The 13th Tour

At the end of October there was an exhibition in Paris unlike any I'd heard of before. It was called "Tour Paris 13." Essentially, an old apartment building on the periphery of the 13th arrondissement was scheduled for demolition. In an imaginative twist of fate, a group of over 80 artists were assembled to individually design each abandoned room according to their own desires. 

The exhibit was free and soon became wildly popular. The caveat though: only 50 are allowed to enter the apartment per hour. And the exhibit is only open from 10am-5pm. This means that we had to get in line at 5:30 in the morning. I know, it's crazy. That's the kind of thing people do for for iPhone's or Beyonce tickets. Plus I was really sick. And it was raining. 

But, you know. I looked at myself in the mirror and I said, "Daniel. You're young. You're in Paris. And you've got the bone structure of a young Jay Leno. Get out there and enjoy some art."

So I did just that. The following are some photos I took. Because the work was ephemeral--literally in that it was soon to be demolished--the curators avidly encouraged photo taking. This was a strong, sort of postmodern twist on experiencing art that I really enjoyed. It made me reflect on the future of art, and how that future fits in to our growing dependency on handheld devices. 

What's also really interesting to think about is that people used to live in these rooms. At times, I couldn't tell if an artist was making a specific choice, or if some decorative element of the room was simply a vestige from the old inhabitant. It was weird!!

Since it was both a revelatory and silly experience I'm going to add commentary to the photos as such. Half will have sincere comments about the work of the artist, and the other half will be bad jokes in the voice of a hackie  Borscht Belt comedian circa the 1950's. Enjoy.

On line.

Facade

Facade 2

Interesting use of perspective and material. Impressive metal work.

This was the original poster for "The Parent Trap."

A piece entitled "Syria." Spray paint cans used to create missiles. The artists seems to be raising a parallel between war/art.

A wall made of doors that has no exit/entrance. Use of classic perspective focus.

When Drain-o simply won't get the job done...

"Dude. I don't think I'm feeling anything yet--woah!"

"Seriously Flubert, every time we play Poker your tell is really obvious."

This is something I would tattoo on my body if I didn't have severe buyer's regret

Awesome use of chalk. Self referential in depiction of urban decay.

My mom loves this show.

Pac-Man's cooler, French brother.

Great mix of mediums/textures.

This was runner up for back tattoo.

Die above your means

This is probably one of my favorite pieces in that it has a very succinct message. The use of soft colors clashed against the "noose-tie" is striking. 

"Can I haz contemporary art??"

This was in the basement as you exit and is just really fucking scary.