Finally, Modern Art Up Close.

The day "Le Musée des Gobelins" was closed became the day to visit "Le Centre Pompidou" at Beaubourg, the Contemporary and Modern Art Museum of Paris. If I knew more I could explain the difference between contemporary and modern to you but I am merely a "babe in the woods". To get to the highest level where the view of Paris is most splendid, you ride up a series of escalators encased in plastic and perched on the exterior facade of the glass building. In summer it can be a sauna-like hot house. Fortunately it was the first day of October and a bit cooler though not crisp. The view is more satisfying than that from the top of the Eiffel Tower, more accessible; no "ants" here. Once in the exhibition hall, I was drawn into the world of modern art. One piece actually consisted of 50 black and white postcard-sized photos of "100 Boots" posed in various locations including Solana Beach, La Jolla, Loma Santa Fe, Leucadia, San Diego, Mission Gorge and New York all taken between 1970-72. Naturally I was fascinated that this work was on display in Paris. Judging from the bits of information I could assemble the artists whose work I viewed were from around the world. But once again I was drawn to the work of yet another American whose neon installation featured 17 different slang terms in French for vagina in a variety of colors. As my feet grew weary I happened upon the collection of art videos available for viewing on the computer with headphones. What fun! Of course I knew the name of none of the artists so I randomly selected female names. Some dealt with difficult subjects such as abuse in creative and disturbing ways. But what impressed me most was the variety. I think if I lived in Paris I would purchase a general museum pass so I could stay as long or as short as I wanted and come as frequently as I liked.