by Arnaud | Nov 8, 2015 | Uncategorized
“I have been traveling for the past 4 years, backpacking and I am coming to Burning Man as I was told it is an amazing place to see once in a lifetime. I plan to go to Panama in two months to take a boat to Australia, a 3 months trip; by then, I am planning to work in a Marijuana plant in California, harvesting is soon and this is very legal in CA.”
We met with Ben (the Land Surveyor or “Arpenteur” in Canadian French) as our neighbors were complaining about the bad smell coming from his tent ; Ben Ji and his very young girlfriend were starving, we invited them for lunch, they went back to have a nap on the floor near their car after Ben had peed on the door…
When I asked Ben if he had a dream, he started crying and responded “My dream is to be happy for the rest of my life, if all goes well”
by Arnaud | Apr 4, 2015 | Uncategorized
“The USA has always been a sort of attraction for us and when we got a proposal from my company we considered this as a unique opportunity for our family.
This move to San Francisco, which is supposed to be temporary, has offered so far an environment where each one in our family has found his place in each community we are part of. For a non explicit reason, we are all comfortable and well adapted, which is I believe unique to this place, providing a unique lifestyle. We have our own background and this background turns here as an advantage for a better life where it was more neutral or a disadvantage in France.”
Do you have a dream ? ” Yes, we would like to continue to entertain the atmosphere where our family raises in love and happiness”
When I asked Arlen and Stephanie to start giving me some responses to my questions for this interview, they where the first to respond as a one and not individually like all the others; I can tell these two are totally in “fusion” and they live the Californian experience as a couple still very much in love, protecting and taking care of their two kids like birds protecting the nest.
by Arnaud | Jan 18, 2015 | Uncategorized
” My Dad was always building or welding something, whether it be an addition to the house or a piece of furniture. I wanted to help him build extra rooms of the house too, but I was only 8; maybe that desire to build stayed with me from so long ago. My sculptures are like 3-D painting, combining video, sculpture and lights, even sometimes water and smell, they capture a place and people at a specific time of history. I try to do this with sensitivity to foreign cultures, shining a light on the little seen corners.””
Tracey has her amazing studio in Oakland, where she creates art pieces shown in exhibitions all over the world. Tracey wanted to clean her studio before my visit, she was nice enough not to clean it too much.
by Arnaud | Nov 25, 2014 | Uncategorized
“Studying art led me to living in Europe, with such a rich culture life that existed long before America. You see it not just in the museums, education and sights, but in the way people interact as well. I love San Francisco because it reminds me of Europe, it is architecturally rich, people care about food, create art and cultivate relationships.
“In Europe I like how meals are long because people tell stories and hang out. I like wide boulevards and parks where people live a more public life. I like being surrounded by languages I don’t understand.
The US and SF are home though. They are comfortable because they are so familiar. Unlike in Europe, sometimes it is nice being able to speak to anyone and have some common ground; in San Francisco I love the variety, from hipsters to technerds, crazy downtown to the peaceful parks. There is every sort of ethnicity, each with their own food.”
Lucas is a young man dreaming of a world where creativity and artistic intuition are a part of daily life for everyone. “Art shouldn’t be something that is stored away in a collection or that requires a ticket to be seen or an education to understand. Everyone should be able to see it, and have an education that stresses its importance.”
I like Lucas’s vision of arts
by Arnaud | Oct 9, 2014 | Uncategorized
Gary is a burner cow girl and this was her third burn.Gary was so proud to see me taking a picture of her. She was proud of her boots and her hat, pink as her belt. Gary will return next year to Burning Man, although she is disappointed that her horse was not allowed in Black Rock City, so she brought her bike, pink.
@ Burning Man – Nevada
by Arnaud | Oct 6, 2014 | People Pics, Uncategorized
” I am orphan, my Mum died from malaria, my Dad was killed by the soldiers of the Red Khmers. I teach french and english lessons in my village”. Kimlhet was my guide to visit the Angkor ruins, and he spent the full day with me for …$10… when time came to have lunch, he brought me to a little place in the middle of the jungle, he started going to the kitchen side, I could tell he wanted to have a great plate of chicken and rice with me but he was too discreet to show it. Kimlhet proposed to show me a quiet place where four monks were praying while singing; he started to play that instrument, with that impressive smile on his face. I admired him. I still do.
@ Angkor, Cambodia
