On the sixth day of the theater festival, we switch over to the third visit of the photography festival.

I wandered around the city of Arles, discovered various exhibitions, and will share with you my most interesting experiences. Come with me on this colorful and exciting adventure, and let’s explore the world of art together!

Clouds gather over my head as I wake up by the riverside; after yesterday’s bright sunshine, I wake up to a gloomy weather at half past nine. Realizing the urgent need for a restroom, I head to the relatively civilized facilities under the town hall, where only another backpacker is using it, brushing his teeth in the same manner. A logical decision for breakfast leads me to the market. And behold, what I found: Hungarian sausage and black pudding. It’s not specified where the recipe is from, but its taste and appearance clearly indicate that this is a Hungarian pork product marketed in France. One sausage and a black pudding cost eight euros, plus another for the baguette. A steep price for breakfast at noon, but it was worth it! I munch on them while reading a book in the square. There are just as few people sitting in the bar terraces as there were yesterday at eleven in the evening; both times are too early; at noon, people eat rather than drink, and at eleven in the evening, it’s still early for dancing – which they also do on the tables here. I didn’t wait for the lively atmosphere yesterday; instead, I went to listen to a live concert.
I had already taken a walk along the city walls in the morning – which I liked because there are very atmospheric residential blocks there. It’s good to live here. It’s good to be here. Now I stroll along the busy pedestrian street and peek into the souvenir shops. I’ve decided to go back to Arles on the early afternoon train to see photo exhibitions; who knows when I’ll come back to Avignon.
The Monoprix floor
From a marketing perspective, it’s a clever move that you can go up to the exhibition space from the back of the store. There are three exhibitions here, none of which impressed me – although I admit that the materials were not bad.
Photos of emergency training in the US army, practicing what to do if one of them gets shot.
Photos of California forest fires. The many shades of red and rust make the pictures truly dramatic.
Images edited with artificial intelligence. I don’t understand them. Although this exhibition is not my style, I ponder how much work, energy, and time it took to create these works. I couldn’t replicate them.
Croisiére
This is a versatile venue; for example, a cinema, bookstore, disco, and gallery. There are several exhibitions here at the same time.
This brings to mind the thought that nowadays every other exhibition is about war or other steps towards the self-destruction of the human race caused by itself. Reason: This is necessary, this is important! It cannot be said enough that humanity is dangerous to itself. My concern is that those of us who are affected by these works may already be somewhat desensitized (just now, in front of a picture vividly depicting a mother’s pain, I told myself to move on, move on, I’ve seen this before). I fear that those who are at the beginning of the sensitization process may not come here in their free time.
In a barn: Maison des peintres
There are also three exhibitions at one location. This is a former huge, perhaps agricultural warehouse, with a turbine-sized fan and a pretty, smiling female security guard who couldn’t take her eyes off me. I looked at the displays twice, but I didn’t get excited, I didn’t see anything special.
When we learned about India in school a long time ago, the western part (which I just saw on the map) was a separate little country, just like those tiny islands; here they are marked as provinces.
The holographic technique is clever in this smaller room. If I understand correctly, it depicts the misery of Bengali people. They could have a normal life, but instead, they are forced to flee. They languish in border camps.
I walk to the other end of the downtown. It’s so hot that I can literally feel the dry heat rising from the asphalt. I think this is why they say that many flowers and trees should be planted. The Réattu museum no longer fits into the schedule today; they close earlier. Instead, I head to the nearby…

(former) Méjan church
according to the flyer, they showcase the colors of the ocean. Oh, this is for me!
Ah, the slogan was taken literally. There were shades of blue and green and monochrome pictures of the oceanic world. I think they extracted the colors and put them on a separate sheet: next to the black and white pictures, like a color chart. But what did the – curator – poet think the viewer would think?
Espace Van Gogh house
Well, finally an exhibition that is not about how humanity is slowly destroying itself! This is primarily about women in unique life situations.
I stood in front of the fifteen-year-old girl for a long time, who is pregnant; in the next picture, her belly is so big, she can barely carry it, in the one after that, she screams in pain, and in the one after that, a teenage dad grins with a newborn baby.
In another room, they show people who are literally self-destructive: a photo series in a mental institution.
In another room, we see pictures of Indian courtesans. Those eyes! My goodness! There was a series about Mother Teresa and even circus performers.
Dinner at the Indian’s.
I still say: the person who invented mango chicken should have their name enshrined in prayer.
I started writing about Thursday in the pub at nine o’clock. It’s eleven in the evening now, and I’ve finished the draft of the second blog post. Now I’m going to find my scooter; I just hope I find it in the police parking lot. After the plan – if the music is good – I’ll dance for an hour and a half, then go home.
Avignon, Arles, July 19, 2024, Friday,