Art is Everywhere

You drive down the freeway in San Diego and see billboards for the zoo and Sea World.  You go up to Silicon Valley and the billboards are for iPhones and notebook computers.  In Paris, the billboards are for art shows.  First, I have to mention that I’ve never seen so many billboards in one place.  In a city of pedestrians, the billboards are placed about every three feet in the Metro stations and on light posts along major boulevards throughout town.  I don’t need to buy a newspaper here to find out what is going on.  I just walk around and take pictures of the signs. 

 

It goes without saying that some of the best art in the world is at the Louvre and the Musée d’Orsay.  However, we found a fabulous exhibit of impressionist paintings by Monet, Renoir, and others, just a few blocks from our house at the Musée du Luxembourg.  Even closer is the exhibit that they recently installed on the fence of the Luxembourg garden that we can see from our living room windows.  It’s an exhibit of political cartoons from every year over the last century.  It’s supposed to celebrate freedom of speech and freedom of the press.  This exhibit is free and open to the public, obviously since anyone walking on the sidewalk can see it.  The Musée du Luxembourg exhibit costs about 9€, but all of the museums are free the first Sunday of every month.  Art is an important part of the culture in France and the society and government assure that is accessible by everyone.

I, frankly, am particularly glad that they installed the political cartoons across the street because it gives people something else to look at than me doing my exercises in the living room.