Born today: Olivier Todd

Melinda's interview with the French author and journalist Olivier Todd, who turns 87 today, was included in her book Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections of Contemporary French Arts and Culture.

Todd on his trip to England: "One thing this trip to England made sure of, was that I could never become a Marxist. And you know the importance of Marxism in France. I didn't trust words the way the French do. I mean a lot of writers in France get totally carried away by words, whether it's Malraux or Bernard Henri-Levy. They may come to the right conclusion but they get drunk on words. Sentences have a poetical beauty. But the verification principle just doesn't apply."

Todd on Sartre: "I think that Sartre, like many intellectuals, should have spent more time writing and less time standing on a crate in front of Billancourt, harrying the workers. There's no reason why intellectuals should be competent, particularly literary intellectuals, to deal with politics."

Todd on Jean-Marie Le Pen: "Le Pen is a nasty character, and some of the people around him are even nastier than he is. It's absolutely true that he represents xenophobia and racism."

Todd on his reporting of the Vietnam War for Le Nouvel Observateur: "I did support Hanoi and the Vietcong for many years...I changed my mind much too late. Its obvious that when I landed in Vietnam in February 1965 for the first time that I should have know what was actually going on. It took me from 1965 to 1973 to see the light. I mean, how slow can you be?"

Read the entire excerpt from Through Parisian Eyes here.

MelindaCamberPorter.com

New Exhibit Just Announced

The Melinda Camber Porter Archive is proud to announce the University of South Dakota's Melinda Camber Porter Exhibition of Art, Books and Film, September 19 until October 14, 2016.


This USD Exhibition is the first time, that all 90 Luminous Bodies watercolors and 27 Triptych oil paintings art series are presented in one venue, along with her books and films. This is made possible by the University of South Dakota community and their expansive John A Day Gallery and Exhibition Hall.

Luminous Bodies Series are works of celebration and mourning with 90 watercolors. These images explore the spiritual and cultural forces that continuously vie to originate and then heal the rift between the body and the soul.

“In order to produce art like Luminous Bodies you have to be like William Blake, absolutely fearless.” RobinHamlyn (Senior Curator, Tate Britain).
 
The Triptych Series are 27 large oils on canvas exploring the triptych form as both altarpiece and sculptural shape. 

Peter Trippi, editor of Fine Art Connoisseur states, “In an art market crowded with hollow protestations of “self-identity,” Melinda Camber Porter’s works offer us a new cosmology and an authentic vision of our


John A Day Gallery and Exhibition Hall
University of South Dakota
414 E. Clark Street, Vermillion, SD 57069
Contact: Michelle St. Vrain, 605-677-3177

My Polaroid Selfie No. 1

See more of Melinda's Polaroid Selfies on Tumblr, Twitter, and Instagram

MelindaCamberPorter.com

A page from Melinda’s Camber Porter Fashion in the Time of Queen Elizabeth I (1558-1603), written and illustrated by Porter while she attended Class 2 at The City of London School for Girls.

MelindaCamberPorter.com

Born this day: Jean-Paul Aron

Jean-Paul Aron would be 91 years old today. In 1976 Melinda sat down with Mr. Aron, then a spry 51, in Paris. There conversation was included in her book Through Parisian Eyes, in which in the French writer, journalist, and philosopher had a lot to say:

On the search for novelty that has invaded art and literature: "I am not against modernity, and I know that each epoch produces its own new truth. But I am against these impostures of modernity, that's to say, these 'new' systems of thought, which become like commodities...People say that America produces literary works like commodities. But it's true of France. At the moment we have new products, or books, that glut the market, each one destorying the validity of the previous 'new' book."

On structuralism: "People take to these systems of thought when they want to avoid living, meaning, and feelings. There's a curious taste for objectivity...What I mean is that people are under the illusion that you can transcribe a so-called objective view of the world...so you don't have to actually experience life."

Read the full text here.

MelindaCamberPorter.com

Happy Birthday Michael Lonsdale

"Michael Lonsdale, one of the most protean and familiar French actors of the screen and stage, had just completed working in English on Joseph Losey's latest film, Mr. Klein, when I met him in London."

So begins Melinda Camber Porter's reflection on her conversation, one of over 30 included in her book Through Parisian Eyes, with Mr. Lonsdale, who turns 85 years old today. Happy birthday!

Read the full text here.

MelindaCamberPorter.com

Melinda's Readers Love Fashion in the Time of Queen Elizabeth

Belinda Missen from Australia says it's "Fabulously illustrated. I would absolutely recommend it. It's a great example of her early work, combining mediums as she was wont to do."

Kristine from Minneapolis gave it 4 stars. She called it "An unusually constructed book. The authoress...wrote a longer-length report in primaries while supplying her own pencil lead and blue ink sketches of fabric flounces and texture of British subjects, noblemen, and royalty."

Serra Garris suggests her independent bookstore in Grove, OK carry Fashion In The Time Of Queen Elizabeth I (1558 – 1603) by Melinda Camber Porter. They are likely to hand-sell this book and give it a three-star rating. Serra is responsible for choosing new titles that will appeal to their customers in Oklahoma. They currently offer non-fiction, New Age, metaphysical, history, biographies, as well as fiction, romance, science fiction/fantasy and erotica.

Find some illustrations from the book on Melinda's Instagram