I met Tigrane and Michka in Paris a couple of months ago….
Tigrane and Michka went out for dinner. They were going to stop at the tobacco museum first. The restaurant was lovely, but the museum was long gone… disappeared to a pile of ruble. Vanished in the vapours, but not to worry… everything worked out for the best… as these things go.
From the ashes of disaster, a plume if insperation and subsequent birth of le musee du fumeur in Paris. That was around 2001. The museum features a permenant exhibit and subsequent temporary instilations a gift store and libraby. It’s free, has one of the best bathrooms I’ve seen to date with a collections of photogrpahs iconic smokers, but words can’t really articulate the experience.
Tigrane and Michka
First of all, fire had to be mastered. Then mankind was ready to discover that inhaling the smoke of certain plants had a particular effect, casting a different light over the world.
From the native Americans who gave us tobacco to the pious saddhus of India who sacramentally puff on ganja, smoke is holly.
It connects mankind to the divine element, inviting the gods to descend among mortals, it inspires human beings. “Before answering a question, one ought to light a pipe” commented Einstein.
Having now become an industrial product, tobacco has lost all sacredness. Condemned as harmful and addictive, cigarettes have fallen into disrepute, whereas cigars and a whole new range of smoking paraphernalia, are gaining popularity. All in all, smoke has retained its mystery.
The Smoking Museum presents a practice as ancient as mankind ; it also provides a vantage point for the observation of changing behaviors.
