Paris Post War: Art and existentialism 1945-55
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Giacometti and I - and no doubt a few other Parisians - we know that in Paris there lives a person of great elegance, fine, proud, abrupt, singular and grey - a very tender grey - she is the Rue d'Oberkampf, who, casually, changes her name in her upper reaches, where she is called rue de Menilmontant. Beautiful as a needle, she rises straight to the sky. If you decide to travel along her by car, starting on boulevard Voltaire, you will observe how she opens as you continue upwards, and does so in a curious manner: the houses do not move apart, they grow closer, presenting gables and facades that are simple, extremely banal, and yet which
are quite genuinely transfigured by the personality of the street, and take on a kind of familiar yet distant goodness. Recently, they have set up stupid little dark blue discs crossed by a red line to show
that parking is prohibited. Is she lost? No, she is even more beautiful. Nothing - but nothing] - could make her ugly.
From Alberto Giacometti's Studio by Jean Genet, first published by Editions Barbezat, 1958; translated 1991 by Charles Penwarden.
Paris Post War: Art and Existentialism 1945-55 at the Tate Gallery until 5
September.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments