Pétanque at di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Ken Stutz, Ann Krilanovich, Hady Kahale

Last Sunday was my first time visit at the Napa’s di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art and I was amazed by its size (close to 900 000 square meters) and scope. I particularly noticed the twelve minutes life-size video rendition of Chartres Bleu, a stained-glass window exposed in the Chapel.

We were there at the invitation of Paul Kos (conceptual artist, educator and pétanque aficionado) and even though I was aware of a planned pétanque contest, I did not anticipate playing.

But, always expect the unexpected… At the last minute, due to the defection of some players, Tamara and I were persuaded to fill in. So we did. We played 3 thirty-five minutes games under a blazing sun… and lost them all. We were bested in the two first games by the identical scores of 9/11 and were routed in the last bout by an infamous Fanny. The culprits: Lynn Bell, Richard Bell and Bernard Passemar who all played an excellent game on a difficult gravel-filled terrain.

The only way to win on such a field is to be an excellent (tire-au-fer) shooter or a pointer who excels in “plombés”. And unfortunately, I am neither of those. By the way, I was never able to find an exact English translation for this word in English. If you find one, please let me know.

This “contretemps” (setback) prevented me to act on my initial plan which was to photograph the pétanque part of it. It is only after our ignominious defeat that I able to grab my camera and take some pétanque shots.

The winners of this hotly contested event (excuse the pun) were Ken Stutz,  Hady Kahale and our own Ann Krilanovich. I always said, “Watch out for Ann. Some day she will beat the “merde” out of you”. They were rewarded for their hard work by a golden ball adorned with Paul Kos’ signature, a di Rosa memberships for each member of team and a private peak at Zizi Va.

Thank you, Paul, for a fun-filled day at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.

Alain

PS: Click on the “My photos” link for a peak at the pictures taken during this event.
Thank you Isabelle for your photo added at the last minute.