I recently saw Gilles Bourdos’ gorgeous new film Renoir. Set in the summer of 1915 at the great Impressionist painter’s farm on the French Riviera, Renoir is all about beauty, inspiration and naturally, the importance of an artistic life. Veteran French actor Michel Bouquet is sublime as the aging Renoir. And the cinematography of the genius Mark Lee Ping Bin (whose most recent work includes the exquisite Norwegian Wood) is breathtaking, fully capturing the rich palette and lushness of the Cote d’Azur and this artist’s world, so much so that you feel as if you are in a Pierre-Auguste Renoir painting itself. Certainly my idea of a perfect summer movie.
Daily ritual for me includes at least eight hours of sleep and several cups of the most perfect tea from Harney & Sons — Green Tea with Thai Flavors, also called Bangkok. A family owned business for three generations, Harney & Sons blends the most exquisite teas and creates quite gorgeous packaging as well. If you find yourself in Soho this summer check out their tasting room for some of the best tea in the city and far, far beyond. Harney & Sons, 433 Broome Street, New York City, www.harney.com
We have been dancing with joy over the end of DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act). The Supreme Court has affirmed that all loving and committed couples who are married deserve equal legal respect and treatment from the federal government. There is still more to be done before same-sex couples living across the nation can enjoy all the same protections as their different-sex counterparts. We are committed to continue to work for marriage equality. www.hrc.org
Louise Bourgeois, Femme Maison, 1947, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York copyright The Estate of Louise Bourgeois
I have forever loved this ink and pencil drawing by the great Louise Bourgeois. It speaks to me, very loudly, almost daily. I’m quite sure that the meaning and significance I place upon it is not at all what Bourgeois herself was thinking about when she created it. Isn’t one of the greatest gifts of art the power of interpretation?
We first discovered the work of Wanda Barcelona when walking past the W Hotel Union Square last month. In the window was an indescribably magnificent, huge paper and wood fan. Wanda Barcelona, the genius creator of the installation, is a Barcelona-based design firm that uses paper and cardboard, and the best of both traditional and new techniques, in all of their projects. Their work can be found all over the world and their client list is truly enviable. The W Hotel piece celebrated Spanish design, hence the fan, in conjunction with the 25th annual International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF). The feathery part was composed of 6,000 tiny pieces of furniture, all paper, all assembled by hand. The artistry was sublime and certainly lived up to its name: FANtastico! www.wandabarcelona.com
Still thinking about Zelda Fitzgerald after the recent Gatsby craze I decided to read Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, a brand new work of historical fiction by Therese Anne Fowler. It was quite well researched and very much reminded me of The Paris Wife by Paula McLain (Random House, 2011), a novel about Ernest Hemingway’s first wife, Hadley Hemingway. Both told in a first-person narrative, two shared themes were immediately apparent to me. Each of these novels gave their protagonists a voice, FINALLY, which has historically been hidden behind that of their famous husbands, most particularly so for Hadley. And second, Zelda and Hadley were, regrettably, very much living in patriarchal relationships, despite the fact that both were often the essential first readers of their husbands’ groundbreaking work and they both seemingly lived very modern lives, especially Zelda, who was considered one of the first recognized “flappers” of the era. This begs so many questions and must be one of the reasons that Z and The Paris Wife continue to stay with me. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald (St. Martin’s Press, 2013)
A brilliant installation is happening right now at one of my favorite shops in Paris — Merci. The Dutch design collective Droog is celebrating its 20th anniversary with the transformation of the boulevard Beaumarchais store into Hôtel Droog — a very cool, modern living space. The most ingenious part of this idea is the fact that three lucky winners got to spend the night at Hôtel Droog with a guest and have all of Merci to themselves. I can’t even imagine… Hôtel Droog at Merci, 111 boulevard Beaumarchais, Paris through June 15, 2013 www.merci-merci.com, www.droog.com
