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The Moulin Rouge experience

Féerie!

Paris, France

March 24, 2018

(Photo by Francis TheBlueRoom)

Well, well – even if you are not familiar with the real thing, chances are that even your mother is familiar with Baz Luhrmann’s musical romantic comedy Moulin Rouge from 2001, which is based on the French institution set against the Montmarte quarter of Paris, France, the large hill (before it was Gallicized, the name was derived from Lain “Mons Martis”, i.e. “the mount of mars”) in Paris’ eighteenth arrondisement.

Once in Montmarte, you can see the red windmill of the spiritual birthplace of the can-can dance, i.e. high kicks. Cartwheels and splits galore, from far off.

Féerie! Is the current show at Moulin Rouge and one that proves difficult to see as every single show sells out and that is for a good reason as the components that go into each performance are quite something:

Féerie! is comprised of a troupe of eight artists, including sixty dancers, i.e. the graceful Doriss Girls recruited from around the globe with them sporting over one thousand traditional sumptuous revealing costumes of feathers, rhinestones and sequins, created in Parisian workshops serenaded by a soundtrack that was recorded by eighty musicians and sixty chorus singers and set against formidable fin de siècle stage sets that are informed by the cultural exuberance of the belle épogue.

(Photo by S.Bertrand)

Moulin Rouge in 2018 is the epitome of French musical, cabaret and dance tradition which has effortlessly survived multiple tests of time with carefully calibrated and executed entertainment on a big scale, making use of every inch of the stage and beyond. A tableau of colourful costumes, beautiful dancers and exotic stage sets with attention to detail unfolds as you sit back and enjoy the proceedings with a bottle of champagne.

Now, I mentioned that use is made of every inch of the theatre and I was not exaggerating: We are talking the stage transforming itself into a pool with huge, live snakes, dwarf ponies parading the stage, elaborate acrobatics, comedy and aerial acts, some of which are reminiscent and would not be out of place within the confines of more elaborate Cirque du Soleil performances.

While there might be the notion that Moulin Rouge is a tacky dance show, it could not be further from the truth: The acts are tantalizing yet classy and there is nothing sleazy about them.

There is equal gender opportunity when it comes to the performances, with both male and female dancers putting on performances for everyone to enjoy and the enjoyment the constituents are radiating translating seamlessly to the audience.

A visually impressive, tasteful and entertaining celebration of life that despite its grand scale caliber does not feel fabricated and should be experienced at least once a lifetime!

(Photo by S.Bertrand)

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Photos provided

Casper David Friedrich

Johannes Grave

Prestel

One would not be far off the mark by claiming that Casper David Friedrich’s oeuvre encapsulates the DNA of German romanticism. While his paintings are inextricably hardwired to the German psyche and books on CDF are manifold, Johannes Grave’s tackles the theme from an interesting new angle as he connects the artistic emissions with Friedrich’s biography and thereby skillfully contextualizes the works of one of the most prominent representatives of pre-modernism.

With his background as the Associate Director at the Centre Allemand d’Histoire de l’Art in Paris, Grave’s insightful approach offers a different view and substantiates his expositions with facts and not falling prey to the notion that he would be able to decipher the enigmas and mysticism that lay buried at their core.

As Friedrich’s work got progressively darker and apocalyptic, Grave outlines it as a haunting omen – Friedrich seems to have become acutely aware of the gloom and doom he was to encounter and the fact that he rarely left the confines of his studio and mainly painted by relying on his imagination and memory adds another dimension to the weight of his paintings and elevates his unique status even further.

The tome is opulently, impressively and comprehensively illustrated, with many reproductions that are not part of previous monographs on Friedrich, an artist who perfectioned the art of making transcendent illusions feel like reality and vice versa.

If your library cannot do without a book on an otherwordly artist this is the one to get.

Wim Wenders

Instant Stories

Thames & Hudson Publishing

Neues deutsches Kino on the world stage has more or less become synonymous with the filmmaker Wim Wenders, who is also a prolific photographer whose exhibitions have graced galleries the world over, from Paris to New York, Shanghai to Sydney.

If you are a friend of Wenders’ photography and familiar with his oeuvre, you might want to adjust your expectation a tad as Instant Stories is focused on his personal Polaroid collection he presented at London’s Photographer’s Gallery.

The collection covers the last five decades and depicts his comrades, mentors, celebrities, everymen, odd and not so odd objects, situations, places, et cetera from Wim Wenders’ personal life.

A documentary of sorts devoid of themes and accompanied merely by short essays or haikus.

The book is mainly for the die-hard Wim Wenders aficionado who is interested in the genesis of his hero, his development and evolution.

Wenders would probably be the first to admit that it is deliberately pedestrian and “alltäglich” and not necessarily created with an overly artistic approach – in other words: There are none of Wenders’ opulently orchestrated grandiose and beautiful photographs of vernacular architecture.

Now, it can be argued if Polaroid photographs bear any merit at all or if it is more of a note-taking device.

Apparently Wenders discovered the depicted Polaroids in an old wooden cigar box, which explains the deterioration of some of the photos and one at times cannot help but wonder what motivated Wenders to publish them.

What does make the book interesting are the accompanying texts and Wenders’ thoughtful, narrative voice.

Not essential but certainly a nice addition for any Wim Wenders’ enthusiast and completist.

Fabergé and the Russian Crafts Tradition

An Empire's Legacy

Margaret Kelly Trombly

Thames & Hudson Publishing

You dabble in arts but decorative art of the Russian kind is not on your radar?

That should change and an appropriate introduction is this encompassing tome, which revolves around an exposition at the Walters Art Museum and the 100th commemoration of the Russian Revolution.

Covering a period of eight hundred years until the early twentieth century, i.e. 1917, this beautifully designed book, which was compiled by the guest curator of the Walters Art Museum Margaret Kelly Trombly, zeros in on the intricacy and details of the exquisite decorative art Russia has become renowned for.

Running the gamut from pendants and jewellery via caskets, goblets, all kinds of useful and not so useful devices via fine China to the most amazing bejeweled opulent vessels, i.e. Fabergé eggs, with a focus on the complexity of the tiny surprises they harbour.

What was created in the five decades preceding 1917 to honour the grandeur of the Russian dynasty proved to be timeless and is still unrivalled to this day and makes most current fine artists look like grobmotoriker.

The range of materials used and the unique and often innovative ways they were put together to create something much bigger than the sum of the individual components would suggest is one-of-a-kind, with the composition and assembling having required the expertise and skills of a range of different craftsmen.

A hundred years own, they do not lack any of their allure – au contraire: It proves to be difficult to find something depicted that is not still relevant and up to par with any contemporary art.

High Adventure in the Great Outdoors – Outdoor watches

Living in the southern hemisphere, it is mildly difficulty to not get into and enjoy water sports to at least some degree.

We are talking surfing, diving, snorkeling, swimming in the ocean and not the sexual kink variant – get your mind out of the gutter, filthy deviant!

With the territory comes the need for appropriate gear – ideally, gear that does not look like being a merely utilitarian device but not so much on the fashion end that it breaks halfway through your adventures.

Specifically in the realm of diving and scuba diving, it is vital to keep an eye on time and a watch can be the ideal backup to keep things on an even keel.

Sure, there are simple watches that are cheap and might do the job but you might not want to be seen with an eyesore outside the wet realm. You also might be turned off by the idea of being identified as an action movie hero wannabe by the size of what you are lugging around and showboating on your wrist.

Having tried different models, I found that the notion of watches suitable for diving and their short half-life do not seem to hold true. Most of what I have tried lasted surprisingly long and survived some pretty harsh, unplanned maneuvers.

Alright, let’s delve into the world of affordable aquatic timepieces, i.e. ones that are not emissions from big luxury brands:

Canada, of all places, offers the Seaforth model via its brand Halios, which is affordable and easy on the eye as is Italy’s Modello Uno out of the house of Unimatic, which is a watch proffered as an Aqua Compressor combining traditional design with a modern twist.

However, my go to aquatic timepieces have come for a while now courtesy of Freestyle USA. 

Yes, I am with you – some of their designs are a bit much on the “youthful” end of the scale, i.e. an LSD trip come alive, but they have models that look both classy, enduring and reliable.

What makes Freestyle USA’s more affordable models tick is the fact that they are really comfortable to wear with their silicone straps, yet do not lack resistance – I have been pounded numerous times by waves I had underestimated and the watch survived without as much as a scratch.

Their tide functionality for 150 beaches around this earthround and the fact that the buttons can be easily pushed underwater come as an added bonus.

The appearance of their Shark Tide collection is very much on the stylish, cool end of the spectrum, which makes them watches that you can wear in more formal environments as well.

It has the ability to display different time zones, accommodating your travel destination, and I have yet to encounter any problems that are related to condensation. Again, it tells you all relevant info about tide movements and when your surf session will get the most out of the local break as well as chronometer, sunset/-rise, night illumination function and I have yet to encounter a scenario where I could not see the display clearly, no matter if the sun was glaring or in darker scenarios.

Compared to its size, the weight is minimal and it fits easily underneath shirts, i.e. does not look freakish on dry ground and it waterproof up to one hundred meters.

Freetyle USA’s Precision 2.0 is on the fresher yet subtle side of things with its mélange of analogue and digital modes and a solid 200 meter water resistance.

Freestyle USA’s watches all come with lifetime warranty, which makes perfect sense given the elements they will be exposed to.

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Photos from Freestyle USA website