SEX AND AUTHENTICITY

It was about sex. No, passion. Okay, perhaps something more sublime: a moment of pure sensuality.

I am talking of course about The Kiss, Auguste Rodin´s great sculpture. The one where man and woman entwine around each other and lip lock. It does more for me than any airy romance novel (and I have read a few). So whilst in Zurich, when I heard that a gallery in southern Switzerland was having a Rodin and Claudel exhibition, I popped myself on a train and choofed down to this lovely little place tucked into a valley flanked by big mountains.

KULCHA HIGH

Okay, so I don´t usually visit galleries and museums in my home town, but when I am away I turn into a bit of a kulcha vulture. Museums and galleries are great ways to immerse yourself into the place you are visiting and has the added effect of making your business contacts think more highly of you (truly).

Anyhow, in Martigny, a town of roman ruins and Saint Bernard dogs, I found the gallery, impressively called the Foundation Pierre Gianadda. The exhibition of Auguste Rodin and Camille Claudel set out the tragic story of these two artists' endearing love affair, each stunning sculpture reflecting the stage of passion or demise they were feeling at the time. I am not the only crazy artist in this world; I came away blissed to the max.

THATS IT!

Got me inspired to visit the British Museum when I landed in London after Switzerland. What a place! Wandered through a fantastic hall full of costumes from ancient cultures all over the world. Then I got it! I know why I had felt so"?¦satisfied. The stuff in these places were AUTHENTIC!

Now, in this world of plastic advertisements, fake goods, lying politicians and cheating corporations (and that´s the good guys), immersing yourself in authenticity is like a breathing a cylinder full of oxygen, or should I say, a breath of fresh air.

Try it. Check out www.iht.com/articles/2006/03/19/arts/webaguideMASTERnew.php for a list of whats on in museums around the world.