Extreme Sailing and the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum

Oct. 6th

Well, I've been getting acclimated...learning my way around Nice as well as the Old Town, Vielle Ville. I've also discovered that due to the elevator's repair, it makes sense to run into the Monoprix (grocery store), which is fortunately just across the street, to grab a few things to keep my future loads lighter. Really, no sense wasting being on the "ground floor" and NOT picking up those things I will always need!

Yesterday morning I met Lillian, born in France and had lived 20 years in the US, to discuss the possibility of her tutoring me in French. She is also an artist and looking for a full time teaching job, so it doesn't look likely. I have also visited the Alliance Francaise, and I may take some classes there starting in November. More to come on that....

The first Saturday of each month, different artists exhibit their work in Place Garibaldi, which is where the (full-service and previously mentioned) Monoprix is located. There was also a flea market held by the Soroptimists International chapter. http://www.soroptimist.org/ This is a wonderful organization which "improves the lives of women and girls". I had actually learned about it last December when I met couch surfer Nisha from India. She is very active where she lives, and told me about their wonderful work.

Then I went to the Modern and Contemporary Museum, http://www.mamac-nice.org/english/  right next to the Monoprix, so I will go there often! Several weeks ago their large Matisse display, "Un Ete pour Matisse" ended. At this time there was a mixture of Matisse copies and what people had drawn to mimic Matisse. (Matisse lived herein Nice and died here, so I will get back to the real Matisse museum soon.) 

The works by Niki de Sainte Phalle (1930-2002) particularly caught my attention. I had never heard of her before! She had been captivated by Gaudi when she visited Spain, and I too love the work of Gaudi! (There is the end of ANY similarities between Niki and me!)

Work by Niki at the museum entrance

Four Nanas in the Fountain

There were some things that-as usual-I shook my head and say, "REALLY?"

What I REALLY saw when I got to the garden...Picasso statute by Eliot Arkin

Visitors can walk around the roof deck to get wonderful views of the city, including the 5th floor balcony here! I looked over and saw a little old man sitting there enjoying the little garden there. This is part of a display which Eliot Arkin has done, called A Peaceable Kingdom. Arkin, Amherst College '83 (for those of us who also studied in Amherst), also did these two sculptures, although a review which I could not link here actually called them gnomes....

Georgia O'Keefe

Van Gogh as Millet

Elliott and dwarves.

Elliott Arkin, as a creator of cartoons, leads since 2004 a series named the American painting by Edward Hicks: A Peaceable Kingdom. The artist now has an exhibition of gnomes at the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art of Nice.
These gnomes question the relationship between the artist and the patron in an ironic way. This is parody the art market by mixing references and inviting the public to make different interpretations. - See more at: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsculpture%2Belliott%2Barkin%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D665&rurl=translate.google.fr&sl=fr&u=http://www.cote.azur.fr/actualites/info_expositions-et-visites_sculpture_950547.htm&usg=ALkJrhhWpI-TO6jcTROaXe3OYiGNMQAASA#sthash.NmVxXtbO.dpuf

Roof top views

Another of my favorites was this one made out of blue plastic bottles. I can only imagine how long it took to cut those bottles! Unfortunately I forgot to get the artist's name.

Elliott and dwarves.

Elliott Arkin, as a creator of cartoons, leads since 2004 a series named the American painting by Edward Hicks: A Peaceable Kingdom. The artist now has an exhibition of gnomes at the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art of Nice.
These gnomes question the relationship between the artist and the patron in an ironic way. This is parody the art market by mixing references and inviting the public to make different interpretations. - See more at: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsculpture%2Belliott%2Barkin%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D665&rurl=translate.google.fr&sl=fr&u=http://www.cote.azur.fr/actualites/info_expositions-et-visites_sculpture_950547.htm&usg=ALkJrhhWpI-TO6jcTROaXe3OYiGNMQAASA#sthash.NmVxXtbO.dpuf

Elliott and dwarves.

Elliott Arkin, as a creator of cartoons, leads since 2004 a series named the American painting by Edward Hicks: A Peaceable Kingdom. The artist now has an exhibition of gnomes at the Museum of Modern Art and Contemporary Art of Nice.
These gnomes question the relationship between the artist and the patron in an ironic way. This is parody the art market by mixing references and inviting the public to make different interpretations. - See more at: http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dsculpture%2Belliott%2Barkin%26biw%3D1366%26bih%3D665&rurl=translate.google.fr&sl=fr&u=http://www.cote.azur.fr/actualites/info_expositions-et-visites_sculpture_950547.htm&usg=ALkJrhhWpI-TO6jcTROaXe3OYiGNMQAASA#sthash.NmVxXtbO.dpuf

 October 6th

This morning I went to my first Meet-up, a group for ex-pats and really anyone, and a great way to meet people. I learned about it once when I was googling ex-pats. (I mean, if I were coming over here, how could I meet people!) It was brunch (really coffee) at Cafe Antonio in Place Rosetti in the Old Town.

I arrived at 10, but it didn't start until 10:30. This same square also is the home of Cathedral of St. Reparate. Well, today was St. Reparate's feast day, so there was a ceremony before everyone went into mass. I checked my phone to see that I was early, but meanwhile, it was fun to see all the activity. (This was very different from the North End in Boston, where they walk down the street with the statue covered with dollar bills!) I finally met up with some of the Meet-up folks, and we went to another location because of all the Feast day excitement. There were ten folks there, and it sounded like they usually have more people. This is held every Sunday, so that is on my calendar!! It was proably half men, and half women; there were several French natives, but the most seemed to be from the UK, although Melanie is an American who has lived in Nice for 12 years. This was her first Meet-up. I arranged to go on hike next Saturday with Portia and her friend, so that will be fun!!

Afterwards I took another walk along the Promenade to check out the end of the Extreme Sailing event. (On Friday the winds were roughly 30mph; they were taking down all the signs, and it looked like one of the boats was going to capsize.) 

So that was a fun way to end not even my first week in Nice....

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