When is Valentine’s Day this year?

That was the question asked by my romantically challenged husband when I asked him where he intended to take me. The poor love didn’t realize that the date never changes, unlike Passover, Easter, and various other celebrations.   Valentine’s Day is not a big deal here in the most romantic city on earth. If you don’t have a date for dinner on that day, then you are not a loser, children don’t send cards to each other at school…it’s barely a blimp on the radar.     The occasional chocolate shop will have a few red wrapped heart shapes thrown in with the rest.  Florists stock up on Flowers and there may be a sign in the window to prompt others into a heartfelt gesture. Weekly magazines generally have a Valentine’s Day photo feature and retailers can rustle up enough suitable merchandise for a photo shoot, but the general idea of French retailing is to have valentine goods generic enough to pass off as a gift at any other time of year. The fragrance industry is a fine example with names like “Romance”, “Love,” etc., etc., best sellers at any time of year.     For Valentine’s Day, a nice idea would be a visit to Cartier….not the jeweler but the Fondation Cartier pour l’Art Contemporain on 261 boulevard Raspail. The jeweler has housed contemporary collections in their gallery for over 20 years. It was once far beyond the outskirts of Paris, but in recent years has moved to a light and airy building in the 14th arrondissement. Their mission is to promote only contemporary artists.     Until February 19th, the two artists featured are Ron Muerk and John Maeda.   On the ground floor, dedicated to the Australian sculptor, Ron Muerk; visible from the street outside, one can see the largest piece – “Wild Man.” He is sitting naked on a chair and he if he could stand, would be around 6 meters tall. Another piece on much the same scale is “In bed”, a study of a woman waking up with a comforter under her armpits. The bed is more the size of a King Kong King than a California King.     On the Lilliputian scale are two works, one of which is the “Spooning Couple” who are naked, bar from one T shirt between them. The pieces, whether huge or small, are disconcertingly realistic, no blemish, vein or wrinkle has been overlooked. Ron Muerk uses silicone in order to implant head and body hairs individually. It is an amazing body of work that leaves one with a voyeuristic un-easiness and I tended to avoid looking directly into their eyes.     Just as I was beginning to feel like Alice in Porn land, I decided to join the children downstairs at the exhibit by John Maeda.  This American graphic designer, artist, computer scientist and professor at the MIT media laboratory presents “Nature” and “Eye’m hungry.”  “Nature” is a collection of seven digital motion paintings and several hours can be whiled away, as if looking into the fire.   The interactive exhibition “Eye’m hungry” was a huge hit with the kids as they could move food around with a mouse, keyboard or microphone… ”Look, you haven’t even touched the broccoli!”     If you are tempted to go for the real thing afterwards, not food or nakedness, but jewelry wise, then Cartier has eight stores in Paris and many others throughout the world. One of their most renowned rings is the “Trinity”. This was commissioned in 1924 by the poet, Jean Cocteau, as an offering to his male lover.     Although popular with men and women alike, many male couples wear this as a union ring. It has three intertwining bands, one in platinum, one in yellow gold and one in pink gold, hence the name “Trois anneaux, trois ors” and is beautiful in its simplicity. Cartier has created many versions of the “Trinity” encrusted with diamonds or other gems on the bands.     If you are looking for a Valentine’s gift for yourself or a loved one, nab a token from Cartier at 6.5 …because in the words of a beautiful Hollywood actress when she speaks French “je le vaux bien” or as she says in English speaking nations, “because I’m worth it”.