Pascal Blondeau
Ex-singer and performer. Today, photographer, visual artist and stage designer.
Is working on an exhibition called “The New York Diva”.
Goes to New York once or twice a month and plans to move there in the near future.
- Paris
- Tips
Pascal Blondeau’s
Visual and urban artist
What makes you a real paryorker ? A Parisian by birth and a New Yorker by adoption, I simply feel half Parisian and half New Yorker.
How did you become one ? I went to New York for the first time in 1985 and promised myself at the time that I would get to know the city… which I have been doing for more than two decades.
Do you know any other paryorkers ? Béatrice-Valentine Amrhein, a contemporary artist who has just moved into a loft in New York. Michel Cousin who runs a French real-estate group and who I see in both Paris and New York. Fayçal Karoui, one of my best friends, who is now musical director of the New York City Ballet.
How are the two cities important in the balance of your work and/or personal life ? Both are vital when you’re a real city dweller in your soul and for me they are completely complementary.
What’s the difference between the New-Yorker you and the Parisian you ? The New Yorker is more uninhibited and the Parisian more reflective.
What metaphor can you think of for the two cities ? Paris is a painting by Leonardo de Vinci and New York a work by Jeff Koons.
What would describe their difference ? Paris is the city of reflection, New York that of achievement.
What is your best memory of Paris ? I was very young and taking my cousin on a guided tour of Paris. There had been a lot of snow and the Place Saint Sulpice was all white. Just as I was pointing to an apartment block and saying to her, “Look, that’s where Catherine Deneuve lives”, the big gate opened and Catherine Deneuve herself appeared. Amused by our astonishment, she smiled and came over to shake our hand.
What’s the first thing you do when you set foot in Paris? I go to the Pause Café.
What is the first thing you do when you arrive in Paris ? I drink white coffee non stop, which I don’t do anywhere else.
What is your favorite time of day in Paris ? Mornings and cocktail hour.
What about Paris do you love/get excited about ? The elegance.
And what annoys you about it ? The lack of helpfulness. It annoys me because as a Parisian, it makes me slightly ashamed.
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