Around the block

I am working on some kind of creativity block lately, so I accepted the challenge of the Berlin-based photographer Matthias Heiderich. He advises us to take a walk around the block and look at banal things in a new light.

I live in Ixelles. I took a walk around the block this morning and here are the results. Let me know which ones you like, so I can upload them to my photography site:-)

Grateful for your feedback!

The Dieweg Cemetery

So many memories came back while strolling in this cemetery, no longer in use, serving as an unusual promenade spot in Uccle. 

It recalled the municipal cemetery in Vienna, with the tombs of many a famous composer. Also overgrown with all kinds of rampant weeds. 

The red carnations on one of the tombs reminded me of the Romanian Revolution in December 1989. The red carnation was namely the official flower of the Ceaușescu regime. I was 8. I was not allowed to leave the house for a month or so. The first time I went outside after the shootings were over, I stepped into an immaculate ghost city. Heavy snow had covered everything. No footprints anywhere, as people were still afraid to leave their houses. And this shroud of heavy silence...

Apparently, the Dieweg cemetery is famous for the spring equinox, when a beam of light enters the chapel, leaving a heart-shaped mark on the inner walls.  

Le renard noir

The black fox.

I recognised here many of the faces from Recyclart. Piercings, tattoos, bohemians with velvet coats. And made a new acquaintance: Vlad, the Ukrainian bartender/ owner with a heavy, yet charming accent.

Classical Belgian décor, lots of wood and mirrors. Not to mention the cosy terrace. The menu features some rare beers, such as Le fruit défendu, and some yummy snacks.

The perfect place to quench your thirst after the animated flee market at Jeu de Balle or a tour of the art galleries in the Sablon.  

Venue: 233 rue Haute, 1000 Brussels

art & marges

A small, lesser-known museum in the Marolles.

For over 25 years, it has been defending the artists outside the classical cultural circuit, the outsiders, the self-taught or psychologically fragile. 

The entrance costs only 4 euros. I heartily recommend their last expo, "Il était une fois l'art brut" ("Once upon a time, there was art brut"). The raw or outsider art is usually associated with the possible origins of art: the childhood, the primitive, the savage, the confinement.

Jean Dubuffet is considered the father of art brut. The nicest thing about this expo is the classification by colours, easy to grasp even by a child. So don't hesitate to spend an hour with your family in this charming museum...

Address: 312-314 rue Haute, 1000 Brussels

K.LOAN

Not an ordinary furniture store.

For some reason, I don't like impeccable design furniture, but the one bearing the signs of the inexorable passage of time, a stain of rust here and there. This does not only apply to furniture, also to architecture, books etc.

More than that, K.Loan has an atmosphere. You can feel the hand and the soul that combined the objects, transcending their condition, telling a story.

I dare say: K.LOAN is a labyrinth of delicacy and force.

 P.S. This is not an ad.

2 venues in Brussels: 101 Rue Blaes and 537 Chaussée de Boondael 

La verrière Hermès

Recipe for a perfect evening: take a writer, an art critic and a psychoanalyst.

Go to the Hermes shop on avenue Louise. Cross the shop. Go to the back. Mingle with the pique-assiettes (spongers, trenchermen). Sip from a glass of champagne. Make conversation about contemporary art. Look at the sky through the glass roof.

Day-dream. Smile as much as you can. Don't think about yesterday or tomorrow. Relax...

Venue: 50 boulevard de Waterloo, 1000 Brussels

Résidence Palace

Another breathtaking example of Art Deco in Brussels, hidden jewel within the European quarter. Built after the plans of Swiss architect Michel Polak, it opened its doors in 1927. 

Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings situated between rue de la Loi and Chaussée d'Etterbeek. The oldest building consists of 180 luxury apartments of 3 to 20 rooms each. Apart from that, the complex hosts conference rooms, a press centre, a pool, Turkish baths and a theatre. 

My personal favourite is the restaurant on the ground floor. The cherry on the cake is the ceramic fountain in the patio, of Andalusian inspiration. A perfect venue if you want to impress your date...

Address: rue de la Loi 155, 1040 Brussels

Arne Quinze

Arne Quinze is a contemporary Belgian sculptor. Initially a graffiti artist in the eighties, he is now famous for several urban interventions.

In Brussels, you can admire two of his masterpieces. One in the fancy Kwint restaurant and one nearby the Flemish parliament, in the tranquil Louvain street.

Quinze employs materials which are rarely used together: iron and wood. Most of his sculptures feature a red-orange colour. A feast for the eyes...

Check out Arne Quinze's official website for more info. 

Cinéma Styx

According to Greek mythology, Styx was the river which separated the world of the living from the underworld.

Cinéma Styx is situated close to Place Fernand Coq in Ixelles. It consists of two small rooms. The best thing about it is that there are no commercials before the movies.

The choice of movies is tasteful. Tickets cost only 5€. They are not always the newest movies, but if you missed one in the big cinemas, you are very likely to still find it in the Styx.

The latest movie I saw there was a documentary, Searching for Sugar Man. I warmly recommend it to all romantics and dreamers. Here is the complete soundtrack, enjoy!

P.S. The address is written on the pink ticket;-)

Théâtre de la Vie

The theatre is one of my big loves, although I dislike being in the spotlight.

Brussels has quite a generous theatrical offer. Beside the big theatres everyone has heard of, I was surprised to recently discover a few small theatres, very cosy and good.

Théâtre de la Vie ("The Theatre of Life") is one of them. While waiting in the lobby for the beginning of a play, I couldn't refrain from staring at the rest of the audience. Beautiful people, mostly young, students, dreamers, wearing colourful clothes.

I witnessed there an amazing one-woman show, "Chair(e) de poule". The play was about womanhood in all its facets. The actress, Janie Follet, performed every stunt imaginable on stage: at some point she smashed some eggs with her body and improvised a slide which she used with the joyfulness of a child.

Unfortunately, the play is no longer tête d'affiche. Another hidden jewel I can recommend is Théâtre des Bosons.

P.S. I sincerely dread drama in real life.

On a more romantic note, here is one of my favourite Shakespeare readings ever:

Address for Théâtre de la Vie: rue Traversière, 45 1210 Bruxelles. 

Archiraar

Have you seen the movie "The Cube"? This is how I felt like when I entered the Archiraar gallery.

The owner is an architect. The dazzlingly white walls seem to be closing in on you. And the bright neons enhance the feeling of unrest. 

I recently went to the preview of "Constellations" by Vincent Chenut (by the way, previews are the best occasions to meet interesting-looking people). "Constellations" consists of maps who have been scraped with a scalpel and only few trails of the original maps are visible. 

Brussels is packed with art galleries, but also with people who can afford them. A lot of contemporary art, but also African and 19th century stuff. 

Forget about New York and Paris, Brussels is the new capital of art. 

Address: Rue de la Tulipe 31A

Laurent Gerbaud

Best hot chocolate in town!

Unctuous, thick, not two sweet. Genuine molten chocolate. Served with a glass of plain water. 

Bright, minimalist interior. Transparency. Cool, eclectic music. Splendid view on Palais des Beaux-Arts and Hotel Ravenstein. A treat for the soul. 

Bonus: you get a free praline to go with your hot chocolate. I for one am a sucker for the ones with salted almonds and dried prunes. 

Location: 2 rue Ravenstein, 1000 Brussels

Credits for the first photo here. 

Marx wrote the Communist manifesto in Brussels!

The house stands tall and proud in the midst of Brussels, at the Grand Place, on the left side of the Town Hall. The building is called "Le Cygne" ("The Swan"). 

Apparently, Marx lived in Brussels in different places between 1845 and 1848, after he was kicked out of France. Poor Karl... Friedrich Engels, with whom he drank quite a few Belgian beers, helped him write the manifesto. 

Marx allegedly suffered from poverty in Brussels, the capital of a blooming industrial country with colonies. His poverty might have influenced his thinking and radical ideas.

The agitator Marx ended up being kicked out of Belgium as well in 1848, for causing too much turmoil. 

Bibliotheca Wittockiana

The Bookbinding and Book Arts Museum bears the name of its founder, Michel Wittock. 

It opened its doors in autumn 1983.  Mr. Wittock had been an avid bibliophile and collector of books, manuscripts and autographs. 

On the first floor (a later addition), the reading room with rare books and old manuscripts can be consulted for free. The nostalgics can even follow a bookbinding workshop. 

The building is built into the ground, hidden under trees and ivy. It features a brutalist architecture. Its silence and a sensation of timelessness and safety left a lasting impression on me. 

If you have time, combine this visit with a stroll in the sinuous Woluwé park...

 

Address: 23 rue du Bémel, 1150 Brussels

Le Palais de la Folle Chanson

Another less known example of Art Deco in Brussels.

I was struck by its elegant whiteness. It was built in 1928 after the plans of the architect Antoine Courtens, one of Victor Horta's students. Victor Horta is mainly known as the father of Art Nouveau in Brussels, but few know that two important Art Deco buildings were designed by the latter: le Palais des Beaux-Arts and the Central Station. 

The palace is actually an apartment building with many windows and a rotunda on the corner. Its name is pure poetry: the Palace of the Mad Song (after the name of one of the roads it is situated on). The building holds luxury flats. The  apartments facing l'Avenue de la Folle Chanson even contain a boudoir and a dressing. 

By the way, what do you prefer? Art Nouveau or Art Deco? Personally, I prefer Art Deco, as I think it's rougher and has more personality. 

Address: corner between Boulevard Général Jacques and l'Avenue de la Folle Chanson.