Summertime in Paris

Summer seems not much more than a distant memory on such a dreary January day, but it appears that preparations are already well underway for this year's summer schools. Our younger readers may be interested to learn that CERDI (Centre d'Etudes et de Recherche en Droit de l'Immatériel), the IP centre of the universities Paris-Sud and Paris-Sorbonne, is hosting an 'International Summer Seminar on Copyright' from 9 to 13 July 2012.

The seminar is directed at young copyright scholars and professionals (young means under 40 in the world of copyright). From the information available at this stage it appears that the CERDI summer seminar will be held partly in English and partly in French, and a working knowledge of either language would seem to be sufficient. In total, there will be eight half-days of seminars, two half-days of sight-seeing, and a closing conference followed by a 'festive meal'. There is a fee of 250 EUR for meals and accommodation, but otherwise the seminar is free.

If this has got you interested, further information is available on the CERDI website here. You can 'pre-subscribe' here, i.e. register your interest and pick the topics of the seminars in which you would like to participate (you must choose at least ten including three on which you would be prepared to give a short presentation). You can also suggest additional topics.

Summertime here
Paris here and here

Le Flâneur

Le Flâneur

A project by Luke Shepard, a student at The American University of Paris.  Composed completely of photographs.  Location: Paris, France; Camera: Nikon D90; Music: Intro by The XX (thexx.info).   Thanks to Urban Demographics for posting this video.                                                                                                   Le Flâneur – what is a Flâneur, anyway?  Le Flâneur is a term normally ascribed to a male stroller who gathers a reading of urban space through arbitrary exploration; the Flâneur figure as a contemplator of urban space.  In French, the word means “stroller,” “loiterer,” “lounger,” “loafer,” or “saunterer.”  There really is no direct English translation.  Charles Baudelaire developed a derived meaning of flâneur—that of “a person who walks the city in order to experience it.” 

Baudelaire's aesthetic and critical visions helped open up the modern city as a space for investigation, while other theorists codified the urban experience in more sociological and psychological terms.  In his essay “The Metropolis and Mental Life,” Georg Simmel theorizes that the complexities of the modern city create new social bonds and new attitudes towards others.  The modern city was transforming humans, giving them a new relationship to time and space, inculcating in them a “blasé attitude,” and altering fundamental notions of freedom and being. 
         One of the reasons the concept of Flâneur-ism is typically associated with men is that until quite recently women did not have the ability to wander safely and unaccompanied and anonymously through the city, and go wherever they pleased.  Many areas were off-limits to women, for one reason or another.  Therefore, le Flâneur was almost always a male, since being able to move through the city anonymously and without attracting undue attention is one of the pre-requisites, in fact it is the hallmark, of Flâneur-ity.  It is also the reason why, throughout time, certain bold women have decided to masquerade as men, to have access to that type of urban observer anonymity and jettison all the restrictions that normally devolved upon their gender. 

So, we have here, for your viewing pleasure, a couple of time lapse videos.  The first one (above) is of Paris, the original home of the Flâneur, and the second one (below) is of New York City.  These are two of the greatest cities in the world, the first the cultural capital of the world in the 19^th century, and the second the cultural capital of the world in the 20^th century. 

Time Lapse Photography of Brooklyn & Manhattan, New York City (with 9/11 tribute)  All production: Tal Kagan; Blueglaze LLC (blueglaze.com)

Music: Adele - Hometown Glory (Chewy Chocolate Cookies Remix)

Time Lapse of NYC 1812-2013

I couldn’t resist adding in a third time lapse video, this one a model of the built environment of New York City, 1812-2013.  Music by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – Empire State of Mind. 

OK, based on a reader's comment below, I have added a FOURTH video, this one is not time lapse, but the tilt shift technique, NYC in miniature. For details on how this technique works and an interview with the artist, see:  

http://aerofilm.blogspot.com/2010/02/sandpit-short-film-by-aero-director-sam.html

Thanks, Amy Trexler, for sending us the link to the Sand Pit a couple of years ago, and thanks, Joanneseale, for bringing it to our attention again! 

Christian Dior's John Galliano

If you live in the Klang Valley or have been to this part of the world, wouldn't you say the scene above could pass for one of our chain cafes that have been sprouting all over town the last few years? Or it could be a painting of a cafe scene by Vincent van Gogh (ala The Café Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, at Night)?

Actually, this is the now-famous cafe where John Galliano supposedly made anti-Semitic remarks. John Galliano, a British fashion designer, is head designer at Christian Dior, i.e., until his removal following this episode. Troubled by the actions of its star designer, Christian Dior acted to limit the damage. Mr. Galliano, 50, is a one-time punk stylist whose soaring imagination helped turn Dior into a multimillion-dollar brand. So far, no charges have been filed against him.



The British fashion designer John Galliano in Paris in July 2010 at the end of the presentation of his Fall-Winter 2010-2011Haute Couture collection for Christian Dior.

Related article:
Dior Fires John Galliano After Bigotry Complaints

Source: NY Times