Haussmann and Haussmannization

Georges-Eugène Haussmann was born in Paris in 1809. Today he is also known as Baron Haussmann, the name he requested when emperor Napoleon III made him a member of the French Senate. Haussmann was chosen by Napoleon III to complete a grand reconstruction of Paris. He had been working in public administration since 1831 and his personality and work ethic left a positive impression during interviews for Napoleon III’s desired reconstruction.

Paris had been overcrowded, traffic did not flow well, and it was unsanitary. Thus, Haussmann began work in 1854 initially focusing on Napoleon III’s desire to expand Rue de Rivoli in time for the Universal Exposition to be held in Paris in 1855. In addition to the expansion of this street, Haussmann, prompted by the emperor, created several grand streets to better connect the west, east, north and west parts of Paris. This design of large streets crossing Paris was given the name the Grand Croisée de Paris.

During the next 17 years Haussmann continued to create new streets in order to better accommodate the traffic and population of the city. He added eight arondissements to the city of Paris, bringing the prior twelve arondissements to the twenty arondissements we know today. In addition to redesigning the arondissements, Haussmann also annexed the suburbs and 11 communes (Auteuil, Batignolles-Monceau, Belleville, Bercy, Charonne, Grennelle, La Chapelle, La Villette, Montmartre, Passy, and Vaugirard) at the request of the emperor. This was to accommodate the growing population of Paris.

Perhaps the most widely known aspect of Haussmann’s renovation is the façade of the apartment buildings he created. Each building was expected to be similar in style, with the same height, cream colored stone, and a mansard roof. The buildings were structured as follows: ground floor, mezzanine or first floor, second floor with balcony, third floor, fourth floor, fifth floor with balcony, and the mansard roof.

In addition to the construction of roads and buildings, Haussmann also refurbished and created parks. The four large parks Haussmann constructed during the renovation were Bois de Boulogne, Bois de Vincennes, Parc des Buttes-Chaumont, and Parc Montsouris. All in all, Haussmann’s reconstruction of Paris was the largest project and rebuilding of a European city that was not otherwise in need of reconstruction. Other cities in Europe had been renovated before as a result natural disasters and battles.

Haussmann’s renovation, what is now referred to as Haussmannization, lasted until 1870. He was asked to stop work mostly in part due to the backlash he was receiving for the renovations and their cost (2.5 billion Francs). Though Haussmann stopped his work after 17 years, his work continued to influence the design of Paris and countless other cities. The organization and appearance of the Paris we know today is largely in part due to the work of Haussmann.  

10 Facts About Anarchy That You Won't Believe Are True!!

We have all seen the Anarchy symbol that is widely regarded to be the letter “A”  enclosed in a circle of which can be seen as “one of the most common graffiti on the urban landscape”. Some would classify anarchy as something dangerous and even fatal for the foundations of democracy and capitalism those people would also believe in even more outlandish theories. It should be said that Anarchy has many more definitions than most people would think. Karl Marx’s workers revolution is a little more in line with the “traditional” view of anarchism, but even that is false because his ideas was simply to have a more or less peaceful worker’s revolution in which there would be a workers revolution in order to take down the “man”. In fact, one of Karl Marx’s primary influences was Proudhon himself. 

One of Proudhon’s most important books is “What is Property” in which he takes on the the idea of private property. In Proudhon’s mind “Property is Theft”, thus there are inherent problems with Capitalism and Capitalist society. America is a prime example of one of the biggest Capitalist societies in which there is also a multitude of problems that plague it. In America the majority of the economy is based on profit and debt. That is, the economy favors those who would turn a profit rather than the workers who end up working to pay off their various debts whether they be mortgages, loans or credit. Some workers end up becoming “wage slaves” living from paycheck to paycheck just to survive. And that this one of the problems with capitalist society that Proudhon would like to address. 

The idea of Capital in Capitalism only exists with a centralized government. Proudhon wanted to decentralize the government and rather than having this idea of private property being unevenly distributed, everyone would only have enough land as is necessary for each case. In addition, the profit that is generated from the workers belongs to the workers and not the “owners”. This segways into Proudhon’s anarchism being based upon the economic theory of mutualism. The cessation of the practice of private property as it is now would bring nothing but benefits to the world according to Proudhon. I feel that I sympathise with many of Proudhon's ideas in regards to the protection of workers, but not so much with mutualism.

Auguste Comte and Positivism

Auguste Comte lived from 1798 to 1857, he was born in Montpellier, and died in Paris. He lived in a time where many social changes were going on, such as the First Industrial Revolution, and of course, The French Revolution.

He creates Sociology: Science of society, calls it “social physics”, but renames it Sociology. 
To him sociology was supposed to be what physics, for instance, is for nature. A science that studies nature in a neutral and impartial form.

To him that's what sociology was going to be for society:

- “Immutable laws of the social life”: to identify the problems in society and guarantee order and progress towards the Positive Stage of history (will explain later).

Maybe it was destiny, or just my connection to my land, but when I picked Comte I had no idea it was his ideas that funded the Republic in my home country, Brazil.

In the Brazilian flag that are two words written inside, in Portuguese of course, “Ordem e Progresso”, in English, “Order and Progress.”

Those two words are originated from Comte’s idea of Positivism.

In 1842, he released a book called, Introduction to Positive Philosophy, where he explains for the first time Positivism. 

WHAT IS POSITIVISM?

Positivism is a philosophy of science. It is the idea of Teleology, which is the belief that history is going somewhere, to an end, where perfection will be reached, and Progress.

"Love as principle, order as basis, progress as end" - Comte

Love between men will install order, and order will lead us to progress.

Comte believed that history is progressing throughout the years and will reach perfection once it gets to what he calls the Positive Stage of history.

"The law is this: that each of our leading conceptions - each branch of our knowledge - passes successively through three different theoretical conditions: the Theological, or fictitious; the Metaphysical, or abstract; and the Scientific, or positive." - Comte

To him, there are three stages so far in history:

-       Theology, when religion was the explanation for everything.

-      Metaphysical, after the Enlightenment, where philosophy would explain everything.

-      Positivism, the end stage, no more religion or philosophy, where science would explain everything.

The positivist ideas were that society would be ruled by science and industry, there would be no more philosophy, and so no more metaphysical politicians to rule society, he wanted a Republican dictatorship, and Universal, public, and free education for all. 

He wanted Objectivity, however nowadays we have discovered that such thing is impossible, his idea of Positivism is almost impossible, since he thinks that people should not involve themselves in society, but to treat society as a thing in itself, as something separated from us, however this neutrality is impossible, since we're inside society ourselves, we cannot treated as something apart from us, since we're in it, we are a part of it. 

La Belle Époque

La Belle Époque, the Beautiful Age, was an era in European history characterized by peace, affluence and optimism. There is much speculation to the start of this period. Some say it started with the conclusion of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871; this event occurred around the same time that the Third Republic began. Others attribute the beginning of this period to start closer to the turn of the century. This period of time lasted until 1914 with the start of World War I.

La Belle Époque was a term coined after WWI as society was nostalgic for a time that was untouched by loss, disorder and despair. Regardless of the duration of this period, it was a time of progress in all facets of life such as in technology, art, architecture, science, literature and fashion. The advancements that are distinctive of this period coincided with similar progress that was being made throughout Europe and in the United States. Other eras that occurred around the time of La Belle Époque are Edwardian England, the “Good Years” or the Gilded Age in America and Wilhelmian Germany. While progress was being made throughout the world, Paris was regarded as the epicenter: “Yet probably no other place carries a more captivating image than does Paris during the time of extraordinary elegance and pleasure and genius.”  

The World Fair of 1889 as well as the Universal Exhibition of 1900, both of which were in Paris, were key events that marked the Belle Époque. These exhibitions displayed the architectural feats, the new inventions and discoveries of the time. The Eiffel Tower, built for the World Fair of 1889, along with the important structures of the 1900 Exhibition: the Alexandre III bridge, the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais were important symbols of progress for Paris during this time.

Another advancement that occurred in Paris during this era was transportation. Construction for an underground railway system started in the 1890s and opened to the public at the time of the Universal Exhibition. The creation of the metro system occurred around the same time as art nouveau, an artistic movement which incorporates nature and plants primarily in their work. This concept of art nouveau can be seen in the design of the entrances to the metro stations. We saw some examples of art nouveau in furniture and other materials when we are at the D’Orsay museum last Friday.

Impressionistic and Post-Impressionistic art were other art movements apparent at the time of the Belle Époque. Impressionism began in 1874 when artists such as Monet, Cezanne, Degas, Renoir, Sisley, and Pissarro decided to put on their own art exhibition that was separate from the academy. Their manner of painting was different from the previous art movements because their subject manner focused on modernity and scenes from everyday life. They disregarded antiquity and started a new technique in which they focused on capturing nature how they see it. 

The scenes depicted in impressionistic paintings capture the essence of the Belle Époque as seen in pieces depicting new forms of leisure, for example Degas’s paintings of musicians and dancers, or scenes illustrating cafes and restaurants, for example Manet’s At the Café painting. Impressionistic art also expresses the idea of advancement in the industrial revoltion as seen by Monet’s The Gare Saint-Lazare paintings. An article in the Telegraph describes the Belle Époque as “a time when arts and crafts, cafés and restaurants became more and more available to a rapidly growing middle class with time and money on its hands. For them, and for the artists and architects of the time, beauty meant proportion, decorative detail, elegance.” This idea of the middle class can clearly be seen in the impressionist movement and in the paintings we saw at the D’Orsay museum during our art class.

Some quotes that further describe La Belle Époque:

“The Belle Epoque – is an era that combines a nostalgia for and preoccupation with the old regime and noblesse, while at the same time providing the seedbed for all the modernist currents that we associate with the 20th century.”

"Paris was one great party. There was a spirit of confidence, of joie de vivre, with so many things going on at the same time. Even the future king of England came to Paris to enjoy himself. It was the capital of everything. It was one big party with elements of the funfair about it."

"La belle époque was very fluid artistically; there were lots of different movements and excesses. People were saying, 'we don't know where we are going but lots of things are happening and we are going to have pleasure and fun. We may even mock ourselves, that's how fun it is.”

A Night at the Opera

This past Saturday, I went to see the opera Le Roi Arthus with some friends. A few days prior, I was frantically searching all opera showings for the rest of our time here, hoping to find remaining tickets under 100 euros. I finally came across this great youth deal to see the show Saturday night in seats that normally would have cost over four times what we actually paid. Opera tickets are usually pricey, and I've only ever sat in the nose-bleed seats. Naturally, I was thrilled. The idea of being this close to the stage at a major production that included two performers I admired was incredibly exciting. Not to mention how suave I felt walking up to my orchestra section seats that are typically reserved for season ticket holders and the bourgeoisie.

This is how close my seat was to the stage!

Since before I can remember, opera has been a part of my life. There's video footage of me crawling around as a baby with opera playing on the radio. My family watched operas on PBS, at the movie theatre, and live at the Lyric when we could afford it. My older sister is studying to be an opera singer, so much of my experience with opera has involved her beautiful voice. I even managed to perform in a few opera choruses in my day, and I would do it again if the opportunity presented itself. So when I went to the opera here, it wasn't as a debutant. However, one of our company was new to the opera. I'm always curious of how someone who didn't grow up on the stuff is going to react. Opera is a very old-fashioned art form. Sometimes it can be difficult for a company to break down the centuries of cultural disconnect between the music and the audience. I never really experienced anything like that, as I was listening to opera before I even understood what cultural disconnect was. But I take the opportunity as often as I can to share with friends the art form that is so intertwined with my life. Often, I get just as much enjoyment seeing someone else enjoy a first experience as I get from the experience myself. Which, yes, means I will be looking at your reactions at key moments of my favorite movies if you haven't seen them before. I'm that annoying friend. You can look forward to that when we watch Star Wars or Lord of the Rings, friend who shall remain nameless. ;P

Some cool people, I guess <3

L'Usage des Formes: a new outlook on what is considered art

On Saturday night, a few of us went to the Palais de Tokyo for La Nuit Européenne des Musées. This was a night in which more than 1300 museums in France, 3400 in Europe, were open for free to the public during the later hours of the night. I originally wanted to go to the Grand Palais but we ended up going to Palais de Tokyo which was a good choice because I probably would not have thought of going there by myself. The Palais de Tokyo is a relatively new museum compared to others in Paris. Created in 2002 this museum houses modern and contemporary art and in fact three years ago it became one of the biggest places devoted to the contemporary art scene in Europe. This museum is located in the 16^th arrondissement near the Seine with a great view of the Eiffel Tower near the side entrance.

This museum was interesting and eclectic to say the least. It definitely contrasted the other museums that we visited here in Paris in the aspect of what is considered art. At the Louvre and the D’Orsay museum you had an idea beforehand of what you expected to see. Renaissance art, realism, impressionism, Monet, Leonardo da Vinci, Cezanne; all are names that we recognize and attribute to our conception of art. When going to the Palais de Tokyo I had no idea what to expect. In fact the entire time we were there I still had no idea what was going on or what it was that I was actually seeing.

I grabbed a pamphlet through our walk through one exhibit, L’Usage des Formes, and did not have the chance to read it until now. This gave a new meaning to the art pieces that I saw and how they express a common theme throughout the entire collection. This exhibition consisted of 150 objects that illustrate the relationship between artists and the tools that they use. Ordinary things that we would not consider as art are transformed into art when placed in the museum and given contextual meaning next to other utilitarian                                                                   objects. 

One sculptor, Nathanael Le Berre, whose work is displayed in this exhibition said: “Je cherche des formes abstraites, ce que je veux avant tout c'est créer des émotions.” Tools that normally just have a purpose for utility become a vessel to express emotion. The human hand was a big concept in this collection of art because it is through our hands that we use these tools and interact with our surrounding environment. “L'outil, grâce à la main, c'est ce qui permet de transformer la matière et de passer de l'état de nature à l'état de culture," said exhibition curator Gallien Déjean. Some of the other exhibits were equally thought provoking and gave me a new outlook on the many aspects that embodies art. 

Du piano

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend another music event with my host family. However, this time I was able to hear and see my host mom perform. My host mom accompanied the violinist Judith Grobla on a grand piano in a small yet cozy concert room inside Le Regard du Cygne studio located in the 19^th arrondissement. This studio was opened to the public in 1984 and functions as a space for artists, choreographers, dancers and musicians to express their work to others. The opening of this studio coincided with the rise of contemporary dance and thus was the ideal place for dancers to put on shows and performances for those who resided in the Paris area.

The concert room was very small in comparison to the one I went to last month but it was more intimate; you could actually see the musicians playing right in front of you. There were about 50ish people that attended this recital, mostly students of my host mom as well as their families, other pianists, friends and family of Judith and of course those who just appreciate hearing good music. The program of the recital was really well put together as this duo performed three major pieces by three important composers: Sonatine no. 1 by Schubert, Sonate “Le Printemps” by Beethoven, and Sonate no. 1 by Brahms.

Being a pianist for a majority of my life, I am very familiar with the style and technique of these composers. I also attended and performed in many recitals, workshops, and adjudications during my 14 years in a piano studio. But I have not attended a lot of violin and piano duo recitals. This recital was therefore very exciting to go to since I was able to hear the instrumental interaction between the piano and the violin.

During the last couple of weeks, my host mom has been practicing her accompaniment part for the pieces in this recital. It was not until the recital started that I realized that those pieces were the ones for this recital. I was therefore familiar with all of the piano parts of these pieces. This made it possible for me to focus on the violin part and observe Judith’s expression and the emotion she exhibited when playing. I love when my host mom would practice these pieces over and over at home because it reminded me of my mom playing the same pieces over and over until I knew them well myself. I really enjoyed this recital and am glad that I have been able to experience and learn more about music while I have been here.