea to us in the past! Nonetheless, the idea was to capture the spirit of the film, rather than to recreate it perfectly, so we took as many photos as we could in the surrounding park area.

Coat - Charity Shop 

Afterwards we went to warm up in a suitably Amélie-esque, a photography shop in the Marché des Enfants Rouge which is about a 15 minute walk away. The shop sells second-hand photographs and you can buy old polaroids for a euro apiece, definitely worth a look if you are visiting!

See a clip from the film here.