Passion de Paris
Online French art gallery featured at the Alliance Francaise Institute In Minneapolis, MN, November 7th - December 14th.
Exhibition description:
The art of seduction is very prevalent in “The City of Love” and has, for some amazing reason that Annamarie has yet to discover, coined this title for hundreds of years. This exhibition will embody every part of what love can do to you; from passion, lust, jealousy, anxiousness, and beauty, longing, desperate desires. From the time she spent in Paris, Annamarie fell in love with the exotic love stories, poems, and environment that throughout history the city has seemingly forever attracted and cast a spell on its inhabitants. Ultimately, this exhibition is all an attempt to capture the romantic spell that curses our hearts to fall crazy with love for the city.
The “why” of this exhibition is to help visualize the emotions that love evokes in others since Annamarie believes such passion cannot be put into words, only described.
*SOLD* Le Fou I. & II. 10X13, $140 This ink-based drawing is inspired by old French “La Vie Parisienne” advertisements from the 1920s. I was immensely intrigued by these advertisements because of the characters. Every advertisement always had a stunning illustration of a beautiful woman, and next to her a silly, aloof clown man who she is completely unimpressed by. This got me thinking. If I were a woman in the 1920s looking at this show advertisement, I’d want to go for the sole amusement of seeing the man dressed as a clown acting all silly and aloof. If I were a man looking at this advertisement, I’d most likely be going for the entertainment of seeing this stunning woman presented. It is an ironic form of storytelling technique. The artist is creating a compelling visual narrative of the stunning woman, seeming more powerful and dominant, and the clown failing to impress her, to resonate with audience members in different ways and forging an emotional connection that makes you want to go to this show. With that, I wanted to create another version of such a drawing from my deeper perspective of it.
Wilting of the Roses: flétrissement de la rose 18X24, $350 La Vie en Rose, “The Life of a Rose” is meant to contrast this piece. Though it simply looks like a bright blue kettle with wilting roses, what can be interpreted goes much deeper. The roses themselves are made out of an old French piano piece named La Papillon “The Butterfly”. Butterflies normally represent rebirth or regrowth making it another contrast to the piece's title of the wilting roses. I purposely drew the roses because of my time in Paris. A favorite memory of mine was walking through the streets every day and watching these people sell hundreds of roses from morning to night. Watching men walk up and purchase a rose for their lovers, and seeing the smile on their faces when it was handed to them. Marceline Desbordes-Valmore is a French poet who captures hope and passion using roses and the inspiration of La Vie en Rose with this beautiful poem: “I wanted to bring you roses this morning. There were so many I wanted to bring, The knots at my waist could not hold so many. The knots burst. All the roses took wing, The air was filled with roses flying, Carried by the wind, into the sea. The waves are red, as though they are burning. My dress still has the scent of the morning, Remembering roses. Smell them on me.” So, who are these roses from? What were they for? Forgiveness? Remorse? A gift? And will they be replaced with beautiful new roses, or left to wilt and perish?
Addiction or withdrawal 18X24, $325 This drawing includes an assortment of many different unlikely mediums. Ink for the face, charcoal for the smoke, and pastels with a vintage music sheet for the rose. The first time I drew this face I was sitting in a four-hour lecture about addiction. It was originally two different faces drawn on a thin piece of note paper we were supposed to use to take notes. I clearly had trouble taking written notes, but I kept the drawing of the two faces and hung it up on my fridge. The face stuck with me, and all the ripples, wrinkles, and hand gestures on the face were so intriguing. I first decided to just combine the two drawings into this one face with ink, but then I wanted to expand on it because I saw potential for it in the exhibit. Cigarettes are very present in my drawings, I feel that they are a reflection of how we feel after a long day or night. They also remind me of Europe and my time in Paris very much. After a long night out with friends we reflect on it with a shared cigarette. Like a glass of wine after a long day, we ironically resort to these things to let go and forget. This man is holding a rose and a cigarette, alone. The rose is made out of the piano notes “Le Papillon”, the butterfly, which is ironic seeing that butterflies represent rebirth and growth. If you look closely at the smoke through the rose, you can see a broken heart. There is so much more to this piece than meets the eye right away. Just as we get addicted to these substances to get away from reality we get addicted to love, because it's like a drug too. What if it's taken away? What does that withdrawal feel like? What do you think happened here? And who was the rose for?
Danse avec moi 27X40, $750 From stories I’ve read and movies I’ve seen regarding two lovers in Paris, the most memorable scene is people dancing under the moonlight or the Eiffel Tower or other significant historical architectural structures nearby. I think dancing is the most romantic form of innocent affection between two people in the whole world. It requires no speaking, no money, just music. I see it as the most pure form of rapport between two people. The music speaks all the words of passion and it is expressed through dance, even if the music has no words. In the past, waltzing and balls were a commonality among people and the best form of introduction. These days, few people ask each other to dance. I believe it is out of fear/anxiety and lack of romantic creativity. I titled this piece “Dance With Me” for people to imagine themselves as one of the people in this drawing and imagine their reaction to this assertive yet romantic statement, quite Casanova-like. The background of this piece is a grouping of old piano sheets all emphasizing dance in their titles and expression. The two individuals are completely engaged with each other, looking free and unaware of anything else in the world. And if you look close enough, you can see the woman’s slight smile in the corner of her mouth, enraptured by the man.
Amour 18X24, $350 “Amour” is inspired by the seven stages of love, interpreted by French writer Stendhal, who wrote De l’Amour, in which he described his famous concept of the stages of love. When it comes to expressing love, I feel that only the beautiful parts of it are displayed. The highest highs. I believe people are too scared to discuss negative emotions. Passion de amour is never only positive feelings of admiration, attraction, and deep affection. What about the anxiety, anger, perplexity, grief, obsession, and broken feelings of passion that we forget to mention? When I think about a time I’ve been in love, or developing deep feelings for someone, I now reflect on all the emotions that came with it. People always say that being “young and in love” is the craziest kind. The emotions you feel when you’re falling in love are unmatched by any feeling in the world. Love is like a drug, the more you love someone or pour yourself into them, the greater the heart will break. My goal was to showcase all of these emotions in one drawing. I believe that emotions cannot be explained through words, so here I explain my perception of love through visualization. I hope you can find yourself in this drawing.
*SOLD* Le Fou I. & II. 10X13, $140 This ink-based drawing is inspired by old French “La Vie Parisienne” advertisements from the 1920s. I was immensely intrigued by these advertisements because of the characters. Every advertisement always had a stunning illustration of a beautiful woman, and next to her a silly, aloof clown man who she is completely unimpressed by. This got me thinking. If I were a woman in the 1920s looking at this show advertisement, I’d want to go for the sole amusement of seeing the man dressed as a clown acting all silly and aloof. If I were a man looking at this advertisement, I’d most likely be going for the entertainment of seeing this stunning woman presented. It is an ironic form of storytelling technique. The artist is creating a compelling visual narrative of the stunning woman, seeming more powerful and dominant, and the clown failing to impress her, to resonate with audience members in different ways and forging an emotional connection that makes you want to go to this show. With that, I wanted to create another version of such a drawing from my deeper perspective of it.
The Art of Seduction 18X24, $300 What I love most about this piece is the vulnerability of the man and the position of the woman’s hand, the difference in level, and the emotion on his face. Much can be interpreted from this drawing. The man looks nervous, concerned with the woman’s hand holding his head up at her. Without even seeing the expression on the woman’s face, you can tell by her body language that she has some sort of seductive hold on this man. She is in her most vulnerable state, yet there is an imbalance of power here as the woman is holding the man’s head with one hand very easily yet assertively. The man was on the ground, staring up at her, with his hands gently touching her hips.
Regret In the Cigarette 18X24, $300 As he stares into the smoke of his cigarette, He reminisces about a night of regret. As she elegantly strolled-in, he felt his stomach roll-in. Like coal under pressure, the goal was to impress her, Nerves were running, Her eyes were stunning, for she had shaken, the cunning gentleman that he faked-in, His silence was not golden, and she wondered why he didn’t hold them. He didn’t take the chance, on that woman who could dance. And as he stood in nocturne, watching that light burn, He realized that his biggest regret, was dancing in that cigarette
I. Admiration 18X24, $300 This Drawing aligns with the seven stages of love, expressed by French Writer Stendhal, as the first stage: Admiration. This drawing is inspired by Charles Cro, a French poet, who interpreted the first stage beautifully through this poem (translated by Kenneth Rexroth): Sonnet “I will not make verses for you, Lady, blondest of blondes, You will conquer enough of the universe, You will be queen of all the worlds. Your sapphire eyes, wide open, Restless as the waves, Of the rivers, the lakes, and the sea, Drive me crazy. And I am always defenseless before That mouth rose of May, Which says so much without words, Which says the unmatchable word, That flower deliciously wanton, Blooming in Paris in the sun.” I was drawn to this poem because of the vulnerability and passion that inspired this poet to write about this woman, and I can only imagine how it felt for whoever this Parisian woman was to read it if she ever did. I hope I was able to capture what the poet wrote through my interpretation put into visualization.
Passion de Amour 18X24, $300 This piece perfectly matches its title. The two individuals are practically one in their connection and give the same energy toward each other. Kissing as if nothing else in the world matters. This drawing reminds me of how we’re supposed to feel toward someone we are falling for. Though we crave love like a drug, patience is a virtue in finding something that has a reciprocated authentically genuine, and purely passionate connection. Look back into the past, if you were one of these people here, who would the other person be?