Samaritaine Paris. Photo's by Thierry Bouët., originally uploaded by fotorené.The giant babies that have been staring you down as you passed along the Quai du Louvre and Rue de Rivoli facades of the Samaritaine department store in Paris are by Thierry Bouët. They're part of his Première Heure project, in which he photographs funny-looking babies during their first hour in the world.
Première Heure continues through Jan. 20. But it went up on Nov. 21. So if Bouët's babies have been staring you down all this time, why the hell didn't you mention it? Do you think I didn't care? Is it because I've been so harsh on Colette? That's just tough love, mon vieux. It's for their own good.
Première heure | Photographies de Thierry Bouët [photosapiens via sullivan]
See photos of Bouët's photos on flickr [flickr]
here's one thanking all the bebes and their parents [flickr]
Thierry Bouet's website's got nothin so far [thierrybouet.com]
so is La Samaritaine open now or is it still mysteriously shuttered?
not so mysterious; LVMH closed it to break the unions. Travailleurs unis!
Oh I think they are beautiful. Honestly they make my ovaries stutter a bit. My youngest is nearly three now and I miss that new baby smell, touch, etc.
Debout ! les damnés de la terre !
Debout ! les forçats de la faim !
La raison tonne en son cratère :
C’est l’éruption de la fin.
It is almost amusing how amazingly French it is to close a store as a way of sticking it to the unions. When I was living there, there was a huuuuge chasm between the workers and management, with a whole set of complicated protocols about what is and is not appropriate to say or do in each others' presence. Every year in the fall, during "la saison des greves", we'd see a series of strikes that would randomly shut down a metro or RER line, or the post office, or the University or whatever. I was always amazed anything ever got done.