Mr. Simon Simba, Esq. Vincennes zoo, Paris, early 80’s. Kenya-born Minette, Paris, c.1972. My parents brought the cat back from Africa. They did not bring her BFF the dog back. We had words. “Silently a flower blooms.” Zenkei Shibayama. Tlalpan, Mexico city. 2020. A small Gothic church. Taverny, north of Paris. This church was finished…
“Is this legal? Maybe I should fine them all?” Paris, 1977. I was just out of the Army, 3 weeks away from Grad school. I set out on the streets of Paris with my faithful Asahi Pentax and a few rolls of Ilford film. May have been 400 “ASA”, my ammo of choice then. Would…
Prayer, by Auguste Rodin. B&W photos are “argentic”, Ilford on Asahi-Pentax, 1981. Colour photos from 2016, after the Rodin Museum renovation. (Iphone, hehe!) As I digitalized my old B&W pix and compared them to the “new ones”, I was surprised I’d taken almost the exact same shots. “Young woman with a hat”. The same young…
Beach police? Seriously? The FBI wasn’t invented yet. But bureaucrats were alive and kicking. I wonder whether this beach is on the Potomac, in D.C. See the obelisk in the background? (Source unknown) Beers of the world series. Colombia, a while back. Loos of the world series. Tandoor restaurant, Mexico city. Last time we had…
The magic house, Conakry, Guinea, West Africa, c.1962. I’m sitting on the table, pondering the day’s next play. Little Sis walks down the stairs with her cast on her arm. Keep a safe distance lest she clubs you. The house may be long gone, the African village at the back has been replaced by rows…
I grew up in Africa. West and East. I was born in what my family called India, Pakistan after the Partition, but I left at too young an age to really remember. See here for my earlier days in Karachi: https://equinoxio21.wordpress.com/2017/08/17/snowball/ Africa is where I was raised. First in Conakry, Guinea, in West Africa then…
Dolores del Río, 1938, by Diego Rivera, at the artist’s house in Coyocán, Mexico city. Dolores del Río (1905-1983) was one of the major actresses of the Golden age of the Mexican cinema and a strong “player” in Hollywood too. There will be more soon on Diego Rivera. Death by Evelia Evelia, Mexico, 2019.…
Painted smile by Ernesto “the Monkey” Cabral (1890-1968). Cabral was one of the greatest Mexican illustrators of the first half of the 20th century. I could well buy – or steal – one of his works. (Expo at the local city hall, Tlalpan, Mexico city, 2018) “Where did I leave my cel?” Maillol. In the…
King Tut. The 100 years expo. 150 original objects. That last phrase should have caught my attention. 30 years in Marketing and I fell into the trap. “Original objects”. As in “never shown before”. What about those that had been shown before? Fifty years ago? Didn’t see them then… The place was packed despite specific…
G. had finally found a door to his size. (Montreal, June 3019). And he opened it… An old pick-up & radio was playing a Charleston. Absolutely nothing happened. Ai Weiwei expo. Mexico, 2029. “The wire” wrapped its final season. Then came the eagle, looking for the rabbit. The Chinelo dancer froze. The young girl finished her ice-cream.…
