Emery Walker's Islamic collection opens to public in London
Excerpt:
Once Choudhery started looking she found Islamic pieces in every room, including a very tatty camel saddle, and a copy of the Qur’an the size of a postage stamp sent by Walker to his daughter who wanted to learn Arabic. The Qur’ans were actually printed by a Scottish man, David Bryce, who specialised in miniature books. They were mass-produced for Muslim soldiers during the first world war, supplied in metal cases with a ring so they could be hung on a chain.
More and photo at:
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/201 ... ellery-art
General Art & Architecture of Interest
The Meaning of the Moon, From the Incas to the Space Race
Excerpt:
As the Louisiana’s new exhibition, “The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space,” reveals, humans have wanted the moon for most of our history — wanted to understand it, capture it, land on it, own it. The show, which runs through Jan. 20, is notionally inspired by the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, yet its focus isn’t solely on science or spacecraft, but on art and literature, too. Indeed, the suggestion is that we cannot hope to comprehend the moon if we try to pin it down to one thing. Every time we look up, it’s different.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/arts ... 3053090913
Excerpt:
As the Louisiana’s new exhibition, “The Moon: From Inner Worlds to Outer Space,” reveals, humans have wanted the moon for most of our history — wanted to understand it, capture it, land on it, own it. The show, which runs through Jan. 20, is notionally inspired by the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission, yet its focus isn’t solely on science or spacecraft, but on art and literature, too. Indeed, the suggestion is that we cannot hope to comprehend the moon if we try to pin it down to one thing. Every time we look up, it’s different.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/12/arts ... 3053090913
KICC marks anniversary amid calls to preserve heritage
In Summary
Before he died in 1980 at Highgate, London, Mr Connell had earned his name in Nairobi and anyone who looks at the design of Parliament Building, Sheria House and Aga Khan University Hospital will see his typical imprint.
Apart from a few, which include new Wajir headquarters, what we have today are uninspiring and badly designed hovels masquerading as headquarters.
More...
https://www.nation.co.ke/news/KICC-mark ... index.html
In Summary
Before he died in 1980 at Highgate, London, Mr Connell had earned his name in Nairobi and anyone who looks at the design of Parliament Building, Sheria House and Aga Khan University Hospital will see his typical imprint.
Apart from a few, which include new Wajir headquarters, what we have today are uninspiring and badly designed hovels masquerading as headquarters.
More...
https://www.nation.co.ke/news/KICC-mark ... index.html
BOOK
The World of the Fatimids
Between the tenth and twelfth centuries CE, the Fatimid Caliphate ruled part of present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sicily, and Syria. Tracing their descent from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima, the Fatimids reinvigorated Islamic art, producing splendid pottery, metalwork, rock crystal, wood, textile, and calligraphic creations. This art showcased ingenious techniques, superb decorative methods, and lively motifs displaying an inventive dynamism in the use of material and abstract forms. Architecture, too, became a hallmark of Fatimid grandeur, resulting in such magnificent structures as al-Azhar University in Cairo, the Fatimids’ capital.
One of the most comprehensive studies of Fatimid art and architecture ever published, this survey in fourteen essays features the artistic creations of one of the most inventive periods in Islamic culture.
More...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3777430374
The World of the Fatimids
Between the tenth and twelfth centuries CE, the Fatimid Caliphate ruled part of present-day Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, Sicily, and Syria. Tracing their descent from the Prophet Muhammad’s daughter Fatima, the Fatimids reinvigorated Islamic art, producing splendid pottery, metalwork, rock crystal, wood, textile, and calligraphic creations. This art showcased ingenious techniques, superb decorative methods, and lively motifs displaying an inventive dynamism in the use of material and abstract forms. Architecture, too, became a hallmark of Fatimid grandeur, resulting in such magnificent structures as al-Azhar University in Cairo, the Fatimids’ capital.
One of the most comprehensive studies of Fatimid art and architecture ever published, this survey in fourteen essays features the artistic creations of one of the most inventive periods in Islamic culture.
More...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/3777430374
The Case for Making Cities Out of Wood
Excerpt:
There is also, alongside the environmental and economic, an aesthetic-psychological case for wood cities. Clare Farrow, who is co-curating a current London exhibit called “Timber Rising–Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow,” wrote in Dezeen, “Studies are showing that the presence, scent and touch of wood can have remarkably positive effects, not only on people’s wellbeing in a general sense, but more specifically on stress levels, blood pressure, communication, learning and healing.” A 2015 review in Wood Science and Technology supports her claims and also suggests that “specific aspects of wood such as colour, quantity, and grain pattern should be examined” in future studies.
More...
http://nautil.us//blog/-the-case-for-ma ... a-60760513
Excerpt:
There is also, alongside the environmental and economic, an aesthetic-psychological case for wood cities. Clare Farrow, who is co-curating a current London exhibit called “Timber Rising–Vertical Visions for the Cities of Tomorrow,” wrote in Dezeen, “Studies are showing that the presence, scent and touch of wood can have remarkably positive effects, not only on people’s wellbeing in a general sense, but more specifically on stress levels, blood pressure, communication, learning and healing.” A 2015 review in Wood Science and Technology supports her claims and also suggests that “specific aspects of wood such as colour, quantity, and grain pattern should be examined” in future studies.
More...
http://nautil.us//blog/-the-case-for-ma ... a-60760513
Why We Should Let the Pantheon Crack
Modern architects have a lot to learn from the sound engineering of the ancients.
John Ochsendorf wants to tear down Rome’s iconic Pantheon. He wants to pull apart its 2,000-year-old walls until its gorgeous dome collapses. Destroying it, he believes, is the best way to preserve it.
But the Pantheon that Ochsendorf, a professor of engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has in mind to destroy is less than 20 inches high, and it’s made of 492 3-D-printed blocks. It’s designed from laser scans of the real building. A gaggle of MIT engineering students will place it on a table with a sliding base and pull the walls apart, then put it back together and tilt it until it crumbles.
It’s hard to see how razing a doll-sized Roman monument will help protect the real thing. But Ochsendorf, whose easy smile and self-effacing humor belie confidence and determination, has a serious goal: to prove that historical structures like the Pantheon are more stable than we give them credit for. “By every measure of success of a building—from an architectural, from an artistic, and from an engineering standpoint—I would argue that the Pantheon is the greatest that was ever built,” Ochsendorf says. “There’s no greater definition of success for a building than it’s been standing for 20 centuries.”
It also represents a masterwork of engineering and a repository of ancient technical knowledge—the structural equivalent of the Mona Lisa. Ochsendorf is working to halt what he sees as unnecessary interventions in historical buildings, in which engineers try to fix cracked or slumping walls with steel bars and supports. “We see a crack in a structure and we do a major intervention, but that’s akin to dipping the Mona Lisa in epoxy because one section of the painting has faded a bit,” he says.
More...
http://nautil.us/issue/24/error/why-we- ... 1-60760513
Modern architects have a lot to learn from the sound engineering of the ancients.
John Ochsendorf wants to tear down Rome’s iconic Pantheon. He wants to pull apart its 2,000-year-old walls until its gorgeous dome collapses. Destroying it, he believes, is the best way to preserve it.
But the Pantheon that Ochsendorf, a professor of engineering and architecture at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has in mind to destroy is less than 20 inches high, and it’s made of 492 3-D-printed blocks. It’s designed from laser scans of the real building. A gaggle of MIT engineering students will place it on a table with a sliding base and pull the walls apart, then put it back together and tilt it until it crumbles.
It’s hard to see how razing a doll-sized Roman monument will help protect the real thing. But Ochsendorf, whose easy smile and self-effacing humor belie confidence and determination, has a serious goal: to prove that historical structures like the Pantheon are more stable than we give them credit for. “By every measure of success of a building—from an architectural, from an artistic, and from an engineering standpoint—I would argue that the Pantheon is the greatest that was ever built,” Ochsendorf says. “There’s no greater definition of success for a building than it’s been standing for 20 centuries.”
It also represents a masterwork of engineering and a repository of ancient technical knowledge—the structural equivalent of the Mona Lisa. Ochsendorf is working to halt what he sees as unnecessary interventions in historical buildings, in which engineers try to fix cracked or slumping walls with steel bars and supports. “We see a crack in a structure and we do a major intervention, but that’s akin to dipping the Mona Lisa in epoxy because one section of the painting has faded a bit,” he says.
More...
http://nautil.us/issue/24/error/why-we- ... 1-60760513
Navigating Religions through Art | Ali Asani | TEDxCalgary
Is ignorance about religions an issue? What role can art play in bridging our understanding of religions in the modern world? What is the role of art in the major religions of this world? Are there common threads between faiths? These compelling questions and more are explored in this TEDx talk by Dr. Ali Asani, an award winning professor at Harvard University. The TEDxCalgary audience received this talk that weaves visual beauty, oral performance and narrative with enthusiasm on Nov 3 2018. Many attendees articulated that it helped change what they would pay attention to when attempting to understand religions.
The author of several books and numerous articles, Dr. Asani is particularly interested in the relationship between religion, literature and the arts. Professor Asani’s use of the arts in pedagogy is part of his broader effort to eradicate “religious illiteracy.” He is a recipient of the Harvard Foundation medal for his contributions to improving intercultural and race relations and Harvard’s Petra C. Shattuck Prize for excellence in teaching. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hii44316rQI
Is ignorance about religions an issue? What role can art play in bridging our understanding of religions in the modern world? What is the role of art in the major religions of this world? Are there common threads between faiths? These compelling questions and more are explored in this TEDx talk by Dr. Ali Asani, an award winning professor at Harvard University. The TEDxCalgary audience received this talk that weaves visual beauty, oral performance and narrative with enthusiasm on Nov 3 2018. Many attendees articulated that it helped change what they would pay attention to when attempting to understand religions.
The author of several books and numerous articles, Dr. Asani is particularly interested in the relationship between religion, literature and the arts. Professor Asani’s use of the arts in pedagogy is part of his broader effort to eradicate “religious illiteracy.” He is a recipient of the Harvard Foundation medal for his contributions to improving intercultural and race relations and Harvard’s Petra C. Shattuck Prize for excellence in teaching. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hii44316rQI
Raffles City Chongqing: China's latest engineering marvel
Dubbed an engineering marvel, the highly anticipated Raffles City Chongqing project is nearly complete.
Devised by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, it measures a staggering 1.12-million-square-metres and consists of a collection of eight towers and a gigantic connecting skybridge -- which is being called a "horizontal skyscraper."
The 250-metre-long skybridge, named Crystal, is said to be one of the world's highest.
When open, it will have a viewing gallery, sky gardens, an infinity pool and various restaurants.
Photos and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ailsignout
Dubbed an engineering marvel, the highly anticipated Raffles City Chongqing project is nearly complete.
Devised by world-renowned architect Moshe Safdie, it measures a staggering 1.12-million-square-metres and consists of a collection of eight towers and a gigantic connecting skybridge -- which is being called a "horizontal skyscraper."
The 250-metre-long skybridge, named Crystal, is said to be one of the world's highest.
When open, it will have a viewing gallery, sky gardens, an infinity pool and various restaurants.
Photos and more...
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ailsignout
This Is How China Was Able to Build the World’s First Subterranean Hotel
When you approach the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel from its driveway, you’re greeted by a low-profile, two-story building with a grassy roof—it’s hardly what you’d expect from a 336-room luxury hotel. That’s because 16 of the hotel’s 18 floors are beneath the earth’s surface.
Wonderland is the first hotel in the world to be built underground, though it’s not a subterranean dungeon as you might expect. It’s built into the cliffs of a formerly abandoned quarry about 30 miles from Shanghai’s city center, descending nearly 290 feet down to a lake at the bottom of the pit.
Videos, images and more at:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/tra ... ailsignout
When you approach the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland hotel from its driveway, you’re greeted by a low-profile, two-story building with a grassy roof—it’s hardly what you’d expect from a 336-room luxury hotel. That’s because 16 of the hotel’s 18 floors are beneath the earth’s surface.
Wonderland is the first hotel in the world to be built underground, though it’s not a subterranean dungeon as you might expect. It’s built into the cliffs of a formerly abandoned quarry about 30 miles from Shanghai’s city center, descending nearly 290 feet down to a lake at the bottom of the pit.
Videos, images and more at:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/tra ... ailsignout
Stunning pictures of the world's most beautiful train stations
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/tra ... ailsignout
All aboard
A charming train journey is on almost every traveler's wish list. And whether it's through lush countryside or rugged mountains, in the lap of luxury or standard class, every railway trip has to start, and stop, somewhere. From classical masterpieces to modern marvels, step onboard our tour of beautiful train stations around the globe.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/lifestyle/tra ... ailsignout
All aboard
A charming train journey is on almost every traveler's wish list. And whether it's through lush countryside or rugged mountains, in the lap of luxury or standard class, every railway trip has to start, and stop, somewhere. From classical masterpieces to modern marvels, step onboard our tour of beautiful train stations around the globe.
Quranic Park opens in Khawaneej
60 hectare plot houses 54 plants mentioned in the Holy Quran
Dubai: Al Quran Park was officially opened in Al Khawaneej in Dubai on Friday.
The 60-hectare park, which is free to enter, aims to bridge cultural differences in this Year of Tolerance and educate visitors about Islam and the Holy Quran.
As well as areas that detail the miracles of the Quran (the Cave of Miracles) and an Umrah corner, there is also an outdoor theatre and Glass House, along with facilities akin to most parks, like children’s play areas, a lake, running and cycling tracks.
Another notable features however are the 12 Islamic gardens, which house 54 plants mentioned in the Holy Quran, such as figs, pomegranate and olives.
The park has solar panels, wifi and phone charging stations, as well as shaded seating areas.
There are also kiosks to display information about the plants and their use in food and medicine as mentioned in verses of the Quran. Although the park is free to enter the Caves of Miracles and Glass House cost Dh10 to enter.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/quranic-park-o ... 1.62997072
60 hectare plot houses 54 plants mentioned in the Holy Quran
Dubai: Al Quran Park was officially opened in Al Khawaneej in Dubai on Friday.
The 60-hectare park, which is free to enter, aims to bridge cultural differences in this Year of Tolerance and educate visitors about Islam and the Holy Quran.
As well as areas that detail the miracles of the Quran (the Cave of Miracles) and an Umrah corner, there is also an outdoor theatre and Glass House, along with facilities akin to most parks, like children’s play areas, a lake, running and cycling tracks.
Another notable features however are the 12 Islamic gardens, which house 54 plants mentioned in the Holy Quran, such as figs, pomegranate and olives.
The park has solar panels, wifi and phone charging stations, as well as shaded seating areas.
There are also kiosks to display information about the plants and their use in food and medicine as mentioned in verses of the Quran. Although the park is free to enter the Caves of Miracles and Glass House cost Dh10 to enter.
https://gulfnews.com/uae/quranic-park-o ... 1.62997072
Middle East: an overview of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
In 1972, UNESCO made the following statement : "Some cultural and natural heritage properties are of outstanding interest and require preservation". Several historic sites were then protected throughout the world in order to guarantee "transmission to future generations". Here are some of them, to be discovered in the Middle East.
Photos and more...
https://kawa-news.com/en/middle-east-an ... age-sites/
********
The most beautiful places of worship in the Arab world and the Middle East
In search of spirituality or new wonders to discover, take advantage of a trip to the Middle East to immerse yourself in the breathtaking architecture of sacred buildings. From Egypt to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, these are the places of worship not to be missed.
Photos and more..
https://kawa-news.com/en/the-most-beaut ... ddle-east/
In 1972, UNESCO made the following statement : "Some cultural and natural heritage properties are of outstanding interest and require preservation". Several historic sites were then protected throughout the world in order to guarantee "transmission to future generations". Here are some of them, to be discovered in the Middle East.
Photos and more...
https://kawa-news.com/en/middle-east-an ... age-sites/
********
The most beautiful places of worship in the Arab world and the Middle East
In search of spirituality or new wonders to discover, take advantage of a trip to the Middle East to immerse yourself in the breathtaking architecture of sacred buildings. From Egypt to the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, these are the places of worship not to be missed.
Photos and more..
https://kawa-news.com/en/the-most-beaut ... ddle-east/
The world’s most influential houses are real estate royalty
Real estate royalty by Eames, Wright, Gehry et al
Step back in time and take a look at the most famous houses built by the world's greatest architects. Still groundbreaking decades later, forward thinkers such as: Zaha Hadid; Le Corbusier; the master of mid-century design, Frank Lloyd Wright; and creative power couple Charles and Ray Eames changed the way we design our homes, inside and out. Take a tour through the most important real estate of all time. Though be warned, it will give you a bad case of house envy.
Slide show at:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ut#image=1
Real estate royalty by Eames, Wright, Gehry et al
Step back in time and take a look at the most famous houses built by the world's greatest architects. Still groundbreaking decades later, forward thinkers such as: Zaha Hadid; Le Corbusier; the master of mid-century design, Frank Lloyd Wright; and creative power couple Charles and Ray Eames changed the way we design our homes, inside and out. Take a tour through the most important real estate of all time. Though be warned, it will give you a bad case of house envy.
Slide show at:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ut#image=1
https://www.wjhl.com/news/national/fame ... ies-at-92/
Posted: Jul 20, 2019 / 11:32 AM EDT / Updated: Jul 20, 2019 / 11:45 AM EDT
PELLI AND KHAN
FILE – In this Nov. 27, 2004 file photo, Cesar Pelli of Cesar Pelli and Associates US, right, one of the awardees of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture walks with his award as the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, claps during the award ceremony at the gardens of Emperor Humayuns Tomb in New Delhi, India. Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most iconic buildings, has died. He was 92. Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio, confirmed Saturday, July 20, 2019, that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Famed Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most iconic buildings, has died. He was 92.
Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio, confirmed Saturday that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven. Pelli was the former dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a lecturer at the school, where he received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is one of the Pelli’s best-known works. The twin 1,483-foot-tall skyscrapers are among the world’s tallest buildings. He is also known for designing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Center, a downtown Manhattan skyscraper complex.
Pelli spoke of architecture’s being a social art.
Posted: Jul 20, 2019 / 11:32 AM EDT / Updated: Jul 20, 2019 / 11:45 AM EDT
PELLI AND KHAN
FILE – In this Nov. 27, 2004 file photo, Cesar Pelli of Cesar Pelli and Associates US, right, one of the awardees of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture walks with his award as the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, claps during the award ceremony at the gardens of Emperor Humayuns Tomb in New Delhi, India. Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most iconic buildings, has died. He was 92. Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio, confirmed Saturday, July 20, 2019, that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — Famed Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most iconic buildings, has died. He was 92.
Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio, confirmed Saturday that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven. Pelli was the former dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a lecturer at the school, where he received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia is one of the Pelli’s best-known works. The twin 1,483-foot-tall skyscrapers are among the world’s tallest buildings. He is also known for designing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Center, a downtown Manhattan skyscraper complex.
Pelli spoke of architecture’s being a social art.
https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/wor ... s-aged-92/
Famed architect Cesar Pelli dies aged 92
World News | Published: 20 July 2019
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among Pelli’s best-known works.
Famed Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most well-known buildings, has died aged 92.
Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio in the US, confirmed Saturday that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven.
Pelli was the former dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a lecturer at the school, where he received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among Pelli’s best-known works.
The twin 1,483ft skyscrapers are among the world’s tallest buildings.
He is also known for designing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Centre, a central Manhattan skyscraper complex.
Pelli described architecture as being a social art.
Famed architect Cesar Pelli dies aged 92
World News | Published: 20 July 2019
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among Pelli’s best-known works.
Famed Argentine-American architect Cesar Pelli, known for designing some of the world’s tallest and most well-known buildings, has died aged 92.
Anibal Bellomio, a senior associate architect at Pelli’s Connecticut studio in the US, confirmed Saturday that Pelli died peacefully on Friday at his home in New Haven.
Pelli was the former dean of the Yale University School of Architecture and a lecturer at the school, where he received an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are among Pelli’s best-known works.
The twin 1,483ft skyscrapers are among the world’s tallest buildings.
He is also known for designing the Salesforce Tower in San Francisco and Brookfield Place, formerly the World Financial Centre, a central Manhattan skyscraper complex.
Pelli described architecture as being a social art.
Cesar Pelli, Designer of Iconic Buildings Around the World, Dies at 92
Mr. Pelli, whose many distinctive projects include the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, tried to reconcile modernism with his interest in shape, texture and the architecture of the past.
Excerpt:
He won hundreds of architecture awards, including the 1995 gold medal of the American Institute of Architects, its highest honor.
Mr. Pelli’s success came late in life. He didn’t open his own firm until he was 50, and even then, he said, “It was only because I was forced to.” That happened in 1977, when he was chosen to design the renovation and expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
With his wife, the landscape architect Diana Balmori, and a former colleague, Fred Clarke, he formed Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects to handle the MoMA project.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/arts ... ogin-email
Mr. Pelli, whose many distinctive projects include the Petronas Twin Towers in Malaysia, tried to reconcile modernism with his interest in shape, texture and the architecture of the past.
Excerpt:
He won hundreds of architecture awards, including the 1995 gold medal of the American Institute of Architects, its highest honor.
Mr. Pelli’s success came late in life. He didn’t open his own firm until he was 50, and even then, he said, “It was only because I was forced to.” That happened in 1977, when he was chosen to design the renovation and expansion of the Museum of Modern Art in Manhattan.
With his wife, the landscape architect Diana Balmori, and a former colleague, Fred Clarke, he formed Cesar Pelli & Associates Architects to handle the MoMA project.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/20/arts ... ogin-email
Let’s Fill Our Cities With Taller, Wooden Buildings
Trees are some of our best allies in solving the climate crisis.
Across North America, trees stand ready to help us solve the climate crisis. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their wood. One way to respond to a challenge from the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, to seek “bold action and much greater ambition” on climate change is to protect forests from development, improve forest management and use sustainably harvested wood to build tall buildings. This will allow us to pump carbon from the atmosphere and store it both in forests and in cities. It will also support rural economies, improve wildlife habitat and create more affordable housing.
This opportunity arises from cross-laminated timber, or CLT. First introduced in the 1990s, it enables architects and engineers to design tall, fire-safe and beautiful wood buildings. Recent examples in the United States include the seven-story T3 building in Minneapolis, the eight-story Carbon12 building in Portland, Ore., and a six-story dormitory under construction at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. In Canada, Norway, Sweden, England and Australia, even taller wooden buildings are already in use. The Mjosa tower in Brumunddal, Norway, is only 25 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/opin ... d=45305309
Trees are some of our best allies in solving the climate crisis.
Across North America, trees stand ready to help us solve the climate crisis. Trees remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in their wood. One way to respond to a challenge from the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, to seek “bold action and much greater ambition” on climate change is to protect forests from development, improve forest management and use sustainably harvested wood to build tall buildings. This will allow us to pump carbon from the atmosphere and store it both in forests and in cities. It will also support rural economies, improve wildlife habitat and create more affordable housing.
This opportunity arises from cross-laminated timber, or CLT. First introduced in the 1990s, it enables architects and engineers to design tall, fire-safe and beautiful wood buildings. Recent examples in the United States include the seven-story T3 building in Minneapolis, the eight-story Carbon12 building in Portland, Ore., and a six-story dormitory under construction at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence. In Canada, Norway, Sweden, England and Australia, even taller wooden buildings are already in use. The Mjosa tower in Brumunddal, Norway, is only 25 feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/03/opin ... d=45305309
A 3D Print-Out You Could Call Home
Using concrete and giant printers, home building may one day be much faster and cheaper.
In a forested patch of Garrison, N.Y., on the Hudson River, a giant robotic arm looms over a platform. Later this month, the platform will start to rotate while the arm pumps out a gooey concoction of basalt and biopolymers. Round it will go, receiving layer upon layer, until the arm, like a demonic pastry chef, has extruded an entire egg-shaped house.
This 24-foot-high, 500-square-foot, two-story construction will have a sleeping pod, a bathroom with a shower, a study area and other amenities you might expect from a cool short-term rental. In fact, it will be a cool short-term rental, as well as a demonstration of the future of home building.
The project, called TERA, is one of the latest experiments in 3D-printed houses. Innovators in this arena are seeking to reduce the expense, environmental impact and hazards of construction methods that have remained fundamentally unchanged for more than a thousand years. They are adapting a now-commonplace manufacturing technique in which a computer-controlled dispenser spews a malleable material that hardens into the shape of a pipe fitting, a chair or an internal organ — or, one day, a whole inhabitable building, with its myriad components and systems robotically extruded.
Photos and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/real ... 3053091110
Using concrete and giant printers, home building may one day be much faster and cheaper.
In a forested patch of Garrison, N.Y., on the Hudson River, a giant robotic arm looms over a platform. Later this month, the platform will start to rotate while the arm pumps out a gooey concoction of basalt and biopolymers. Round it will go, receiving layer upon layer, until the arm, like a demonic pastry chef, has extruded an entire egg-shaped house.
This 24-foot-high, 500-square-foot, two-story construction will have a sleeping pod, a bathroom with a shower, a study area and other amenities you might expect from a cool short-term rental. In fact, it will be a cool short-term rental, as well as a demonstration of the future of home building.
The project, called TERA, is one of the latest experiments in 3D-printed houses. Innovators in this arena are seeking to reduce the expense, environmental impact and hazards of construction methods that have remained fundamentally unchanged for more than a thousand years. They are adapting a now-commonplace manufacturing technique in which a computer-controlled dispenser spews a malleable material that hardens into the shape of a pipe fitting, a chair or an internal organ — or, one day, a whole inhabitable building, with its myriad components and systems robotically extruded.
Photos and more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/real ... 3053091110
Here's what it's like to live at the top of the second-tallest apartment building in the world for less than $1,400 a month
- Dubai's Princess Tower was the tallest apartment building in the world until 2015.
- With a roof height of 1,286 feet, it is taller than the roof of the Empire State Building.
- It's so tall that sometimes clouds will form below the upper floors.
- Despite its lofty height and being in Dubai, rent is surprisingly affordable - you can get a room in an apartment for $1,400 a month or less, with utilities, access to amenities like a pool and gym, and daily cleaning included.
- For more than a year, I lived near the very top of the building, on the 88th floor.
- Despite not being fabulously wealthy, it made me feel like royalty.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
- It's possible to live in the sky - even if you're not fabulously wealthy.
One of the tallest steel trees in Dubai's glittering forest of skyscrapers is the Princess Tower. At 1,358 feet, it's the second-tallest tower that's open in Dubai, behind only the world's tallest building, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa.
Until 2015, the Princess Tower was the tallest residential building in the world, but its crown was swiped by 432 Park Avenue in New York City.
But unlike 432 Park Avenue - where, as Katie Warren wrote in February, penthouses can cost many millions of dollars - rent for apartments in the Princess Tower are surprisingly affordable: in fact, for 5,000 United Arab Emirates dirhams ($1,362) and under per month, they come in at barely half the monthly median rent in New York City (which is now more than $2,700).
For more than a year, I lived near the very top of the Princess Tower, on the 88th floor (out of 97 above ground).
Here's what it was like to live at such a lofty height on a modest (read: non-six-figure) salary.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ailsignout
- Dubai's Princess Tower was the tallest apartment building in the world until 2015.
- With a roof height of 1,286 feet, it is taller than the roof of the Empire State Building.
- It's so tall that sometimes clouds will form below the upper floors.
- Despite its lofty height and being in Dubai, rent is surprisingly affordable - you can get a room in an apartment for $1,400 a month or less, with utilities, access to amenities like a pool and gym, and daily cleaning included.
- For more than a year, I lived near the very top of the building, on the 88th floor.
- Despite not being fabulously wealthy, it made me feel like royalty.
- Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.
- It's possible to live in the sky - even if you're not fabulously wealthy.
One of the tallest steel trees in Dubai's glittering forest of skyscrapers is the Princess Tower. At 1,358 feet, it's the second-tallest tower that's open in Dubai, behind only the world's tallest building, the 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa.
Until 2015, the Princess Tower was the tallest residential building in the world, but its crown was swiped by 432 Park Avenue in New York City.
But unlike 432 Park Avenue - where, as Katie Warren wrote in February, penthouses can cost many millions of dollars - rent for apartments in the Princess Tower are surprisingly affordable: in fact, for 5,000 United Arab Emirates dirhams ($1,362) and under per month, they come in at barely half the monthly median rent in New York City (which is now more than $2,700).
For more than a year, I lived near the very top of the Princess Tower, on the 88th floor (out of 97 above ground).
Here's what it was like to live at such a lofty height on a modest (read: non-six-figure) salary.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ailsignout
Some building works threaten Turkish antiquities. Others save them
A hotel in Antakya shows how economic development and archaeology can be combined
It was 2009 and Antakya, a city in southern Turkey known in antiquity as Antioch, was thriving. Tourists were visiting it in record numbers. Trade with neighbouring Syria was booming. Sensing an opportunity, Necmi Asfuroglu, a local businessman, decided to build an upmarket hotel on land that he had owned since the 1990s. The plot was only a few hundred metres from the Grotto of St Peter, one of the world’s oldest churches.
Before construction could start, a team of archaeologists was called in to examine the site. They excavated a broken amphora here, a statue there, and almost everywhere colourful mosaic pieces, spread across an area of some 17,000 square metres. By the time they had finished, they had unearthed parts of what had once been the heart of Antioch, one of the biggest cities of the Roman empire. The finds included a bathhouse, a huge marble-floored forum, thousands of artefacts and the world’s largest floor mosaic.
With these discoveries, Mr Asfuroglu’s plans went up in smoke. “We had to rethink everything,” he says. Rather than walk away from the project, he asked an Istanbul architect, Emre Arolat, to design a structure that would accommodate both a modern hotel and an archaeological museum. Construction began in 2010, but stopped again for almost two years after workers came across another dazzling mosaic, depicting a winged Pegasus attended by three nymphs. It finally ended earlier this year.
Rooms with a view
For Mr Arolat, the challenge was to find an architectural language that merged what he calls the “sacred” of an archaeological site and the “profane” of a business venture. For inspiration, he says, he looked to a museum showcasing the medieval ruins of a Norwegian town, designed by Sverre Fehn, and the paths around the Acropolis devised by Dimitris Pikionis. The result is a hybrid that exemplifies how conservation and commerce can profitably coexist.
From the outside, the “museum hotel” that Mr Arolat designed resembles a steel and glass Jenga tower lying on its side and stacked with long rectangular blocks the size of shipping containers, each housing a hotel room. The interior is a vast open space criss-crossed by bridges and walkways that overlook the mosaics and ruins below. The whole structure rests on over 60 columns. One entrance serves the hotel, another the publicly accessible museum.
Photo and more...
https://www.economist.com/books-and-art ... a/345563/n
A hotel in Antakya shows how economic development and archaeology can be combined
It was 2009 and Antakya, a city in southern Turkey known in antiquity as Antioch, was thriving. Tourists were visiting it in record numbers. Trade with neighbouring Syria was booming. Sensing an opportunity, Necmi Asfuroglu, a local businessman, decided to build an upmarket hotel on land that he had owned since the 1990s. The plot was only a few hundred metres from the Grotto of St Peter, one of the world’s oldest churches.
Before construction could start, a team of archaeologists was called in to examine the site. They excavated a broken amphora here, a statue there, and almost everywhere colourful mosaic pieces, spread across an area of some 17,000 square metres. By the time they had finished, they had unearthed parts of what had once been the heart of Antioch, one of the biggest cities of the Roman empire. The finds included a bathhouse, a huge marble-floored forum, thousands of artefacts and the world’s largest floor mosaic.
With these discoveries, Mr Asfuroglu’s plans went up in smoke. “We had to rethink everything,” he says. Rather than walk away from the project, he asked an Istanbul architect, Emre Arolat, to design a structure that would accommodate both a modern hotel and an archaeological museum. Construction began in 2010, but stopped again for almost two years after workers came across another dazzling mosaic, depicting a winged Pegasus attended by three nymphs. It finally ended earlier this year.
Rooms with a view
For Mr Arolat, the challenge was to find an architectural language that merged what he calls the “sacred” of an archaeological site and the “profane” of a business venture. For inspiration, he says, he looked to a museum showcasing the medieval ruins of a Norwegian town, designed by Sverre Fehn, and the paths around the Acropolis devised by Dimitris Pikionis. The result is a hybrid that exemplifies how conservation and commerce can profitably coexist.
From the outside, the “museum hotel” that Mr Arolat designed resembles a steel and glass Jenga tower lying on its side and stacked with long rectangular blocks the size of shipping containers, each housing a hotel room. The interior is a vast open space criss-crossed by bridges and walkways that overlook the mosaics and ruins below. The whole structure rests on over 60 columns. One entrance serves the hotel, another the publicly accessible museum.
Photo and more...
https://www.economist.com/books-and-art ... a/345563/n
You won't believe what these houses are made from
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ut#image=1
Homes made from unusual materials
Most houses are built from the ground up using traditional bricks and mortar. However, for some people, this is way too conventional and they search for inspiration elsewhere. Take a look at these inventive homes that are made from the most unusual construction materials.
Slide show:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/real-es ... ut#image=1
Homes made from unusual materials
Most houses are built from the ground up using traditional bricks and mortar. However, for some people, this is way too conventional and they search for inspiration elsewhere. Take a look at these inventive homes that are made from the most unusual construction materials.
Most AMAZING Skyscrapers In The World!
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TFsGFg ... rce=Direct
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4TFsGFg ... rce=Direct
The Coolest Architecture on Earth Is in Antarctica
Who said a polar research base had to be ugly? Gradually, designers are rethinking how to build for the world’s harshest environment.
Brazil’s Comandante Ferraz Research Station, opening this month, sits on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and will be devoted to studying climate change.Credit...Estudio 41
Representatives from Brazil’s scientific community and government will head to Antarctica this month to inaugurate its new Comandante Ferraz Research Station, which replaces a facility lost to fire in 2012. The two low-slung buildings, designed by Estudio 41, a Brazilian architecture firm, house laboratories, operational support and living quarters — and could be mistaken for an art museum or a boutique hotel.
“Brazil is a tropical country, so we were not used to these conditions,” said Emerson Vidigal, a principal at the firm.
“These conditions” include temperatures that drop below minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit and winds that reach 100 miles per hour.
Throughout the 20th century, architecture in Antarctica was a pragmatic and largely makeshift affair, focused on keeping the elements out and the occupants alive. In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty dedicated the continent to research. Since then scientists have come in growing numbers and with ever more complex needs. Construction in Antarctica, long the purview of engineers, is now attracting designer architects looking to bring aesthetics — as well as operational efficiency, durability and energy improvements — to the coldest neighborhood on Earth.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/scie ... 0920200107
Who said a polar research base had to be ugly? Gradually, designers are rethinking how to build for the world’s harshest environment.
Brazil’s Comandante Ferraz Research Station, opening this month, sits on the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and will be devoted to studying climate change.Credit...Estudio 41
Representatives from Brazil’s scientific community and government will head to Antarctica this month to inaugurate its new Comandante Ferraz Research Station, which replaces a facility lost to fire in 2012. The two low-slung buildings, designed by Estudio 41, a Brazilian architecture firm, house laboratories, operational support and living quarters — and could be mistaken for an art museum or a boutique hotel.
“Brazil is a tropical country, so we were not used to these conditions,” said Emerson Vidigal, a principal at the firm.
“These conditions” include temperatures that drop below minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit and winds that reach 100 miles per hour.
Throughout the 20th century, architecture in Antarctica was a pragmatic and largely makeshift affair, focused on keeping the elements out and the occupants alive. In 1959, the Antarctic Treaty dedicated the continent to research. Since then scientists have come in growing numbers and with ever more complex needs. Construction in Antarctica, long the purview of engineers, is now attracting designer architects looking to bring aesthetics — as well as operational efficiency, durability and energy improvements — to the coldest neighborhood on Earth.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/scie ... 0920200107
Last edited by kmaherali on Wed Jan 15, 2020 1:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: General Art & Architecture of Interest
Wow! Thank you for sharing this link to the wonderful glass buildings. I really love when a lot of glass is used in architecture, it gives it the lightness and a feeling of weightlessnesskmaherali wrote:A transparent world! 21 stunning glass buildings across the globe
Architects around the world have often used the ethereal beauty of glass to create extraordinary structures, from cultural centers to plush hotels. Let’s take a look at some renowned glass buildings from across the globe.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/travel/busines ... md#image=1
These 30 terrifying bridges will make your palms sweat
Most bridges are built to be structurally sound. We cross them, we’re safe, and all is well. Other bridges, however, are not afforded such luxury. These bridges are terrifying, unsafe, and often contemptible down to their very core. What follows is a list of the most extreme, off-putting, and—ultimately—terrible bridges ever built.
Slide show:
https://www.science101.com/orig/terrify ... hbsgcmjwhe
Most bridges are built to be structurally sound. We cross them, we’re safe, and all is well. Other bridges, however, are not afforded such luxury. These bridges are terrifying, unsafe, and often contemptible down to their very core. What follows is a list of the most extreme, off-putting, and—ultimately—terrible bridges ever built.
Slide show:
https://www.science101.com/orig/terrify ... hbsgcmjwhe
This is Bill Gates' new US$644M superyacht
Video:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/watch/t ... ailsignout
This is the superyacht Bill Gates has reportedly ordered for an estimated $644M
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/browse/ ... vs-AAo5yXU
Video:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/watch/t ... ailsignout
This is the superyacht Bill Gates has reportedly ordered for an estimated $644M
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/browse/ ... vs-AAo5yXU
World's longest rail tunnel line almost complete
Video:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/wonder/ ... ailsignout
A new high-speed rail line that carves through Switzerland's Saint-Gotthard Massif mountains and features the world's longest rail tunnel will soon see its first trains.
Video:
https://www.msn.com/en-ca/video/wonder/ ... ailsignout
A new high-speed rail line that carves through Switzerland's Saint-Gotthard Massif mountains and features the world's longest rail tunnel will soon see its first trains.
Sonny Rollins: Art Never Dies
It outlives the contentious political veneer that we cast over everything.
This is the first essay in The Big Ideas, a special section of The Times’s philosophy series, The Stone. Over the next two weeks, more than a dozen artists, writers and thinkers — including Mieko Kawakami, Cate Blanchett and others — will answer the question, “Why does art matter?”
When people talk about art, they tend toward a specific type of question. Who was the first to play a tune? Who owns a specific style? Who can judge when borrowing crosses the line? Those are questions for a political, technological world. In my mind, debates about black versus white — whether a guy can make $100 a year or $1 million a year from his art — are just dead ends. And technology, as Aldous Huxley said, is just a faster way of doing ignorant things.
Technology is no savior. We can eat, sleep, look at screens, make money — all aspects of our physical existence — but that doesn’t mean anything. Art is the exact opposite. It’s infinite, and without it, the world wouldn’t exist as it does. It represents the immaterial soul: intuition, that which we feel in our hearts. Art matters today more than ever because it outlives the contentious political veneer that is cast over everything.
In art, we can find a humbling sort of wisdom. We see themes and ideas repeat over many lifetimes. Those ideas don’t belong to any one person, and as they evolve, disappear and reappear, they remind us that regardless of what’s happening now, our lives on this earth will always be part of something bigger. Any astronomer can tell you that what we know about the universe makes up a fraction of what there is to be discovered. Art, in the same way, both inspires us to go out and find something new and highlights what we don’t know.
Music is slightly removed from this, but it’s similar. There’s an axiom that says there is no such thing as “original” music. After what we could consider to be the first sound, from a spiritual perspective — “om” to some, “amen” to others — it’s all the same. Musicians borrow different parts and make them their own, but there’s nothing really new, nothing that hasn’t been done before. Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach may sound different, but what they did was all there already, in a sense.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/opin ... ogin-email
It outlives the contentious political veneer that we cast over everything.
This is the first essay in The Big Ideas, a special section of The Times’s philosophy series, The Stone. Over the next two weeks, more than a dozen artists, writers and thinkers — including Mieko Kawakami, Cate Blanchett and others — will answer the question, “Why does art matter?”
When people talk about art, they tend toward a specific type of question. Who was the first to play a tune? Who owns a specific style? Who can judge when borrowing crosses the line? Those are questions for a political, technological world. In my mind, debates about black versus white — whether a guy can make $100 a year or $1 million a year from his art — are just dead ends. And technology, as Aldous Huxley said, is just a faster way of doing ignorant things.
Technology is no savior. We can eat, sleep, look at screens, make money — all aspects of our physical existence — but that doesn’t mean anything. Art is the exact opposite. It’s infinite, and without it, the world wouldn’t exist as it does. It represents the immaterial soul: intuition, that which we feel in our hearts. Art matters today more than ever because it outlives the contentious political veneer that is cast over everything.
In art, we can find a humbling sort of wisdom. We see themes and ideas repeat over many lifetimes. Those ideas don’t belong to any one person, and as they evolve, disappear and reappear, they remind us that regardless of what’s happening now, our lives on this earth will always be part of something bigger. Any astronomer can tell you that what we know about the universe makes up a fraction of what there is to be discovered. Art, in the same way, both inspires us to go out and find something new and highlights what we don’t know.
Music is slightly removed from this, but it’s similar. There’s an axiom that says there is no such thing as “original” music. After what we could consider to be the first sound, from a spiritual perspective — “om” to some, “amen” to others — it’s all the same. Musicians borrow different parts and make them their own, but there’s nothing really new, nothing that hasn’t been done before. Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach may sound different, but what they did was all there already, in a sense.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/18/opin ... ogin-email
Art Is How We Justify Our Existence
Our technologies are tools. But our creative works carry the wisdom of the world.
Excerpt:
For me, art is not just sensory stimulation. I believe it’s most gratifying as an intellectual pursuit. Great art is, by definition, complex, and it expects work from us when we engage with it. There is this wonderful moment, one that I have missed so much lately, when you stand before a work of art and, suddenly, the work is speaking back to you. Great works carry with them so many messages and meanings. And often those messages survive for centuries. Or — even more mysteriously — they change as the years and decades pass, leaving their power and import somehow undiminished.
Velázquez’s “Las Meninas” comes to mind, as does the intense pleasure I’ve experienced every time I’ve seen it, at different stages of my life, at the Prado museum in Madrid. Thinking about “Las Meninas” today, amid the new reality of a pandemic, reminds me how much I look forward to seeing works of art in their physical spaces again. There is no substitute for the artwork’s materiality, which ultimately and invariably relates to our senses, our bodies and our analytical prowess and intellectual curiosity.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/opin ... 778d3e6de3
Our technologies are tools. But our creative works carry the wisdom of the world.
Excerpt:
For me, art is not just sensory stimulation. I believe it’s most gratifying as an intellectual pursuit. Great art is, by definition, complex, and it expects work from us when we engage with it. There is this wonderful moment, one that I have missed so much lately, when you stand before a work of art and, suddenly, the work is speaking back to you. Great works carry with them so many messages and meanings. And often those messages survive for centuries. Or — even more mysteriously — they change as the years and decades pass, leaving their power and import somehow undiminished.
Velázquez’s “Las Meninas” comes to mind, as does the intense pleasure I’ve experienced every time I’ve seen it, at different stages of my life, at the Prado museum in Madrid. Thinking about “Las Meninas” today, amid the new reality of a pandemic, reminds me how much I look forward to seeing works of art in their physical spaces again. There is no substitute for the artwork’s materiality, which ultimately and invariably relates to our senses, our bodies and our analytical prowess and intellectual curiosity.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/22/opin ... 778d3e6de3
When Art Is Medicine
In Ojibwe culture, music, dance and medicine are sources of healing.
Excerpt:
During that global pandemic, a new healing tradition emerged among Ojibwe women. If you have been to a powwow — a multifaceted “gathering of nations” — in recent years, you have seen it performed. Glittering and full of camaraderie, powwows are an Indigenous space for male drummers to sing, while everyone from children to seniors dance their style. Aspects of the powwow have grown more commercial, but the Jingle Dress Dance exists as a deeply spiritual part of these celebrations.
Ojibwe stories say the Jingle Dress Dance arose when a young girl grew ill and appeared to be near death. Her father dreamed of a new dress and dance that were imbued with an unusual power to heal. The healing dresses were quickly made and embellished with tinkling metal cones, then given to four women at a ceremonial dance. Hearing the sounds, the girl began to feel stronger. By the end of the night she was dancing, too. This young pandemic survivor helped organize the first Jingle Dress Dance Society. Versions of this story are told from central Minnesota to northern Ontario.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opin ... 778d3e6de3
********
What Does Art Have to Do With the Coronavirus?
We need to wake up. Artists can sound the alarm.
Since I wrote the first draft of this essay in early March, the world has turned upside down. I have revised the original text, guided by a single question: Does art matter when we are facing a global crisis such as the current Covid-19 pandemic?
Obviously, there is a great deal of art that doesn’t matter. This includes the work issuing from those university art programs that every year pump out thousands of graduates, taught only to speak in tongues about formal, conceptual and theoretical issues few people care about or can comprehend. Then there is the art created for a global market that has convinced too many people that a piece’s selling price is more important than the content it conveys.
But when art is meaningful and substantive, viewers can become enlightened, inspired and empowered. And this can lead to change, which we urgently need.
My education about the potential power of art began in the early 1970s, when I delivered a lecture in Grand Forks, N.D. It was not a place where I would have assumed art would matter. Nonetheless, more than 200 women and men attended my talk. I showed images from “Great Ladies,” my series of abstract portraits of some important and forgotten women in history, such as Christina of Sweden, the 17th century queen and patron of the arts who widely influenced European culture. At that time, women’s studies as an academic field was in its infancy; I had discovered those figures through my own research, driven by a desperate need to find out about women before me who had faced obstacles like the ones I had encountered in my career.
After my talk, I did something artists rarely do; I asked the audience what they thought of my work. After a few minutes, someone said my stated aim of depicting significant women in history was interesting, but that without my spoken explanation people would never have been able to understand my work. That interaction was a revelation, and it inspired me to figure out how to make my imagery more accessible, starting with “The Dinner Party,” my symbolic history of women in Western civilization. Since its premiere in 1979, countless people have told me that seeing it changed their lives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opin ... 778d3e6de3
In Ojibwe culture, music, dance and medicine are sources of healing.
Excerpt:
During that global pandemic, a new healing tradition emerged among Ojibwe women. If you have been to a powwow — a multifaceted “gathering of nations” — in recent years, you have seen it performed. Glittering and full of camaraderie, powwows are an Indigenous space for male drummers to sing, while everyone from children to seniors dance their style. Aspects of the powwow have grown more commercial, but the Jingle Dress Dance exists as a deeply spiritual part of these celebrations.
Ojibwe stories say the Jingle Dress Dance arose when a young girl grew ill and appeared to be near death. Her father dreamed of a new dress and dance that were imbued with an unusual power to heal. The healing dresses were quickly made and embellished with tinkling metal cones, then given to four women at a ceremonial dance. Hearing the sounds, the girl began to feel stronger. By the end of the night she was dancing, too. This young pandemic survivor helped organize the first Jingle Dress Dance Society. Versions of this story are told from central Minnesota to northern Ontario.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opin ... 778d3e6de3
********
What Does Art Have to Do With the Coronavirus?
We need to wake up. Artists can sound the alarm.
Since I wrote the first draft of this essay in early March, the world has turned upside down. I have revised the original text, guided by a single question: Does art matter when we are facing a global crisis such as the current Covid-19 pandemic?
Obviously, there is a great deal of art that doesn’t matter. This includes the work issuing from those university art programs that every year pump out thousands of graduates, taught only to speak in tongues about formal, conceptual and theoretical issues few people care about or can comprehend. Then there is the art created for a global market that has convinced too many people that a piece’s selling price is more important than the content it conveys.
But when art is meaningful and substantive, viewers can become enlightened, inspired and empowered. And this can lead to change, which we urgently need.
My education about the potential power of art began in the early 1970s, when I delivered a lecture in Grand Forks, N.D. It was not a place where I would have assumed art would matter. Nonetheless, more than 200 women and men attended my talk. I showed images from “Great Ladies,” my series of abstract portraits of some important and forgotten women in history, such as Christina of Sweden, the 17th century queen and patron of the arts who widely influenced European culture. At that time, women’s studies as an academic field was in its infancy; I had discovered those figures through my own research, driven by a desperate need to find out about women before me who had faced obstacles like the ones I had encountered in my career.
After my talk, I did something artists rarely do; I asked the audience what they thought of my work. After a few minutes, someone said my stated aim of depicting significant women in history was interesting, but that without my spoken explanation people would never have been able to understand my work. That interaction was a revelation, and it inspired me to figure out how to make my imagery more accessible, starting with “The Dinner Party,” my symbolic history of women in Western civilization. Since its premiere in 1979, countless people have told me that seeing it changed their lives.
More...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opin ... 778d3e6de3