PART 2: La piel que habito..."Art is a guarantee of sanity"

(Quote by Louise Bourgeois, 1911-2010)


for Part 1: La piel que habito...click here.


I experienced Almodóvar's latest film, La Piel Que Habito (The Skin I live In) last week and it left me in a pensive mood for days.  I read the synopsis, saw the beautiful trailer, and was lured by the gorgeous publicity shots for months. . .but nothing prepared me for the skillfully gruesome masterpiece.  Almodóvar is a genius.  I'm particularly glad he didn't cast Penelope Cruz for the part of Vera, because Elena Anaya portrays her beautifully.  This film is not for everybody, but if you're already an Almodóvar fan, you'll be in awe for days. FYI: Antonio Banderas is fiercely good. 


I'm most elated with Almodóvar's respectful homage to the French/American artist, Louise Bourgeois, who recently passed away at the age of 98. If you are familiar with her work,  you'll understand the leading female character, Vera, with great richness.  


After you watch the film, I invite you to come back to this post and study how I've grouped the selected images below. . .

Quien me quiera amar,  
amará tambien lo peor de mi, con ardor. 
(Buika, "Por el amor de amar")

Why Have You Run So Far Away? 
(Louise Bourgeois, head with pink fabric,1993)

Arch of Hysteria 
(Louise Bourgeois, 1993)

Image credits (from top to bottom)
1. Elena Anaya as VERA with "healing" mask. Image borrowed from here.  
2. Louise Bourgeois UNTITLED, 2002.  Image borrowed from the Cheim & Read Gallery website.
3. Close-up of VERA borrowed from here.
4. Image of Spanish actor, Jan Cornet, as VICENTE.
5. Louise Bourgeois sculpture: Nature Study, 1984.
6. Louise Bourgeois, The Couple (detail) 2007.  (Gouache on paper, suite of 18, Collection Louise Bourgeois Trust, courtesy Cheim & Read Gallery, New York and Hauser & Wirth Gallery, London. © Louise Bourgeois Trust. Photo: Christopher Burks.)
7. Image of Spanish actor, Jan Cornet, as VICENTE.
8. Louise Bourgeois head with pink fabric: "Why Have You Run So Far Away?" (1999).
9. Close up of VERA. 
10. Louise Bourgeois black head with flowers, credit details unknown.
11. Elena Anaya as VERA in arched position borrowed from here. 
12. Louise Bourgeois sculpture, Arch of Hysteria, 1993. Bronze, polished patina, hanging piece, 83.8 x 101.6 x 58.4 cm., Courtesy Cheim & Read and Hauser & Wirth, Photo: Allan Finkelman.


A climactic piece of the story is revealed through a scene where the Spanish singer, Concha Buika, sings the songs, Por el amor de amar (For the love of loving), and Se Me Hizo Facil (I found it easy), which can be found in her latest album, adequately titled, En Mi Piel (In my Skin).  Watch the clip below.

Meet Babas Bohème...our MIRA puppy.

2 weeks ago today, Mark and I picked up our puppy, Babas Bohème, from the MIRA foundation's training center located about 45mins east of Montreal. We will be fostering this cutie for a year. And yes, I know, it will be extremely hard saying goodbye to her after 12 months, but this is our way of giving back. 


MIRA logo below.

  

A few fast facts about the foundation. For more info click HERE.

Founder:  Founded in Quebec, Canada by Éric St-Pierre in 1981.

Mission: Trains and provides dogs (free of charge) for individuals with visual and motor disabilities, and children with disorders such as autism.  

Breed: "Labernese" : half Labrador / half Bernese Mountaing dog.

Our job as foster-parents: Socialize her and teach her basic discipline.  

Professional training is done by MIRA experts.

 

We call her Babas Bohème. 

She was born the 25th of July.

The pics above are of Day 1: (left) The day she left the training center for the first time, she fit inside a medium-sized basket. (right) First steps into our studio. She felt at home instantly!

Babas: (Unofficial name) Spanish for drool. 

Bohème: (Official MIRA name) a. French for bohemian. 

b. A person (as a writer or an artist) living an unconventional life usually in a colony with others. (According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary). 

She's a big-fluffy puppy full of teething energy! 


We took her apple-picking last week and she loved it.  
She was seduced by a plethora of sweet smells. 
Although, I did find it curious that she didn't try to eat or play with the apples, 
only the grass, leaves, and branches.

Perhaps this explains why she's infatuated with my green babies at home.  
She barks at them and then eats their leaves...hmmm.
I better put a stop to this soon.

Mark and I have been looking for puppy toys, 
but there are very silly things out there . . . 
not good enough for our puppy! 


And so, 
I decided to make her a couple of Charles and Ray Eames inspired birds 
out of old fabrics. 
The solid red bird was created out of an old pair of childhood winter tights. 

The patterned bird was created from a piece of 1970s curtains that once adorned my grandmother's house in Mexico.  I loved these curtains growing up! 

What are they stuffed with, you wonder? With several pairs of Mark's old socks and my old Victoria Secret's bra "stuffers" from those teenage years. (I have no idea why I saved these!)

She plays with them, tries to kill them (should I be encouraging this behavior?), sleeps on them, etc. It's extremely rewarding witnessing such glee!  

NOTE: I do have to stitch them every now and then.  Those baby teeth are fierce!

Sunny LA...

I'm sorry I've been a bit absent lately.  I just got back from a quick Vitamin D-boosting-(sunny) LA trip.  Some of you were probably expecting fabulous photos of Southern California's most alluring city, but I'm sorry to disappoint.  I'm not sure why, but I didn't take many pictures.  Perhaps the endless traffic simply uninspired me.  I missed my Montreal strolls and metro rides.  I really did!. . . BUT, it was wonderful to see family and friends.


Pictures above of Lizbeth: Mark and I had dinner with our friends, Lizbeth and Omar at their cozy loft in downtown LA.  My favorite part of the evening was Liz's slideshow of her shots from their recent Mexico City living.  
I don't have samples of Liz's details (most of Lizbeth's slides have not been digitized, which I love) but If you would like to experience Mexico City through Omar's extensive photo collection, click here.