May
18
Well, things have certainly picked up around here. We had a real Friday evening (including dressing up out of our work clothes and into clean jeans). With Leni and an American friend of hers, painter Sophie Hawkes, we drove to an exhibition and poetry reading at the Centre des lives d'artistes in Saint-Yrieix-la-Perche (about 45 minutes by car). The national book collection is housed in a very beautiful, modernized space -- except it is still quite small (apparently has only two or three full-time staff members) and needs to improve its access to the general public. From what I understand, the center is a free viewing and research library, except the books are at least presented to be off-limits to visitors. Perhaps one must make a reservation or have a membership to really explore, or maybe I was just too shy. The exhibition was on Romanian collagist and poet Ghérasim Luca, but also showed a hodge-podge of documentation from a number of artists associated with Fluxus. The reading of Luca's writing, half of which is what I would call concrete poetry, was performed by Michael Lonsdale, a recognized Anglo-French actor. Lonsdale has a sophisticated, well-practiced voice and the reading was a pleasure to attend. Audio of Luca's work can be found on UBU -- check out one of his poems read aloud (in French, désolée) with additional music provided by Colleen.
After the reading, the four of us went out for pizza, where the pitfalls of applying critical theory to poetry before the aura of a reading dissipates was the hot topic for discussion.
On Saturday we returned to the exhibition space to spend a little more time with the Fluxus documentations, and then Sunday morning was our village's randonnée. At 9 in the morning, we stumbled over to the village square (the parking lot of the restaurant) with Corinne, Leni's daughter who is visiting from Paris for her birthday, for a 12 km (about 7.5 miles) hike through the forest, past farms, along the river, and up steep, muddy hills. Despite the group falling apart and a little confusion about the right directions to take, it was lots of exercise in the sun and it felt great. Afterwards was a large potluck, starting with an apéritif, various salads (coleslaw, macaroni, beet, carrot), then a slice of pork, then sausage, camembert, and ending with far too many slices of cake (tiramisu, fruit pie, custard, crumble). We relaxed for an hour or so to digest, and then got to work in the garden. The project for the next couple of days is to prepare the duck house in the meadow. Yesterday we lined the base of the house with a thick stone barrier to prevent drafts. Today we'll paint the sides with a turpentine and linseed oil mixture to prevent weathering, as well as mend a fence and hopefully put up some wood or metal on the front door to prevent foxes and weasels from sneaking in and eating the poultry.
Our big project over the weekend was mainly decorating the bath in the barn (also known as the gîte, where we are staying). The tub sits on the wooden floor, and Leni found an old barrel that she wanted to take apart and use to line the outside of the tub -- so that it looks like a barrel bathtub. We put some wax on the wooden planks and then situated them so that they fit evenly around the tub. Now we're waiting for some industrial glue to affix them into place. I think it looks great, and when it's finished (and if I remember) I will post a picture of the project.
Good news! The corn we planted the other week is growing. For some reason the red corn is germinating easier than the yellow, so we will have to investigate.
I am glad you are able to enjoy art and intellectual conversation in a lovely rural setting. That is a splendid combination.