Expo: Edwin Blumenfeld

It is obvious, if not cliché, that I am going to see Blumenfeld for fashion photography. Honestly, who hasn't seen his classic Vogue covers?

Sweeeeet, aren't they?

But what stun me more are the female portraits from his early work in the 30s (I'm pretty sure I'm born in the wrong era - I always loved the glamourous eras like the good old Gatsby - all that jazz and swing, headpieces and shorten dresses - and the increasing use of colour and cute decor in 30s. We can come back to that in the future). 

Solarized effects.

Untitled (Tara Twain). Amsterdam, 1930. 

Blumenfeld personlly picked this as his business card photo and one of his best 100 photos.

I think this is my personal favourite too...

Sans titre (Leonir Fini, peintre). 1937.

All these women portray a temperament that is so obviously different from the fashion ads and shots. While those from the latter epoque always look sharp, confident, liberated, these women from the 30s... they all look worrisome, yet beautifully fragile and soulfully artistic. They aren't ordinary girls next door, they are actresses, artists and singers at some point. It's simply a little change of style - the lighting, the after-effects, the focus of face - that makes all the difference.

And since photography was prohibited, I tried so hard to quickly sketch everything.

Perhaps all those debate on art vs photography was right... Oh here we go again Baudelaire...

But nonetheless it was a bonne visite. The sketching made me feel productive and inspired by a genius, if not slightly talented (lol!). Feeling super pumped and evoked to do some good stylish shooting soon!

"Pour moi, un photographe amateur est un passioné, un espirit libre qui photographie ce qu'il aime et aime ce qu'il photographie." - Edwin Blumenfeld

Ok c'est tout (en fait c'est trop!) pour aujourd'hui. À la prochaine! K xx

P.S. When I first arrived at Musée du Jeu de Paume, the billeterie has ridiculously stopped working due to technical problems and made the visitors wait outside in the chilly weather (yep the temperature has dropped quite a bit these days here in Paris), and I made a little joke that this guy better be good. Now thinking back, he really worthed the wait I guess :) I'd recommend this expo, but just go with a big fluffy scarf!

Prelude

I don't quite know how I managed to come and live in Paris.

I don't know what kind of fantasy or how the beauty of French language and culture eluded me here. All I am certain of is that I've got to leave my hometown. Having spent all my past 21 years in Hong Kong, yeah the conventionally known as hip cool Pearl of the Oriental (oh here we go again...). I've been longing for something else. It is now or never.

Tracing back to when I was 5 years old, I used to spend most of my time with my Lebanese-Chinese best friend, wondering why people have culturally fascinating background while I'm just plain Hong Kong Chinese, why people can migrate and live with different lifestyles as they wish while I'm stuck in Hong Kong, why my friend goes to an international school while I go to a local one. And as I grew up, my envy has grown just as much. It is not fun at all to see my best friends and boyfriend gradually detaching from the local education system, leaving for the UK, the US and exotic places like Austria, Sao Paolo, Milan... One by one. And I was left here to deal with the famous-for-being-harsh Hong Kong A-Levels, with slim chances of attending overseas universities.

What I have been telling myself is, hey, it's okay. we will sort it out somehow. maybe an exchange during my uni life, or maybe working elsewhere in the future. you'll never know where life takes you, right? 

That's how long I've been waiting for this.

And so I fought hard, fell hard, almost denied my chances... and with a bit of luck I was given the opportunity to spend a year in Paris to brush up my French (which was supposedly my second major at HKU) and gain some insights of the world (which Sciences Po, the uni hosting me, is famous for). Et voilà, je suis arrivée!

My lovely neighbourhood near Saint Germain-des-Près

Paris and I, at the beginning, were in quite a love-hate relationship. Just days before I left Hong Kong, I anticipated my departure just as much as having weird dreams, terrible anxieties of being stabbed (thank you Paris Je T'aime for haunting), robbed, or getting lost in the city that I can't express myself very well. But now that I'm starting to settle down and adjust my lifestyle, I simply love it, and I embrace all the shitty bits of this self-appointed journey. It was after all what I asked for.

Excusez-moi pour la composition horrible... 

but it's probably my only pic to symbolize "flâner" at the moment..

Inevitably I was captivated by Paris's beauty. Here it is, the City of Lights. The Haussmann buildings, the uneven roads and unique alleys, the elaborated street lamps... It is as if every corner has its story and character that always catches your glimpse, and you ought to walk up to it and give it a good look. Or maybe it's just me who loves to peek and, coincidentally, loves to walk so much (ok this is partly to save metro money, but it's not like every international cosmopolis is that beautiful and walkable, no?). Hence I decided to start this blog of "flanering" and voyeurism. This blog is to record my wacky eastern-western fusion lifestyle and silly observations of Parisians before my brain gets rusted and my memories fade, and eventually, we might see how this journey will gradually mould me.

But anyhow, no matter whether you like me or hate me, the idea of "voyeuring" and "flanering", thank you for being part of my journey. And welcome - to my blog, my life, my world.

Alors, on y va?

"If you like me, then THANK YOU! If you hate me, then... FUCK YOU!"

Lady Sovereign - Love me or Hate me

"It took a long long time to get here; it took a brave brave girl to try"

Alicia Keys - Brand New Me