- Arles is known for being somewhat economically neglected, yet the city offers artistic riches which range from Enlightenment-era Provençal portraiture to black and white street scenes photographed in New York city. And that’s just the Ratthieu Museum!
- As hinted in my post on Masaki Yamamoto, Arles isn’t known for its multiculturalism, but the Ratthieu Museum showcases people of colour in various settings, including a photo of a sophisticated, stylish woman observing an upmarket neighbourhood in Accra, Ghana in the 1960s.
- The NYC street scene I mention captures a serious-looking, Black man carrying a pile of newspapers in his hands. The most prominent headline informs about a lynching. A young Black boy is in the foreground, unsmiling. It isn’t clear how they interact with each other (or if they do), but they share the space at this moment in time. Questions that arise might include: What are the effects of living in a period of white supremacy which is even more hostile than that of today? How is it possible to go about business as usual when the murder of your people takes centre-stage? What does it mean to be confronted with the lethal reality of day-to-day life at a tender age? How might the generations create community support?
- A free contemporary photography exhibition beckoned to me in the centre of town, impressing me with the variety of its themes and both political and aesthetic achievements. There were about twelve different mini galleries, one of them juxtaposing the life-giving natural world and imposing man-made structures, seemingly critiquing the invasive way humans conduct our lives. A more peaceful exhibition brought attention to the beauty of the natural reserve around Arles, the Caramargue. Still others focused on local birds with brilliant plumage. And finally, I remember representations of the nude human body, scarred but ornamentally tattooed in the aftermath of serious operations, including masectomies… the idea was to show that irregularly shaped bodies are still attractive.
- The Frank Gehry-designed LUMA, a metallic-toned, curvy high-rise is a very recent addition to the older curves of Arles. The postmodern art gallery reaches eight storeys and is responsive to the existing textures and shapes around town. It honours the Roman amphitheatre, prominent in the Old Town, as well as the light-coloured dwellings with red roofs which have also been around for a long time. There is a slide installed inside, two or three storeys tall, and a number of different exhibition spaces. While I felt the gallery was a bit under-utilised (there was at least one level where nothing much was happening), it did provide me with a short film of a mystic and moody tone - a woman in NYC found herself musing over her quiet apartment in the rain, then walking the city at nighttime, navigating nature and noodles.
- Nature was a recurring theme at LUMA, one exhibition space painted as if representing a forest. One of the first spaces on the ground floor showed an interview with a director of the gallery, in which she described the close relationship she enjoyed with the Caramargue from a young age. The second film of the storey featured an interview with Frank Gehry and offered a brief but delightful bird’s eye view of Arles, to show that the entirety of the landscape was an inspiration for the Deconstructionist building.
- There are some not-so-pleasant sides of Arles, and my accommodation was tucked into one of them - on the outskirts of town, with little foot traffic. Boxy Lidls and Burger Kings were surrounded by big roads, generating an industrial feel. The walk to the centre took about 20 mins, and I wondered if the under-loved houses and residential buildings on the way were the type of places Van Gogh was confined to.
- I did see a couple of trios of young people, seemingly on their way to do something fun, during my four days in Arles. Their easy comaraderie made me long to be part of the in-joke. Their smiles spoke of the resilience of the regular person, making the most of a place that might not support their highest ambitions but still offered distinct possibilities for enjoyment.
- I noticed that the make-up wearing population of Provence favoured the Cat’s Eye look - for this one needs eyeliner and a leaning towards traditional notions of femininity.
- The café that Van Gogh painted in the Old Town was closed at the time I wandered by. I did see a handful of paintings of his at the Van Gogh Foundation, my favourite being a mostly green and red representation of flowers in a park or field. It was nice to see a video installation from Yayoi Kusuma in the same gallery: some of her classic white dots floated away from her red clothing when it met a body of water - the theme was self-abnegation.
- Will Arles improve its economic fortunes in the near future? LUMA is a good start, but it only goes so far, and without a push from many different sides, it may not live up to its ambitions. Nevertheless, it remains an inspiring (and puzzling) place to visit in many ways.
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