From Baudelaire to Flânographer
Some people move through the world without really noticing it. Others, like artists, dreamers, and explorers, see things differently. They take in the flicker of candlelight on a café table, the stories overheard on a crowded street corner, or the poetry in passing moments.
Charles Baudelaire was one of those people. A 19th-century French poet and writer, he was fascinated with modern life: how cities breathe, the way people move through them, and the hidden beauty in the everyday. He called this way of seeing flânerie, and the person who mastered it? The flâneur—a wanderer, an observer, someone who finds art in the world’s unnoticed corners.
“The crowd is his element, as the air is that of birds and water of fishes… For the perfect flâneur, for the passionate observer, it is an immense joy to set up house in the heart of the multitude, amid the ebb and flow of movement, in the midst of the fugitive and the infinite.” —Charles Baudelaire, The Painter of Modern Life
From Flâneur to Flânographer
At The Fifth Avenue Hotel, we’re deeply inspired by the flâneur. It’s part of who we are and why we exist. Building on this idea, our proprietor Alex Ohebshalom, created the concept of the flânographer: an artist who not only captures the essence of our spaces, but uses them as a canvas to explore and elevate their craft. Each flânographer is carefully chosen to immerse themselves in The Fifth, interpreting its surroundings in ways that invite connection in beautifully unexpected ways.
To Be or Not to Be a Flânographer: Who Are They?
In Alex’s words, a flânographer is “a creative leader, an authentic spirit, a connoisseur, a tastemaker. Someone who is unapologetically and authentically capturing or expressing the world from their unique perspective through their craft or art.” For Alex, these artists represent “best-in-class creatives, storytellers, and visionaries” who are committed to “telling stories that might otherwise go unnoticed, captured with a passionate and honest heart.”
The true role of a flânographer is to make the unseen visible, transforming unnoticed details into meaningful reflections. Through their creative mind, they reveal aspects of The Fifth that invite guests to experience it in ways they may not have imagined.
Designed with Flânographers in Mind
According to Alex, The Fifth Avenue Hotel is a “living, breathing canvas” that can only be truly understood when experienced with all the senses. It’s a world rich with layered details: intricate wallpaper on every floor, sparkling chandeliers in Café Carmellini, and curated wonders in our Cabinet of Curiosities. Hidden tortoise motifs peek from the hallways, books leave you questioning, a wall of eyes follows your path, and artworks in The Portrait Bar tell their own stories. Everything, everywhere, invites a closer look. As Alex describes, it’s “a universe of whimsy, color, personality, and fantasy,” where “flânographers can leave their mark, write a new chapter, and discover a new angle of their work or craft.”
The Art of Looking Closer
Baudelaire wrote of the flâneur’s ability to “search for that indefinable something we may be allowed to call modernity”—a fleeting, ever-changing beauty found in movement and detail. The flânographer extends this pursuit, not just observing but capturing, interpreting, and giving new life to the unnoticed.
Through this lens, each guest at The Fifth is invited to become a flânographer in their own right. Ultimately, we’re all a bit of a flâneur, if we just take the time to look.
