They call it Nice because it's nice, right?? OR maybe they derived the meaning of the word "nice" from descriptions of the French version. Either way, I don't think I've ever been anywhere that embodies nice quite as much as Nice. You may say I'm exaggerating, but I'm not the only one.
I spent five days in the South of France with my ART 188 class for our Study Tour, which is basically a paid bop around Europe (my fave). I guess I paid for it with my tuition, but still. It's paid. Honestly, if there was anything that I wanted to do while visiting Nice, art museum exploration and beach hanging would have been at the top of the list, and both of those things were accomplished to their fullest extent. One could say that I am satisfied. One would be correct.
It would be impossible for me to capture the beauty of the South of France with my words, so I won't even try. I wrote down a quote from Matisse that I came across while visiting his museum in Arenes (there's an accent that goes on the first e but I don't understand weebly enough to figure out how to accomplish that):
"The only thing that concerned me was making my colors sing, leaving behind me all rules and prohibitions. I began composing my pictures so that I could enter into a direct dance with color."
That's what Nice was. A direct dance with color. A beautiful and dreamy dance, all hazy and soothing, like a foggy sunset. It's not surprising that artists moved there for inspiration; the colors and light are indescribable. The landscape dominates the pace of life, too. I have never been anywhere that is so reflective of its art. Everything was slow and easy, like people were afraid to move too fast, or else they would miss something. I have no idea what they do for their day jobs. Honestly, everybody probably just sits around and appreciates life, professionally.
Hello, yes, I would like to apply to be a professional appreciator of life. Oh, you have an opening? Perfect. I could start right away, of course. May I bring my own desk plant?
I spent five days in the South of France with my ART 188 class for our Study Tour, which is basically a paid bop around Europe (my fave). I guess I paid for it with my tuition, but still. It's paid. Honestly, if there was anything that I wanted to do while visiting Nice, art museum exploration and beach hanging would have been at the top of the list, and both of those things were accomplished to their fullest extent. One could say that I am satisfied. One would be correct.
It would be impossible for me to capture the beauty of the South of France with my words, so I won't even try. I wrote down a quote from Matisse that I came across while visiting his museum in Arenes (there's an accent that goes on the first e but I don't understand weebly enough to figure out how to accomplish that):
"The only thing that concerned me was making my colors sing, leaving behind me all rules and prohibitions. I began composing my pictures so that I could enter into a direct dance with color."
That's what Nice was. A direct dance with color. A beautiful and dreamy dance, all hazy and soothing, like a foggy sunset. It's not surprising that artists moved there for inspiration; the colors and light are indescribable. The landscape dominates the pace of life, too. I have never been anywhere that is so reflective of its art. Everything was slow and easy, like people were afraid to move too fast, or else they would miss something. I have no idea what they do for their day jobs. Honestly, everybody probably just sits around and appreciates life, professionally.
Hello, yes, I would like to apply to be a professional appreciator of life. Oh, you have an opening? Perfect. I could start right away, of course. May I bring my own desk plant?
Of the six museums that we visited, the one in Monaco was by far my favorite. It was the Villa Sauber, and was curated by the old curator of the modern art museum in Luxembourg (shoutout to everybody's favorite small country!!!) and it was probably the best museum that I have ever visited. The above photo is a still shot from a film of 40 slides by the artist Robert Barry. It was called Belmont 1967 and I cannot describe why I loved it so much but it touched the soul. I sat alone watching this movie in the corner of the museum. I could have sat in that museum all day. I wish I did.
As nice as Nice was, some things in Europe are consistent throughout. A prime example of this iiiiissssss......(drumroll please) ............ T-SHIRTS!!!! Here are the best of the best:
"F--- It Let's Drink"
"Am The Boss"
"Dope" (w/two middle fingers in the shape of Mickey Mouse)
"Rule #1 No Boyfriend No Problem #young #fashion #lab": middle-aged woman in the boulangerie, Monaco
"Sorry! I Am Canadian": Indian looking man on the French Riviera
I wish I made some of those up, but alas, I did not.
ALSO, Elton John lives in Nice. This is a fact that I learned from our bus driver Pierre (I will expand on Pierre later) and he pointed out Elton's tall fancy house protruding from the top of a mountain. I am #very #upset that I did not know of this sooner, I could have found a star map and stalked him all weekend. I will cut this loss.
"F--- It Let's Drink"
"Am The Boss"
"Dope" (w/two middle fingers in the shape of Mickey Mouse)
"Rule #1 No Boyfriend No Problem #young #fashion #lab": middle-aged woman in the boulangerie, Monaco
"Sorry! I Am Canadian": Indian looking man on the French Riviera
I wish I made some of those up, but alas, I did not.
ALSO, Elton John lives in Nice. This is a fact that I learned from our bus driver Pierre (I will expand on Pierre later) and he pointed out Elton's tall fancy house protruding from the top of a mountain. I am #very #upset that I did not know of this sooner, I could have found a star map and stalked him all weekend. I will cut this loss.
The art that characterizes Nice is not solely confined inside museum walls. Granted, there are some outstanding works in the museums of the South of France, but life there is an art in itself. The buildings, the streets, the beach, the sky...it was unreal. I still can't get over it. Even at night, the city was magical. MAGICAL, I TELL YOU!
Honestly, I can't even write about it without getting a little depressed. Also, now that I'm looking at that picture of us sitting on rocks, I'm remembering how much they hurt to sit on. So there's a negative for ya. Who am I kidding, even the rocks were a dream. Dare I say...they rocked? Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Goodbye.