Wednesday, July 25, 2007

We're all in the gutter...


... but some of us are looking at the stars" I thought of this quote by Oscar Wilde when I saw this carved duck fish head gutter (well, actually, it's more of a rain pipe) that I photographed on the Ile Saint Louis, one of the two islands in the middle of Paris. This shows that with a little effort, even the ugliest and most mundane object can become a piece of art. And yes, that's in Paris! Click to enlarge, it's worth it.

30 comments:

  1. I have a bookmark with that quote on the bulletin board in my office.

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  2. I think its a fish, no?

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  3. Everything is made beautiful by the French. Even the downspout. Eric, check out my "Johnnysarc". Has more than just Paris because we have been traveling in France so much.

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  4. Oh, I thought it was a frog. Great find!

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  5. Good find.

    Oscar Wilde ...Paris....many associations. My favourites:

    On his death bed he is purported to have said : "Either that wallpaper goes or I do."

    Cheap Paris hotels are STILL renowned for their dubious taste in wallpaper.

    And whatever DID happen to the large, errrrr "appendage" that was part of his sculptural sarcophagus out at Père la Chaise? Rumour has it, it became a paper weight on the desk of one of the cemetery's custodians!

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  6. I don't think Home Depot sells those......

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  7. There's something fishy about that drain spot. It's neat!

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  8. Great eye, Eric! Also, I applaud Sally's comments re: Oscar Wilde cheap wallpaper reference. So true!

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  9. Beautiful. Beauty in the detail, indeed. And thanks for yesterday's - the Place des Vosges is just stunning. I spent a day there once- just taking it all in, plus the little streets around.

    Sally - love that quote!

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  10. I'm almost sure it's a dolfin.
    They were represented like monsters in a period (XVIII century) in which people didn't know them very well and were convinced they WERE the monsters of the sea !
    I'll check...

    And because I've seen TWO DAYS IN PARIS yesterday night, I highly recommand this movie to the lovers of Paris.

    EMSI
    blog : Les-voyages-demsi.blogspot.com

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  11. Fabulous. When I get to work, I'll print this to hang on my office wall, with the beaux arts pulley on the canal mechanism. You're exactly right: a little effort can transform the mundane to beauty.

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  12. Sally - I read that story about the Oscar Wilde's tomb and its missing "appendages" having converted into paperweights used in the cemetery's office in a story on the Pere Lachaise Cemetery published in an issue of the Smithonian Magazine sometime in the mid- to late 1970's.

    emsi - My French brother told me about Two Days in Paris. Did you see it in France, or in the U.S.? I think that it's not been released in the U.S., but I am not sure.

    Eric - Great photo of a really cool architectural detail. I rediscovered the Ile Saint-Louis this past spring, it's really a lovely part of Paris.

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  13. L'île St Louis est probablement l'une des parties les plus belles de Paris. Veuillez nous montrer plus d'images de cette petite île.

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  14. Wow, that's just wonderful! I wonder if I can convince my father to do something like this to his rain spout. ...eh, probably not.

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  15. More than worth it -- this is gorgeous enlarged. This shot is a prime example of why we find Paris such a satisfying place to spend a week each spring simply walking -- we've done this for three years now and can't imagine exhausting the surprises, the quotidian beauty. Yes, you've got the Louvre, the Orsay, but the art and the artful is spread through every street of the city. Love it!

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  16. And thank you materfamilias for the word quotidian: another instance of an every day thing rendered beautiful.

    (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

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  17. Emsi--
    I hadn't even heard of "2 days in Paris" until I read your comment, but I looked it up and noticed it was written/directed by Julie Delpy. If you haven't seen "Before Sunrise" and "Before Sunset" you really must. They both star Julie Delpy and Ethan Hawke, who meet by chance on a train from Eastern Europe. The first film chronicles a less-than-24-hour span of time they spend wandering through Vienna and talking about life. In the second film (released 7 years later, I believe) they meet again years later, not having seen each other since their first encounter, and they spend a day wandering through Paris. Terrific movies, definitely worth seeing. :)

    Eric--
    I love how you manage to find the tiny little things that make such a difference. "It's all in the details"...

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  18. C'est la deuxieme fois que tu la sors ta quote pourrie d'Oscar Wilde ! tu connais que celle la ???

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  19. Gold leaf on a downpipe! Only in Paris and truly beautiful. Eric, that little fish has a bill rather like a duck so I can understand your confusion. He does seem to have quite a mouthful.

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  20. It really is beautiful, but then everything on l'Ile Saint Louis is beautiful.

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  21. Every time I think of Ile Saint Louis, I think of Berthillon ice cream. Not a bad association.

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  22. Absolutely gorgeous! I have been on vacation for a week & a half and have been going through PDP withdrawals - glad to be back!

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  23. Only in Europe do you find such beauty.

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  24. Eric, this is the first time I've looked at one of your photos and thought "I know that place!"

    I wandered on the Ile Saint Louis during my (unfortunately) only trip to Paris and also photographed the dolphins on the waterspouts of the Hotel de Lausun.

    Thank you for the reminder of those wonderful days.

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  25. Ile St Louis???? How about "Thelma" and those earrings??? Or that wonderful shop with the Foie de Canard Entier????? La Petite Scierie??

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  26. It's inspiring that someone put such love, care and thought into even the drainpipes of this beautiful building. As always, you have amazing eye!

    Zanabel
    Olympia Daily Photo

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  27. Only in Paris could something like this look antique but ornate and beautiful.
    x
    Just a girl

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