Lecture
Picasso and the Cubist years
Thu, Oct 29, 4:30pm
Chamonix restaurant
Sollano 17A
120 pesos

Pain, amour et fantaisies
By Reuben Pantell

Bea Aronson & Stephan Eaker

There may exist a place, perhaps a small pavilion clinging to the side of a worn and craggy mountain, a small waterfall descending nearby, where some who have had enough of the sad and strife-torn world, assemble to play chess, drink their white tea and, determined to be passionate to their very last breath, share their speculative poetry and sing with gaiety mournful songs on the tragedy of history and its violence.

As my grandfather would say, mine own, where I have never been, is a small garden where grape vines and fig trees grow. And now, just recently, in the twilight of my life I have found it. I entered Chamonix restaurant, on calle Sollano. I walked through a passageway to the patio, where I caught sight of these words painted above the doors opening into the sparkling bar, with its rows of intriguing shapes of bottles and glasses: “Pain, amour et fantaisies” (Bread, love and fantasies.)

Architecture can do many things, from the monumental to the ephemeral. Garden architecture can create an armature for moments of sensation that almost pass by our consciousness. Light and shadow, random sounds and odors, the sense of time slowing or passing us quickly by are the dynamics of our being. Some places can gather them into a heightened engagement, giving ordinary ephemeral moments significance. These fleeting moments create the consciousness of being-memory, reverie, reflection and dream.

Twenty people had gathered to listen to a lecture on Balzac and The Human Comedy. The lecturer, Bea Aaronson, known as a prolific painter and sculptor of emotionally charged expressionist work, who along with her partner Stephan Eaker, has the gallery Casa Verde on Prolongación Pila Seca.

Bea has a PhD in philosophy and another degree in comparative literature; her thesis is on Proust and Bergson. What followed was a tumultuous and entertaining discourse on Balzac, his influence on literature, and on the concept of a city, filled with tangential material on what Bea calls “the zoology of the human species.”

This was the second in a series of lectures at Chamonix; the first was on Proust and “the magic cup of tea.” All this emanated from a lecture she did on Proust for five people at the Empowerment Center.

Bea has said that “knowledge without sharing”—and she means sharing passionately, frankly—“is sterile.” Bea suggested to Stephan that he do some talks on artists, and so they have alternated the talks. Stephan started with one on Modigliani, the lost prince of Montmartre, and two weeks later he followed with a most provocative description of the life of Kiki, the most famous artist model of the twenties and thirties.

Transported by the surroundings, we share the knowledge and perception of these master speakers. Most times I sit with my wife, and next to me on the other side are Toni and Ana Lilia, our hosts and owners of Chamonix, to whom I feel a deep gratitude for their participation in this transporting business.

Stephan gives a talk on Picasso before Cubism this week on Picasso and the Cubist years. Bea returns to give us a series of talks on aspects of Baudelaire in November.

The pleasure of place and enterprise these Thursday afternoons entail is magnificent. Try the apple tart like I did, or there is a splendid lemon one and espresso. The place fills quickly and there is a limit of 20 seats.