Paris vs New York: A Tally of Two Cities

Wrote Amy M. Thomas in Sunday's New York Times,

"Bagel or baguette? J.F.K. or C.D.G.? Pigeons or rats? These abiding questions are the central conceit of Paris Versus New York: A Tally of Two Cities, the Web site by the Parisian graphic designer Vahram Muratyan.

"With color-block graphics and razor-sharp wit, Muratyan presents the iconography of each city in dueling juxtaposition that becomes a running commentary on transcontinental difference.

"The diptychs can be so sly that the mere upward slope of a line — as in the case of Jean-Luc Godard's square eyeglasses beside Woody Allen's arched, angst-ridden pair — is enough to set two greats apart.

"More than two and a half million hits later, Muratyan's site, begun last October, has spawned an exhibit and sale at the shop Colette, in Paris, of Muratyan's most popular images in limited-edition prints, including the pitting of macarons against cupcakes and the dueling hairdos [below]

of Sonia Rykiel and Anna Wintour."