Dumbo in Avignon

The city? Avignon. In the background, the Palace of the Popes. In the foreground, an inquisitive onlooker. And in the middle, an upside-down elephant standing on its trunk. Of course, what could be more normal in this historic city?

If you happen to visit Avignon before November 7, you too may have the pleasure of seeing this example of contemporary exuberance executed by Miquel Barceló, a Catalan artist with a sense of nonsense.

What's it doing there? Don't you remember Jeff Koons' lobster in Versailles? And Jan Fabre's something-or-other in the Louvre? This is ART. Learn to appreciate it.

A reader is very upset about this elephant in the city of the Popes, but there are indications that the Avignon of today is not the Avignon of yesteryear, when great musicians and actors gave the highest quality, often immortal, performances during the legendary summer Festivals. It has been a while since performers of that caliber have entertained audiences, and with Western values literally standing on their head, maybe this mischievous mammoth is à propos after all. At any rate he is better-looking than some of the other sites you see today in Avignon, if my reader's observations are accurate.

Barcelò is also famous (infamous?) for the ceiling of the UN's palace of nations in Geneva. The photo below gives you an idea, but you must click this link and scroll down for more. It makes the topsy-turvy Dumbo look like Rodin's Thinker, by comparison.