When the group went to Bercy, I noticed an interesting face in the garbage can of all places. It’s not actually in the can, exactly, but the circles and rectangles on the garbage can where trash goes looks like a robot face.
The next face I saw was also in Bercy in a store there. This one is an actual face that anyone could see because it is a piece of art on canvas. I don’t remember the name of the store but I liked it a lot. The face looked so sad. My daughter is an artist and this painting made me think of her because she struggles with depression. I enjoyed this store. More so, I enjoyed feeling connected to my girl. I looked at all the art items here and had fond memories of her.
Throughout our visits to neighborhoods, the Palais Garnier, and churches, I was overwhelmed at the amount of scary faces. This was especially impactful in the church where one expects to feel safe and protected from scary things.
This is what I saw peering out of a building. Honestly, I would have trouble moving into a place like this. I definitely wouldn’t feel comfortable. I imagine people walk through here everyday and don’t have any issues though. It is not that the faces are scary. It is the impact of what I see. He looks evil, angry, displeased. I wouldn’t want to be greeted by that every day when I return home from work. It sets the mood for negativity. I prefer something happier greeting me when I arrive home.
My favorite place to visit this week was the Palais Garnier. I was nearly moved to tears in this place. The mix of materials along with the overwhelming thoughtfulness that went into the design of the building…ugh. It was just wonderful!
I was greeted by several faces in this place as well. The faces were mostly in the ceilings at the entrance. Can you see them?
It is amazing to be that lately the faces all look mean. I wonder if there is some impact from the type of architecture? In fact, I’ve been in a good mood during this week so my mood isn’t impacting what I see. The higher levels of the building didn’t have such (negatively) impactful architecture. In fact, I saw something new– All-Seeing Eyes. Similar to the boss eyes on my favorite PC game, Terraria. The Twins are eyes that fly around shooting lasers out of their irises. These eyes I saw in the ceilings were much more beautiful though. And they didn’t shoot lasers!
Interesting that the eyes, used for sight, are the design used for ceiling pieces where light fixtures hang. The lights also allow sight similar to the human eye. Perhaps this is purposefully done by the designers? I was so impacted that I took many pictures of the ceilings and light fixtures. It’s truly beautiful how even the nerves and color variances seen in the human eye are also reflected in these ceiling structures.
At Versailles, I saw something new– a manta ray in the floor! This is a manta seen as if he were swimming above me, except I was standing on him.
In the Chatelet Les Halle’s mall area, I saw a face sculpture. It’s an actual face.
It’s so beautiful and moving. I wish to have art like this is my home one day.
And on to the church, Saint Eustache. This is probably my favorite church so far. On this trip, I have developed a real love and appreciation for stained glass to the point where I want to gain experience working with it. I especially love the black, yellow, and white stained glass images.
That’s not from the church. It’s just an example.
Anyway, while photographing the iconography in the church, I noticed the ceiling structures. Suddenly, skulls were staring at me from the ceiling!
This last skull is made by the shadows in the ceiling. Often, religious people feel a sense of awe when entering churches like this one. I wonder if the feeling is inspired by the images unintentionally created by the architecture and material choices. Many people don’t see these things but they might feel these things. For example, maybe you don’t see the skull in the ceiling staring down at you but you do feel like some unseen presence is watching you. Some may say, “Yes, it’s God.” I say, “Are you sure?” Not that I’m questioning the presence of God. Instead, I’m wondering if the way we feel in places is partially influenced by images our subconscious selves see which our physical eyes may not.
Juxtapose those skull images with the beauty of the place.
Okay. This one still has a skull in it but I’m ignoring it to focus on the beauty of the stained glass. The play of shadows on the ceiling versus the colorful light filtering through the stained glass must have done impact on those who enter these religious spaces.
The beauty of these other images removes some of the ominous presence looking down on me from above in this space. But, I’m not going to lie, it scared me when the organ started playing.
One of the most interesting faces I saw was in another church.
So, it’s clear that I’m not an artist. Actually, I am but my media is digital art, not pencil. I’m not great at drawing but you get the point. This photo makes me laugh so much. I keep imagining the clock, Cogsworth, from Beauty and the Beast. Perhaps I’m in the wrong field. Maybe I should be turning real life images into Disney cartoons and anime! Studio Ghibli, here I come!!!