Chained to the art school sink

I spent Saturday in a state of semi-bliss, wandering around the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts, known as ENSBA or simply Les Beaux Arts. The main art school of Paris is a cluster of palatial yet wonderfully lived-in and worn-out buildings between the Seine and Saint Germain des Pres. This is where Serge Gainsbourg studied painting (he wanted to be Picabia, but ended up trashing all his paintings) and paint is still the main thing you smell as you wander from room to room looking at what the students have been up to. I got very interested in the sinks, with their arty spatter and their wonderful notices ("Ne gaspillez pas la gomme arabique! 1 cm suffit pour preparer une pierre")...



...but there was tons to see and do during the Portes Ouvertes event -- watch a human cocoon wriggle in a tree, listen to a noisy laptop duo screaming through mics, and play crazy golf. There are more pictures in this Flickr slideshow. I think tonight (Sunday) I'll probably be at the big student party they're throwing at Bus Palladium (9pm till dawn, €10). I want to celebrate my book deal with Paris publishers La Volte!