A Moment In The Life of the Jardin de Rodin's Odd Statues

A Moment In The Life of the Jardin de Rodin's Odd Statues.

There's a lot to say about Le Jardin de Rodin, and what I'm about to say is probably none of those things.  I visited the famous garden, rich with history and talent, at the very end of my stay in Paris.  A few days prior, I had spent hours picking through the Louvre's historical archives, finding out everything I could about each and every piece of art that I looked at.

My brain hurt.

So, when I came to the Rodin Gardens, I walked around shooting all the interesting works of art when I noticed a theme: there are a ton of odd statues of oddly positioned men in the gardens.  Rodin must have had a thing for humans, bent into strange shapes.  The thinker statue is an icon: almost everyone knows it and it's beautiful.  But when you think about it, a naked man hunched forward with his elbow on his knees isn't the first thing one would expect a sculptor to create.   Of course, the garden topiaries and flowers are art in and of themselves, so I took some shots of the floral beauty of the place.

Enjoy the odds statues interspersed in beautiful gardens...

Le Jardin de Rodin Flowers

Odd Man Statue in Le Jardin de Rodin.  Lifting weights, perhaps?

Odd Statue at Le Jardin de Rodin... annnnnnd BREAK!

Topiary at Le Jardin de Rodin

Finally, the famous Thinker Statue at Le Jardin de Rodin

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Le Jardin de Rodin

Le Jardin de Rodin is one of the hot spots for art in Paris, and is the largest outdoor display of famous works of art that I had ever seen. I wonder how they keep the art so well maintained in an outdoors environment; maybe Rodin is turning over in his grave? It started raining halfway through my visit- I hope the thinker doesn't rust from contemplation!

Here are some photos...

Odd Statue near the Entrance to Le Jardin de Rodin

The Famous 'Thinker' Statue in Le Jardin de Rodin

Fountain at the Le Jardin de Rodin

Flowers in Le Jardin de Rodin

Rodin's Signature Carved into one of the statue bases in Le Jardin de Rodin

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Magic Spraying Surprise (Coliseum @ Versailles Gardens)

It (was) my birthday 39 minutes ago, so I didn't have a chance to post a blog but I felt so selfish not posting one that... well, I had to.  This is the same coliseum in the Versailles Gardens, but with a little surprise added.  Once in a while, a fountain show is put on at Versailles and you have to pay a few extra Euros to get into the Gardens.  At first, I wasn't enthused by the idea but after a three and a half hour wait (baking in the sun) the fountains started pounding and let me tell you, it was something...

Here is the coliseum with the magic spraying!  Enjoy...

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The Coliseum Garden (Versailles)

There are those places where you spend too much time.  You know what I'm talking about, we're all guilty.  Well, this section of the Versailles Gardens that I dubbed 'The Coliseum' is one of those places.  It has gorgeous arches which wrap around and expose an interestingly sexual statue.  There's so much tension emitting from the statue that it's almost palpable.  

Anyways, Zach, Dustin, and I spent upwards of an hour in this area of the Gardens, and I took so many pictures that I was eager to make a blog.  Of course, like everything in the Versailles Gardens, there are hidden treats in the area that we will discover in the next entry.  For now, enjoy...

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Take a Break and Breathe

We're in the midst of studying for finals.  It's dead week, and we seem to be stuck in the rough.  The study nerds of LMU (yes, you know who  you are: Tutu, Lexie, Claire...) are going crazy. Though we don't want school to be over, the light at the end of the finals tunnel looks so appealing.  My solution was to take a break and just breathe.  I journeyed to the bluff in search of a little tranquility, and that's just what I found.

They greeted me on my way to the edge of the bluff.  It was a woman clad in a fluid bronze dress holding a newborn baby, raised towards the heavens and destined for great things.  Both of them, trapped in a moment within themselves, and looking up at the world.

Reverent Pair

Once past the eternally bound pair, I looked down.  I couldn't help but be drawn in by the vibrant sprinkler color.  It must not work nearly as well as the sprinkler designer, judging by the sparsity of the immediate foliage.  It seems that looking down often renders similar results as this sprinkler.

Looking Down

I made it to the bluff, sat down on my favorite bench, and popped in my iPod.  I attempted a guided meditation on emotions.  Though I don't think it had as drastic of an effect on me as it is probably made to, I felt a certain clarity.  There's something surreal about being in complete connectedness with your internal emotions, rather than our constant looking outwards.

Looking Outwards

It seems the farther we look out, the less precious our world becomes.  In this fast-paced technologically-driven world, we spend so much time thinking about the latest trends and fashions that will make us stand out in the eyes of the world.  To a certain extent, this is our culture and we need to be conscious of it.  What we need to do though, is take a step back and look at ourselves introspectively.  We need to see our bountiful collection of yellow flowers- not our dumpsters- no matter how great the stress.  Instead of looking out, look in.  Instead of looking down, look up.

Looking Up

When we take a moment for ourselves, we notice the most beautiful things our world has to offer.  Take a break and breath: look in and look up.  And of course, rock those finals.