Left bank Paris: From the Cartier Foundation to Saint-Germain-des-Prés

The Cartier Foundation, in a green setting at the center of Paris, is interested in sustainable development and the impacts on Art and nature. The current exhibition retraces Claudia Andujar's work with and for the Yanomami natives of the Amazon Forest, endangered by the exploitation of the region. Born in Switzerland, she met the tribes in 1971 when she was 40 years old. Her close relationship with them resulted in a highly original collection of photographs about their culture. Andujar had found her true vocation and launched actions against exploitation and to protect the Yanomami culture. She developed an incredible commitment to Art, culture and politics (thanks to her, among other things, the Yanomami territory was legally recognized)! These different aspects of her commitment are taken into account in this exhibition through the broadcasting of very moving interviews since they allow us to retrace both her childhood between Jewish Hungary and Protestant Switzerland, her adolescence in the United States and her arrival in Brazil, and also to appreciate her photographic work in all its beauty and complexity. Thus, she invents various techniques not so much for their documentary value but rather to express her own perception of life within this Indian community: by applying petroleum jelly on the lens of her camera, for example, she obtains visual distortions that visually translate shamanic experience with great force. 

And to stay on the Left Bank of the Seine, why not end the day with Cyril Lignac in Saint-Germain-des-Prés? 

When the opportunity to take over the Claude Sainlouis (famous old Rive-Gauche bistro) arose in 2011, Chef Cyril Lignac snapped it up. Attracted by the history and sense of place, he has managed to keep the warm atmosphere and authenticity intact. The vintage restaurant is made up of three sections: the first is a combination of the French bistro bar and the cosy London pub, the second is decorated with flower pattern wallpaper and original lighting, and the third includes the long leather benches where the Tout Paris used to meet. The restaurant has been renamed "Aux Prés" and serves classic bistro cuisine using the best French meat as well as international dishes.