2018

day at the grounds for sculpture - part 3

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42 acres of the estrangement effect

part 1 - the mighty men

part 2 - the commoners

If your idea of a typical park visit is a mindless relaxing strolling in natural surroundings you better do it somewhere else. This park with its huge collection of sculptures of monumental proportions, 3-dimensional imitations of the iconic 2-dimensional images, super realistic human-size statues of common people, sculptures of deconstructed bodies and abstract figures, all strategically placed in the magnificently landscaped arboretum creates a strong estrangement effect. The alienation technique implemented in the park design forces the visitors to see common things in an unfamiliar or strange way and demands intellectual efforts to decipher artists' concepts for themselves .

I visited the park again and again and every time this enchanted feeding ground for thoughts did its trick. This time was no exception.

 

“Icons Revisited”

A horizontal man

Sunbather

Is it legal yet?

Relaxation

Threesome

Afternoon of a Faun

This way to eternity

A shiny thing

 Is there anybody out there?

What happens here, stays here

 

And for a change some creatures living in the park

Have wings, will not fly

I am coming for you

d.c. and vicinity...national gallery of art

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If I live nearby I would visit the Gallery every day. "And that's all I have to say about that."©

West Building, the 7th Street entrance.

Isoult by EdwardMcCartan

West Building, Main Floor - East Stair Lobby

Naiad by Antonio Canova

West Building, Main Floor - Rotunda

Mercury after Giovanni Bologna

West Building, Main Floor - view through the Rotunda

Neoclassicism at its best

West Building, Main Floor - West Sculpture Hall

Venus by Francesco Brambilla

West Building, Main Floor - East Sculpture Hall

Painting and Sculpture by Antoine Tassaert

Concourse

 Cascade Waterfall window

Walkway between East and West Buildings

Multiverse by Leo Villareal

Sculpture Garden

Rodent, homage to Roden  (Thinker on a Rock by Barry Flanagan)

East Building rooftop

Hahn/Cock by Katharina Fritsch

lake luxembourg…waiting for godot

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It’s March already. A major winter storm is coming again, the third one in 11 days. Despite this gloomy forecast, there is a sense of excitement in the air and all signs of weather indicate that spring is arriving:

  • A rare breed of public phones emerges from the snow

  • Bikers wake up from winter hibernation

  • Coke and Pepsi machines are on their marks for the spring showdown

  • Row boats are dreaming of breaking free

    and some already test the waters

 

Only cormorants keep cool heads – they can fish legally all year round

lake luxembourg…ice…rain…fog

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This February day was unusually warm and rainy but ice still covered our Lake Luxembourg. The ice cooled the air near the lake surface and the rain that was falling through the cold air formed a visually stunning fog. The view of the lake and trees veiled by the fog was so beautiful that despite the rain I could not force myself to leave the scene.  All in all,  keeping the camera in one hand and an umbrella in the other I took over 300 shots. Definitely more than I can consume. So here is just a minor part of them. The rest eventually will go to the unused images heaven during the next hard drive cleaning. Well, it’s life.

Farewell self-portrait with the lake in the background.