Friday, August 14, 2009

Still Life on the Street

Okay, so it was technically not a still life. It was more of a mural really but let's not get caught up in the details. As you might (or might not have) noticed I took a blogging vacation, or a vacation from blogging, and now I'm back, sort of, kind of. Still in a funk but I think I'm emerging. And so there I was on Rue du Rhone, near Confederation and there he sat as the world went around him and by him. Unperturbed and focused, still within the hubbub.



The artist, sitting on the sidewalk, transforming it. On a hot day when the asphalt was burning to the touch, shimmering in the sun, he sat in a verdant meadow full of wildflowers and placid cows and weird woodland creatures. Spectators stood on the sides of the taped off sidewalk-canvas. A tram went by, then two. Shoppers passed him by, shoppers from everywhere. Loose-jawed American accents mingled with languages others didn't understand. Arabic, Tamil, Hindi, French, Italian, and German simmered together under the sun.



And the artist never looked up, even when someone dropped coins, plink by plink, into his metal bowl. Not even when the soft rustle of paper bills joined the coins. He painstakingly painted a white flower, then added some more blades of grass, added a spray of pink flowers to a tree.



The world goes on as it does. The one who creates...does.

6 comments:

Anamika said...

Lovely. Is this what I can expect to encounter if I ever visit Switzerland? I am tempted.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

"Still in a funk but I think I'm emerging."

I think funks are going around.

Melissa Miller said...

This Artist is both focussed and courageous. To create in public, to hear the comments both flattering and otherwise may not be dragon slaying bravado but admirable nonetheless. Blogging is a bit like that, too. Glad to have you back in the fray!

Jawahara said...

Anamika, yes, this is just one of the lovely little surprises about Switzerland.

M J, as selfish as it sounds, I'm glad I'm not the only one in a funk :-) Hope we all get out of it though.

tagskie, thanks for visiting.

MM, well said, and very true.

Neha said...

I think the unperturbed nature is the key to creating masterpieces.

And may be you are also unperturbed when you write these blogs, thats the reason for its beauty.

Nice write up!

Sujatha Bagal said...

That is some work of art!