We are exploring large hollow forms in polymer clay. The objective is to create volume without additional weight. Each of the objects shown is about 4 inches in diameter.

PGB Photographer & Creative - © 2022 Philip Romeyn - Phillostar Gone Ballistic 2021 - Photo may not be edited from its original form. Commercial use is prohibited without contacting me.

twitter.com/Memoire2cite - Après 1945, les collines agricoles du sud-est de la ville connaissent un programme d’urbanisation de grande ampleur pour répondre à la crise du logement. Près de 4600 logements sociaux vont ainsi être construits en quatre tranches successives de 1953 à 1970 : Beaulieu, la Marandinière, Montchovet, la Métare et la Palle formant aujourd’hui les quartiers sud-est. Touché par la crise économique et urbaine de dingue, le secteur sud-est apparaît à la fin des années 1990 comme un espace monofonctionnel dédié en totalité à l’habitat locatif social et porté par un seul bailleur l'OPAC devenu Métropole Habitat. Bien que bénéficiant de nombreux atouts (accessibilité et environnement agréable...), le quartier souffre du gigantisme de son urbanisation et du manque de résidentialisation des unités d’habitation. Par une action en profondeur et dans la durée, la Ville de Saint-Étienne, à travers son Programme de Rénovation Urbaine (PRU), a amorcé une transformation durable du quartier depuis 1989 avec la 1ere demolition du programme à la rue Pierre Loti le 31 janvier 1989 (BANLIEUE89), 30 ans de renouvellement urbain sur la ville.... une ville pilote en la matiere des 1990. Aujourd'hui et demain Les quartiers sud-est vont poursuivre leur mutation, avec l’appui continu de l’Agence Nationale de Rénovation Urbaine et ses partenaires l'ANRU2. Développer le secteur économiqueL'objectif est de dynamiser l’économie dans ce territoire en portant de nouveaux projets et en restructurant l’offre commerciale de proximité. La Ville de Saint-Étienne a prévu la création de nouvelles zones d’activités permettant l’accueil d’entreprises. Ainsi une zone d’activités économiques, rue Pierre Loti, répondra aux besoins fonciers des entreprises et des artisans locaux. Ce projet de zone économique, en visibilité directe de la RN 88, permettra l’implantation d’une cinquantaine d’entreprises et la création de 300 emplois. Un nouveau centre commercial sur le secteur de la Marandinière, couplé à la démolition des centres commerciaux de la Palle et Sembat, permettra de restructurer et moderniser l’offre commerciale de proximité. Renouveller l'offre d'habitat Une qualité résidentielle s’affirme progressivement au sein des quartiers Sud-Est, grâce à une nouvelle offre d’habitat variée qui émerge depuis plusieurs années. Les nombreuses démolitions réalisées et à venir (Boulevard des Mineurs en 2018 et immeubles Loti en 2020), ainsi que les réhabilitations d’immeubles en cours, vont permettre de diversifier l’offre de logements. L’un des objectifs du projet urbain est donc de conforter la vocation résidentielle du quartier en stimulant l’offre et en accompagnant des projets comme la construction de logements passifs sur le secteur de Beaulieu, la transformation de l’ancienne école Baptiste-Marcet et la réhabilitation de logements à Monchovet. Améliorer le cadre de vie des habitantsLes quartiers sud-est bénéficient d’un environnement naturellement riche et varié, à l’interface entre les grands parcs de la ville (jardin des Plantes, parc de l’Europe, Bois d’Avaize) et le Pilat. Le projet urbain de la Ville de Saint-Étienne prévoit de relier ces espaces naturels entre-eux avec la création d’une continuité verte, qui permettra aux marcheurs et autres randonneurs de bénéficier d’un véritable réseau de chemins autour de la commune. Le boulevard Alexandre-de-Fraissinette, véritable colonne vertébrale du quartier, et la rue Pierre-Loti seront entièrement revus pour assurer un meilleur partage de l’espace entre tous les modes de déplacements (voiture, vélo et piéton) et assurer un maillage inter-quartiers plus efficace. fr.calameo.com/read/0005441131b4119eaa674Depuis 2014, la rénovation urbaine dans les quartiers sud-est s’est traduite par de nombreux travaux: la construction du centre commercial de la Grande Marandinière, l’aménagement d’un lotissement de treize maisons individuelles passives, impasse Clémenceau, les rénovations des écoles de Montchovet et de Beaulieu, la réhabilitation de locaux rue Henri-Dunant (pour y installer la Maison des associations), et enfin les démolitions récentes du centre commercial du boulevard de la Palle et d’un garage, au 41 rue de Terrenoire.Démolitions mais aussi constructions sont au programme. Plusieurs acteurs entrent en jeu dans le financement de ces projets, notamment l’ANRU (Agence nationale de rénovation urbaine) mais aussi la Ville, le Département et la Région. Ainsi, le contrat avec l’ANRU, signé le 14 mars, dégage une somme de 23 millions d’euros, somme à laquelle il faut ajouter 3,3 millions d’euros de la Région. Pour les années à venir, les objectifs visent à la poursuite du développement économique, de la mutation de l’habitat par des constructions individuelles ou de petits immeubles, des démolitions ponctuelles, de la valorisation des espaces publics et du renforcement des espaces du quartier. Deux secteurs sont concernés : Loti et la Grande Marandinière. Le 11 AVRIL 1964, le développement de la ville de Saint Etienne, et ses travaux ..La ville de Saint Etienne se développe tout comme l'ensemble du territoire... Pour accompagner cet accroissement de population, de nouveaux quartiers se construisent aux abords de la ville chaque jours. Et pour faire face aux problèmes de circulation, un boulevard périphérique a été aménagé. Réalisé à l'occasion de la construction de la déviation sud de l'autoroute de Saint Etienne, ce reportage témoigne de la visite du sénateur maire de la ville, Mr. Michel DURAFOUR, sur le chantier du tunnel de la déviation. Accueilli par Mr. Rocher, président de la société forêzienne de travaux publics, Michel DURAFOUR découvre avec les membres du conseil municipal l'avancée des travaux. (voir aussi le chantier de l A 47 avec la video du tunnel du rond-point içi : www.ina.fr/video/LXC9610041788 . Ce quartier est né des programmes de grands ensembles mis en œuvre à partir des années 1950 afin de réduire la pénurie de logements. La mairie choisit donc de développer un quartier moderne 4 600 logements en HLM pour pouvoir loger plus de 30 000 habitants avec des loyers modérés dans des bâtiments modernes. Ce quartier avait comme emblème un des plus grands immeubles d’Europe surnommé la Muraille de Chine qui était visible depuis l’autoroute. Ce quartier s’est construit en quatre tranches : Beaulieu I (Beaulieu) de 1953 à 1955 ; Beaulieu II (La Marandinière) en 1959 ; Beaulieu III (Montchovet) en 1964 ; Beaulieu IV (La Palle) en 1971. Il est aujourd’hui en profonde mutation avec un programme de renouvellement urbain qui prévoit la démolition de plus 1000 logements et la reconstruction de 250. Bâtiments spécifiques : CHPL (Centre Hospitalier Privé de la Loire) qui remplace la Muraille de Chine ; Ecole Nationale d'ingénieurs de Saint-Etienne Un modèle de l'urbanisme des années 1950. Beaulieu-Montchovet: La ville choisit de construire un immense quartier neuf de plus de 4.600 logements, prévu pour loger 30.000 habitants, sur les basses pentes du Pilat, à la sortie sud-est de Saint-Etienne.Entre les forêts, qui seront classées parc naturel quelques années plus tard, et les quartiers chics du cours Fauriel, c'est un des endroits les mieux situés de la ville.C'est aussi le seul grand emplacement proche du centre où il n'y aie pas eu de mines, parce que les couches de charbon s'arrêtent juste avant : le terrain est assez solide pour supporter de gros immeubles. Içi le chantier de construction de MONTCHOVET soit Beaulieu 3, la continuitée des constructions HLM de nos quartiers sud-est (les chantiers de l'OPAC) , la vidéo içi :www.ina.fr/video/LXF99004401 .Retour sur son historique de 1962 à aujourd'hui e n 2018.Un grand-Ensemble qui rappelle combien la politique d'urbanisme des années 1960 et suivantes a été conduite en dépit du bon sens la video içi www.google.fr/search?q=montchovet+ina&oq=montchovet+i... et là www.ina.fr/video/CAC00029801 , mais aussi içi www.ina.fr/video/CAC00029801 - avec Claude BARTOLONE içi avec la Visite à Saint Etienne du ministre délégué à la ville le jour de la démolition de la muraille de Chine. Rencontre avec des associations pr discuter du futur du quartier Montchovet. www.ina.fr/video/LY00001263573 - fresques.ina.fr/rhone-alpes/fiche-media/Rhonal00046/demol... - et les differentes videos de la demolition la encore : La démolition de la "muraille de Chine" de Saint Etienne www.youtube.com/watch?v=aq1uOc6Gtd0, www.youtube.com/watch?v=YB3z_Z6DTdc terrible :( ^^ l interview de Michel Thiolliere Le Grisou.fr a interviewé Michel Thiollière, ancien maire de Saint-Etienne et sénateur de la Loire, membre du Parti radical et actuel vice-président de la Commission de régulation de l'énergie. Il livre son analyse sur les prochaines échéances politiques, notamment la campagne des municipales en cours à Saint-Etienne, les alliances de la droite et du centre, mais aussi le mandat de Maurice Vincent. Michel Thiollière s'attarde également sur les besoins de l'agglomération stéphanoise et évoque les enjeux énergétiques en France.(Interview : Maxime Petit -- Réalisation : Studios Bouquet) www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJAylpe8G48,"François Mitterrand, après la visite de deux quartiers -l'un à Saint Etienne et l'autre à Vénissieux, inscrits sur la liste de ceux à réhabiliter -, parle du plan de réhabilitation pour de meilleures conditions de logement.François Mitterrand / Georgina Dufoix / Gilbert Trigano / François Dubanchet / Marcel Houël Thèmes : Grands travaux et grands projetsLe Président > 1er septennat 1981-1988 > 1981-1986 ÉclairageDepuis la fin des années 1970, la région lyonnaise apparaît comme l'épicentre des violences urbaines qui se déroulent en France. Durant l'été 1981, des violences urbaines ont conduit le gouvernement à engager le plus tôt possible une nouvelle politique en faveur des quartiers dégradés. Malgré les premières opérations de réhabilitation engagées par la Commission nationale pour le développement social des quartiers, la situation demeure extrêmement tendue dans un certain nombres de quartiers populaires. L'assassinat d'un jeune de la Cité des 4 000 par un habitant en juillet 1983 a ravivé les débats autour du thème du "mal des grands ensembles" selon l'expression de l'époque. D'autre part, le contexte politique conduit également le pouvoir à s'intéresser encore davantage à la question de la dégradation urbaine dans la mesure où de très nombreux quartiers populaires n'ont pas cette fois-ci apporté leurs suffrages aux candidats de la gauche.La visite de François Mitterrand dans deux quartiers dégradés de la région lyonnaise constitue donc un signal fort à l'égard des populations qui y vivent. Ce déplacement fait également écho à celui réalisé quelques jours plus tôt au sein de la Cité des 4 000 à La Courneuve en Seine Saint Denis (voir Visite de François Mitterrand à La Courneuve). Le principe est d'ailleurs le même et il est exprimé par le président de la République : voir par lui-même l'état réel de ses quartiers. Le fait qu'il soit mentionné dans le reportage que "ces visites surprises" se soient faites dans la "plus grande discrétion" (notamment sans les élus locaux concernés) marque effectivement la volonté du président de la République d'établir une sorte de lien direct avec les habitants qui vivent dans ces quartiers. Il ne s'agit pas de faire l'annonce de nouvelles mesures mais "de voir les choses par moi-même" selon l'expression utilisée par François Mitterrand lors de son allocution à la Préfecture à Lyon. Au moment où la Commission nationale pour le développement social des quartiers établit la liste définitive des 22 quartiers qui bénéficieront d'un programme de réhabilitation, la visite du président de la République sur le terrain suggère une forme de "présidentialisation" du thème de la réhabilitation des grands ensembles.La création au même moment de Banlieue 89 suscitée par deux architectes proches de François Mitterrand, Roland Castro et Michel Cantal-Duparc, suggère également l'intérêt du président de la République pour les questions urbaines (voir Inauguration de l'exposition organisée par Banlieue 89)."http://fresques.ina.fr/mitterrand/fiche-media/Mitter00106/visite-de-francois-mitterrand-a-saint-etienne-et-aux-minguettes.html JournalisteVisites surprises qui se sont déroulées dans la plus grande discrétion, seule Madame Georgina Dufoix, Secrétaire d’Etat à la Famille et aux Immigrés, Monsieur Gilbert Trigano, le PDG du Club Méditerranée qui participe à la Commission Dubedout, et deux collaborateurs du Chef de l’État étaient présents. Ni à Saint-Étienne, ni à Vénissieux, les autorités locales n’y ont participés. Peu avant midi, le Président est arrivé à la Préfecture du Rhône à Lyon où s’est déroulée pendant 45 minutes une séance de travail avec les élus locaux et notamment Messieurs Dubanchet, Maire de Saint-Étienne et Houël, Maire de Vénissieux. Réunion qui a donné l’occasion d’aborder les problèmes de fond, devait souligner François Mitterrand.(Bruit)François MitterrandLes deux quartiers que je viens de visiter, celui de Montchovet à Saint-Étienne et celui de Monmousseau à l’intérieur des Minguettes sur la commune de Vénissieux, sont inscrits sur la liste des 22 quartiers à réhabiliter, retenus, proposés par la Commission Dubedout devenue la Commission Pesce, et retenus par le Gouvernement. Et je compte appliquer nos efforts pour qu’effectivement, ces quartiers soient réhabilités, c’est-à-dire, soient habitables. Qu’on y trouve, pour ceux qui y vivent, euh, suffisamment de convivialité, de capacité de développer une famille et, euh, revenant de son travail quand on en a, de pouvoir vivre avec les autres. Les conditions de logement, la construction de ces ensembles, les liaisons avec l’extérieur, l’école, le sport, les espaces verts, bref, l’espace tout court, contribuent, vous le comprenez bien à, au futur équilibre, ou contribueront au futur équilibre de ces quartiers. Alors, je préfère voir les choses par moi-même. Il faut bien se dire que à l’origine de nombreux désordres sociaux se trouvent ces fâcheuses, ces déplorables conditions de vie. Et moi, je veux lutter contre ces désordres et pour cela, il faut que je m’attaque avec le Gouvernement et ceux qui ont la charge auprès de moi, je veux absolument m’attaquer aux sources d’un malaise et d’un déséquilibre social qui sont d’une immense ampleur. Raison de plus pour commencer par un bout avec énergie et continuité. Et de ce point de vue, je compte bien, au cours des semaines et des mois à venir, persévérer dans cette enquête personnelle qui me permet ensuite de donner des instructions précises à ceux qui participent à la gestion de l’État., à Saint-Étienne comme dans les communes de sa proche banlieue. Une sorte de grand monument à la gloire des HLM, comme si on avait fait exprès de la faire aussi énorme pour montrer comme les gens étaient fiers de ce quartier. Autour on construit tout ce qu'il faut pour les habitants : une école, Montchovet, qui donne sur le grand pré derrière, une MJC, une piscine, un centre commercial, avec la Poste, plus tard le bureau de police. En 1978, comme les enfants des habitants grandissent, on ouvre un deuxième collège dans la ZUP. Il prendra le nom de Jean Dasté, qui a créé la Comédie de Saint-Etienne, le plus grand théatre de province en France, et son école de comédiens. Après 1984 les loyers des HLM ont augmenté, beaucoup d'habitants sont partis. La population de Saint-Etienne diminue surtout dans les quartiers sud : beaucoup de gens déménagent vers la plaine du Forez, moins froide, où il y a la place de batir des maisons. On a rénové beaucoup d'appartements anciens en ville : la crise du logement est finie. On ne sait même plus qu'elle a existé. Les ZUP ont vieilli et la plupart des gens préfèrent se loger dans des appartements récents. Alors on ferme : le collège de Beaulieu, l'école de la Marandinière, la Poste. La Muraille coute très cher à entretenir : il n'y a plus asssez d'habitants pour payer les frais. Les HLM ont décidé de la détruire: c'est le plus gros projet de démolition jamais réalisé en Europe. Les familles qui restaient ont du déménager. On va faire exploser la Muraille de Chine au printemps de l'an 2000. Peut être qu'il fallait le faire, mais pour les gens du quartier c'est un gros morceau de notre Histoire qu'on nous détruit.1954: les premiers travaux à Beaulieu : la campagne devient une ville à grands coups de bulldozer..Le projet est de construire en grande quantité des logements de bonne qualité, avec tout le confort, des chambres pour les enfants, l'eau, le chauffage central, des sanitaires, des arbres et des pelouses, et surtout .... des loyers accessibles pour tous. Ce seront les Habitations à Loyers Modérés, les HLM.Il faudra les construires en dehors des villes, pour en finir avec le mélange des industries et des logements, qui amène le bruit et la pollution. Y prévoir tous les équipements : commerces, écoles, collèges, lycées, transports, parcs, équipements sportifs, police, pompiers, Postes. Construire des villes entières où tout le monde aura accès à ce qui n'était encore que le luxe de quelques gens très riches.Cinq villes sont choisies pour être prioritaires : Paris ( Pantin ) et Lyon ( Bron-Parilly) à cause de leur taille, Angers et Rouen détruites dans les bombardements de 1944, Saint-Etienne, la ville la plus sinistrée de France pour le logement. C'est là que naissent les cinq premières Zone à Urbaniser en Priorité, les ZUP, modèles de l'urbanisme pour toute une génération. Elles ne s'appellent pas encore comme ça : on les construites avant que l'expression de ZUP existe, c'est de leur réussite que naitra le modèle repris partout pour lequel on inventera le mot plus tard.Beaulieu I: le projet d'urbanismeMaquette de 1953 - Projet des architectes Gouyon-ClémentUne architecture géométrique, de grands espaces, des arbres, des formes qui soulignent le relief.La ZUP de Beaulieu est construite en quatre tranches:- Beaulieu I ( Beaulieu ) de 1953 à 1955- Beaulieu II ( La Marandinière ) en 1959- Beaulieu III ( Montchovet ) en 1964, dont fait partie la Muraille de Chine, le grand immeuble le long du boulevard à gauche.- Beaulieu IV ( La Palle ) en 1971Le quartier:Au premier plan, en bas à droite Beaulieu, la Marandinière est à droite derrière l'autoroute, Montplaisir à gauche, Monchovet au milieu, le long du boulevard de la Palle.A gauche des tennis, les batiments du collège de Beaulieu. C'était l'autre collège de la ZEP, le seul collège "sensible" de France a avoir été fermé, en 1995.Nouvelles techniques, nouveaux matériaux :Construire vite pour un prix raisonnable oblige à inventer de nouvelles techniques, d'autant que l'on manque de travailleurs qualifiés.La construction s'industrialise: immeubles à structure porteuse ( des poteaux en béton armé tiennent les dalles, ce ne sont plus les murs qui soutiennent les immeubles ), murs rideaux ( les murs sont fait de morceaux préfabriqués accrochés aux dalles ), éléments standardisés ( les éléments: murs, tuyauterie, portes et fenêtres, sanitaires, etc... sont tous identiques, fabriqués en usine en grande série, installés de la même façon dans tous les immeubles ), nouveaux matériaux ( matières plastiques, béton armé, acier ) qui ne s'utilisaient pas dans la construction traditionnelle.Cela permet de diminuer les prix, en automatisant les fabrications, mais aussi parce qu'on peut utiliser des ouvriers beaucoup moins qualifiés, qui ne font que du montage et que l'on paye moins cher.Bien après les gens se plaindront de ces appartements tous identiques, de ces matériaux peu agréables, de la taille inhumaine des batiments.Mais à l'époque il faut compter deux à trois ans d'attente pour obtenir un appartement dans le quartier. Les familles sont si contentes de leur quartier tout neuf que les collègiens qui prennent le bus emportent une paire de bottes en plus de leur chaussures pour aller des immeubles à l'arrêt de bus : pas question de ramener de la boue dans les bus ou dans les escaliers.La crise du logement:1950 : la France connait la pire crise du logement de son Histoire. La crise économique de 1929 puis la guerre de 1939-1945 ont arrêté la construction de logements, déja insuffisante avant 1930, pendant plus de vingt ans.La France est au maximum du "baby-boom" ( période de très forte natalité qui commence à la fin de la guerre ) : les 40 millions de français de 1950 font deux fois plus de bébés que les 60 millions d'aujourd'hui. La très forte croissance économique relance l'immigration. Plus de la moitié des familles sont mal logées alors que la France commence la plus forte croissance démographique de son Histoire.La IV° République, héritière du programme de la Résistance donne la priorité aux besoins sociaux : école, santé, logement, sur la rentabilité financière. L'Etat, les villes, sont décidés à investir dans le logement, qui est déclaré prioritaire dans le Plan d'organisation de l'économie.Entre les années 50 et 60, et suite à la seconde guerre mondiale, la municipalité stéphanoise a vu sa population passée d’un peu moins de 180 000 habitants en 1950 à plus de 200 000 habitants dix ans plus tard en 1960. Cette forte augmentation de la population pouvait s’expliquer par le fort taux de natalité de cette époque (baby-boom), mais aussi par l’afflux de travailleurs de la classe ouvrière venus dans la grande cité stéphanoise pour trouver un travail. De ce fait, la construction d’un logement sain pour chaque ouvrier était devenue une priorité absolue pour les élus qui considéraient à raison que cela était une condition vitale dans le cadre de ce grand développement. Pour ce faire, la ville a lancé dans les années 50 une vaste opération de construction de barres d’habitation dans la zone de Beaulieu, destinée à fournir un logement à une population grandissante.Une barre d’habitation innovanteA l’époque, avec une majorité d’architectes, les appartements modernes construits possédaient des cloisons lourdes empêchant toute modification interne ainsi que des espaces de renvoi sombres et non ventilés ressemblant à des alcôves.Mais à l’inverse, pour certains architectes précurseurs de la région à l’image d’Yves et Henri Gouyon, la modernité reflétait le gout de la clarté, de l’air, et du soleil, avec de larges horizons. Ainsi, ces derniers donnaient la priorité non pas aux façades qu’ils considéraient comme de simples élévations du plan, mais aux cellules d’habitations et à leur orientation. Dans cette optique, le bâtiment proposé par Henri Gouyon, qui était donc un partisan de l’espace ouvert moderne, supprimait les circulations et profitait de ce gain de place pour aménager de nouveaux espaces de vie communes. De plus, dans ces cellules d’habitations, les architectes ont tirés profit au maximum de la double orientation des appartements (ces derniers étaient traversant) avec par exemple l’accolement de balcons.Conception et réalisation d’un quartier entierPour le projet de Beaulieu, l’on confia la conception ainsi que la réalisation des interventions aux agences Henri et Yves Gouyon puis Yves Gouyon et associés. Ainsi, dés le milieu des années 50, des études concernant Beaulieu II – La Marandinière furent conduites, suivis de la construction du bâtiment entre 1957 et 1959. S’en suivit Beaulieu III – Montchovet entre 1962 et 1964, surnommé la « Muraille de Chine », qui comprenait entre autres, une barre de type HLM haute de 10 à 17 mètres et longue de 270 mètres, avec 560 logements. Suites à ces constructions, l’urbanisation des vallées et collines du sud-est de Saint-Etienne continua jusque dans les années 70 avec les séries de la Métare I, II, et III. Au total, ce sont plus de 8 000 logements, pour l’essentiel de type HLM, qui ont été construits durant cette période.Ces constructions ont également contribué à la création du parc de l’Europe et d’un boulevard circulaire qui servait de jonction entre les différents édifices et le centre-ville de la cité stéphanoise.Un projet pharaoniqueLe centre commercial fut un projet d’une dimension sans précédent pour la ville, plus grand centre commercial intra-urbain de la région Loire-Auvergne, avec 100 magasins, 1500 places de stationnement, 90 000 m² de surface, et sur 3 niveaux (4 niveaux avec la terrasse). Le 2 octobre 1979, CENTRE DEUX ouvre ses portes pour la première fois, et constitue une renaissance et un véritable tournant pour la ville.L’avis de l’architecteDe toutes les constructions de cette époque, Beaulieu est un des ensembles construits qui se porte le mieux si l’on en croit les nombreuses enquêtes menées auprès de la population de ces logements, dont certains l’occupe pratiquement depuis le début. Les arbres atteignent désormais le haut des immeubles, et la rue Le Corbusier adjacente a pris les allures « d’une banlieue des années 30 » avec un niveau d’urbanisme parfaitement acceptable. En conclusion, on peut parler pour cette construction d’un véritable savoir faire architectural et en quelques sortes d’art urbain. Ce projet a été récompensé par un prix d’urbanisme, mettant en valeur le travail en amont du projet. St-Etienne Cimaise Architectes -Entretien avec François Tomas, géographe, spécialiste de l'aménagement urbain, et enseignant à l'université et à l'école d'architecture de Saint-Etienne. Il est notamment l'auteur des Grands Ensembles, une histoire qui continue (Publications de l'université de Saint-Etienne, 2003). Cet intellectuel a également mis la main à la pâte. Entre 1977 et 1983, il fut adjoint à l'urbanisme du maire communiste de l'époque, Joseph Sanguedolce. Engagé au PC de 1974 à 1985, il a, depuis, rejoint le Parti socialiste «comme militant de base»Quelle est l'ampleur des destructions provoquées par la Seconde Guerre mondiale à Saint-Etienne?La ville subit un important bombardement des Alliés le 26 mai 1944. Celui-ci vise les usines qu'utilisaient les Allemands dans la région pour leur effort de guerre et les noeuds de communication ferroviaire. Comme prévu, la gare de Châteaucreux, les usines de Marais et le tunnel de Tardy sont touchés. Mais les bombes, larguées trop rapidement, atteignent aussi les quartiers du Soleil et de Tardy - notamment les écoles - ainsi que l'église Saint-François, emplie de fidèles. Au total, le bilan est lourd: un millier de morts, 1 500 blessés, 22 000 sinistrés; 800 immeubles ont été plus ou moins détruits.Que prévoit-on pour la reconstruction?Pas grand-chose. A la différence de la refonte spectaculaire du Havre, par exemple, on se contente ici de bâtir de petits immeubles, plus modernes bien sûr, mais sans réelle innovation architecturale ou urbanistique.Est-il vrai que Saint-Etienne, après guerre, traîne une réputation de «capitale des taudis»?C'est exact, et celle-ci n'est pas usurpée. En 1946, 7% seulement des logements sont jugés «confortables», et 17%, «acceptables»; 56% sont médiocres, et 20% peuvent véritablement être qualifiés de taudis: 1 logement sur 5 n'a pas d'eau à l'évier, les deux tiers ne disposent pas de WC, et 95%, de salle d'eau. Mais le problème n'a pas été créé par la guerre. Depuis la fin du XIXe siècle, Saint-Etienne a beaucoup grandi, mais très peu construit. Résultat: la ville a vieilli sur elle-même et se trouve après guerre dans une situation désastreuse, que les bombardements ont simplement aggravée.C'est alors qu'Alexandre de Fraissinette, maire élu en 1947, fixe le logement comme l'une de ses priorités.Oui. Et ce ne sera pas un vain mot. Rendez-vous compte: on passe de 114 logements construits en 1948 à 531 en 1951, 1 085 en 1954, 1 694 en 1957 et même 2 932 en 1959! L'effort est gigantesque. Mais le changement est aussi qualitatif. A la fin des années 1940 et au début des années 1950, la France va connaître une rupture architecturale avec l'apparition des premiers grands ensembles. Saint-Etienne sera l'une des villes symboles de cette rupture.Comment cette nouvelle architecture est-elle accueillie?Très favorablement par les classes moyennes, beaucoup moins par les classes populaires.Cela paraît paradoxal, pour du logement social!Le paradoxe n'est qu'apparent. On l'a oublié aujourd'hui, mais les premiers grands ensembles sont réservés aux familles de moins de trois enfants ayant des revenus corrects, autrement dit aux classes moyennes. Alors que, depuis la guerre, celles-ci devaient se contenter d'une ou de deux pièces mal équipées, elles se voient soudain proposer des logements spacieux, avec de la verdure, de la lumière, une salle d'eau, des WC, le chauffage central. Cela leur paraît merveilleux! Les pauvres, eux, continuent de s'entasser dans de petits appartements sans confort, quand ce ne sont pas des taudis, en particulier à Tarentaize et à Beaubrun, ou des bidonvilles, du côté de Méons, près des puits de mine et des usines sidérurgiques. Ce n'est que plus tard, à partir des années 1970, que les grands ensembles seront prioritairement réservés aux pauvres et aux familles immigrées. Mais, dans les années 1950, les grands ensembles sont encore synonymes de progrès social. Et même au-delà. On est persuadé que ce nouvel habitat va entraîner le recul de la maladie, de la délinquance, voire de la mésentente entre les époux! Il existe ainsi une «commission du bonheur ou des grands ensembles»!On croit rêver...C'était l'ambiance de l'époque, avec ses utopies et ses excès. Pour les architectes, si l'un des repoussoirs est le taudis de centre-ville, l'autre est le petit pavillon de banlieue, symbole à leurs yeux de l'individualisme petit-bourgeois, avec ses gaspillages de terrain, son absence d'horizon et son coût pour la communauté...Quels sont les quartiers typiques de cette période, à Saint-Etienne?Le premier est constitué par le très bel ensemble de la place du Maréchal-Foch. Il s'agit d'une étape intermédiaire entre l'îlot traditionnel (des immeubles accolés, formant un pâté de maisons) et sa suppression totale. Du côté de la Grand-Rue, plusieurs immeubles constituent encore des semi-îlots. Mais, à l'ouest, deux immeubles sont déjà totalement indépendants: ils sont construits au milieu de la verdure. Et cela, c'est très nouveau. Jusqu'à présent, tous les immeubles érigés à Saint-Etienne, y compris les plus hauts, étaient accolés à d'autres édifices. Cela reste encore, cinquante ans plus tard, l'un des quartiers chics de Saint-Etienne.L'autre grande opération de l'époque, c'est Beaulieu I.Evidemment. On est, cette fois, face à un grand ensemble «pur». Le chantier commence en 1953 - il y a juste cinquante ans - et s'achève en 1955. Ce nouveau quartier de 1 264 logements est remarquablement conçu. Non seulement il respecte la topographie des lieux, mais aussi il joue avec elle: les bâtiments sont implantés soit parallèlement, soit perpendiculairement aux courbes de niveau, ce qui met en valeur la colline tout en préservant son sommet. Pour rompre l'anonymat, les entrées, les façades et les balcons sont individualisés. Les logements sont de qualité, et les espaces verts, confiés aux services de la ville, tout simplement magnifiques. Beaulieu produit d'ailleurs un effet prodigieux sur ses premiers habitants.Son implantation n'est pas non plus le fait du hasard...En effet. Compte tenu des préoccupations hygiénistes de l'époque, le conseil municipal a choisi ce site «loin des zones minières et industrielles, à l'abri des poussières et des fumées, au climat salubre». Il souligne qu'il ne sera «jamais exploité par les houillères, car son sous-sol est stérile» et qu'il est également «bien relié à Saint-Etienne par le cours Fauriel, la seule avenue large de la ville». C'est véritablement le contre-modèle du taudis. Il a d'ailleurs, lui également, remarquablement bien vieilli.Etes-vous aussi enthousiaste pour les projets qui ont suivi Beaulieu I?Hélas!... Beaulieu II-La Marandinière (1957-1959), Beaulieu III-Montchovet (1962-1964), avec la fameuse «muraille de Chine», Beaulieu IV-la Palle (1967-1970) et la Métare (1962-1974), représentant à eux tous quelque 6 000 logements, constituent - à l'exception de la Métare, qui ne comprend que des appartements en copropriété - des échecs complets. Et tragiques.Pourquoi cette différence?Beaulieu I a bénéficié d'une accumulation de partis pris judicieux qui n'ont pas été appliqués par la suite. Outre la qualité de son architecture et de ses espaces verts, on a évité le zonage bête et méchant, qui allait s'imposer plus tard: les zones commerciales, d'un côté; les tours et les barres d'habitation, d'un deuxième; les emplois, d'un troisième. Enfin, Beaulieu I, réservé presque exclusivement aux classes moyennes, n'a pas connu le processus de dégradation que l'on constatera ailleurs, et dont la destruction de la «muraille de Chine» constituera le symbole.Qui ont été les grands aménageurs de cette époque?Parmi les politiques: le maire, Alexandre de Fraissinette (modéré), et son premier adjoint, qui lui succédera à sa mort, le radical Michel Durafour. Parmi les architectes: Edouard Hur et Henri Gouyon, concepteurs de Beaulieu I. Et, bien sûr, l'Etat, qui reste très présent. C'est lui qui, de manière générale, garde la haute main sur l'urbanisme. Beaulieu constitue une opération nationale, décidée de Paris. Cependant, ce qui est remarquable, c'est que, pour Beaulieu I, l'Etat va accepter de composer.Dans quels domaines?Le ministère de la Reconstruction souhaitait, ici comme ailleurs, que l'opération fût entièrement industrialisée. Autrement dit, que l'on adaptât au bâtiment les méthodes de l'automobile. Les constructions devaient se faire en préfabriqué, et l'on devait se contenter de les monter sur place. Mais, à Saint-Etienne, les architectes, soutenus par le maire, s'opposent à cette directive. Parce qu'ils sont expérimentés, et reconnus, ils vont obtenir gain de cause. Et heureusement.Y a-t-il eu des projets, conçus à cette époque, qui n'ont pas vu le jour? A la fin des années 1950, l'Etat fait appel à de grands architectes pour remodeler les villes. A Saint-Etienne, c'est Dufau, distingué par le prix de Rome, qui est choisi. Il présente un projet radical: raser les 70 îlots qui se trouvent à l'est de la Grand-Rue, entre la place du Peuple et Bellevue, et les remplacer par autant de tours et de barres! Son projet, finalement, ne sera appliqué qu'en partie. Au sud, jusqu'à Bellevue, presque tout est démoli, beaucoup de tours et de barres sont construites. Au nord, les démolitions sont également presque systématiques, mais, cette fois, les nouveaux immeubles reproduisent la forme traditionnelle de l'îlot. On détruit également une partie du quartier derrière la grande poste, ainsi que l'ancienne caserne de Tréfilerie et la prison de Bizillon. Le futur Centre-Deux...C'est cela. Au départ, l'opération se nomme «prison-Tréfilerie», mais les promoteurs, qui ont le sens du commerce, préfèrent la rebaptiser. Ce quartier est conçu comme un centre d'affaires à l'américaine, type la Défense, à Paris, ou la Part-Dieu, à Lyon. On explique aux élus que, s'ils veulent que Saint-Etienne devienne une grande ville, ils doivent la doter d'un centre d'affaires, avec des immeubles atteignant 100 ou 150 mètres de hauteur, comme aux Etats-Unis! Le projet est lancé (en 1969), mais il sera peu à peu amendé, pour tenir compte de la réalité économique, de la montée des oppositions et de l'évolution des mentalités.Comment l'économie stéphanoise se porte-t-elle alors?La ville croit encore à l'avenir de la mine et des industries traditionnelles. Cela se comprend: le plan Monnet pour la relance de l'économie française s'appuie sur l'énergie, les transports, les industries lourdes... Bref, tous les points forts de Saint-Etienne, mais ce sera un cadeau empoisonné, car, bercée par cette illusion, la cité s'endort. Quand elle se décidera à moderniser ses structures industrielles, ce sera toujours avec quelques années de retard. Au fond, c'est dans les années 1950 que l'on commet les erreurs qui conduiront, plus tard, au démantèlement des industries locales.Le secteur tertiaire a-t-il déjà commencé son essor?Pas encore. Dans les années 1950, Saint-Etienne reste une ville très fortement industrielle. La tertiarisation, avec l'enseignement supérieur, la transformation de l'hôpital en centre hospitalier régional et universitaire et l'essor de Casino, avec les supermarchés et les hypermarchés, ne commencera véritablement que dans les années 1960.Culturellement, la ville est aussi très active...Elle est même, à ce moment-là, l'un des hauts lieux de la création culturelle en France, notamment dans les domaines théâtral et artistique. Maurice Allemand fait du musée de Saint-Etienne l'un des plus grands musées d'art moderne en France. Et Jean Dasté propose au public le théâtre moderne. Ce bouillonnement est dû, notamment, à Alexandre de Fraissinette. Comme, après lui, Michel Durafour, il est persuadé que l'avenir de la cité est dans la modernité. Il considère donc qu'elle doit être déclinée dans tous ses aspects: économique, urbanistique et culturel.La population comprend-elle cette volonté?Oui et non. Dans les années 1950, il existe un certain consensus, car tout le monde partage la vision d'un avenir meilleur. Mais, en réalité, Fraissinette, et surtout Durafour, sont très décalés. Dans leur obsession d'une ville «blanche», ils refusent en bloc le passé, dont on a heureusement découvert depuis lors les richesses. Ils rêvent d'une ville qui n'existe pas, peuplée d'habitants qui ne ressemblent pas aux Stéphanois réels... C'est d'ailleurs ce qui, plus tard, provoquera la chute de Michel Durafour.Le chantier de l'autoroute de Saint Etienne 01 nov. 1965, la video içi www.ina.fr/video/LXC9610041788 - ST-Etienne,Montchovet (Beaulieu III) "la Muraille de Chine" construction 1962-1964, architecte HUR/FARRAT/GOUYON.Rappelez vous...Aout 1983, François Mitterand, se déplace incognito à la Muraille de Chine à Saint-Etienne. Quelques mois plus tard, la grande réhabilitation de cette barre d’habitation sera lancée.& le 24 octobre 1987 : visite officielle à Saint-Etienne. Il retourne à La Muraille de Chine pour constater les travaux. Le même jour il se rendra à Saint-Chamond et Roanne.« En 1983, le président s’est rendu à Montchovet à l’improviste »François Mitterrand est venu une première à Montchovet en 1983 incognito. Pourquoi une telle démarche ?C’est l’architecte Roland Castro qui a convaincu le président d’aller dans des quartiers populaires. Son but était de lui montrer où vivaient les gens à cette époque et qu’il fallait entreprendre un programme de rénovation.François Mitterrand m’a appelé et m’a dit d’organiser trois ou quatre » descentes » sur le terrain mais le président ne voulait ni policiers, ni gendarmes. Il m’a simplement demandé d’avertir, par correction, le préfet une fois arrivé. C’était d’ailleurs le meilleur gage de sécurité car lorsque vous n’êtes pas attendu, il n’y a pas de risques. Nous sommes donc allés à Saint-Etienne à Montchovet, aux Minguettes à Lyon, dans le 93.. et, à chaque fois, à l’improviste> Quelle a été la réaction des habitants ?Ils étaient très étonnés de croiser le président de la République dans leur cage d’escaliers ! Partout, nous avons reçu un accueil très chaleureux.Nous étions quatre : le président, Roland Castro, un policier et moi-même. Je me souviens qu’aux Minguettes, le président a été invité par une famille pour boire le thé. Les habitants étaient très heureux que le président s’intéresse à eux.> Comment François Mitterrand a-t-il réagi en voyant la vie de ses quartiers ?Il était fasciné. Je n’irais pas jusqu’à dire que c’était, pour lui, une découverte mais il était un rural et le fait de se confronter à la vie de ces gens qui vivaient dans de grandes barres fut enrichissant.> Ces visites impromptues ont-elles été suivies d’effets ?Oui car la mission Banlieues 89 est née de ces visites de terrain. Ce fut d’ailleurs la naissance de la politique de la ville.> En 1987, cette fois, la visite fut officielle - Proposer de nouveaux logements dans une démarche environnementale forte. Dans la poursuite des opérations engagées depuis 2001 (démolition de la Muraille de Chine en 2000, implantation du CHPL, de l ’AIMV en 2005), une qualité résidentielle s'affirme progressivement au sein des quartiers Sud-Est, grâce à une nouvelle offre d'habitat variée (en forme comme en type de produits). Le dynamisme du quartier s'appuie sur l'accueil et le développement de services, d'activités économiques et d'équipements d'agglomération (centre nautique, Nouveau Théâtre de Beaulieu...) et de proximité (salles de sport, travaux dans les écoles). Les atouts paysagers du site sont pleinement exploités dans une démarche environnementale forte. L'aménagement des espaces libres et la requalification des axes structurants et de desserte renforcent les liaisons internes aux quartiers et les ouvrent sur l'ensemble de la ville. Beaulieu, un patrimoine de qualité, valorisé et adapté à ses occupants40 logement ont été adaptés au vieillissement de leur occupants (bacs à douche, volets électriques, aménagement des ascenseurs, …). L'amélioration des espaces extérieurs, résidentiels ou publics (rue K.Marx, square Renoir, allée Clémenceau) viendra rendre plus conviviaux ces lieux de vie partagés. Petite Marandinière : une cité jardin qui se rénove en gardant son caractère Sur la Petite Marandinière, 320 logements de Métropole Habitat ont été rénovés. Les bâtiments ont été transformés pour arriver à 32 logements, avec création de T3, T4, et T5 en tenant compte de la rénovation thermique et du confort des logements. 54 logements ont été construits, répartis en 6 bâtiments à l'architecture contemporaine et fonctionnelle (surfaces généreuses, double ou triple orientation, terrasse ou loggia). En parallèle, les espaces publics ont été réaménagés dans une démarche environnementale durable et innovante : résidentialisation et embellissement des espaces extérieurs, traitement paysager d'ensemble, requalification des voiries et des circulations douces adaptées aux usages, gestion optimisée du stationnement et des eaux pluviales...Une nouvelle mixité pour le quartier : les maisons de ville "Jardins Sembat" 22 maisons de ville (du T3 au T5) ont été construites à l’angle de la rue Marcel Sembat et du boulevard de Fraissinette. Conçu et développé par l'équipe XXL-Civita-Spirit, ce projet se caractérise par la qualité de la construction (matériaux durables, aménagement soigné des espaces extérieurs…) et par la mise en valeur paysagère du site, ouvert sur les collines du Pilat. 3 types de maisons ont été proposées en location libre : maisons jumelées le long du boulevard de Fraissinette, maisons en pente en fond de parcelle adossée au talus, maisons patio au cœur de l’îlot. Un nouveau centre nautique sur le secteur Loti Souhaité par les habitants, exemplaire d’une démarche participative de coproduction, le centre nautique Yves Naime a été ouvert à l'été 2013, en remplacement de l'ancienne piscine de la Marandinière. Ce centre nautique comprend un bassin sportif (25m, 6 lignes d'eau), un bassin destiné aux activités ludiques (bains bouillonnants, aquagym...), une pataugoire et des plages extérieures.Grande Marandinière : un secteur d'habitat en développement . Après la démolition de la barre Sisley et celle en cours de la barre Féguide, c'est un nouveau quartier qui se dessine sur ce secteur. La reconfiguration de la rue Sisley en voie de promenade avec des vues en belvédère et l'aménagement d'une « coulée verte » ont profondément modifié le paysage urbain du secteur. Ce nouvel environnement a permis à Métropole Habitat de réaliser un programme immobilier de 27 logements locatifs. Dans ce bâtiment collectif moderne et fonctionnel, chaque logement comporte un espace extérieur privatif, balcon ou terrasse. Au rez-de-chaussée, des locaux d'activités (centre social espace-loisirs) ou de services sont déployés le long de la nouvelle rue Sisley. La Palle : des résidentialisations de qualitéLa résidentialisation des immeubles du boulevard de la Palle apporte aux habitants de nouvelles terrasses privatives en rez-de-chaussée, des espaces en cœur d’îlots plus agréables, et de nouveaux parcours piétonniers avec aires de jeux. Elle s’accompagne de la réhabilitation des immeubles (réfection des façades, changement des garde-corps…). Des opérations de résidentialisation ont été menées immeuble par immeuble de 2006 à 2009. Elles permettent de définir les limites entre les parties publiques ouvertes à tous, et les parties privées. Des petits jardins privatifs sont ainsi aménagés pour chaque logement de rez-de-chaussée.Le Pont Aven : du logement social à haute performance environnementaleDéveloppé par Métropole Habitat, le Pont-Aven est un exemple en matière de construction écologique. Il accueille 20 logements sociaux du T2 au T5. L’ensemble de la conception du bâtiment intègre des critères environnementaux : parois extérieures en brique mono-mur, eau chaude solaire, chauffage collectif au gaz naturel, ventilation intérieure à double flux pour une meilleure circulation de l’air, équipements électriques et sanitaires économes en énergie. La toiture végétalisée permet quant à elle une meilleure conservation de la fraîcheur en été, les auvents du toit protègent les fenêtres du soleil et les eaux de pluie seront récupérées pour arroser les espaces extérieurs…Résultat : une diminution des rejets en CO2 et une baisse significative des charges de chauffage pour les locataires.Favoriser l'accessibilité et les relations inter-quartiers Le réaménagement du boulevard de la Palle a favorisé une meilleure desserte du quartier en transports en commun. Une station de taxis, des pistes cyclables et des pelouses ont été aménagées le long du boulevard, sécurisant ainsi la traversée piétonne entre les terrasses Roinat et le centre hospitalier. A l'intérieur du quartier, la trame piétonnière a été développée dans le principe d'une continuité paysagère entre les différents secteurs. Initiée avec l’aménagement des terrasses Roinat, une coulée verte, nouveau poumon vert du quartier, facilitant la circulation des piétons et des cyclistes, relie désormais le boulevard de la Palle, et plus loin le bois d'Avaize, au Parc de l'Europe. - Après la seconde guerre mondiale, un immense chantier s'ouvre en France dans le but de loger massivement une population démunie, les réalisations des HLM en France et la lutte contre l'habitat indigne insalubre , le film parle de St-Etienne entre autre avec les Cités du soleil 1958 de Jean-Claude Sée : www.dailymotion.com/video/xgj74q .Jusqu'au milieu des années 1970, cette période dite des « Trente Glorieuses l'après guerre et montre la plupart des grandes réalisations de 1945 à 1960. A travers les exemples de la région parisienne et de quelques grandes villes françaises sont posé les problèmes de la diversité architecturale, de l'esthétique et de l'harmonie entre le passé et l'avenir. Les images montrent les grands ensembles de Beaulieu, la Marandiniére, à Saint-Etienne, la cité le Haut du Lièvre à Nancy, des cités à Sarcelles, Asnières, Bron-Parilly, Epinay, Pantin, Bobigny, la cité radieuse de Le Corbusier à Marseille, le front de mer à Royan, la video de l'Année 1962, une réalisation de Philippe Brunet içi www.dailymotion.com/video/xgj2zz » fut le terrain de nombreuses expérimentations architecturales et urbanistiques, fondées notamment sur les idées émises plus tôt dans le siècle par le Mouvement moderne.Aujourd'hui, ces ensembles bâtis sont au cœur d'une autre actualité, liée à leur adaptation à l'évolution des modes de vie de notre société contemporaine. Cette question qui se posa dès la fin des années 1970 apparaît sous un jour nouveau, avec les premières démolitions dans les années 1980 et, plus récemment, le vaste programme de réhabilitation mis en place dans le cadre de la loi Solidarité et Renouvellement Urbain.Après Les Grands Ensembles. Une histoire qui continue…, ce nouvel ouvrage, fruit de la collaboration entre l'École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture de Saint-Étienne et l'Université Jean Monnet, apporte un éclairage nouveau sur cet héritage bâti, mettant au jour simultanément la question de son vécu et celle des acteurs engagés dans son édification. En réunissant quinze auteurs spécialistes de ce domaine, il s'agit de regrouper autant de points de vue, pour comprendre la diversité et la complexité des enjeux liés à la postérité de ce bâti. - « Petite enquête sur Beaulieu – Le Rond-Point », La Tribune du centre et du sud-est, 13 octobre 1955 et « Le chantier de Beaulieu – Le Rond-Point (1ère tranche) sera terminé le 30 juin 1956 très exactement »,La Tribune du centre & du sud-est, 26 juin 1956 -«St-Etienne, la place des grands ensembles dans l’histoire de l’habitat social français »Saint-Étienne/Beaulieu, au sud-est de l’agglomération, sur le versant sud de la colline de Beaulieu, en forte pente et d’aspect semi-rural, la cité de Beaulieu est mise à l’étude dès 1950. Elle débute en 1953 et comprend 1 221 logements, un groupe scolaire et 35 boutiques. Des parrains prestigieux et l’élite de l’architecture sté- phanoise sont mobilisés pour ce premier grand ensemble local.Tantôt les bâtiments suivent le dessin de la courbe de niveau 600, devenue rue Le Corbusier, tantôt ils s’installent perpendi-culairement à la pente, reliés à la rue par des passerelles ou de grands escaliers. A l’implantation exemplaire des bâtiments répond une maîtrise raffinée du végétal d’accompagnement, décliné selon les modes habituels aux squares urbains, avec une virtuosité étonnante dus aux talents de l’ingénieur des Services techniques de la ville, Jean Marc, associé à l’équipe de concep-tion dès l’origine de l’opération.Le vocabulaire de l’art des jardins s’adapte au grand ensemble : les espaces sont découpés à partir des courbes de niveau et des allées, et caractérisés par un système de haies et de contre-haies (haies étagées doubles ou triples) constituées de troènes com-muns ou dorés, prunus, berbéris et buffets de laurier, et sont plantés d arbres rythmés et colorés (érables négundo et acacias), ou parfois fastigiés (la gamme d’arbres est d’ailleurs peu riche), selon un dessin géométrique et des alternances de couleurs. Ces espaces verts ne sont réalisés qu’à partir de 1964, après avoir été longtemps laissés en prairies fauchées. Cet état de fait, dû au départ à l’étirement des financements des projets d’espaces exté-rieurs, s’inscrivait aussi dans la logique de conception de notre ingénieur, qui pensait « qu’il était nécessaire de laisser vivre un groupe d’habitations avant de planter » – afin de reprendre notamment les chemins tracés par l’usage.Cette réalisation révèle le décalage entre les réflexions et les savoir-faire architecturaux et paysagers et exprime quelques traits caractéristiques de la pratique paysagiste. Le festonnage des haies qui jalonne les espaces extérieurs rejoint celui des collines boca- gères surplombant les bâtiments. Il rappelle le site environnant et inspirera plus tard l’AUA et Alexandre Chemetoff pour la réhabilitation du quartier de Montreynaud.Relevons que, sans l’action concertée des services de la ville et de l’office d’HLM, qui finança entièrement la réalisation des espaces verts, rien n’aurait été fait à cette époque, compte tenu du désintérêt pour cet aspect du projet des principaux responsables du chantier. « D’ailleurs, à cette époque, les architectes ne jouaient pas au paysagiste… », queleques superbes videos du Ministere de la Cohésion et des Territoires içi : .Naissance d'une banlieue mort d'un village 2000 www.dailymotion.com/video/x1a98izRéalisateur : Sidney Jézéquel Production : Les Films Roger Leenhardt Sujet : la commune de Goussainville (95) --------Quatre murs et un toit 1953 www.dailymotion.com/video/xk6xui Scenario et réalisation Pierre Jallaud MRU (ministère de la reconstruction et de l'urbanisme) ----------------Le Bonheur est dans le béton www.dailymotion.com/video/x413amo - 2015 Documentaire réalisé par Lorenz Findeisen produit par Les Films du Tambour de Soie ---------------------Beaulieu par son constructeur la Cimaise :" Entre les années 50 et 60, et suite à la seconde guerre mondiale, la municipalité stéphanoise a vu sa population passée d’un peu moins de 180 000 habitants en 1950 à plus de 200 000 habitants dix ans plus tard en 1960. Cette forte augmentation de la population pouvait s’expliquer par le fort taux de natalité de cette époque (baby-boom), mais aussi par l’afflux de travailleurs de la classe ouvrière venus dans la grande cité stéphanoise pour trouver un travail. De ce fait, la construction d’un logement sain pour chaque ouvrier était devenue une priorité absolue pour les élus qui considéraient à raison que cela était une condition vitale dans le cadre de ce grand développement. Pour ce faire, la ville a lancé dans les années 50 une vaste opération de construction de barres d’habitation dans la zone de Beaulieu, destinée à fournir un logement à une population grandissante.--- Bâtir mieux plus vite et moins cher 1975 l'industrialisation du bâtiment et ses innovations : la préfabrication en usine, le coffrage glissant... www.dailymotion.com/video/xyjudq ----SAINT-ETIENNE BEAULIEU une barre d’habitation innovanteA l’époque, avec une majorité d’architectes, les appartements modernes construits possédaient des cloisons lourdes empêchant toute modification interne ainsi que des espaces de renvoi sombres et non ventilés ressemblant à des alcôves.Mais à l’inverse, pour certains architectes précurseurs de la région à l’image d’Yves et Henri Gouyon, la modernité reflétait le gout de la clarté, de l’air, et du soleil, avec de larges horizons. Ainsi, ces derniers donnaient la priorité non pas aux façades qu’ils considéraient comme de simples élévations du plan, mais aux cellules d’habitations et à leur orientation. Dans cette optique, le bâtiment proposé par Henri Gouyon, qui était donc un partisan de l’espace ouvert moderne, supprimait les circulations et profitait de ce gain de place pour aménager de nouveaux espaces de vie communes. De plus, dans ces cellules d’habitations, les architectes ont tirés profit au maximum de la double orientation des appartements (ces derniers étaient traversant) avec par exemple l’accolement de balcons. Conception et réalisation d’un quartier entier. Pour le projet de Beaulieu, l’on confia la conception ainsi que la réalisation des interventions aux agences Henri et Yves Gouyon puis Yves Gouyon et associés. Ainsi, dés le milieu des années 50, des études concernant Beaulieu II – La Marandinière furent conduites, suivis de la construction du bâtiment entre 1957 et 1959. S’en suivit Beaulieu III – Montchovet entre 1962 et 1964, surnommé la « Muraille de Chine la plus grande barre d'Europe avec 540 appartements à sa livraison mi 1964, les chantiers de l'OPAC devenu Métropole-Habitat, www.ina.fr/video/LY00001263522 », qui comprenait entre autres, une barre de type HLM haute de 10 à 17 mètres et longue de 270 mètres, avec 560 logements. Suites à ces constructions, l’urbanisation des vallées et collines du sud-est de Saint-Etienne continua jusque dans les années 70 avec les séries de la Métare I, II, et III. Au total, ce sont plus de 8 000 logements, pour l’essentiel de type HLM, qui ont été construits durant cette période. Ces constructions ont également contribué à la création du parc de l’Europe et d’un boulevard circulaire qui servait de jonction entre les différents édifices et le centre-ville de la cité stéphanoise.Un projet pharaoniqueLe centre commercial fut un projet d’une dimension sans précédent pour la ville, plus grand centre commercial intra-urbain de la région Loire-Auvergne, avec 100 magasins, 1500 places de stationnement, 90 000 m² de surface, et sur 3 niveaux (4 niveaux avec la terrasse). Le 2 octobre 1979, CENTRE DEUX ouvre ses portes pour la première fois, et constitue une renaissance et un véritable tournant pour la ville. L’avis de l’architecteDe toutes les constructions de cette époque, Beaulieu est un des ensembles construits qui se porte le mieux si l’on en croit les nombreuses enquêtes menées auprès de la population de ces logements, dont certains l’occupe pratiquement depuis le début. Les arbres atteignent désormais le haut des immeubles, et la rue Le Corbusier adjacente a pris les allures « d’une banlieue des années 30 » avec un niveau d’urbanisme parfaitement acceptable. En conclusion, on peut parler pour cette construction d’un véritable savoir faire architectural et en quelques sortes d’art urbain. Ce projet a été récompensé par un prix d’urbanisme, mettant en valeur le travail en amont du projet. www.cimaise-architectes.com/realisations/divers/construct... cité HLM labellisée Patrimoine du XXeme siecle -"Il faut bien le dire, avant même d’être livré, Beaulieu est l' un des grands-ensembles, parmis 6 autres qui fasçinait en 1954..En effet c'etait le début de la longue & grande histoire des chantiers de l'Office Public de l'Aménagement et de la Construction* içi, ou à Montreynaud, Solaure, Monthieu etc( l'OPAC l'office public de logements sociaux, devenu plus tard Métropole-Habitat, est la plus importante au niveau National, c'est la plus grosse boite d'HLM). Bref, les habituels promeneurs du coin genre les "Bois du Four (la Metare, le nom ançien, qui par ailleurs appartenait a Mme de Métarie une veuve riche qui légua son domaine soit "la Métare" à la ville, pour un Franc symbolique à l'epoque et aux CHU anciennement les HCL Hospiçes Civils de la Ville comme à Lyon... (on notera qu il y a des tas de logements en centre ville propriété du CHU)..se rendant le dimanchedans le Pilat ou à Rochetaillée et sur les collines* alentours (on en a 7 comme a Rome) font un léger détour par le chantier. Ils constatent alors de visu cet avancement des travaux que la presse qualifie de « belle prouesse ». Le rythme est en effet rapide : « un étage par semaine » pour certaines barres, comme le raconte un témoin. Les « grandes maisons », soient les immeubles de hauteur et nombre de logements importants (IGH), étant alors encore rares dans laville, les Stéphanois n’y sont pas habitués@ les H.L.M. Beaulieu est la 1ere cité Stéphanoise de toutes,. Les barres de dix-sept et quatorze niveaux gises respectivement rues Gomy Herriot et de Vlaminck, ainsi que la tour de 22 niveaux au 33 rue Le-Corbusier,surprennent donc encore pire pour la plus grande barre d'Europe qui arrvera 7 ans plus tard, la Muraille qui mettront certains certaines à la renverse , le gigantisme à l'état brut, du lourd.... La référence qui vient à l’esprit de beaucoup ajoute à la fascination : l’Amérique. « C’est New-York ! c'est tres joile, tres vert... », se rappelle avoir pensé un habitant de la première harre...Mais plus que les immeubles, ce sont surtout les logements qui emportent l’adhésion des « heureux locataires », comme aime à les appeler la presse tout court. La satisfaction procurée aux habitants par l’hygiène et le confort des logements des Grands-Ensembles soit les quartiers NEUF est une information connue, les études de sciences humaines sur le sujet abondent. Aussi, pour le cas de Beaulieu devenu un cas d'Ecole idem pour Montchovet (Beaulieu3) et les transformations de la Marandiniere (Beaulieu2)...Les entretiens réalisés avec des locataires n’apportent pas sur ce point-ci d’éléments nouveaux :les premiers motifs de satisfaction invoqués sont, comme pour bien d’autres Grands-Ensembles Français,l’eau courante, le chauffage central dont sont pourvus les immeubles les plus hauts, les WC intérieurs et salles de bain, l’ensoleillement et la luminosité permis par l’orientation, la hauteur et la disposition des immeubles, les placards et les tout aussi pratiques balcons à parois séchoirs permettant de faire sécher le linge, hiver compris. Entretien avec François Tomas, géographe, spécialiste de l'aménagement urbain, et enseignant à l'université et à l'école d'architecture de Saint-Etienne. Il est notamment l'auteur des Grands Ensembles, une histoire qui continue (Publications de l'université de Saint-Etienne, 2003). Cet intellectuel a également mis la main à la pâte. Entre 1977 et 1983, il fut adjoint à l'urbanisme du maire communiste de l'époque, Joseph Sanguedolce. Engagé au PC de 1974 à 1985, il a, depuis, rejoint le Parti socialiste «comme militant de base»L"apres guerre...Que prévoit-on pour la reconstruction? Pas grand-chose. A la différence de la refonte spectaculaire du Havre, par exemple, on se contente ici de bâtir de petits immeubles, plus modernes bien sûr, mais sans réelle innovation architecturale ou urbanistique.Est-il vrai que Saint-Etienne, après guerre, traîne une réputation de «capitale des taudis»?C'est exact, et celle-ci n'est pas usurpée. En 1946, 7% seulement des logements sont jugés «confortables», et 17%, «acceptables»; 56% sont médiocres, et 20% peuvent véritablement être qualifiés de taudis: 1 logement sur 5 n'a pas d'eau à l'évier, les deux tiers ne disposent pas de WC, et 95%, de salle d'eau. Mais le problème n'a pas été créé par la guerre. Depuis la fin du XIXe siècle, Saint-Etienne a beaucoup grandi, mais très peu construit. Résultat: la ville a vieilli sur elle-même et se trouve après guerre dans une situation désastreuse, que les bombardements ont simplement aggravée. C'est alors qu'Alexandre de Fraissinette, maire élu en 1947, fixe le logement comme l'une de ses priorités.

Found this old photo of Petey and ....

 

I always wanted to win the Stilson canoe race

As a young kid I was so impressed with the winners

the great rivalries that formed

Who was going to win this year ?

New records ....

Essentially the race is in fact quite short

2.5 miles of flat water padling

Balls to the wall paddling I may add

Followed by a 1500m portage on a flat lumber road ( Wide for passing )

Then putting in for a final 1 mile paddle where we finished under a a small bridge

Spectators were numerous and many ran along the portage or waited at the canoe put in to see who would crest the hill first and be first team at the end of the portage ( usually the winning team )

The CBC made a film documentary one year

The guys producing must have done the race !

:-))

They had to censor some of the swear words heard during the race

:-))

From the age of 16 on I attempted to win that race

Came close but never won ( 5 years )

I trained year round to better my physical condition

Had 4 different partners

At the age of 16 I was the youngest ever to participate

We were 13th at the beginning of the portage

3rd at the end

My reputation was made as the fastest single canoe portager

Canoes weighed 90 - 100 lbs

I weighed 147 lbs at 16

But I could run with a canoe

Fast !

Unfortunately my partner Paul Laurier ( Sir Wilfrid Laurier's grandson ) and I dumped on the way in at the canoe put in

We finished last

But I had passed a lot of my heroes on the portage

Stu Lang wide reciever for the Edmonton Eskimos football team and a host of others

The bug was set ...

I needed to win that race

One year after a summer long canoe trip where I made the decision to leave the bow and reinvent myself as a sterns man

( back of canoe )

I modified the sternstroke during training all of Quetico canoe trip in anticipation of the upcoming race.

Decided to use a bowman's paddle ( pulls more water )

The J stroke was transformed into a short flick of the wrist without prying off the canoe gunnels

Essentially the J stroke is a steering stroke

It is also a stopping motion

The less you J

The faster you go ! ( Paddle like a bowman )

Well Peter snuck up on me two weeks before the race just before dinner one evening after my summer long canoe trip (where I always was in training ) and asked Guy ....

Wanna do the race ?

Peter is 5ft 5 inches tall

165 Lb of pure muscle

All torso

Short but powerful legs

As a rugby player he was recruited by the Toronto Argonauts football team

We tried to do the course and see how compatible we would be

The minute he put his back easily into the stroke

I felt a whoooosh

Pure power without the effort

Imagine the day of the race

I always goosebumps remembering the magic of that first stroke

It was as if we had been a team for 20 years

Well my first time with Pete we set a course record of 28.48

Two more years we set a new record each time

The record we set in 1978 still stands 28.08

They have shortened the course by 30-45 seconds

Still holds !

I used to have a bet with Pete that i was a faster runner with the canoe than him with the paddles

 

We would literally race one another

The competition was too far behind

That is how records are set

It was a close race

6 minutes17 seconds for slightly over 1500 meters of portaging

Now they use the two man canoe portaging technique

In this Stilson era the winner's times are about 2 minutes slower ?

Maybe they do not train as hard

Or the partners are a portaging unit

We were too busy racing one another

 

Pete reminded me that he was always the winner

That I was always 2nd

He is the bowman ( Front of the canoe )

He set the records cuz he was under the bridge first

:-))

g

Montreal

Two pictures of the canoe racing author can be seen in the evolution set

Forming the 15.25 back from Thorney to Whittlesea was BMR 202V, Leyland Fleetline/ ECW, formerly with Thamesdown and now privately preserved locally by one of the event organisers.

 

Huge thanks to the Eastern Bus Group for staging this very enjoyable event. The less favorable conditions for photography than in 2014 gave me the perfect excuse to ride some buses, including Buckbys Metrobus, the Delaine Olympian and that splendid Stagecoach Lodekka all the way to Chatteris!

mémoire2cité - Sols absorbants, formes arrondies et couleurs vives, les aires de jeux standardisées font désormais partie du paysage urbain. Toujours les mêmes toboggans sécurisés, châteaux forts en bois et animaux à ressort. Ces non-lieux qu’on finit par ne plus voir ont une histoire, parallèle à celle des différentes visions portées sur l’enfant et l’éducation. En retournant jouer au xixe siècle, sur les premiers playgrounds des États-Unis, on assiste à la construction d’une nation – et à des jeux de société qui changent notre vision sur les balançoires du capitalisme. Ce texte est paru dans le numéro 4 de la revue Jef Klak « Ch’val de Course », printemps-été 2017. La version ici publiée en ligne est une version légèrement remaniée à l’occasion de sa republication dans le magazine Palais no 27 1, paru en juin 2018. la video içi www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uwj1wh5k5PY The concept for adventure playgrounds originated in postwar Europe, after a playground designer found that children had more fun with the trash and rubble left behind by bombings -inventing their own toys and playing with them- than on the conventional equipment of swings and slides. Narrator John Snagge was a well-known voice talent in the UK, working as a newsreader for BBC Radio - jefklak.org/le-gouvernement-des-playgrounds/ - www.collectorsweekly.com/articles/chasing-the-vanishing-p... or children, playgrounds are where magic happens. And if you count yourself among Baby Boomers or Gen Xers, you probably have fond memories of high steel jungle gyms and even higher metal slides that squeaked and groaned as you slid down them. The cheerful variety of animals and vehicles on springs gave you plenty of rides to choose from, while a spiral slide, often made of striped panels, was a repeated thrill. When you dismounted from a teeter-totter, you had to be careful not to send your partner crashing to the ground or get hit in the head by your own seat. The tougher, faster kids always pushed the brightly colored merry-go-round, trying to make riders as dizzy as possible. In the same way, you’d dare your sibling or best friend to push you even higher on the swing so your toes could touch the sky. The most exciting playgrounds would take the form of a pirate ship, a giant robot, or a space rocket.

“My husband would look at these big metal things and go, ‘Oh my God, those are the Slides of Death!'” - insh.world/history/playground-equipment-of-yesterday-that...

Today, these objects of happy summers past have nearly disappeared, replaced by newer equipment that’s lower to the ground and made of plastic, painted metal, and sometimes rot-resistant woods like cedar or redwood. The transformation began in 1973, when the U.S. Congress established the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which began tracking playground injuries at hospital emergency rooms. The study led to the publication of the first Handbook for Public Playground Safety in 1981, which signaled the beginning of the end for much of the playground equipment in use. (See the latest PPS handbook here.) Then, the American Society for Testing and Materials created a subcommittee of designers and playground-equipment manufacturers to set safety standards for the whole industry. When they published their guidelines in 1993, they suggested most existing playground surfaces, which were usually asphalt, dirt, or grass, needed to be replaced with pits of wood or rubber mulch or sand, prompting many schools and parks to rip their old playgrounds out entirely.

Top: A Space Age rocket-themed playground set by Miracle Playground Equipment, introduced circa 1968, photographed in Burlington, Colorado, in 2009. Above: Two seesaws and a snail-shaped climber, circa 1970s, photographed in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, in 2007. (Photos by Brenda Biondo)

Top: A Space Age rocket-themed playground set by Miracle Playground Equipment, introduced circa 1968, photographed in Burlington, Colorado, in 2009. Above: Two seesaws and a snail-shaped climber, circa 1970s, photographed in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, in 2007. (Photos by Brenda Biondo)

That said, removing and replacing playground equipment takes money, so a certain amount of vintage playground equipment survived into the next millennium—but it’s vanishing fast. Fortunately, Brenda Biondo, a freelance journalist turned photographer, felt inspired to document these playscapes before they’ve all been melted down. Her photographs capture the sculptural beauty and creativity of the vintage apparatuses, as well as that feeling of nostalgia you get when you see a piece of your childhood. After a decade of hunting down old playgrounds, Biondo published a coffee-table book, 2014’s Once Upon a Playground: A Celebration of Classic American Playgrounds, 1920-1975, which includes both her photographs of vintage equipment and pages of old playground catalogs that sold it.

Starting this November, Biondo’s playground photos will hit the road as part of a four-year ExhibitsUSA traveling show, which will also include vintage playground postcards and catalog pages from Biondo’s collection. The show will make stops in smaller museums and history centers around the United States, passing through Temple, Texas; Lincoln, Nebraska; Kansas City, Missouri; and Greenville, South Carolina. Biondo talked to us on the phone from her home in small-town Colorado, where she lives with her husband and children.

This 1975 Miracle catalog page reads, "This famous Lifetime Whirl has delighted three generations of children and still is a safe, playground favorite. Although it has gone through many improvements many of the original models are still spinning on playgrounds from coast to coast." (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)This 1975 Miracle catalog page reads, “This famous Lifetime Whirl has delighted three generations of children and still is a safe, playground favorite. Although it has gone through many improvements many of the original models are still spinning on playgrounds from coast to coast.” (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)Collectors Weekly: What inspired you to photograph playgrounds?Biondo: In 2004, I happened to be at my local park with my 1-year-old daughter, who was playing in the sandbox. I had just switched careers, from freelance journalism to photography, and I was looking for a starter project. I looked around the playground and thought, “Where is all the equipment that I remember growing up on?” They had new plastic contraptions, but nothing like the big metal slides I grew up with. After that, I started driving around to other playgrounds to see if any of this old equipment still existed. I found very little of it and realized it was disappearing quickly. That got to me.I felt like somebody should be documenting this equipment, because it was such a big part—and a very good part—of so many people’s childhoods. I couldn’t find anybody else who was documenting it, and I didn’t see any evidence that the Smithsonian was collecting it. As far as I could tell, it was just getting ripped up and sent to the scrap heap. At first, I started traveling around Colorado where I live, visiting playgrounds. Eventually, I took longer trips around the Southwest, and then I started looking for playgrounds whenever I was in any other parts of the country, like around California and the East Coast. It was a long-term project—shot over the course of a decade. And every year that I was shooting, it got harder and harder to find those pieces of old equipment.

This merry-go-round, photographed in Cañon City, Colorado, in 2006, is very similar to the Lifetime Whirl above. In the background are a rideable jalopy and animals, including four attached to a teeter-totter. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

This merry-go-round, photographed in Cañon City, Colorado, in 2006, is very similar to the Lifetime Whirl above. In the background are a rideable jalopy and animals, including four attached to a teeter-totter. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: How did you find them?

Biondo: I would just drive around. I started hunting down local elementary schools and main-street playgrounds as well as neighborhood playgrounds. If I had a weekend, I would say, “OK, I’m going to drive from my home three hours east to the Kansas border, stay overnight and drive back.” Along the way, I would stop at every little town that I’d pass. They usually had one tiny main-street playground and one elementary school. I never knew what I was going to find. In a poorer area, a town often doesn’t have much money to replace playground equipment, whereas more affluent areas usually have updated their playgrounds by now. It was a bit of a crap shoot. Sometimes, I’d drive for hours and not really find anything—or I’d find one old playground after the other, because I happened to be in an area where equipment hadn’t been replaced.

I couldn’t get to every state, so I had to shoot where I was. I think there certainly are still old playgrounds out there, especially in small towns. But there’s fewer and fewer of them every year. My book has something like 170 photographs. I would guess that half the equipment pictured is already gone. Sometimes, I’d go back to a playground with a nice piece of equipment a year later to reshoot it, maybe in different lighting or a different season, and so often it had been removed. That pressured me to get out as often as I could because if I waited a few weeks, that piece might not be there anymore.

A 1911 postcard shows girls playing on an outdoor gymnasium at Mayo Park in Rochester, Minnesota.

a 1911 postcard shows girls playing on an outdoor gymnasium at Mayo Park in Rochester, Minnesota.

Collectors Weekly: What did you learn about playground history?

Biondo: I didn’t know American playgrounds started as part of the social reform or progressive movement of the early 1900s. Reformers hoped to keep poor inner-city immigrant kids safe and out of trouble. Back then, city children were playing in the streets with nothing to do, and when cars became more popular, kids started to get hit by motorists. Child activists started building playgrounds in big cities like Boston, Chicago, and New York as a way to help and protect these kids. These reformers felt they could build model citizens by teaching cooperation and manners through playgrounds. These early main-street parks would also have playground leaders who orchestrated activities such as games and songs.

“I started driving to playgrounds to see if any old equipment still existed. I found very little of it and realized it was disappearing quickly.”

In the late 1800s, Germans developed what they called “sand gardens,” which are just piles of sand where kids can come dig and build things. There were few of those in the United States as well. But by the early 1900s, the emphasis of playgrounds was on the apparatuses, things kids could climb on or swing on.

Soon after I started researching playground history, I happened to stumble on an eBay auction for a 1926 catalog that the playground manufacturers used to send to schools. At that point, I wasn’t thinking of doing a book, but I thought I could do something with it. I won the catalog; I paid, like, $12 for it. And it was so interesting because I could see this vintage equipment when it was brand new and considered modern and advanced. The manufacturers boasted about how safe it was and how it was good for building both muscles and imaginations.

After that, I would always search on eBay for playground catalogs, and I ended up with about three dozen catalogs from different manufacturers. My oldest is 1916, and my newest is from 1975. So I would take a photograph of some type of merry-go-round, and then I might find that same merry-go-round in a 1930 catalog. Often in the book, I pair my picture with the page from the catalog showing when it was first manufactured. I discovered a couple dozen manufacturers, which tended to be located in the bigger industrial areas with steel manufacturing, like Trenton, New Jersey, and Kokomo and Litchfield, Indiana. Pueblo, Colorado, even had a playground manufacturer. Burke and GameTime were big 20th century companies, and actually are among few still in existence.

The cover of a 1926 catalog for EverWear Manufacturing Company. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

The cover of a 1926 catalog for EverWear Manufacturing Company. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: I recently came across an old metal slide whose steps had the name of the manufacturer, American, forged in openwork letters.

Biondo: I love those. One of the last pages in the book shows treads from six different slides, and they each had the name of their manufacturer in them, including Porter, American, and Burke. One time when I was traveling, I did a quick side trip to a small town with an elementary school. In the parking lot was this old metal slide with the American step treads, lying on its side. You could tell it had just been ripped off out of the concrete, which was still attached to the bottom, and was waiting for the steel recyclers to come and take it away.

I thought, “Oh my gosh, just put it on eBay! Somebody is going to want that. Don’t melt it down.” But nobody thinks about this stuff getting thrown away when it should be preserved. If you go on eBay, you can find a lot of those small animals on springs that little kids ride, because they’re small enough to be shipped. Once I saw someone selling one of those huge rocket ships, which had been dismantled, on eBay, but I don’t know if anybody ever bid on it. It’s rare to see the big stuff, because it is so expensive to ship. It’s like, “What kind of truck do you need to haul this thing away?” I don’t know of anyone who’s collecting those pieces, but I hope somebody is.

A metal slide in Victor, Colorado, had step treads with the name "American" in them. Photographed in 2008. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

A metal slide in Victor, Colorado, had step treads with the name “American” in them. Photographed in 2008. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: It seems like an opportunity for both starting a collection or repurposing the material.

Biondo: I photographed many of the apparatuses as if they were sculptures because they have really cool designs and colors. Even when they’re worn down, the exposed layers of paint can be beautiful. Hardly anybody stops to look at it that way. People drive by and think, “Oh, there’s an old, rusty, rundown playground.” But if you take the time to look closely at this stuff, it’s really interesting. Just by looking at these pieces, you can picture all the kids who played on them.

Collectors Weekly: Aren’t people nostalgic for their childhood playgrounds?

Biondo: While I was taking the pictures, I visited Boulder, Colorado, which is a very affluent community. I was sure there would be no old playground equipment there. When I was driving around, all of a sudden, I looked over and saw this huge rocket ship. It turns out that one of the original NASA astronauts, Scott Carpenter, grew up in Boulder, and this playground was built in the ’60s to honor their hometown boy. Because of that, the citizens of Boulder never wanted to take down the rocket ship. One of the first exhibitions of this photography project happened in Boulder, and at the opening, I sold four prints of that rocket ship. People would come up to me at the exhibition, and they’d go, “Oh my gosh, I grew up playing on this when I was a little kid! Now, my kids are playing on it, and I’m so excited that I can get a picture of it and hang it in their bedroom.” So people have a strong nostalgic attachment to this equipment. It’s sad that most of it’s not going to be around for much longer.

A 1968 Miracle Playground Equipment catalog features the huge rocket-ship play set seen at the top of this story. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

A 1968 Miracle Playground Equipment catalog features the huge rocket-ship playset seen at the top of this story. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: Besides slides and animals on springs, what were some other pieces that were common in older playgrounds?

Biondo: I didn’t come across as many old swings as I expected. I thought they would be all over the place, but I guess they’re gone now because they were so easy to replace. I tended to find merry-go-rounds more frequently—you know, the one where you’d run around pushing them and then jump on. When my kids were younger, they’d go out playground hunting with me, and the merry-go-rounds were their favorite things. They’re just so fun. The other thing you don’t find often is the seesaw or teeter-totter, and that was my favorite.The Karymor Stationary Jingle Ring Outfit appeared in the 1931 playground catalog put out by Pueblo, Colorado's R.F. Lamar and Co. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

The Karymor Stationary Jingle Ring Outfit appeared in the 1931 playground catalog put out by Pueblo, Colorado’s R.F. Lamar and Co. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

Before I started this project, I didn’t know there was such a variety of equipment. I figured I’d see seesaws, swings, slides, and merry-go-rounds. But I had no idea there were such things as revolving swings, which would be attached to a spinning pole via outstretched metal arms. Many mid-century pieces had themes from pop culture like “The Wizard of Oz,” “Cinderella,” “Denis the Menace,” cowboys and Indians, and Saturday-morning cartoons. During the Space Age, you started to see pieces of equipment shaped like rocket ships and satellites, because in the ’60s, Americans were so excited about space exploration. What was going on in the broader culture often got reflected in playground equipment.

Pursuing the catalogs was eye-opening. I live about an hour and a half south of Denver, so I often looked for playgrounds around the city. There, I’d find these contraptions where were shaped like umbrella skeletons, but then they had these rings hanging off the spindles. I’ve never seen them outside of Colorado. Then I bought a 1930s catalog from the manufacturer in Pueblo, Colorado, which is only 45 minutes from me, and it featured this apparatus. Later, I met people in Denver who’d say, “Oh, yeah, I remember that thing as a kid. It’s kind of like monkey bars where you had to try and get from ring to ring swinging and hanging by your arms.” There was so much variety, and even so many variations on the basics.I have a cool catalog from 1926 from the manufacturer Mitchell, which doesn’t exist anymore. I looked at one of the contraptions they advertised and I was like, “Oh my God, this looks like a torture device!” It was their own proprietary apparatus and maybe it didn’t prove to be very popular. I had never seen something like that on a playground. There probably weren’t very many of them installed.

This strange Climbing Swing from the 1926 Mitchell Manufacturing Company catalog looks a bit like a torture device. Brenda Biondo says she's never found one in the wild. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

This Climbing Swing from the 1926 Mitchell Manufacturing Company catalog looks a bit like a torture device. Biondo’s never found one in the wild. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: After a while, were you able to date pieces just by looking at them?

Biondo: From looking at the catalogs, I certainly got a better idea of when things were built. But there were a handful things I couldn’t find in the catalogs. You can guess the age by knowing the design, as well as by looking at the amount of wear and the height of the piece. Usually, the taller it was, the older it was. One of the oldest slides I photographed was probably from the ’30s. I climbed to the top to shoot it as if the viewer were going to go down the slide. Up there, the place where you’d sit before sliding had been used for so many years by so many kids that I could see an outline of all the butts worn into the metal. You can imagine all the children who must have gone down that slide to wear the metal down like that.

This 1930s-era slide, found in Sargents, Colorado, in 2007, developed a butt-shaped imprint. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

This 1930s-era slide, found in Sargents, Colorado, in 2007, developed a butt-shaped imprint. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: How did Modernism influence playground design?

Biondo: In 1953, the Museum of Modern Art in New York held a competition for playground design. Modern Art was just getting popular, and the idea of incorporating the theories of Modernist design into utilitarian objects was in the air, and was translated into playgrounds for several years. I have a 1967 catalog that features very abstract playground equipment made from sinuous blobs of poured concrete. And you’ve probably seen some of it, but there’s not too much of that around. That’s another example of how broader cultural trends were reflected in playgrounds.

When most people think of playgrounds, they say, “Oh, that’s a kiddie subject. There’s not much to it.” But when you start looking into them, you realize playgrounds are a fascinating piece of American culture—they go back a hundred years and played a part in most Americans’ lives. These playground pieces are icons of our childhood.

Collectors Weekly:What was the impact of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which launched in 1973?

Biondo: Things started to change after that, which is why I limited to book to apparatuses made before 1975. New playgrounds were starting to be build out of plastic and fiberglass. I looked up the statistics, and according to the little research I’ve done—contrary to what you’d expect—there’s not much difference in the number of injuries on older equipment versus injuries on equipment today. A “New York Times” article from 2011 called “Can a Playground Be Too Safe?” explains that studies show when playground equipment was really high and just had asphalt underneath it and not seven layers of mulch, thekids knew they had to be careful because they didn’t want to fall. Nowadays, when everything is lower and there’s so much mulch, kids are just used to jumping down and falling and catching themselves. So kids learned to assess risk by playing on the older equipment. They also learned to challenge themselves because it is a little scary to go up to the top of the thing.

This old postcard of Shawnee Park in Kansas City, Kansas, circa 1912, shows how tall slides could get.

 

This old postcard of Shawnee Park in Kansas City, Kansas, circa 1912, shows how tall slides could get.

At my local park where you have new equipment, the monkey bars aren’t that high and there’s mulch below it, but a child fell and broke their arm last year. When I was talking to the principal at the school where they had just torn out that old American slide, I asked her, “Why did you replace the equipment?” She said, “We felt the parents in the community were expecting to have a little bit newer and nicer equipment. And this stuff had been here for so long.” And I said, “Have you seen a difference in injury rates since you put up your newer equipment?” She replied, “I’ve been a principal here several years, and we never had a serious broken-bone injury on the playground until four months ago on the new equipment.”

There were some nasty accidents in the ‘60s and ’70s, where kids got their arms or their heads caught in the contraptions. Those issues definitely needed to be assessed. What’s interesting is the Consumer Product Safety Commission never issued requirements, just suggested guidelines. But manufacturers felt that if their equipment didn’t meet those guidelines, they’d be vulnerable to liability. Everybody went to the extreme, making everything super safe so they wouldn’t risk getting sued.A 1970s-era climbing-bar apparatus, photographed in Rocky Ford, Colorado, in 2006. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

A 1970s-era climbing-bar apparatus, photographed in Rocky Ford, Colorado, in 2006. (Photo by Brenda Biondo)

In the last decade, people have been looking at playground-equipment design and trying to make it more challenging and more encouraging of imaginative play, but without making it more likely someone’s going to get injured. And adults, I think, are realizing kids are spending more time indoors on devices so they want to do everything they can to encourage kids to still get outside, run around, and climb on things.

Collectors Weekly: You don’t need a playground to hurt yourself. When I was a kid, I fell off a farm post and broke my arm.Biondo: Oh, yeah, kids have been falling out trees forever—they always want to climb stuff. Playground politics are always evolving. Even in the 1920s, the catalogs talked about how safe their equipment was, and they were selling these 30-foot slides. Sometimes, I’d be out with my family on a vacation, and we’d make a little side tour to look for an old playground to shoot. My husband would look at these big metal things and go, “Oh my God, those are the Slides of Death!” because they were so huge and rickety. But back then, these were very safe pieces of equipment compared to what kids had been playing on before.

A page from the 1971 GameTime catalog offering rideable Saddle Mates. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

A page from the 1971 GameTime catalog offering rideable Saddle Mates. (Courtesy of Brenda Biondo)

Collectors Weekly: Growing up in the 1980s, I always hated the new fiberglass slides because I’d end up with all these tiny glass shards in my butt.

Biondo: Yeah, I remember that, too. It’s always something. It is fun to talk to people about playgrounds because it reminds them of all the fun stuff they did as kids. When people see pictures of these metal slides, they tell me, “Oh my gosh, I remember getting such a bad burn from a metal slide one summer!” The metal would get so hot in the sun, and kids would take pieces of wax paper with them to sit on so they’d go flying down the slide. I have some old postcards that show playgrounds from the early ’20s. The wood seesaws not only were huge, but they had no handles so you had hold on to the sides of the board where you sat. I’m looking at that like, “Oh my God!” It’s all relative.

playground_postcard_milwaukee

Kids ride the rocking-boat seesaw at a Milwaukee, Wisconsin, park in this postcard postmarked 1910.

(To see more of Brenda Biondo’s playground photos and vintage catalog pages, pick up a copy of her book, “Once Upon a Playground: A Celebration of Classic American Playground, 1920-1975.” To find an exhibition of Biondo’s playground project, or to bring it to your town, visit the ExhibitsUSA page. To learn more about creative mid-century playgrounds around the globe, also pick up, “The Playground Project” by Xavier Salle and Vincent Romagny.) insh.world/history/playground-equipment-of-yesterday-that...

Shot during our studio session, trying to show form. Thanks to Samara, Natasha, Lucy, Dorothy and Jess, i hope i haven't left anyone out =P this was a group work so its not my photo, all i did was press the shutter =P

 

View Large

Inspired by Lego’s 10x10 cargo net I decided to make a larger one. The knot pattern used in the official Lego net is not practical for these pre-terminated strings so this version is a simple weave. I’m thinking about creating a version where each intersection is tied with a square knot but that would mean both a smaller net and many hours spent tying knots!

 

Lining up the strings was done with a form made from 1369 1x1 nose cones in a grid that the net is placed over. This makes quite a nice detail to be used for flooring, as a background for something etc.

Forma parte de la predela del retablo de Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles y la Eucaristia,que estaba en la Cartuja de la Valldecrist, de Altura (Castellón). Actualmente está en el Museo San Pio V de Valencia

Globe de mariée, "reliquaire d'amour: le miroir central

 

Les bouquets de mariée sont de formes très variables allant du plus modeste au plus richement décoré.

S'il est possible d'évoquer le cas général des bouquets de mariée, la prudence doit être de mise dans de nombreux cas particuliers surtout lorsque l'élément symbolique se mêle étroitement à l'ornementation purement décorative ou à l'histoire personnelle.

 

Provenant pour la plupart de dons ou d'achats faits à des collectionneurs, les bouquets de mariée ont intégré les collections des musées sans que l'on puisse connaître l'histoire des époux qui les avaient constitués. Comme pour la plupart des objets d'ethnographie régionale, l'usage et la signification des bouquets de mariage nous sont connus grâce à des témoignages issus de la tradition orale.

 

Un nombre important de symboles et d'objets signifiants orne ces reliquaires. Leur lecture est parfois délicate. Si certains sont connus tels que les accessoires de la robe de la mariée, d'autres sont propres aux membres de la famille et à la tradition locale – photographies, petit carnet, mèche de cheveux – et donc difficilement interprétables. De plus, il peut arriver que l'usage codifié d'un élément soit détourné de sa signification première (par exemple, utiliser une figurine d'ange pour signifier une naissance alors que très souvent cette statuette traduisait le décès d'un enfant).

 

Historique

Cette mode strictement française et limitée aux catholiques naît dès le second Empire pour connaître son apogée à la fin du 19e siècle. Elle touche toutes les catégories sociales.

Auparavant, la mariée conservait sa couronne dans son emballage d'origine, dans un coffret improvisé ou dans un cadre. Puis petit à petit les globes de verre initialement conçus pour garantir de la poussière les mouvements d'horlogerie vont voir leur utilisation étendue à la protection de toutes sortes d'objets fragiles ou précieux, leur conférant ainsi un statut privilégié au sein du foyer.

Son essor coïncide avec celui de la fleur artificielle, vers 1830, et notamment de la fleur d'oranger, symbole de virginité, utilisée dans la confection de couronnes et de bouquets de mariée.

 

Le bouquet de mariée, n'était pas un élément de décoration anodin, il était très souvent la pièce maîtresse de la décoration du foyer. C'est à l'approche du mariage, que les fiancés achetaient chez le bijoutier ou dans les grands magasins, la structure réceptacle des accessoires vestimentaires de la mariée. D'abord simple et complètement codifiée, l'ornementation se complexifie peu à peu à des fins purement décoratives en abandonnant tout ou une partie de sa dimension symbolique. À l'apogée des bouquets de mariée, des modèles standardisés sont proposés en alternative plus économique aux modèles assemblés « sur mesure ».

 

Parmi les éléments conservés dans ces reliquaires on retrouve surtout la couronne et le bouquet de la mariée ainsi que le « bouquet de virginité » du mari porté au revers de son costume.

La couronne est la principale, sinon unique, parure de la mariée et ce, dès l'application, tardive en France (au milieu du 18e siècle), du Concile de Trente (1545-1563) qui a fait du mariage un sacrement.

Une tradition vendéenne voulait que la mariée abandonne son bouquet sur la tombe de sa famille le lendemain de la cérémonie. Ceci explique peut être une des raisons pour lesquelles le bouquet n'est pas systématiquement joint à la couronne.

 

Comme pour les coiffes et les costumes traditionnels, la Première Guerre mondiale amorcera le déclin de l'usage des bouquets de mariée, le conflit entraînant un profond bouleversement des institutions et de la place des femmes dans la société.

 

La composition d'un bouquet de mariée

Conformément à un usage répandu et repris dans Objets civils domestiques - Vocabulaire de Catherine Arminjon et Nicole Blondel, on désigne sous l'appellation globale de "bouquet de mariée" la présentation de bouquet, couronne et/ou de tous autres éléments de parure liés au mariage protégé de la poussière entre une cloche de verre et un socle (généralement en bois).

 

Ces éléments décorés de fleurs d'oranger en cire (couronne, bouquet et/ou broche) sont disposés, très souvent fixés, sur une surface matelassée appelée calotte recouverte de velours, de satin voire de soie. Elle peut être agencée verticalement ou horizontalement.

Le bouquet peut être placé dans un vase de porcelaine à col largement ouvert par le haut en symbole de réceptivité aux influences célestes.

Dans la plupart des cas, une ornementation est ajoutée en complément des éléments de parures.

 

Constitué de cuivre embouti et doré, de tissu et/ou de porcelaine, elle présente des motifs végétaux et floraux à des fins sinon emblématiques au moins décoratives. On y retrouve souvent la feuille de vigne, la feuille de chêne, la pensée, la marguerite, la rose… D'autres éléments se retrouvent aussi très fréquemment tel que l'oiseau, la colombe, l'étoile à huit branches, la gerbe de blé.

 

La présence de miroir(s) est quasi-systématique, leur pouvoir réfléchissant est censé combattre le mauvais œil et leurs différentes formes traduisent toute une symbolique.

 

Objet de décoration exprimant la vie du couple, le bouquet de mariée est souvent complété d'éléments propres à son histoire. On peut y retrouver :

 

des photos du couples ou de membres de la famille ;

des objets commémorant un décès ou une naissance (mèche de cheveux ou angelot en porcelaine) ;

des emblèmes de distinctions (couronne de « rosière », symbole de vertu, médailles honorifiques ou militaires) ;

tous autres objets symbolisant l'histoire du couple (carnet intime, élément de coiffe porté au mariage, jarretière…).

Enfin, dans le cas d'un remariage suivant une période de veuvage, il était de coutume de remplacer la couronne de fleurs d'oranger (symbole de virginité) par une parure de perles (symbole de la féminité créatrice).

 

Les bouquets d'anniversaire de mariage

Outre les bouquets de mariée proprement dits, on rencontre aussi d'autres compositions présentant des bouquets et/ou des parures (bouquet de communiante, arbre d'amour constitué d'oiseaux, bouquets de garçon et de demoiselle d'honneur…).

Les bouquets d'anniversaire de mariage sont parmi les plus spectaculaires. Souvent offerts par les enfants et petits enfants, ils sont, comme les bouquets de mariée, ornés de nombreux éléments symboliques.

En effet, le bouquet de fleurs et de fruits traduit l'histoire du foyer : la présence d'une pomme symbolise que le couple a consommé son union, la poire est symbole de fécondité, les cerises expriment le nombre d'années de vie commune (une cerise par décennie) et les grains de raisins le nombre d'enfants (un grain blanc par fille, un grain rouge par garçon)…

S'ajoute à cela le langage des fleurs pour des bouquets pouvant être décorés de roses, d'œillets, de bleuets, etc.

  

La symbolique derrière l’ornementation

Quelques fleurs

La fleur d’oranger est le symbole de virginité. Elle orne en abondance les parures et les costumes des époux pour finir présentée dans les bouquets de mariée.

La rose reste le symbole de l’amour éternel.

La marguerite exprime l’innocence et la pureté.

Le liseron traduit l’attachement tout comme la feuille de lierre, « je m’attache ou je meurs ».

La pensée qui signifie « je pense à vous ».

Le jasmin est le signe de l’amour voluptueux.

 

Éléments végétaux et fruits

La feuille de vigne, lorsqu’elle est représentée dans les bouquets de mariée, est le symbole de prospérité et elle peut être accompagné par des grappes de raisin. Dans les bouquets d’anniversaires de mariage, chaque grain de raisin signifie un enfant.

La gerbe de blé renvoie à la signification religieuse de résurrection et donc de vie de l’épi de blé (les grains retournent à la terre et donnent de nouveaux épis).

La feuille de chêne est censée apporter longévité et force au couple. Elle peut être associée à la feuille de tilleul (symbole de fidélité) et renvoi dans ce cas, au couple Philémon et Baucis transformés par Jupiter, respectivement en chêne et en tilleul (Ovide, Les métamorphoses).

Isolée et en marge de la composition, la cerise exprime la volonté d’éloigner la « guigne », la malchance. Dans les bouquets d’anniversaire de mariage, chaque cerise traduit dix ans de vie commune.

Autres éléments

Les miroirs par leurs formes, leurs nombres et leurs positions dans la composition globale expriment diverses symboliques :

le miroir central évoque le reflet de l’âme, la vérité ;

chaque miroir rectangulaire indique une année séparant les fiançailles des noces ;

les miroirs ovales sont les cadeaux portes bonheurs offerts par les demoiselles d’honneur ;

le miroir en forme de losange, signe du bonheur en amour, symbolise l’union des deux sexes ;

le miroir trapézoïdal symbolise l’entente parfaite.

La présence d’un oiseau tenant une couronne de laurier est là pour signifier que « comme l’oiseau fait son nid, la femme fonde sa famille » tandis qu’une colombe exprime le désir de paix dans le foyer.

Une poignée de mains est un symbole d’union.

  

Sources

Les reliquaires d’amour, Godin Lucie, 1987

 

Osprey exiting the water

Similar to an earlier shot, this is about seeing differences among similar things—“same but not equal”.

 

Pullman Quay Grand Sydney Harbour, 61 Macquarie Street, East Circular Quay, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia. Photographed with the Canon EOS 6D + Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM far across the Sydney Harbour.

 

Blue + White / Hotel architecture forms in Sydney, Australia / SML.20140315.6D.30931.P1

Copper Clay, baldwin's patina

So I got married recently, and of course, had to have a suitable cake topper.

 

The Technic platform fits onto a wooden skewer which is inserted into cake. When no longer on the cake, the central stem is rotated 90 degrees to form a sturdy stand.

Saïd Kinos

Eindhoven (NL)

What once was a common sight on the BNSF, CREX gevos, are now mostly owned by CN sporting ugly patches. Glad I shot the last of the leaser era before they were all gone.

Formando um conjunto com o porta lanche maçã...

traveladventureeverywhere.blogspot.com/2024/06/saint-pete...

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

  

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

.

  

ALBANIA

 

Albanian Trilogy: A Series of Devious Stratagems

 

Armando Lulaj

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Marco Scotini. Deputy Curator: Andris Brinkmanis. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

 

ANDORRA

 

Inner Landscapes

 

Roqué, Joan Xandri

 

Commissioner: Henry Périer. Deputy Commissioner: Joana Baygual, Sebastià Petit, Francesc Rodríguez

 

Curator: Paolo de Grandis, Josep M. Ubach. Venue: Spiazzi, Castello 3865

 

ANGOLA

 

On Ways of Travelling

 

António Ole, Binelde Hyrcan, Délio Jasse, Francisco Vidal, Nelo Teixeira

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture, Rita Guedes Tavares. Curator: António Ole. Deputy Curator: Antonia Gaeta. Venue: Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello - Palazzo Pisani, San Marco 2810

 

ARGENTINA

 

The Uprising of Form

 

Juan Carlos Diste´fano

 

Commissioner: Magdalena Faillace. Curator: Mari´a Teresa Constantin. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

 

ARMENIA, Republic of

 

Armenity / Haiyutioun

 

Haig Aivazian, Lebanon; Nigol Bezjian, Syria/USA; Anna Boghiguian Egypt/Canada; Hera Büyüktasçiyan, Turkey; Silvina Der-Meguerditchian, Argentina/Germany; Rene Gabri & Ayreen Anastas, Iran/Palestine/USA; Mekhitar Garabedian, Belgium; Aikaterini Gegisian, Greece; Yervant Gianikian & Angela Ricci Lucchi, Italy; Aram Jibilian, USA; Nina Katchadourian, USA/Finland; Melik Ohanian, France; Mikayel Ohanjanyan, Armenia/Italy; Rosana Palazyan, Brazil; Sarkis, Turkey/France; Hrair Sarkissian, Syria/UK

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia. Deputy Commissioner: Art for the World, Mekhitarist Congregation of San Lazzaro Island, Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Italy, Vartan Karapetian. Curator: Adelina Cüberyan von Fürstenberg. Venue: Monastery and Island of San Lazzaro degli Armeni

 

AUSTRALIA

 

Fiona Hall: Wrong Way Time

 

Fiona Hall

 

Commissioner: Simon Mordant AM. Deputy Commissioner: Charles Green. Curator: Linda Michael. Scientific Committee: Simon Mordant AM, Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, Max Delany, Rachel Kent, Danie Mellor, Suhanya Raffel, Leigh Robb. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

AUSTRIA

 

Heimo Zobernig

 

Commissioner: Yilmaz Dziewior. Curator: Yilmaz Dziewior. Scientific Committee: Friends of the Venice Biennale. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

AZERBAIJAN, Republic of

 

Beyond the Line

 

Ashraf Murad, Javad Mirjavadov, Tofik Javadov, Rasim Babayev, Fazil Najafov, Huseyn Hagverdi, Shamil Najafzada

 

Commissioner: Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Curators: de Pury de Pury, Emin Mammadov. Venue: Palazzo Lezze, Campo S.Stefano, San Marco 2949

 

Vita Vitale

 

Edward Burtynsky, Mircea Cantor, Loris Cecchini, Gordon Cheung, Khalil Chishtee, Tony Cragg, Laura Ford, Noemie Goudal, Siobhán Hapaska, Paul Huxley, IDEA laboratory and Leyla Aliyeva, Chris Jordan with Rebecca Clark and Helena S.Eitel, Tania Kovats, Aida Mahmudova, Sayyora Muin, Jacco Olivier, Julian Opie, Julian Perry, Mike Perry, Bas Princen, Stephanie Quayle, Ugo Rondinone, Graham Stevens, Diana Thater, Andy Warhol, Bill Woodrow, Erwin Wurm, Rose Wylie

 

Commissioner: Heydar Aliyev Foundation. Curators: Artwise: Susie Allen, Laura Culpan, Dea Vanagan. Venue: Ca’ Garzoni, San Marco 3416

 

BELARUS, Republic of

 

War Witness Archive

 

Konstantin Selikhanov

 

Commissioner: Natallia Sharanhovich. Deputy Commissioners: Alena Vasileuskaya, Kamilia Yanushkevich. Curators: Aleksei Shinkarenko, Olga Rybchinskaya. Scientific Committee: Dmitry Korol, Daria Amelkovich, Julia Kondratyuk, Sergei Jeihala, Sheena Macfarlane, Yuliya Heisik, Hanna Samarskaya, Taras Kaliahin, Aliaksandr Stasevich. Venue: Riva San Biagio, Castello 2145

 

BELGIUM

 

Personnes et les autres

 

Vincent Meessen and Guests, Mathieu K. Abonnenc, Sammy Baloji, James Beckett, Elisabetta Benassi, Patrick Bernier & Olive Martin, Tamar Guimara~es & Kasper Akhøj, Maryam Jafri, Adam Pendleton

 

Commissioner: Wallonia-Brussels Federation and Wallonia-Brussels International. Curator: Katerina Gregos. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

COSTA RICA

 

"Costa Rica, Paese di pace, invita a un linguaggio universale d'intesa tra i popoli".

 

Andrea Prandi, Beatrice Gallori, Beth Parin, Biagio Schembari, Carla Castaldo, Celestina Avanzini, Cesare Berlingeri, Erminio Tansini, Fabio Capitanio, Fausto Beretti, Giovan Battista Pedrazzini, Giovanni Lamberti, Giovanni Tenga, Iana Zanoskar, Jim Prescott, Leonardo Beccegato, Liliana Scocco, Lucia Bolzano, Marcela Vicuna, Marco Bellagamba, Marco Lodola, Maria Gioia dell’Aglio, Mario Bernardinello, Massimo Meucci, Nacha Piattini, Omar Ronda, Renzo Eusebi, Tita Patti, Romina Power, Rubens Fogacci, Silvio di Pietro, Stefano Sichel, Tino Stefanoni, Ufemia Ritz, Ugo Borlenghi, Umberto Mariani, Venere Chillemi, Jacqueline Gallicot Madar, Massimo Onnis, Fedora Spinelli

 

Commissioner: Ileana Ordonez Chacon. Curator: Gregorio Rossi. Venue: Palazzo Bollani

 

CROATIA

 

Studies on Shivering: The Third Degree

 

Damir Ocko

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Marc Bembekoff. Venue: Palazzo Pisani, S. Marina

 

CUBA

 

El artista entre la individualidad y el contexto

 

Lida Abdul, Celia-Yunior, Grethell Rasúa, Giuseppe Stampone, LinYilin, Luis Edgardo Gómez Armenteros, Olga Chernysheva, Susana Pilar Delahante Matienzo

 

Commissioner: Miria Vicini. Curators: Jorge Fernández Torres, Giacomo Zaza. Venue: San Servolo Island

 

CYPRUS, Republic of

 

Two Days After Forever

 

Christodoulos Panayiotou

 

Commissioner: Louli Michaelidou. Deputy Commissioner: Angela Skordi. Curator: Omar Kholeif. Deputy Curator: Daniella Rose King. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, Sestiere San Marco 3079

 

CZECH Republic and SLOVAK Republic

 

Apotheosis

 

Jirí David

 

Commissioner: Adam Budak. Deputy Commissioner: Barbara Holomkova. Curator: Katarina Rusnakova. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

ECUADOR

 

Gold Water: Apocalyptic Black Mirrors

 

Maria Veronica Leon Veintemilla in collaboration with Lucia Vallarino Peet

 

Commissioner: Andrea Gonzàlez Sanchez. Deputy Commissioner: PDG Arte Communications. Curator: Ileana Cornea. Deputy Curator: Maria Veronica Leon Veintemilla. Venue: Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello 3701

 

ESTONIA

 

NSFW. From the Abyss of History

 

Jaanus Samma

 

Commissioner: Maria Arusoo. Curator: Eugenio Viola. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero, campo San Samuele, San Marco 3199

 

EGYPT

 

CAN YOU SEE

 

Ahmed Abdel Fatah, Gamal Elkheshen, Maher Dawoud

 

Commissioner: Hany Al Ashkar. Curator: Ministry of Culture. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

FINLAND (Pavilion Alvar Aalto)

 

Hours, Years, Aeons

 

IC-98

 

Commissioner: Frame Visual Art Finland, Raija Koli. Curator: Taru Elfving. Deputy Curator: Anna Virtanen. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

FRANCE

 

revolutions

 

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

 

Commissioner: Institut français, with Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. Curator: Emma Lavigne. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

GEORGIA

 

Crawling Border

 

Rusudan Gobejishvili Khizanishvili, Irakli Bluishvili, Dimitri Chikvaidze, Joseph Sabia

 

Commissioner: Ana Riaboshenko. Curator: Nia Mgaloblishvili. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

 

GERMANY

 

Fabrik

 

Jasmina Metwaly / Philip Rizk, Olaf Nicolai, Hito Steyerl, Tobias Zielony

 

Commissioner: ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) on behalf of the Federal Foreign Office. Deputy Commissioner: Elke aus dem Moore, Nina Hülsmeier. Curator: Florian Ebner. Deputy Curator: Tanja Milewsky, Ilina Koralova. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

GREAT BRITAIN

 

Sarah Lucas

 

Commissioner: Emma Dexter. Curator: Richard Riley. Deputy Curator: Katrina Schwarz. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

GRENADA *

 

Present Nearness

 

Oliver Benoit, Maria McClafferty, Asher Mains, Francesco Bosso and Carmine Ciccarini, Guiseppe Linardi

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Deputy Commissioner: Susan Mains. Curator: Susan Mains. Deputy Curator: Francesco Elisei. Venue: Opera don Orione Artigianelli, Sala Tiziano, Fondamenta delle Zattere ai Gesuati, Dorsoduro 919

 

GREECE

 

Why Look at Animals? AGRIMIKÁ.

 

Maria Papadimitriou

 

Commissioner: Hellenic Ministry of Culture, Education and Religious Affairs. Curator: Gabi Scardi. Deputy Curator: Alexios Papazacharias. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

BRAZIL

 

So much that it doesn't fit here

 

Antonio Manuel, André Komatsu, Berna Reale

 

Commissioner: Luis Terepins. Curator: Luiz Camillo Osorio. Deputy Curator: Cauê Alves. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

CANADA

 

Canadassimo

 

BGL

 

Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada, Marc Mayer. Deputy Commissioner: National Gallery of Canada, Yves Théoret. Curator: Marie Fraser. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

CHILE

 

Poéticas de la disidencia | Poetics of dissent: Paz Errázuriz - Lotty Rosenfeld

 

Paz Errázuriz, Lotty Rosenfeld

 

Commissioner: Antonio Arèvalo. Deputy Commissioner: Juan Pablo Vergara Undurraga. Curator: Nelly Richard. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie

 

CHINA, People’s Republic of

 

Other Future

 

LIU Jiakun, LU Yang, TAN Dun, WEN Hui/Living Dance Studio, WU Wenguang/Caochangdi Work Station

 

Commissioner: China Arts and Entertainment Group, CAEG. Deputy Commissioners: Zhang Yu, Yan Dong. Curator: Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation. Scientific Committee: Fan Di’an, Zhang Zikang, Zhu Di, Gao Shiming, Zhu Qingsheng, Pu Tong, Shang Hui. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Giardino delle Vergini

 

GUATEMALA

 

Sweet Death

 

Emma Anticoli Borza, Sabrina Bertolelli, Mariadolores Castellanos, Max Leiva, Pier Domenico Magri, Adriana Montalto, Elmar Rojas (Elmar René Rojas Azurdia), Paolo Schmidlin, Mónica Serra, Elsie Wunderlich, Collettivo La Grande Bouffe

 

Commissioner: Daniele Radini Tedeschi. Curators: Stefania Pieralice, Carlo Marraffa, Elsie Wunderlich. Deputy Curators: Luciano Carini, Simone Pieralice. Venue: Officina delle Zattere, Dorsoduro 947, Fondamenta Nani

 

HOLY SEE

 

Commissioner: Em.mo Card. Gianfranco Ravasi, Presidente del Pontificio Consiglio della Cultura. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

 

HUNGARY

 

Sustainable Identities

 

Szilárd Cseke

 

Commissioner: Monika Balatoni. Deputy Commissioner: István Puskás, Sándor Fodor, Anna Karády. Curator: Kinga German. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

 

ICELAND

 

Christoph Büchel

 

Commissioner: Björg Stefánsdóttir. Curator: Nína Magnúsdóttir. Venue: to be confirmed

 

INDONESIA, Republic of

 

Komodo Voyage

 

Heri Dono

 

Commissioner: Sapta Nirwandar. Deputy Commissioner: Soedarmadji JH Damais. Curator: Carla Bianpoen, Restu Imansari Kusumaningrum. Scientific Committee: Franco Laera, Asmudjo Jono Irianto, Watie Moerany, Elisabetta di Mambro. Venue: Venue: Arsenale

 

IRAN

 

Iranian Highlights

 

Samira Alikhanzaradeh, Mahmoud Bakhshi Moakhar, Jamshid Bayrami, Mohammed Ehsai

 

The Great Game

 

Lida Abdul, Bani Abidi, Adel Abidin, Amin Agheai, Ghodratollah Agheli, Shahriar Ahmadi, Parastou Ahovan, Farhad Ahrarnia, Rashad Alakbarov, Nazgol Ansarinia, Reza Aramesh, Alireza Astaneh, Sonia Balassanian, Mahmoud Bakhshi, Moakhar Wafaa Bilal, Mehdi Farhadian, Monir Farmanfarmaian, Shadi Ghadirian, Babak Golkar, Shilpa Gupta, Ghasem Hajizadeh, Shamsia Hassani, Sahand Hesamiyan, Sitara Ibrahimova, Pouran Jinchi, Amar Kanwar, Babak Kazemi, Ryas Komu, Ahmad Morshedloo, Farhad Moshiri, Mehrdad Mohebali, Huma Mulji, Azad Nanakeli, Jamal Penjweny, Imran Qureshi, Sara Rahbar, Rashid Rana, T.V. Santhosh, Walid Siti, Mohsen Taasha Wahidi, Mitra Tabrizian, Parviz Tanavoli, Newsha Tavakolian, Sadegh Tirafkan, Hema Upadhyay, Saira Wasim

 

Commissioner: Majid Mollanooruzi. Deputy Commissioners: Marco Meneguzzo, Mazdak Faiznia. Curators: Marco Meneguzzo, Mazdak Faiznia. Venue: Calle San Giovanni 1074/B, Cannaregio

 

IRAQ

 

Commissioner: Ruya Foundation for Contemporary Culture in Iraq (RUYA). Deputy Commissioner: Nuova Icona - Associazione Culturale per le Arti. Curator: Philippe Van Cauteren. Venue: Ca' Dandolo, San Polo 2879

 

IRELAND

 

Adventure: Capital

 

Sean Lynch

 

Commissioner: Mike Fitzpatrick. Curator: Woodrow Kernohan. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie

 

ISRAEL

 

Tsibi Geva | Archeology of the Present

 

Tsibi Geva

 

Commissioner: Arad Turgem, Michael Gov. Curator: Hadas Maor. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

ITALY

 

Ministero dei Beni e delle attività culturali e del turismo - Direzione Generale Arte e Architettura Contemporanee e Periferie Urbane. Commissioner: Federica Galloni. Curator: Vincenzo Trione. Venue: Padiglione Italia, Tese delle Vergini at Arsenale

   

JAPAN

 

The Key in the Hand

 

Chiharu Shiota

 

Commissioner: The Japan Foundation. Deputy Commissioner: Yukihiro Ohira, Manako Kawata and Haruka Nakajima. Curator: Hitoshi Nakano. Venue : Pavilion at Giardini

   

KENYA

 

Creating Identities

 

Yvonne Apiyo Braendle-Amolo, Qin Feng, Shi Jinsong, Armando Tanzini, Li Zhanyang, Lan Zheng Hui, Li Gang, Double Fly Art Center

 

Commissioner: Paola Poponi. Curator: Sandro Orlandi Stagl. Deputy Curator: Ding Xuefeng. Venue: San Servolo Island

   

KOREA, Republic of

 

The Ways of Folding Space & Flying

 

MOON Kyungwon & JEON Joonho

 

Commissioner: Sook-Kyung Lee. Curator: Sook-Kyung Lee. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

KOSOVO, Republic of

 

Speculating on the blue

 

Flaka Haliti

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports. Curator: Nicolaus Schafhausen. Deputy Curator: Katharina Schendl. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie

   

LATVIA

 

Armpit

 

Katrina Neiburga, Andris Eglitis

 

Commissioner: Solvita Krese (Latvian Centre for Contemporary Art). Deputy Commissioner: Kitija Vasiljeva. Curator: Kaspars Vanags. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

   

LITHUANIA

 

Museum

 

Dainius Liškevicius

 

Commissioner: Vytautas Michelkevicius. Deputy Commissioner: Rasa Antanaviciute. Curator: Vytautas Michelkevicius. Venue: Palazzo Zenobio, Fondamenta del Soccorso 2569, Dorsoduro

   

LUXEMBOURG, Grand Duchy of

 

Paradiso Lussemburgo

 

Filip Markiewicz

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Deputy Commissioner: MUDAM Luxembourg. Curator: Paul Ardenne. Venue: Cà Del Duca, Corte del Duca Sforza, San Marco 3052

   

MACEDONIA, Former Yugoslavian Republic of

 

We are all in this alone

 

Hristina Ivanoska and Yane Calovski

 

Commissioner: Maja Nedelkoska Brzanova, National Gallery of Macedonia. Deputy Commissioner: Olivija Stoilkova. Curator: Basak Senova. Deputy Curator: Maja Cankulovska Mihajlovska. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Sale d’Armi

   

MAURITIUS *

 

From One Citizen You Gather an Idea

 

Sultana Haukim, Nirmal Hurry, Alix Le Juge, Olga Jürgenson, Helge Leiberg, Krishna Luchoomun, Neermala Luckeenarain, Kavinash Thomoo, Bik Van Der Pol, Laure Prouvost, Vitaly Pushnitsky, Römer + Römer

 

Commissioner: pARTage. Curators: Alfredo Cramerotti, Olga Jürgenson. Venue: Palazzo Flangini - Canareggio 252

   

MEXICO

 

Possesing Nature

 

Tania Candiani, Luis Felipe Ortega

 

Commissioner: Tomaso Radaelli. Deputy Commissioner: Magdalena Zavala Bonachea. Curator: Karla Jasso. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

   

MONGOLIA *

 

Other Home

 

Enkhbold Togmidshiirev, Unen Enkh

 

Commissioner: Gantuya Badamgarav, MCASA. Curator: Uranchimeg Tsultemin. Scientific Committee: David A Ross, Boldbaatar Chultemin. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora

   

MONTENEGRO

 

,,Ti ricordi Sjecaš li se You Remember "

 

Aleksandar Duravcevic

 

Commissioner/Curator: Anastazija Miranovic. Deputy Commissioner: Danica Bogojevic. Venue: Palazzo Malipiero (piano terra), San Marco 3078-3079/A, Ramo Malipiero

   

MOZAMBIQUE, Republic of *

 

Theme: Coexistence of Tradition and Modernity in Contemporary Mozambique

 

Mozambique Artists

 

Commissioner: Joel Matias Libombo. Deputy Commissioner: Gilberto Paulino Cossa. Curator: Comissariado-Geral para a Expo Milano 2015. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

   

NETHERLANDS, The

 

herman de vries - to be all ways to be

 

herman de vries

 

Commissioner: Mondriaan Fund. Curators: Colin Huizing, Cees de Boer. Venue: Pavilion ar Giardini

   

NEW ZEALAND

 

Secret Power

 

Simon Denny

 

Commissioner: Heather Galbraith. Curator: Robert Leonard. Venue: Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Marco Polo Airport

   

NORDIC PAVILION (NORWAY)

 

Camille Norment

 

Commissioner: OCA, Office for Contemporary Art Norway. Curator: Katya García-Antón. Deputy Curator: Antonio Cataldo. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

PERU

 

Misplaced Ruins

 

Gilda Mantilla and Raimond Chaves

 

Commissioner: Armando Andrade de Lucio. Curator: Max Hernández-Calvo. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

   

PHILIPPINES

 

Tie a String Around the World

 

Manuel Conde, Carlos Francisco, Manny Montelibano, Jose Tence Ruiz

 

Commissioner: National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), Felipe M. de Leon Jr. Curator: Patrick D. Flores. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora

   

POLAND

 

Halka/Haiti. 18°48’05”N 72°23’01”W

 

C.T. Jasper, Joanna Malinowska

 

Commissioner: Hanna Wróblewska. Deputy Commissioner: Joanna Wasko. Curator: Magdalena Moskalewicz. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

PORTUGAL

 

I Will Be Your Mirror / poems and problems

 

João Louro

 

Commissioner/Curator: María de Corral. Venue: Palazzo Loredan, campo S. Stefano

   

ROMANIA

 

Adrian Ghenie: Darwin’s Room

 

Adrian Ghenie

 

Commissioner: Monica Morariu. Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damian. Curator: Mihai Pop. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

Inventing the Truth. On Fiction and Reality

 

Michele Bressan, Carmen Dobre-Hametner, Alex Mirutziu, Lea Rasovszky, Stefan Sava, Larisa Sitar

 

Commissioner: Monica Morariu. Deputy Commissioner: Alexandru Damian. Curator: Diana Marincu. Deputy Curators: Ephemair Association (Suzana Dan and Silvia Rogozea). Venue: New Gallery of the Romanian Institute for Culture and Humanistic Research in Venice

   

RUSSIA

 

The Green Pavilion

 

Irina Nakhova

 

Commissioner: Stella Kesaeva. Curator: Margarita Tupitsyn. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

SERBIA

 

United Dead Nations

 

Ivan Grubanov

 

Commissioner: Lidija Merenik. Deputy Commissioner: Ana Bogdanovic. Curator: Lidija Merenik. Deputy Curator: Ana Bogdanovic. Scientific Committee: Jovan Despotovic. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

SAN MARINO

 

Repubblica di San Marino “ Friendship Project “ China

 

Xu De Qi, Liu Dawei, Liu Ruo Wang, Ma Yuan, Li Lei, Zhang Hong Mei, Eleonora Mazza, Giuliano Giulianelli, Giancarlo Frisoni, Tony Margiotta, Elisa Monaldi, Valentina Pazzini

 

Commissioner: Istituti Culturali della Repubblica di San Marino. Curator: Vincenzo Sanfo. Venue: TBC

   

SEYCHELLES, Republic of *

 

A Clockwork Sunset

 

George Camille, Léon Wilma Loïs Radegonde

 

Commissioner: Seychelles Art Projects Foundation. Curators: Sarah J. McDonald, Victor Schaub Wong. Venue: European Cultural Centre - Palazzo Mora

   

SINGAPORE

 

Sea State

 

Charles Lim Yi Yong

 

Commissioner: Paul Tan, National Arts Council, Singapore. Curator: Shabbir Hussain Mustafa. Scientific Committee: Eugene Tan, Kathy Lai, Ahmad Bin Mashadi, June Yap, Emi Eu, Susie Lingham, Charles Merewether, Randy Chan. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

   

SLOVENIA, Republic of

 

UTTER / The violent necessity for the embodied presence of hope

 

JAŠA

 

Commissioner: Simona Vidmar. Deputy Commissioner: Jure Kirbiš. Curators: Michele Drascek and Aurora Fonda. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale - Artiglierie

   

SPAIN

 

Los Sujetos (The Subjects)

 

Pepo Salazar, Cabello/Carceller, Francesc Ruiz, + Salvador Dalí

 

Commissioner: Ministerio Asuntos Exteriores. Gobierno de España. Curator: Marti Manen. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC

 

Origini della civiltà

 

Narine Ali, Ehsan Alar, Felipe Cardeña, Fouad Dahdouh, Aldo Damioli, Svitlana Grebenyuk, Mauro Reggio, Liu Shuishi, Nass ouh Zaghlouleh, Andrea Zucchi, Helidon Xhixha

 

Commissioner: Christian Maretti. Curator: Duccio Trombadori. Venue: Redentore – Giudecca, San Servolo Island

   

SWEDEN

 

Excavation of the Image: Imprint, Shadow, Spectre, Thought

 

Lina Selander

 

Commissioner: Ann-Sofi Noring. Curator: Lena Essling. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

   

SWITZERLAND

 

Our Product

 

Pamela Rosenkranz

 

Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Sandi Paucic and Marianne Burki. Deputy-Commissioner: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia, Rachele Giudici Legittimo. Curator: Susanne Pfeffer. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

THAILAND

 

Earth, Air, Fire & Water

 

Kamol Tassananchalee

 

Commissioner: Chai Nakhonchai, Office of Contemporary Art and Culture (OCAC), Ministry of Culture. Curator: Richard David Garst. Deputy Curator: Pongdej Chaiyakut. Venue: Paradiso Gallerie, Giardini della Biennale, Castello 1260

   

TURKEY

 

Respiro

 

Sarkis

 

Commissioner: Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts. Curator: Defne Ayas. Deputy Curator: Ozge Ersoy. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d’Armi

   

TUVALU

 

Crossing the Tide

 

Vincent J.F. Huang

 

Commissioner: Taukelina Finikaso. Deputy Commissioner: Temate Melitiana. Curator: Thomas J. Berghuis. Scientific Committee: Andrea Bonifacio. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

   

UKRAINE

 

Hope!

 

Yevgenia Belorusets, Nikita Kadan, Zhanna Kadyrova, Mykola Ridnyi & SerhiyZhadan, Anna Zvyagintseva, Open Group, Artem Volokitin

 

Commissioner: Ministry of Culture. Curator: Björn Geldhof. Venue: Riva dei Sette Martiri

   

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

 

1980 – Today: Exhibitions in the United Arab Emirates

 

Abdullah Al Saadi, Abdul Qader Al Rais, Abdulraheem Salim, Abdulrahman Zainal, Ahmed Al Ansari, Ahmed Sharif, Hassan Sharif, Mohamed Yousif, Mohammed Abdullah Bulhiah, Mohammed Al Qassab, Mohammed Kazem, Moosa Al Halyan, Najat Meky, Obaid Suroor, Salem Jawhar

 

Commissioner: Salama bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation. Curator: Hoor Al Qasimi. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale – Sale d'Armi

   

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

 

Joan Jonas: They Come to Us Without a Word

 

Joan Jonas

 

Commissioner: Paul C. Ha. Deputy Commissioner: MIT List Visual Arts Center. Curators: Ute Meta Bauer, Paul C. Ha. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

URUGUAY

 

Global Myopia II (Pencil & Paper)

 

Marco Maggi

 

Commissioner: Ricardo Pascale. Curator: Patricia Bentancour. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

VENEZUELA, Bolivarian Republic of

 

Te doy mi palabra (I give you my word)

 

Argelia Bravo, Félix Molina (Flix)

 

Commissioner: Oscar Sotillo Meneses. Deputy Commissioner: Reinaldo Landaeta Díaz. Curator: Oscar Sotillo Meneses. Deputy Curator: Morella Jurado. Scientific Committee: Carlos Pou Ruan. Venue: Pavilion at Giardini

   

ZIMBABWE, Republic of

 

Pixels of Ubuntu/Unhu: - Exploring the social and cultural identities of the 21st century.

 

Chikonzero Chazunguza, Masimba Hwati, Gareth Nyandoro

 

Commissioner: Doreen Sibanda. Curator: Raphael Chikukwa. Deputy Curator: Tafadzwa Gwetai. Scientific Committee: Saki Mafundikwa, Biggie Samwanda, Fabian Kangai, Reverend Paul Damasane, Nontsikelelo Mutiti, Stephen Garan'anga, Dominic Benhura. Venue: Santa Maria della Pieta

   

ITALO-LATIN AMERICAN INSTITUTE

 

Voces Indígenas

 

Commissioner: Sylvia Irrazábal. Curator: Alfons Hug. Deputy Curator: Alberto Saraiva. Venue: Pavilion at Arsenale

 

ARGENTINA

 

Sofia Medici and Laura Kalauz

 

PLURINATIONAL STATE OF BOLIVIA

 

Sonia Falcone and José Laura Yapita

 

BRAZIL

 

Adriana Barreto

 

Paulo Nazareth

 

CHILE

 

Rainer Krause

 

COLOMBIA

 

León David Cobo,

 

María Cristina Rincón and Claudia Rodríguez

 

COSTA RICA

 

Priscilla Monge

 

ECUADOR

 

Fabiano Kueva

 

EL SALVADOR

 

Mauricio Kabistan

 

GUATEMALA

 

Sandra Monterroso

 

HAITI

 

Barbara Prézeau Stephenson

 

HONDURAS

 

Leonardo González

 

PANAMA

 

Humberto Vélez

 

NICARAGUA

 

Raúl Quintanilla

 

PARAGUAY

 

Erika Meza

 

Javier López

 

PERU

 

José Huamán Turpo

 

URUGUAY

 

Gustavo Tabares

   

Ellen Slegers

     

001 Inverso Mundus. AES+F

 

Magazzino del Sale n. 5, Dorsoduro, 265 (Fondamenta delle Zattere ai Saloni); Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Dorsoduro, 960

 

May 9th – October 31st

 

Organization: VITRARIA Glass + A Museum

 

www.vitraria.com

 

www.inversomundus.com

   

Catalonia in Venice: Singularity

 

Cantieri Navali, Castello, 40 (Calle Quintavalle)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Institut Ramon Llull

 

www.llull.cat

 

venezia2015.llull.cat

   

Conversion. Recycle Group

 

Chiesa di Sant’Antonin, Castello (Campo Sant’Antonin)

 

May 6th - October 31st

 

Organization: Moscow Museum of Modern Art

 

www.mmoma.ru/

   

Dansaekhwa

 

Palazzo Contarini-Polignac, Dorsoduro, 874 (Accademia)

 

May 7th – August 15th

 

Organization: The Boghossian Foundation

 

www.villaempain.com

   

Dispossession

 

Palazzo Donà Brusa, Campo San Polo, 2177

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: European Capital of Culture Wroclaw 2016

 

wroclaw2016.pl/biennale/

   

EM15 presents Doug Fishbone’s Leisure Land Golf

 

Arsenale Docks, Castello, 40A, 40B, 41C

 

May 6th - July 26th

 

Organization: EM15

 

www.em15venice.co.uk

   

Eredità e Sperimentazione

 

Grand Hotel Hungaria & Ausonia, Viale Santa Maria Elisabetta, 28, Lido di Venezia

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Istituto Nazionale di BioArchitettura - Sezione di Padova

 

www.bioarchitettura.it

   

Frontiers Reimagined

 

Palazzo Grimani, Castello, 4858 (Ramo Grimani)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Tagore Foundation International; Polo museale del Veneto

 

www.frontiersreimagined.org

   

Glasstress 2015 Gotika

 

Istituto Veneto di Scienze Lettere ed Arti, Palazzo Cavalli Franchetti, San Marco, 2847 (Campo Santo Stefano); Chiesa di Santa Maria della Visitazione, Centro Culturale Don Orione Artigianelli, Dorsoduro, 919 (Zattere); Fondazione Berengo, Campiello della Pescheria, 15, Murano;

 

May 9th — November 22nd

 

Organization: The State Hermitage Museum

 

www.hermitagemuseum.org

   

Graham Fagen: Scotland + Venice 2015

 

Palazzo Fontana, Cannaregio, 3829 (Strada Nova)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Scotland + Venice

 

www.scotlandandvenice.com

   

Grisha Bruskin. An Archaeologist’s Collection

 

Former Chiesa di Santa Caterina, Cannaregio, 4941-4942

 

May 6th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Centro Studi sulle Arti della Russia (CSAR), Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia

 

www.unive.it/csar

   

Helen Sear, ... The Rest Is Smoke

 

Santa Maria Ausiliatrice, Castello, 450 (Fondamenta San Gioacchin)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Cymru yn Fenis/Wales in Venice

 

www.walesinvenice.org.uk

   

Highway to Hell

 

Palazzo Michiel, Cannaregio, 4391/A (Strada Nova)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Hubei Museum of Art

 

www.hbmoa.com

   

Humanistic Nature and Society (Shan-Shui) – An Insight into the Future

 

Palazzo Faccanon, San Marco, 5016 (Mercerie)

 

May 7th – August 4th

 

Organization: Shanghai Himalayas Museum

 

www.himalayasmuseum.org

   

In the Eye of the Thunderstorm: Effervescent Practices from the Arab World & South Asia

 

Dorsoduro, 417 (Zattere)

 

May 6th - November 15th

 

Organization: ArsCulture

 

www.arsculture.org/

 

www.eyeofthunderstorm.com

   

Italia Docet | Laboratorium- Artists, Participants, Testimonials and Activated Spectators

 

Palazzo Barbarigo Minotto, San Marco, 2504 (Fondamenta Duodo o Barbarigo)

 

May 9th – June 30th; September 11st – October 31st

 

Organization: Italian Art Motherboard Foundation (i-AM Foundation)

 

www.i-amfoundation.org

 

www.venicebiennale-italiadocet.org

   

Jaume Plensa: Together

 

Basilica di San Giorgio Maggiore, Isola di San Giorgio Maggiore

 

May 6th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore Benedicti Claustra Onlus

 

www.praglia.it

   

Jenny Holzer "War Paintings"

 

Museo Correr, San Marco, 52 (Piazza San Marco)

 

May 6th – November 22nd

 

Organization: The Written Art Foundation; Museo Correr, Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

 

www.writtenartfoundation.com

 

correr.visitmuve.it

   

Jump into the Unknown

 

Palazzo Loredan dell’Ambasciatore, Dorsoduro, 1261-1262

 

May 9th – June 18th

 

Organization: Nine Dragon Heads

 

9dh-venice.com

   

Learn from Masters

 

Palazzo Bembo, San Marco, 4793 (Riva del Carbon)

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Pan Tianshou Foundation

 

pantianshou.caa.edu.cn/foundation_en

   

My East is Your West

 

Palazzo Benzon, San Marco, 3927

 

May 6th – October 31st

 

Organization: The Gujral Foundation

 

www.gujralfoundation.org

       

Ornamentalism. The Purvitis Prize

 

Arsenale Nord, Tesa 99

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: The Secretariat of the Latvian Presidency of the Council of the European Union in 2015

 

www.purvisabalva.lv/en/ornamentalism

   

Path and Adventure

 

Arsenale, Castello, 2126/A (Campo della Tana)

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: The Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau; The Macao Museum of Art; The Cultural Affairs Bureau

 

www.iacm.gov.mo

 

www.mam.gov.mo

 

www.icm.gov.mo

   

Patricia Cronin: Shrine for Girls, Venice

 

Chiesa di San Gallo, San Marco, 1103 (Campo San Gallo)

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Brooklyn Rail Curatorial Projects

 

curatorialprojects.brooklynrail.org

   

Roberto Sebastian Matta. Sculture

 

Giardino di Palazzo Soranzo Cappello, Soprintendenza BAP per le Province di Venezia, Belluno, Padova e Treviso, Santa Croce, 770 (Fondamenta Rio Marin)

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Fondazione Echaurren Salaris

 

www.fondazioneechaurrensalaris.it

 

www.maggioregam.com/56Biennale_Matta

   

Salon Suisse: S.O.S. Dada - The World Is A Mess

 

Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro, 810 (Campo Sant'Agnese)

 

May 9th; June 4th - 6th; September 10th - 12th; October 15th - 17th; November 19th – 21st

 

Organization: Swiss Arts Council Pro Helvetia

 

www.prohelvetia.ch

 

www.biennials.ch

   

Sean Scully: Land Sea

 

Palazzo Falier, San Marco, 2906

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Fondazione Volume!

 

www.fondazionevolume.com

   

Sepphoris. Alessandro Valeri

 

Molino Stucky, interior atrium, Giudecca, 812

 

May 9th – November 22nd

 

Organization: Assessorato alla Cultura del Comune di Narni(TR); a Sidereal Space of Art; Satellite Berlin

 

www.sepphorisproject.org

   

Tesla Revisited

 

Palazzo Nani Mocenigo, Dorsoduro, 960

 

May 9th – October 18th

 

Organization: VITRARIA Glass + A Museum

 

www.vitraria.com/

   

The Bridges of Graffiti

 

Arterminal c/o Terminal San Basilio, Dorsoduro (Fondamenta Zattere al Ponte Lungo)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Associazione Culturale Inossidabile

 

www.inossidabileac.com

   

The Dialogue of Fire. Ceramic and Glass Masters from Barcelona to Venice

 

Palazzo Tiepolo Passi, San Polo, 2774

 

May 6th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Fundaciò Artigas; ArsCulture

 

www.fundacio-artigas.com/

 

www.arsculture.org/

 

www.dialogueoffire.org

   

The Question of Beings

 

Istituto Santa Maria della Pietà, Castello, 3701

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei (MoCA, Taipei)

 

www.mocataipei.org.tw

   

The Revenge of the Common Place

 

Università Ca' Foscari, Ca' Bernardo, Dorsoduro, 3199 (Calle Bernardo)

 

May 9th – September 30th

 

Organization: Vrije Universiteit Brussel (Free University Brussels-VUB)

 

www.vub.ac.be/

   

The Silver Lining. Contemporary Art from Liechtenstein and other Microstates

 

Palazzo Trevisan degli Ulivi, Dorsoduro, 810 (Campo Sant'Agnese)

 

October 24th – November 1st

 

Organization: Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein

 

www.kunstmuseum.li

 

www.silverlining.li

   

The Sound of Creation. Paintings + Music by Beezy Bailey and Brian Eno

 

Conservatorio Benedetto Marcello, Palazzo Pisani, San Marco, 2810 (Campo Santo Stefano)

 

May 7th - November 22nd

 

Organization: ArsCulture

 

www.arsculture.org/

   

The Union of Fire and Water

 

Palazzo Barbaro, San Marco, 2840

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: YARAT Contemporary Art Organisation

 

www.yarat.az

 

www.bakuvenice2015.com

   

Thirty Light Years - Theatre of Chinese Art

 

Palazzo Rossini, San Marco, 4013 (Campo Manin)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: GAC Global Art Center Foundation; The Guangdong Museum of Art

 

www.globalartcenter.org

 

www.gdmoa.org

   

Tsang Kin-Wah: The Infinite Nothing, Hong Kong in Venice

 

Arsenale, Castello, 2126 (Campo della Tana)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: M+, West Kowloon Cultural District; Hong Kong Arts Development Council

 

www.westkowloon.hk/en/mplus

 

www.hkadc.org.hk

 

www.venicebiennale.hk

   

Under the Surface, Newfoundland and Labrador at Venice

 

Galleria Ca' Rezzonico, Dorsoduro, 2793

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Terra Nova Art Foundation

 

tnaf.ca

   

Ursula von Rydingsvard

 

Giardino della Marinaressa, Castello (Riva dei Sette Martiri)

 

May 6th - November 22nd

 

Organization:Yorkshire Sculpture Park

 

www.ysp.co.uk

   

We Must Risk Delight: Twenty Artists from Los Angeles

 

Magazzino del Sale n. 3, Dorsoduro, 264 (Zattere)

 

May 7th - November 22nd

 

Organization: bardoLA

 

www.bardoLA.org

   

Wu Tien-Chang: Never Say Goodbye

 

Palazzo delle Prigioni, Castello, 4209 (San Marco)

 

May 9th - November 22nd

 

Organization: Taipei Fine Arts Museum of Taiwan

 

www.tfam.museum

   

Ha formado parte de la serie desde las primeras versiones, y siempre ha sido el "villano incomprendido". Según el co-creador de la serie Finish Hiroshi el estilo de lucha de Sagat fue desarrollado a partir de películas como Kickboxer interpretada por Jean-Claude Van Damme. Al parecer, el personaje estaría basado en un luchador de Muay Thai apodado Reiba, o "El señor oscuro del Muay Thai", que tuvo una gran rivalidad con Yoshiji Soeno, el maestro de Karate en el que estaría basado Ryu.

 

Sagat, logró el título de Emperador/Dios del Muay Thai y logro ser un héroe nacional en Tailandia. Debido a su título enfrenta gran cantidad de retos, entre ellos el de un karateka llamado Gou Hibiki con quien sostiene un difícil y brutal combate que le costó el ojo derecho. En ese combate Go perdió la vida. Por ello el hijo de Go , Dan Hibiki, juró venganza.

 

Sagat organizó el primer World Warrior Tournament para demostrar que no era sólo el luchador de Muay Thai más fuerte sino que también era el más fuerte de todas las disciplinas. En ese Torneo tan sólo un joven luchador fue capaz de alcanzar el último combate, Ryu. En una intensa batalla Sagat logra derrotar a Ryu, Sagat se acerca para tenderle la mano al luchador derrotado y en ese momento Ryu se recupera y ejecuta un Metsu Shoryuken a un Sagat sin guardia que le ocasionó a este una gran cicatriz a lo largo de su pecho.

 

Adon que había sido entrenado por Sagat, se burló de su maestro por la derrota de este frente a Ryu y le retó a un combate para decidir quien sería el Dios del Muay Thai. La rabia cegó a Sagat y este fue derrotado por su alumno aunque debido al combate Adon pasó cuatro meses en el hospital. Consumido por la rabia y el odio Sagat se unió a la organización criminal conocida como Shadaloo. El poder de Sagat le permitió convertirse en guardaspaldas de M. Bison. Durante su permanencia en Shadaloo, Sagat se reencuentra con Dan Hibiki que busca venganza por la muerte de su padre en el combate contra Sagat. Entonces Sagat comprende que los verdaderos rivales no deben estar cegados por la ira y el odio por lo que se deja perder el combate (aunque Dan no lo cree así) a fin de satisfacer el ánimo de venganza de este. Así mismo Sagat se da cuenta de las verdaderas intenciones de M. Bison. Sin embargo M. Bison lava el cerebro a Ryu, convirtiendolo en evil Ryu, y fuerza a Sagat a enfrentarse a él en un combate de revancha. A pesar de que Sagat no quiere enfrentarse a Ryu, cede ante M. Bison y se enfrenta a él. Pero durante el combate Ryu se libra del control de M. Bison y vuelve a vencer a Sagat. Sagat comprende entonces que las rivalidades deben tener sus límites.

 

El objetivo de Sagat para el segundo Torneo World Warrior era disputar un combate de revancha limpio frente a Ryu, pero sus esperanzas desaparecen cuando Ryu es eliminado de la competición antes de poder enfrentarse. Tras esto Sagat continúa entrenando su cuerpo y su mente confiando en poder convertirse en el mejor luchador del mundo antes de que sea demasiado viejo para ello.

 

Sagat cuenta con una gran altura, que le da una buena ventaja en los ataques a larga distancia. Su envergadura le convirte en un poderoso luchador. Sus manos son lo suficientemente grandes como para rodear la cabeza de muchos de sus oponentes.

 

Siempre fue representado totalmente calvo, salvo en sólo una de las representaciones artísticas oficiales, en la cual aparece con la cabeza totalmente cubierta de pelo.

 

En la series del Street Fighter II no es representado con la fortaleza muscular con la que aparece en el Street Fighter Alpha.

 

Sagat lleva un parche de color negro en su dañado ojo derecho, aunque la pérdida de visión periférica y de percepción no le impiden ser un luchador muy peligroso. Debido a las limitaciones técnicas existentes en el momento de la salida al mercado del primer Street Fighter, el parche parece cambiar de ojo cuando el personaje cambia de dirección.

 

La cicatriz de su pecho es un recuerdo de la derrota frente a Ryu y Sagat no se ocupa de ocultarla. Su vestimenta consiste en un pantalón corto de los utilizados tradicionalmente en el Muay Thai.

 

Sagat se controla de forma similar a Ken y Ryu pero con algunas diferencias. La principal diferencia es su amplia gama de ataques, sobre todo en cuanto a ataques bajos y patadas horizontales se refiere. En el Street Fighter 2 la alternancia entre ataques de bola de fuego altos y bajos genera confusión en el rival. En los juegos más modernos es menos útil dado que produce menos daño y es más fácil de ser evitada. En el juego Capcom vs. SNK 2 los ataques normales de Sagat, en concreto su puñetazo, producen un alto daño en el rival, por lo que es uno de los personajes más fáciles de controlar en este juego.

India - Chandigarh, Le Corbusier amazing extrusion of concrete and formwork has the ruin value of all great modern architecture. Although showing the kind of 'cultural wear' that would be expected the structure is still amazing as the Chandigarh Legislative Assembly.

 

thanks for reading....jhe

Hamburg - Moments

++++++ Form Wikipedia +++++

  

Kalaw (Burmese: ကလောမြို့; Shan: ၵလေႃး [ka lɔ]) is a hill town in the Shan State of Myanmar. It is located in Kalaw Township in Taunggyi District.

Kalaw

ကလောမြို့

Kalaw 21.jpg

Kalaw is located in Myanmar

Kalaw

 

Location in Myanmar

Coordinates: 20°38′N 96°34′E

Country Myanmar

Division Shan State

Districts Taunggyi District

Township Kalaw Township

Population (2005)

• Religions Buddhism

Time zone MST (UTC+6.30)

OverviewEdit

 

The town was popular with the British during colonial rule. Kalaw is the main setting of the novel "The Art of Hearing Heartbeats" by Jan-Philipp Sendker.

 

The hill station is located at an elevation of 1320 metres, 50 km from the Inle lake. Kalaw is famous for hiking and trekking.[1]

Kalaw Train station sign altitude.

 

Myanmar (Burmese pronunciation: [mjəmà]),[nb 1][8] officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also known as Burma, is a sovereign state in Southeast Asia. Myanmar is bordered by India and Bangladesh to its west, Thailand and Laos to its east and China to its north and northeast. To its south, about one third of Myanmar's total perimeter of 5,876 km (3,651 mi) forms an uninterrupted coastline of 1,930 km (1,200 mi) along the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea. The country's 2014 census counted the population to be 51 million people.[9] As of 2017, the population is about 54 million.[10] Myanmar is 676,578 square kilometers (261,228 square miles) in size. Its capital city is Naypyidaw, and its largest city and former capital is Yangon (Rangoon).[1] Myanmar has been a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 1997.

 

Early civilisations in Myanmar included the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states in Upper Burma and the Mon kingdoms in Lower Burma.[11] In the 9th century, the Bamar people entered the upper Irrawaddy valley and, following the establishment of the Pagan Kingdom in the 1050s, the Burmese language, culture and Theravada Buddhism slowly became dominant in the country. The Pagan Kingdom fell due to the Mongol invasions and several warring states emerged. In the 16th century, reunified by the Taungoo Dynasty, the country was for a brief period the largest empire in the history of Mainland Southeast Asia.[12] The early 19th century Konbaung Dynasty ruled over an area that included modern Myanmar and briefly controlled Manipur and Assam as well. The British took over the administration of Myanmar after three Anglo-Burmese Wars in the 19th century and the country became a British colony. Myanmar was granted independence in 1948, as a democratic nation. Following a coup d'état in 1962, it became a military dictatorship.

 

For most of its independent years, the country has been engrossed in rampant ethnic strife and its myriad ethnic groups have been involved in one of the world's longest-running ongoing civil wars. During this time, the United Nations and several other organisations have reported consistent and systematic human rights violations in the country.[13] In 2011, the military junta was officially dissolved following a 2010 general election, and a nominally civilian government was installed. This, along with the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and political prisoners, has improved the country's human rights record and foreign relations, and has led to the easing of trade and other economic sanctions.[14] There is, however, continuing criticism of the government's treatment of ethnic minorities, its response to the ethnic insurgency, and religious clashes.[15] In the landmark 2015 election, Aung San Suu Kyi's party won a majority in both houses. However, the Burmese military remains a powerful force in politics.

 

Myanmar is a country rich in jade and gems, oil, natural gas and other mineral resources. In 2013, its GDP (nominal) stood at US$56.7 billion and its GDP (PPP) at US$221.5 billion.[6] The income gap in Myanmar is among the widest in the world, as a large proportion of the economy is controlled by supporters of the former military government.[16] As of 2016, Myanmar ranks 145 out of 188 countries in human development, according to the Human Development Index.[7]

Etymology

Main article: Names of Myanmar

 

In 1989, the military government officially changed the English translations of many names dating back to Burma's colonial period or earlier, including that of the country itself: "Burma" became "Myanmar". The renaming remains a contested issue.[17] Many political and ethnic opposition groups and countries continue to use "Burma" because they do not recognise the legitimacy of the ruling military government or its authority to rename the country.[18]

 

In April 2016, soon after taking office, Aung San Suu Kyi clarified that foreigners are free to use either name, "because there is nothing in the constitution of our country that says that you must use any term in particular".[19]

 

The country's official full name is the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar" (ပြည်ထောင်စုသမ္မတ မြန်မာနိုင်ငံတော်, Pyidaunzu Thanmăda Myăma Nainngandaw, pronounced [pjìdàʊɴzṵ θàɴməda̰ mjəmà nàɪɴŋàɴdɔ̀]). Countries that do not officially recognise that name use the long form "Union of Burma" instead.[20]

 

In English, the country is popularly known as either "Burma" or "Myanmar" /ˈmjɑːnˌmɑːr/ (About this sound listen).[8] Both these names are derived from the name of the majority Burmese Bamar ethnic group. Myanmar is considered to be the literary form of the name of the group, while Burma is derived from "Bamar", the colloquial form of the group's name.[17] Depending on the register used, the pronunciation would be Bama (pronounced [bəmà]) or Myamah (pronounced [mjəmà]).[17] The name Burma has been in use in English since the 18th century.

 

Burma continues to be used in English by the governments of many countries, such as Canada and the United Kingdom.[21][22] Official United States policy retains Burma as the country's name, although the State Department's website lists the country as "Burma (Myanmar)" and Barack Obama has referred to the country by both names.[23] The Czech Republic officially uses Myanmar, although its Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentions both Myanmar and Burma on its website.[24] The United Nations uses Myanmar, as do the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia,[25] Russia, Germany,[26] China, India, Bangladesh, Norway,[27] Japan[21] and Switzerland.[28]

 

Most English-speaking international news media refer to the country by the name Myanmar, including the BBC,[29] CNN,[30] Al Jazeera,[31] Reuters,[32] RT (Russia Today) and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC)/Radio Australia.[33]

 

Myanmar is known with a name deriving from Burma as opposed to Myanmar in Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and Greek – Birmania being the local version of Burma in the Spanish language, for example. Myanmar used to be known as "Birmânia" in Portuguese, and as "Birmanie" in French.[34] As in the past, French-language media today consistently use Birmanie.,[35][36]

History

Main article: History of Myanmar

Prehistory

Main articles: Prehistory of Myanmar and Migration period of ancient Burma

Pyu city-states c. 8th century; Pagan is shown for comparison only and is not contemporary.

 

Archaeological evidence shows that Homo erectus lived in the region now known as Myanmar as early as 750,000 years ago, with no more erectus finds after 75,000 years ago.[37] The first evidence of Homo sapiens is dated to about 11,000 BC, in a Stone Age culture called the Anyathian with discoveries of stone tools in central Myanmar. Evidence of neolithic age domestication of plants and animals and the use of polished stone tools dating to sometime between 10,000 and 6,000 BC has been discovered in the form of cave paintings in Padah-Lin Caves.[38]

 

The Bronze Age arrived circa 1500 BC when people in the region were turning copper into bronze, growing rice and domesticating poultry and pigs; they were among the first people in the world to do so.[39] Human remains and artefacts from this era were discovered in Monywa District in the Sagaing Division.[40] The Iron Age began around 500 BC with the emergence of iron-working settlements in an area south of present-day Mandalay.[41] Evidence also shows the presence of rice-growing settlements of large villages and small towns that traded with their surroundings as far as China between 500 BC and 200 AD.[42] Iron Age Burmese cultures also had influences from outside sources such as India and Thailand, as seen in their funerary practices concerning child burials. This indicates some form of communication between groups in Myanmar and other places, possibly through trade.[43]

Early city-states

Main articles: Pyu city-states and Mon kingdoms

 

Around the second century BC the first-known city-states emerged in central Myanmar. The city-states were founded as part of the southward migration by the Tibeto-Burman-speaking Pyu city-states, the earliest inhabitants of Myanmar of whom records are extant, from present-day Yunnan.[44] The Pyu culture was heavily influenced by trade with India, importing Buddhism as well as other cultural, architectural and political concepts, which would have an enduring influence on later Burmese culture and political organisation.[45]

 

By the 9th century, several city-states had sprouted across the land: the Pyu in the central dry zone, Mon along the southern coastline and Arakanese along the western littoral. The balance was upset when the Pyu came under repeated attacks from Nanzhao between the 750s and the 830s. In the mid-to-late 9th century the Bamar people founded a small settlement at Bagan. It was one of several competing city-states until the late 10th century when it grew in authority and grandeur.[46]

Imperial Burma

Main articles: Pagan Kingdom, Taungoo Dynasty, and Konbaung Dynasty

See also: Ava Kingdom, Hanthawaddy Kingdom, Kingdom of Mrauk U, and Shan States

Pagodas and kyaungs in present-day Bagan, the capital of the Pagan Kingdom.

 

Pagan gradually grew to absorb its surrounding states until the 1050s–1060s when Anawrahta founded the Pagan Kingdom, the first ever unification of the Irrawaddy valley and its periphery. In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Pagan Empire and the Khmer Empire were two main powers in mainland Southeast Asia.[47] The Burmese language and culture gradually became dominant in the upper Irrawaddy valley, eclipsing the Pyu, Mon and Pali norms by the late 12th century.[48]

 

Theravada Buddhism slowly began to spread to the village level, although Tantric, Mahayana, Hinduism, and folk religion remained heavily entrenched. Pagan's rulers and wealthy built over 10,000 Buddhist temples in the Pagan capital zone alone. Repeated Mongol invasions (1277–1301) toppled the four-century-old kingdom in 1287.[48]

Temples at Mrauk U.

 

Pagan's collapse was followed by 250 years of political fragmentation that lasted well into the 16th century. Like the Burmans four centuries earlier, Shan migrants who arrived with the Mongol invasions stayed behind. Several competing Shan States came to dominate the entire northwestern to eastern arc surrounding the Irrawaddy valley. The valley too was beset with petty states until the late 14th century when two sizeable powers, Ava Kingdom and Hanthawaddy Kingdom, emerged. In the west, a politically fragmented Arakan was under competing influences of its stronger neighbours until the Kingdom of Mrauk U unified the Arakan coastline for the first time in 1437.

 

Early on, Ava fought wars of unification (1385–1424) but could never quite reassemble the lost empire. Having held off Ava, Hanthawaddy entered its golden age, and Arakan went on to become a power in its own right for the next 350 years. In contrast, constant warfare left Ava greatly weakened, and it slowly disintegrated from 1481 onward. In 1527, the Confederation of Shan States conquered Ava itself, and ruled Upper Myanmar until 1555.

 

Like the Pagan Empire, Ava, Hanthawaddy and the Shan states were all multi-ethnic polities. Despite the wars, cultural synchronisation continued. This period is considered a golden age for Burmese culture. Burmese literature "grew more confident, popular, and stylistically diverse", and the second generation of Burmese law codes as well as the earliest pan-Burma chronicles emerged.[49] Hanthawaddy monarchs introduced religious reforms that later spread to the rest of the country.[50] Many splendid temples of Mrauk U were built during this period.

Taungoo and colonialism

Bayinnaung's Empire in 1580.

 

Political unification returned in the mid-16th century, due to the efforts of Taungoo, a former vassal state of Ava. Taungoo's young, ambitious king Tabinshwehti defeated the more powerful Hanthawaddy in the Toungoo–Hanthawaddy War (1534–41). His successor Bayinnaung went on to conquer a vast swath of mainland Southeast Asia including the Shan states, Lan Na, Manipur, Mong Mao, the Ayutthaya Kingdom, Lan Xang and southern Arakan. However, the largest empire in the history of Southeast Asia unravelled soon after Bayinnaung's death in 1581, completely collapsing by 1599. Ayutthaya seized Tenasserim and Lan Na, and Portuguese mercenaries established Portuguese rule at Thanlyin (Syriam).

 

The dynasty regrouped and defeated the Portuguese in 1613 and Siam in 1614. It restored a smaller, more manageable kingdom, encompassing Lower Myanmar, Upper Myanmar, Shan states, Lan Na and upper Tenasserim. The Restored Toungoo kings created a legal and political framework whose basic features would continue well into the 19th century. The crown completely replaced the hereditary chieftainships with appointed governorships in the entire Irrawaddy valley, and greatly reduced the hereditary rights of Shan chiefs. Its trade and secular administrative reforms built a prosperous economy for more than 80 years. From the 1720s onward, the kingdom was beset with repeated Meithei raids into Upper Myanmar and a nagging rebellion in Lan Na. In 1740, the Mon of Lower Myanmar founded the Restored Hanthawaddy Kingdom. Hanthawaddy forces sacked Ava in 1752, ending the 266-year-old Toungoo Dynasty.

A British 1825 lithograph of Shwedagon Pagoda shows British occupation during the First Anglo-Burmese War.

 

After the fall of Ava, the Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War involved one resistance group under Alaungpaya defeating the Restored Hanthawaddy, and by 1759, he had reunited all of Myanmar and Manipur, and driven out the French and the British, who had provided arms to Hanthawaddy. By 1770, Alaungpaya's heirs had subdued much of Laos (1765) and fought and won the Burmese–Siamese War (1765–67) against Ayutthaya and the Sino-Burmese War (1765–69) against Qing China (1765–1769).[51]

 

With Burma preoccupied by the Chinese threat, Ayutthaya recovered its territories by 1770, and went on to capture Lan Na by 1776. Burma and Siam went to war until 1855, but all resulted in a stalemate, exchanging Tenasserim (to Burma) and Lan Na (to Ayutthaya). Faced with a powerful China and a resurgent Ayutthaya in the east, King Bodawpaya turned west, acquiring Arakan (1785), Manipur (1814) and Assam (1817). It was the second-largest empire in Burmese history but also one with a long ill-defined border with British India.[52]

 

The breadth of this empire was short lived. Burma lost Arakan, Manipur, Assam and Tenasserim to the British in the First Anglo-Burmese War (1824–1826). In 1852, the British easily seized Lower Burma in the Second Anglo-Burmese War. King Mindon Min tried to modernise the kingdom, and in 1875 narrowly avoided annexation by ceding the Karenni States. The British, alarmed by the consolidation of French Indochina, annexed the remainder of the country in the Third Anglo-Burmese War in 1885.

 

Konbaung kings extended Restored Toungoo's administrative reforms, and achieved unprecedented levels of internal control and external expansion. For the first time in history, the Burmese language and culture came to predominate the entire Irrawaddy valley. The evolution and growth of Burmese literature and theatre continued, aided by an extremely high adult male literacy rate for the era (half of all males and 5% of females).[53] Nonetheless, the extent and pace of reforms were uneven and ultimately proved insufficient to stem the advance of British colonialism.

British Burma (1824–1948)

Main articles: British rule in Burma and Burma Campaign

Burma in British India

The landing of British forces in Mandalay after the last of the Anglo-Burmese Wars, which resulted in the abdication of the last Burmese monarch, King Thibaw Min.

British troops firing a mortar on the Mawchi road, July 1944.

 

The eighteenth century saw Burmese rulers, whose country had not previously been of particular interest to European traders, seek to maintain their traditional influence in the western areas of Assam, Manipur and Arakan. Pressing them, however, was the British East India Company, which was expanding its interests eastwards over the same territory. Over the next sixty years, diplomacy, raids, treaties and compromises continued until, after three Anglo-Burmese Wars (1824–1885), Britain proclaimed control over most of Burma.[54] British rule brought social, economic, cultural and administrative changes.

 

With the fall of Mandalay, all of Burma came under British rule, being annexed on 1 January 1886. Throughout the colonial era, many Indians arrived as soldiers, civil servants, construction workers and traders and, along with the Anglo-Burmese community, dominated commercial and civil life in Burma. Rangoon became the capital of British Burma and an important port between Calcutta and Singapore.

 

Burmese resentment was strong and was vented in violent riots that paralysed Yangon (Rangoon) on occasion all the way until the 1930s.[55] Some of the discontent was caused by a disrespect for Burmese culture and traditions such as the British refusal to remove shoes when they entered pagodas. Buddhist monks became the vanguards of the independence movement. U Wisara, an activist monk, died in prison after a 166-day hunger strike to protest against a rule that forbade him to wear his Buddhist robes while imprisoned.[56]

Separation of British Burma from British India

 

On 1 April 1937, Burma became a separately administered colony of Great Britain and Ba Maw the first Prime Minister and Premier of Burma. Ba Maw was an outspoken advocate for Burmese self-rule and he opposed the participation of Great Britain, and by extension Burma, in World War II. He resigned from the Legislative Assembly and was arrested for sedition. In 1940, before Japan formally entered the Second World War, Aung San formed the Burma Independence Army in Japan.

 

A major battleground, Burma was devastated during World War II. By March 1942, within months after they entered the war, Japanese troops had advanced on Rangoon and the British administration had collapsed. A Burmese Executive Administration headed by Ba Maw was established by the Japanese in August 1942. Wingate's British Chindits were formed into long-range penetration groups trained to operate deep behind Japanese lines.[57] A similar American unit, Merrill's Marauders, followed the Chindits into the Burmese jungle in 1943.[58] Beginning in late 1944, allied troops launched a series of offensives that led to the end of Japanese rule in July 1945. The battles were intense with much of Burma laid waste by the fighting. Overall, the Japanese lost some 150,000 men in Burma. Only 1,700 prisoners were taken.[59]

 

Although many Burmese fought initially for the Japanese as part of the Burma Independence Army, many Burmese, mostly from the ethnic minorities, served in the British Burma Army.[60] The Burma National Army and the Arakan National Army fought with the Japanese from 1942 to 1944 but switched allegiance to the Allied side in 1945. Under Japanese occupation, 170,000 to 250,000 civilians died.[61]

 

Following World War II, Aung San negotiated the Panglong Agreement with ethnic leaders that guaranteed the independence of Myanmar as a unified state. Aung Zan Wai, Pe Khin, Bo Hmu Aung, Sir Maung Gyi, Dr. Sein Mya Maung, Myoma U Than Kywe were among the negotiators of the historical Panglong Conference negotiated with Bamar leader General Aung San and other ethnic leaders in 1947. In 1947, Aung San became Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council of Myanmar, a transitional government. But in July 1947, political rivals[62] assassinated Aung San and several cabinet members.[63]

Independence (1948–1962)

Main article: Post-independence Burma, 1948–62

British governor Hubert Elvin Rance and Sao Shwe Thaik at the flag raising ceremony on 4 January 1948 (Independence Day of Burma).

 

On 4 January 1948, the nation became an independent republic, named the Union of Burma, with Sao Shwe Thaik as its first President and U Nu as its first Prime Minister. Unlike most other former British colonies and overseas territories, Burma did not become a member of the Commonwealth. A bicameral parliament was formed, consisting of a Chamber of Deputies and a Chamber of Nationalities,[64] and multi-party elections were held in 1951–1952, 1956 and 1960.

 

The geographical area Burma encompasses today can be traced to the Panglong Agreement, which combined Burma Proper, which consisted of Lower Burma and Upper Burma, and the Frontier Areas, which had been administered separately by the British.[65]

 

In 1961, U Thant, then the Union of Burma's Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former Secretary to the Prime Minister, was elected Secretary-General of the United Nations, a position he held for ten years.[66] Among the Burmese to work at the UN when he was Secretary-General was a young Aung San Suu Kyi (daughter of Aung San), who went on to become winner of the 1991 Nobel Peace Prize.

 

When the non-Burman ethnic groups pushed for autonomy or federalism, alongside having a weak civilian government at the centre, the military leadership staged a coup d’état in 1962. Though incorporated in the 1947 Constitution, successive military governments construed the use of the term ‘federalism’ as being anti-national, anti-unity and pro-disintegration.[67]

Military rule (1962–2011)

 

On 2 March 1962, the military led by General Ne Win took control of Burma through a coup d'état, and the government has been under direct or indirect control by the military since then. Between 1962 and 1974, Myanmar was ruled by a revolutionary council headed by the general. Almost all aspects of society (business, media, production) were nationalised or brought under government control under the Burmese Way to Socialism,[68] which combined Soviet-style nationalisation and central planning.

 

A new constitution of the Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma was adopted in 1974. Until 1988, the country was ruled as a one-party system, with the General and other military officers resigning and ruling through the Burma Socialist Programme Party (BSPP).[69] During this period, Myanmar became one of the world's most impoverished countries.[70]

Protesters gathering in central Rangoon, 1988.

 

There were sporadic protests against military rule during the Ne Win years and these were almost always violently suppressed. On 7 July 1962, the government broke up demonstrations at Rangoon University, killing 15 students.[68] In 1974, the military violently suppressed anti-government protests at the funeral of U Thant. Student protests in 1975, 1976, and 1977 were quickly suppressed by overwhelming force.[69]

 

In 1988, unrest over economic mismanagement and political oppression by the government led to widespread pro-democracy demonstrations throughout the country known as the 8888 Uprising. Security forces killed thousands of demonstrators, and General Saw Maung staged a coup d'état and formed the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC). In 1989, SLORC declared martial law after widespread protests. The military government finalised plans for People's Assembly elections on 31 May 1989.[71] SLORC changed the country's official English name from the "Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma" to the "Union of Myanmar" in 1989.

 

In May 1990, the government held free elections for the first time in almost 30 years and the National League for Democracy (NLD), the party of Aung San Suu Kyi, won 392 out of a total 492 seats (i.e., 80% of the seats). However, the military junta refused to cede power[72] and continued to rule the nation as SLORC until 1997, and then as the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) until its dissolution in March 2011.

Protesters in Yangon during the 2007 Saffron Revolution with a banner that reads non-violence: national movement in Burmese. In the background is Shwedagon Pagoda.

 

On 23 June 1997, Myanmar was admitted into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). On 27 March 2006, the military junta, which had moved the national capital from Yangon to a site near Pyinmana in November 2005, officially named the new capital Naypyidaw, meaning "city of the kings".[73]

Cyclone Nargis in southern Myanmar, May 2008.

 

In August 2007, an increase in the price of diesel and petrol led to the Saffron Revolution led by Buddhist monks that were dealt with harshly by the government.[74] The government cracked down on them on 26 September 2007. The crackdown was harsh, with reports of barricades at the Shwedagon Pagoda and monks killed. There were also rumours of disagreement within the Burmese armed forces, but none was confirmed. The military crackdown against unarmed protesters was widely condemned as part of the international reactions to the Saffron Revolution and led to an increase in economic sanctions against the Burmese Government.

 

In May 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused extensive damage in the densely populated, rice-farming delta of the Irrawaddy Division.[75] It was the worst natural disaster in Burmese history with reports of an estimated 200,000 people dead or missing, damage totalled to 10 billion US dollars, and as many as 1 million left homeless.[76] In the critical days following this disaster, Myanmar's isolationist government was accused of hindering United Nations recovery efforts.[77] Humanitarian aid was requested but concerns about foreign military or intelligence presence in the country delayed the entry of United States military planes delivering medicine, food, and other supplies.[78]

 

In early August 2009, a conflict known as the Kokang incident broke out in Shan State in northern Myanmar. For several weeks, junta troops fought against ethnic minorities including the Han Chinese,[79] Wa, and Kachin.[80][81] During 8–12 August, the first days of the conflict, as many as 10,000 Burmese civilians fled to Yunnan province in neighbouring China.[80][81][82]

Civil wars

Main articles: Internal conflict in Myanmar, Kachin Conflict, Karen conflict, and 2015 Kokang offensive

 

Civil wars have been a constant feature of Myanmar's socio-political landscape since the attainment of independence in 1948. These wars are predominantly struggles for ethnic and sub-national autonomy, with the areas surrounding the ethnically Bamar central districts of the country serving as the primary geographical setting of conflict. Foreign journalists and visitors require a special travel permit to visit the areas in which Myanmar's civil wars continue.[83]

 

In October 2012, the ongoing conflicts in Myanmar included the Kachin conflict,[84] between the Pro-Christian Kachin Independence Army and the government;[85] a civil war between the Rohingya Muslims, and the government and non-government groups in Rakhine State;[86] and a conflict between the Shan,[87] Lahu, and Karen[88][89] minority groups, and the government in the eastern half of the country. In addition, al-Qaeda signalled an intention to become involved in Myanmar. In a video released on 3 September 2014, mainly addressed to India, the militant group's leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said al-Qaeda had not forgotten the Muslims of Myanmar and that the group was doing "what they can to rescue you".[90] In response, the military raised its level of alertness, while the Burmese Muslim Association issued a statement saying Muslims would not tolerate any threat to their motherland.[91]

 

Armed conflict between ethnic Chinese rebels and the Myanmar Armed Forces have resulted in the Kokang offensive in February 2015. The conflict had forced 40,000 to 50,000 civilians to flee their homes and seek shelter on the Chinese side of the border.[92] During the incident, the government of China was accused of giving military assistance to the ethnic Chinese rebels. Burmese officials have been historically "manipulated" and pressured by the Chinese government throughout Burmese modern history to create closer and binding ties with China, creating a Chinese satellite state in Southeast Asia.[93] However, uncertainties exist as clashes between Burmese troops and local insurgent groups continue.

Democratic reforms

Main article: 2011–12 Burmese political reforms

 

The goal of the Burmese constitutional referendum of 2008, held on 10 May 2008, is the creation of a "discipline-flourishing democracy". As part of the referendum process, the name of the country was changed from the "Union of Myanmar" to the "Republic of the Union of Myanmar", and general elections were held under the new constitution in 2010. Observer accounts of the 2010 election describe the event as mostly peaceful; however, allegations of polling station irregularities were raised, and the United Nations (UN) and a number of Western countries condemned the elections as fraudulent.[94]

U.S. President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton with Aung San Suu Kyi and her staff at her home in Yangon, 2012

 

The military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party declared victory in the 2010 elections, stating that it had been favoured by 80 percent of the votes; however, the claim was disputed by numerous pro-democracy opposition groups who asserted that the military regime had engaged in rampant fraud.[95][96] One report documented 77 percent as the official turnout rate of the election.[95] The military junta was dissolved on 30 March 2011.

 

Opinions differ whether the transition to liberal democracy is underway. According to some reports, the military's presence continues as the label "disciplined democracy" suggests. This label asserts that the Burmese military is allowing certain civil liberties while clandestinely institutionalising itself further into Burmese politics. Such an assertion assumes that reforms only occurred when the military was able to safeguard its own interests through the transition—here, "transition" does not refer to a transition to a liberal democracy, but transition to a quasi-military rule.[97]

 

Since the 2010 election, the government has embarked on a series of reforms to direct the country towards liberal democracy, a mixed economy, and reconciliation, although doubts persist about the motives that underpin such reforms. The series of reforms includes the release of pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the establishment of the National Human Rights Commission, the granting of general amnesties for more than 200 political prisoners, new labour laws that permit labour unions and strikes, a relaxation of press censorship, and the regulation of currency practices.[98]

 

The impact of the post-election reforms has been observed in numerous areas, including ASEAN's approval of Myanmar's bid for the position of ASEAN chair in 2014;[99] the visit by United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in December 2011 for the encouragement of further progress, which was the first visit by a Secretary of State in more than fifty years,[100] during which Clinton met with the Burmese president and former military commander Thein Sein, as well as opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi;[101] and the participation of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party in the 2012 by-elections, facilitated by the government's abolition of the laws that previously barred the NLD.[102] As of July 2013, about 100[103][104] political prisoners remain imprisoned, while conflict between the Burmese Army and local insurgent groups continues.

Map of Myanmar and its divisions, including Shan State, Kachin State, Rakhine State and Karen State.

 

In 1 April 2012 by-elections, the NLD won 43 of the 45 available seats; previously an illegal organisation, the NLD had not won a single seat under new constitution. The 2012 by-elections were also the first time that international representatives were allowed to monitor the voting process in Myanmar.[105]

2015 general elections

Main article: Myanmar general election, 2015

 

General elections were held on 8 November 2015. These were the first openly contested elections held in Myanmar since 1990. The results gave the National League for Democracy an absolute majority of seats in both chambers of the national parliament, enough to ensure that its candidate would become president, while NLD leader Aung San Suu Kyi is constitutionally barred from the presidency.[106]

 

The new parliament convened on 1 February 2016[107] and, on 15 March 2016, Htin Kyaw was elected as the first non-military president since the military coup of 1962.[108] On 6 April 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi assumed the newly created role of State Counsellor, a role akin to a Prime Minister.

Geography

Main article: Geography of Myanmar

A map of Myanmar

Myanmar map of Köppen climate classification.

 

Myanmar has a total area of 678,500 square kilometres (262,000 sq mi). It lies between latitudes 9° and 29°N, and longitudes 92° and 102°E. As of February 2011, Myanmar consisted of 14 states and regions, 67 districts, 330 townships, 64 sub-townships, 377 towns, 2,914 Wards, 14,220 village tracts and 68,290 villages.

 

Myanmar is bordered in the northwest by the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh and the Mizoram, Manipur, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh states of India. Its north and northeast border is with the Tibet Autonomous Region and Yunnan province for a Sino-Myanmar border total of 2,185 km (1,358 mi). It is bounded by Laos and Thailand to the southeast. Myanmar has 1,930 km (1,200 mi) of contiguous coastline along the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Sea to the southwest and the south, which forms one quarter of its total perimeter.[20]

 

In the north, the Hengduan Mountains form the border with China. Hkakabo Razi, located in Kachin State, at an elevation of 5,881 metres (19,295 ft), is the highest point in Myanmar.[109] Many mountain ranges, such as the Rakhine Yoma, the Bago Yoma, the Shan Hills and the Tenasserim Hills exist within Myanmar, all of which run north-to-south from the Himalayas.[110]

 

The mountain chains divide Myanmar's three river systems, which are the Irrawaddy, Salween (Thanlwin), and the Sittaung rivers.[111] The Irrawaddy River, Myanmar's longest river, nearly 2,170 kilometres (1,348 mi) long, flows into the Gulf of Martaban. Fertile plains exist in the valleys between the mountain chains.[110] The majority of Myanmar's population lives in the Irrawaddy valley, which is situated between the Rakhine Yoma and the Shan Plateau.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of Myanmar

A clickable map of Burma/Myanmar exhibiting its first-level administrative divisions.

About this image

 

Myanmar is divided into seven states (ပြည်နယ်) and seven regions (တိုင်းဒေသကြီး), formerly called divisions.[112] Regions are predominantly Bamar (that is, mainly inhabited by the dominant ethnic group). States, in essence, are regions that are home to particular ethnic minorities. The administrative divisions are further subdivided into districts, which are further subdivided into townships, wards, and villages.

 

Climate

Main article: Climate of Myanmar

The limestone landscape of Mon State.

 

Much of the country lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Equator. It lies in the monsoon region of Asia, with its coastal regions receiving over 5,000 mm (196.9 in) of rain annually. Annual rainfall in the delta region is approximately 2,500 mm (98.4 in), while average annual rainfall in the Dry Zone in central Myanmar is less than 1,000 mm (39.4 in). The Northern regions of Myanmar are the coolest, with average temperatures of 21 °C (70 °F). Coastal and delta regions have an average maximum temperature of 32 °C (89.6 °F).[111]

Environment

Further information: Deforestation in Myanmar

 

Myanmar continues to perform badly in the global Environmental Performance Index (EPI) with an overall ranking of 153 out of 180 countries in 2016; among the worst in the South Asian region, only ahead of Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The EPI was established in 2001 by the World Economic Forum as a global gauge to measure how well individual countries perform in implementing the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. The environmental areas where Myanmar performs worst (ie. highest ranking) are air quality (174), health impacts of environmental issues (143) and biodiversity and habitat (142). Myanmar performs best (ie. lowest ranking) in environmental impacts of fisheries (21), but with declining fish stocks. Despite several issues, Myanmar also ranks 64 and scores very good (ie. a high percentage of 93.73%) in environmental effects of the agricultural industry because of an excellent management of the nitrogen cycle.[114][115]

Wildlife

 

Myanmar's slow economic growth has contributed to the preservation of much of its environment and ecosystems. Forests, including dense tropical growth and valuable teak in lower Myanmar, cover over 49% of the country, including areas of acacia, bamboo, ironwood and Magnolia champaca. Coconut and betel palm and rubber have been introduced. In the highlands of the north, oak, pine and various rhododendrons cover much of the land.[116]

 

Heavy logging since the new 1995 forestry law went into effect has seriously reduced forest acreage and wildlife habitat.[117] The lands along the coast support all varieties of tropical fruits and once had large areas of mangroves although much of the protective mangroves have disappeared. In much of central Myanmar (the Dry Zone), vegetation is sparse and stunted.

 

Typical jungle animals, particularly tigers, occur sparsely in Myanmar. In upper Myanmar, there are rhinoceros, wild water buffalo, clouded leopard, wild boars, deer, antelope, and elephants, which are also tamed or bred in captivity for use as work animals, particularly in the lumber industry. Smaller mammals are also numerous, ranging from gibbons and monkeys to flying foxes. The abundance of birds is notable with over 800 species, including parrots, myna, peafowl, red junglefowl, weaverbirds, crows, herons, and barn owl. Among reptile species there are crocodiles, geckos, cobras, Burmese pythons, and turtles. Hundreds of species of freshwater fish are wide-ranging, plentiful and are very important food sources.[118] For a list of protected areas, see List of protected areas of Myanmar.

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Myanmar

Assembly of the Union (Pyidaungsu Hluttaw)

 

The constitution of Myanmar, its third since independence, was drafted by its military rulers and published in September 2008. The country is governed as a parliamentary system with a bicameral legislature (with an executive President accountable to the legislature), with 25% of the legislators appointed by the military and the rest elected in general elections.

Skate Show 2019

Former bank now a steak house

コムメリナ・エレクタ ‘淡桃色花フォーム’

Commelina erecta L., 1753 ‘Light-Pearl-Blue Flower Form’

This name is accepted. 11/15, 2021.

---------------------------------------

Family: Commelinaceae (APG IV)

---------------------------------------

Author:

Carl von Linnaeus (1707-1778)

---------------------------------------

Published In:

Species Plantarum 1: 41. 1753. (1 May 1753) (Sp. Pl.)

Name publication detailView in BotanicusView in Biodiversity Heritage Library

---------------------------------------

Annotation:

nom. & typ. cons. prop.

Type-Protolog

Locality:Habitat in Virginia

Type Specimens:

CTP: Herb. Dillenius 63 (OXF-Dill. HE_77-88)

Type discussion:Hassemer, G., D. Iamonico & L. A. Funez. 2018. (2631) Proposal to conserve the name Commelina erecta (Commelinaceae) with a conserved type. Taxon 67(4): 810.

LT: Dillenius, Hort. Eltham. t. 77, f. 88 (1732); ; LT designated by Clarke, Monogr. Phan. 3: ? (1881)

---------------------------------------

Distribution:America, Trop. & S. Africa, Arabian Pen.

(12) spa 21 CVI 22 BEN BKN GAM GHA GNB GUI IVO LBR MLI NGA NGR SEN SIE TOG 23 BUR CAF CMN CON GGI RWA ZAI 24 CHA ETH SOM SUD 25 KEN TAN UGA 26 ANG MLW MOZ ZIM 27 BOT CPP NAM NAT OFS SWZ TVL (34) pal 35 SAU YEM (38) jap (40) ban 73 COL WYO 74 ILL IOW KAN MIN MSO NEB OKL SDA WIS 75 INI MIC NWJ NWY PEN RHO WVA 76 ARI 77 NWM TEX 78 ALA ARK DEL FLA GEO KTY LOU MRY MSI NCA SCA TEN VRG WDC 79 MXC MXE MXG MXN MXS MXT 80 BLZ COS ELS GUA HON NIC PAN 81 ARU BAH BER CAY CUB DOM HAI JAM LEE NLA PUE SWC TCI TRT VNA WIN 82 FRG GUY SUR VEN 83 BOL CLM ECU PER 84 BZC BZE BZL BZN BZS 85 AGE AGW clc PAR URU

Lifeform:Hemicr. or tuber geophyte

Original Compiler:R.Govaerts

---------------------------------------

Homotypic Names:

Commelina erecta L. var. typica Fernald, Rhodora 42: 438 (1940), not validly publ.

---------------------------------------

This name is Accepted by:

Brunel, J.F., Hiepo, P. & Scholz, H. (eds.) (1984). Flore Analytique du Togo Phanérogames: 1-751. GTZ, Eschborn.

Jones, M. (1991). A checklist of Gambian plants: 1-33. Michael Jones, The Gambia College.

Govaerts, R. (1999). World Checklist of Seed Plants 3(1, 2a & 2b): 1-1532. MIM, Deurne.

Sita, P. & Moutsambote, J.-M. (2005). Catalogue des plantes vasculaires du Congo , ed. sept. 2005: 1-158. ORSTOM, Centre de Brazzaville.

Walderley, M.G.L., Shepherd, G.J., Melhem, T.S. & Giulietti, A.M. (eds.) (2005). Flora Fanerogâmica do Estado de São Paulo 4: 1-392. Instituto de Botânica, São Paulo.

Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & Strong, M.T. (2005). Monocotyledons and Gymnosperms of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 52: 1-415.

Akoègninou, A., van der Burg, W.J. & van der Maesen, L.J.G. (eds.) (2006). Flore Analytique du Bénin: 1-1034. Backhuys Publishers.

Nelson Sutherland, C.H. (2008). Catálogo de las plantes vasculares de Honduras. Espermatofitas: 1-1576. SERNA/Guaymuras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.

Hokche, O., Berry, P.E. & Huber, O. (eds.) (2008). Nuevo Catálogo de la Flora Vascular de Venezuela: 1-859. Fundación Instituto Botánico de Venezuela.

Figueiredo, E. & Smith, G.F. (2008). Plants of Angola. Strelitzia 22: 1-279. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.

Idárraga-Piedrahita, A., Ortiz, R.D.C., Callejas Posada, R. & Merello, M. (eds.) (2011). Flora de Antioquia: Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares 2: 1-939. Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín.

Faden, R. (2012). Commelinaceae. Flora of Tropical East Africa: 1-244.

López-Ferrari, A.R., Espejo-Serna, A. & Ceja-Romero, J. (2014). Flora de Veracruz 161: 1-127. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones sobre Recursos Bióticos, Xalapa, Veracruz.

Velayos, M., Aedo, C., Cabezas, F., de la Estrella, M., Barberá, P. & Fero, M. (eds.) (2014). Flora de Guinea Ecuatorial 11: 1-416. Consejo superior de investigaciones científicas, Real jardín botánico, Madrid.

von Raab-Straube, E. & Raus, T. (eds.) (2015). Euro+Med-Checklist notulae, 4. Willdenowia 45: 119-129.

de Moura Júnior, E.G. & al. (2015). Updated checklist of aquatic macrophytes from Northern Brazil. Acta Amazonica 45: 111-132.

Sarder, N.U. & Hassan, M.A. (eds.) (2018). Vascular flora of Chittagong and the Chittagong Hill Tracts 1: 1-897. Bangladesh National Herbarium, Dhaka.

Hassemer, G. (2018). Taxonomic and geographic notes on the neotropical Commelina (Commelinaceae). Webbia; Raccolta de Scritti Botanici 73: 23-53.

---------------------------------------

  

Nikon D800E

SIGMA MACRO 70mm F2.8 EX DG for Nikon AF Mount

Copper was discovered at Kuridala in 1884 and the Hampden Mine commenced during the 1890s. A Melbourne syndicate took over operations in 1897 and with increasing development of the mine in 1905 - 1906 the Hampden Cloncurry Limited company was formed. The township was surveyed as Hampden in 1910 (later called Friezland, and finally Kuridala in 1916). The Hampden Smelter operated from 1911 to 1920 with World War I being a particularly prosperous time for the company. After the war, the operations and the township declined and the Hampden Cloncurry Limited company ceased to exist in 1928. Tribute mining and further exploration and testing of the ore body has continued from 1932 through to the present day.

 

The Kuridala Township and Hampden Smelter are located approximately 65km south of Cloncurry and 345m above sea level, on an open plain against a background of rugged but picturesque hills.

 

The Cloncurry copper fields were discovered by Ernest Henry in 1867 but lack of capital and transport combined with low base metal prices precluded any major development. However, rising prices, new discoveries in the region and the promise of a railway combined with an inflow of British capital stimulated development. Additionally, Melbourne based promoters eager to develop another base metal bonanza like Broken Hill led to a resurgence of interest, especially in the Hampden mines.

 

The copper deposits at Kuridala (initially named Hampden) were discovered by William McPhail and Robert Johnson on their pastoral lease, Eureka, in January 1884. The Hampden mine was held by Fred Gibson in the 1890s and acquired in 1897 by a Melbourne syndicate comprising the 'Broken Hillionaires' - William Orr, William Knox, and Herman Schlapp. They floated the Hampden Copper Mines N. L. with a capital of £100,000 in £100 shares of which 200 were fully paid up. With this capital, they commenced a prospecting and stockpiling program sending specimens to Dapto and Wallaroo for testing. Government Geologist, W.E. Cameron's report on the district in 1900 discouraged investors as he reported that few of the lodes, other than the Hampden Company's main lode at Kuridala, were worth working.

 

A world price rise in copper in 1905, combined with a government decision in 1906 to extend the Townsville railway from Richmond to Cloncurry, stimulated further development. The Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited was registered in Victoria in March 1906 to acquire the old company's mines. However, the company only had a working capital of £35,000 after distributing vendor's shares and buying the Duchess mines. During this period there were over 20 companies investing similarly on the Cloncurry field.

 

The township was surveyed by the Mines Department around 1910 and was first known as Hampden after the mines discovered in the 1880s. By 1912 it was called Friezland, however was officially renamed Kuridala in October 1916 to minimise confusion with another settlement in Queensland. The reason for this change was considered to be linked to German names being unpopular at the outbreak of World War I.

 

Hampden Cloncurry Copper Mines Limited and its competitor, Mount Elliott, formed a special company in 1908 to finance and construct the railway extension from Cloncurry through Malbon, to Kuridala, and Mount Elliott. The company reconstructed in July 1909 by increasing its capitalisation, and concluding arrangements for a debenture issue to be secured against its proposed smelters. Its smelters were not fired until March 1911 and over the next three years 85,266 tons of ore were treated with an initial dividend of £140,000 being declared in 1913. In one month in 1915 the Hampden Smelter produced 813 tons of copper, an Australian record at that time.

 

Concern over the dwindling reserves of high grade ore led to William Corbould, the general manager of Mount Elliott mines, negotiating an amalgamation with Hampden Cloncurry to halt the fierce rivalry. But the latter was uninterested having consolidated its prospects in 1911 by acquiring many promising mines in the region, and enlarging its smelters and erecting new converters. In 1913, following a fire in the Hampden Consol's mine, Corbould convinced his London directors to reopen negotiations for a joint venture in the northern section of the field which still awaited a railway. Although Corbould and Huntley, the Hampden Cloncurry general manager, inspected many properties, the proposal lapsed.

 

The railway reached the township by 1910. A sanitary system was installed in 1911, after a four month typhoid epidemic, and a hospital erected by 1913, run by Dr. Old. It was described as the best and most modern hospital in the northwest. At its height, the town supported six hotels, five stores, four billiard saloons, three dance halls, and a cinema, two ice works, and one aerated waters factory, and Chinese gardens along the creek. There were also drapers, fruiterer, butcher, baker, timber merchant, garage, four churches, police station, court house, post office, banks, and a school with up to 280 pupils. A cyclone in December 1918 damaged the town and wrecked part of the powerhouse and smelter.

 

A comprehensive description of the plant and operations of the Kuridala Hampden mines and smelters was given by the Cloncurry mining warden in the Queensland Government Mining Journal of the 14th of September 1912. Ore from other company-owned mines (Duchess, Happy Salmon, MacGregor, and Trekelano) was railed in via a 1.2km branch line to the reduction plant bins, while the heavy pyrites ore from the Hampden mines was separated at the main shaft into coarse and fine products and conveyed to separate 1,500 ton capacity bins over a standard gauge railway to the plant.

 

A central power plant was installed with three separate Dowson pressure gas plants powered by three tandem type Kynoch gas engines of 320hp and two duplex type Hornsby gas engines of 200hp. Two Swedish General Electric Company generators of 1,250kw and 56kw running at 460 volts, supplied electricity to the machines in the works, fitting shops and mine pumps. Electric light for the mine and works was supplied by a British Thompson-Houston generator of 42kw, running at 420 volts. The fuel used in the gas producers was bituminous coal, coke or charcoal, made locally in the retorts.

 

The reduction plant consisted of two water-jacket furnaces, 2.1m by 1m and 4.2m by 1m, with dust chambers and a 52m high steel stack. There were two electrically driven converter vessels, each 3.2m by 2.3m. The molten product ran into a 3.7m diameter forehearth, while the slag was drawn off into double ton slag pots, run to the dump over 3 foot gauge, 42lb steel rail tracks. The copper was delivered from the forehearth to the converters. A 1.06m gauge track ran under the converters and carried the copper mould cars to the cleaning and shipping shed, at the end of which was the siding for railing out the cakes of blister copper.

 

The war conferred four years of prosperity on the Cloncurry district despite marketing, transport, and labour difficulties. The Hampden Cloncurry Company declared liberal dividends during 1915 - 1918: £40,000, £140,000, £52,500 and £35,000 making a total disbursement since commencing operations of £437,500. Its smelters treated over a quarter of a million tons of ore in this period, averaging over 70,000 tons annually. The company built light railways to its mines (e.g. Wee MacGregor and Trekelano) to ensure regular ore supplies and to reduce transport costs. In order to improve its ore treatment, Hampden Cloncurry installed a concentration plant in 1917. In 1918 an Edwards furnace was erected to pre-roast fine sulphide concentrates from the mill before smelting.

 

The dropping of the copper price control by the British government in 1918 forced the company into difficulties. Smelting was postponed until September 1919 and the company lost heavily during the next season and had to rely on ores from the Trekelano mine. Its smelter treated 69,598 tons of ore in 1920, but the company was forced to halt all operations after the Commonwealth Bank withdrew funds on copper awaiting export.

 

Companies and mines turned to the Theodore Labor Government for assistance but they were unsympathetic to the companies, even though they alone had the capacity to revive the Cloncurry field. More negotiations for amalgamation occurred in 1925 but failed, and in 1926 Hampden Cloncurry offered its assets for sale by tender and Mount Elliott acquired them all except for the Trekelano mine. The company was de-listed in 1928.

 

The rise and decline of the township reflected the company's fortunes. In 1913 there were 1,500 people increasing to 2,000 by 1920, but by 1924 this had declined to 800. With the rise of Mount Isa, Kaiser's bakehouse, the hospital, courthouse, one ice works, and a picture theatre, moved there in 1923 followed by Boyds' Hampden Hotel (renamed the Argent) in 1924. Other buildings including the police residence and Clerk of Petty Sessions house were moved to Cloncurry.

 

In its nine years of smelting Hampden Cloncurry had been one of Australia's largest mining companies producing 50,800 tons of copper (compared with Mount Elliott's 27,000), 21,000 ounces of gold and 381,000 ounces of silver. A more permanent achievement was its part in creating the metal fabricating company, Metal Manufacturers Limited, of which it was one of the four founders in 1916. Much of the money which built their Port Kembla works into one of the country's largest manufacturers came from the now derelict smelters in north-west Queensland.

 

In 1942 Mount Isa Mines bought the Kuridala Smelters for £800 and used parts to construct a copper furnace which commenced operating in April 1943 in response to wartime demands. The Tunny family continued to live at Kuridala as tributers on the Hampden and Consol mines from 1932 until 1969 and worked the mines down to 15.25m. A post office operated until 1975 and the last inhabitant, Lizzy Belch, moved into Cloncurry about 1982.

 

Further exploration and testing of the Kuridala ore body has occurred from 1948 up until the present with activities being undertaking by Mount Isa Mines, Broken Hill South, Enterprise Exploration, Marshall and James Boyd, Australian Selection, Kennecott Exploration, Carpentaria Exploration, Metana Minerals, A.M. Metcalfe, Dampier Mining Co Ltd, Newmont Pty Ltd, Australian Anglo American, Era South Pacific Pty Ltd, CRA Exploration Pty Ltd, BHP Minerals Ltd, Metana Minerals and Matrix Metals Ltd.

 

Source: Queensland Heritage Register.

Vessel in Form of a Rider, Earthenware, Korea, possibly Three Kingdoms period, 5th c.

 

January 2026

www.fabriziomusacchio.com/weekend_stories/diary/2026/2026...

forme rudis (Maton, 1797)

Bigorneaux photographiés à Cancale.

Pour cette photographie j'ai utilisé une bonnette x1 que j'avais trouvée sur internet.

Dordogne River, river in southwestern France, rising in the Massif Central and flowing west for 293 mi (472 km) to Bec d’Ambès, north of Bordeaux, where it unites with the Garonne to form the Gironde Estuary; its drainage basin is about 9,300 sq mi (24,000 sq km). Its headwaters, rising at a height of more than 5,600 ft (1,700 m) on the Puy de Sancy, are formed by the Dore and Dognon rivers. After a torrential descent the Dordogne flows through the spa resorts of Le Mont Dore and La Bourboule, in the Puy de Dôme département. After passing through the Avèze gorges, the river forms a lake 11 mi (18 km) long above the hydroelectric dam of Bort. It is dammed again four more times as it flows through the Dordogne gorges to Argentat (Corrèze département), below which it is joined by a number of tributaries.

Kashgar is an oasis city with an approximate population of 350,000. It is the westernmost city in China, located near the border with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Kashgar has a rich history of over 2,000 years and served as a trading post and strategically important city on the Silk Road between China, the Middle East, and Europe. Kashgar is part of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.

 

Located historically at the convergence point of widely varying cultures and empires, Kashgar has been under the rule of the Chinese, Turkic, Mongol, and Tibetan empires. The city has also been the site of an extraordinary number of battles between various groups of people on the steppes.

 

Now administered as a county-level unit of the People's Republic of China, Kashgar is the administrative centre of its eponymous prefecture in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region which has an area of 162,000 square kilometres and a population of approximately 3.5 million. The city's urban area covers 15 km2, though its administrative area extends over 555 km2.

 

NAME

The modern Chinese name is 喀什 (Kāshí), a shortened form of the longer and less-frequently used (simplified Chinese: 喀什噶尔; traditional Chinese: 喀什噶爾; pinyin: Kāshígé’ěr; Uyghur: قەشقەر‎). Ptolemy (AD 90-168), in his Geography, Chapter 15.3A, refers to Kashgar as “Kasi”. Its western and probably indigenous name is the Kāš ("rock"), to which the East Iranian -γar ("mountain"); cf. Pashto and Middle Persian gar/ġar, from Old Persian/Pahlavi girīwa ("hill; ridge (of a mountain)") was attached. Alternative historical Romanizations for "Kashgar" include Cascar and Cashgar.

 

Non-native names for the city, such as the old Chinese name Shule 疏勒 and Tibetan Śu-lig may have originated as an attempts to transcribe the Sanskrit name for Kashgar, Śrīkrīrāti ("fortunate hospitality")

 

Variant transcriptions of the official Uyghur: يېڭىشەھەر‎ include: K̂äxk̂är or Kaxgar, as well as Jangi-schahr, Kashgar Yangi Shahr, K’o-shih-ka-erh, K’o-shih-ka-erh-hsin-ch’eng, Ko-shih-ka-erh-hui-ch’eng, K’o-shih-ko-erh-hsin-ch’eng, New Kashgar, Sheleh, Shuleh, Shulen, Shu-lo, Su-lo, Su-lo-chen, Su-lo-hsien, Yangi-shaar, Yangi-shahr, Yangishar, Yéngisheher, Yengixəh̨ər and Еңишәһәр.

 

HISTORY

HAN DYNASTY

The earliest mention of Kashgar occurs when a Chinese Han dynasty envoy traveled the Northern Silk Road to explore lands to the west.

 

Another early mention of Kashgar is during the Former Han (also known as the Western Han dynasty), when in 76 BC the Chinese conquered the Xiongnu, Yutian (Khotan), Sulei (Kashgar), and a group of states in the Tarim basin almost up to the foot of the Tian Shan range.

 

Ptolemy speaks of Scythia beyond the Imaus, which is in a “Kasia Regio”, probably exhibiting the name from which Kashgar and Kashgaria (often applied to the district) are formed. The country’s people practised Zoroastrianism and Buddhism before the coming of Islam.

 

In the Book of Han, which covers the period between 125 BC and 23 AD, it is recorded that there were 1,510 households, 18,647 people and 2,000 persons able to bear arms. By the time covered by the Book of the Later Han (roughly 25 to 170 AD), it had grown to 21,000 households and had 3,000 men able to bear arms.

 

The Book of the Later Han provides a wealth of detail on developments in the region:

 

"In the period of Emperor Wu [140-87 BC], the Western Regions1 were under the control of the Interior [China]. They numbered thirty-six kingdoms. The Imperial Government established a Colonel [in charge of] Envoys there to direct and protect these countries. Emperor Xuan [73-49 BC] changed this title [in 59 BC] to Protector-General.

 

Emperor Yuan [40-33 BC] installed two Wuji Colonels to take charge of the agricultural garrisons on the frontiers of the king of Nearer Jushi [Turpan].

 

During the time of Emperor Ai [6 BC-AD 1] and Emperor Ping [AD 1-5], the principalities of the Western Regions split up and formed fifty-five kingdoms. Wang Mang, after he usurped the Throne [in AD 9], demoted and changed their kings and marquises. Following this, the Western Regions became resentful, and rebelled. They, therefore, broke off all relations with the Interior [China] and, all together, submitted to the Xiongnu again.

 

The Xiongnu collected oppressively heavy taxes and the kingdoms were not able to support their demands. In the middle of the Jianwu period [AD 25-56], they each [Shanshan and Yarkand in 38, and 18 kingdoms in 45], sent envoys to ask if they could submit to the Interior [China], and to express their desire for a Protector-General. Emperor Guangwu, decided that because the Empire was not yet settled [after a long period of civil war], he had no time for outside affairs, and [therefore] finally refused his consent [in AD 45].

 

In the meantime, the Xiongnu became weaker. The king of Suoju [Yarkand], named Xian, wiped out several kingdoms. After Xian’s death [c. AD 62], they began to attack and fight each other. Xiao Yuan [Tura], Jingjue [Cadota], Ronglu [Niya], and Qiemo [Cherchen] were annexed by Shanshan [the Lop Nur region]. Qule [south of Keriya] and Pishan [modern Pishan or Guma] were conquered and fully occupied by Yutian [Khotan]. Yuli [Fukang], Danhuan, Guhu [Dawan Cheng], and Wutanzili were destroyed by Jushi [Turpan and Jimasa]. Later these kingdoms were re-established.

 

During the Yongping period [AD 58-75], the Northern Xiongnu forced several countries to help them plunder the commanderies and districts of Hexi. The gates of the towns stayed shut in broad daylight."

 

And, more particularly in reference to Kashgar itself, is the following record:

 

"In the sixteenth Yongping year of Emperor Ming 73, Jian, the king of Qiuci (Kucha), attacked and killed Cheng, the king of Shule (Kashgar). Then he appointed the Qiuci (Kucha) Marquis of the Left, Douti, King of Shule (Kashgar). ‹See TfD›

In winter 73, the Han sent the Major Ban Chao who captured and bound Douti. He appointed Zhong, the son of the elder brother of Cheng, to be king of Shule (Kashgar). Zhong later rebelled. (Ban) Chao attacked and beheaded him."

 

THE KUSHANS

The Book of the Later Han also gives the only extant historical record of Yuezhi or Kushan involvement in the Kashgar oasis:

 

"During the Yuanchu period (114-120) in the reign of Emperor, the king of Shule (Kashgar), exiled his maternal uncle Chenpan to the Yuezhi (Kushans) for some offence. The king of the Yuezhi became very fond of him. Later, Anguo died without leaving a son. His mother directed the government of the kingdom. She agreed with the people of the country to put Yifu (lit. “posthumous child”), who was the son of a full younger brother of Chenpan on the throne as king of Shule (Kashgar). Chenpan heard of this and appealed to the Yuezhi (Kushan) king, saying:

 

"Anguo had no son. His relative (Yifu) is weak. If one wants to put on the throne a member of (Anguo’s) mother’s family, I am Yifu’s paternal uncle, it is I who should be king."

 

The Yuezhi (Kushans) then sent soldiers to escort him back to Shule (Kashgar). The people had previously respected and been fond of Chenpan. Besides, they dreaded the Yuezhi (Kushans). They immediately took the seal and ribbon from Yifu and went to Chenpan, and made him king. Yifu was given the title of Marquis of the town of Pangao [90 li, or 37 km, from Shule].

 

‹See TfD›

Then Suoju (Yarkand) continued to resist Yutian (Khotan), and put themselves under Shule (Kashgar). Thus Shule (Kashgar), became powerful and a rival to Qiuci (Kucha) and Yutian (Khotan)."

 

However, it was not very long before the Chinese began to reassert their authority in the region:

 

“In the second Yongjian year (127), during Emperor Shun’s reign, Chenpan sent an envoy to respectfully present offerings. The Emperor bestowed on Chenpan the title of Great Commandant-in-Chief for the Han. Chenxun, who was the son of his elder brother, was appointed Temporary Major of the Kingdom. ‹See TfD›

In the fifth year (130), Chenpan sent his son to serve the Emperor and, along with envoys from Dayuan (Ferghana) and Suoju (Yarkand), brought tribute and offerings.”

 

From an earlier part of the same text comes the following addition:

 

“In the first Yangjia year (132), Xu You sent the king of Shule (Kashgar), Chenpan, who with 20,000 men, attacked and defeated Yutian (Khotan). He beheaded several hundred people, and released his soldiers to plunder freely. He replaced the king [of Jumi] by installing Chengguo from the family of [the previous king] Xing, and then he returned.”[38]

 

Then the first passage continues:

 

“In the second Yangjia year (133), Chenpan again made offerings (including) a lion and zebu cattle. ‹See TfD›

 

Then, during Emperor Ling’s reign, in the first Jianning year, the king of Shule (Kashgar) and Commandant-in-Chief for the Han (i.e. presumably Chenpan), was shot while hunting by the youngest of his paternal uncles, Hede. Hede named himself king.

‹See TfD›

In the third year (170), Meng Tuo, the Inspector of Liangzhou, sent the Provincial Officer Ren She, commanding five hundred soldiers from Dunhuang, with the Wuji Major Cao Kuan, and Chief Clerk of the Western Regions, Zhang Yan, brought troops from Yanqi (Karashahr), Qiuci (Kucha), and the Nearer and Further States of Jushi (Turpan and Jimasa), altogether numbering more than 30,000, to punish Shule (Kashgar). They attacked the town of Zhenzhong [Arach − near Maralbashi] but, having stayed for more than forty days without being able to subdue it, they withdrew. Following this, the kings of Shule (Kashgar) killed one another repeatedly while the Imperial Government was unable to prevent it.”

 

THREE KINGDOMS TO THE SUI

These centuries are marked by a general silence in sources on Kashgar and the Tarim Basin.

 

The Weilüe, composed in the second third of the 3rd century, mentions a number of states as dependencies of Kashgar: the kingdom of Zhenzhong (Arach?), the kingdom of Suoju (Yarkand), the kingdom of Jieshi, the kingdom of Qusha, the kingdom of Xiye (Khargalik), the kingdom of Yinai (Tashkurghan), the kingdom of Manli (modern Karasul), the kingdom of Yire (Mazar − also known as Tágh Nák and Tokanak), the kingdom of Yuling, the kingdom of Juandu (‘Tax Control’ − near modern Irkeshtam), the kingdom of Xiuxiu (‘Excellent Rest Stop’ − near Karakavak), and the kingdom of Qin.

 

However, much of the information on the Western Regions contained in the Weilüe seems to have ended roughly about (170), near the end of Han power. So, we can’t be sure that this is a reference to the state of affairs during the Cao Wei (220-265), or whether it refers to the situation before the civil war during the Later Han when China lost touch with most foreign countries and came to be divided into three separate kingdoms.

 

Chapter 30 of the Records of the Three Kingdoms says that after the beginning of the Wei Dynasty (220) the states of the Western Regions did not arrive as before, except for the larger ones such as Kucha, Khotan, Kangju, Wusun, Kashgar, Yuezhi, Shanshan and Turpan, who are said to have come to present tribute every year, as in Han times.

 

In 270, four states from the Western Regions were said to have presented tribute: Karashahr, Turpan, Shanshan, and Kucha. Some wooden documents from Niya seem to indicate that contacts were also maintained with Kashgar and Khotan around this time.

 

In 422, according to the Songshu, ch. 98, the king of Shanshan, Bilong, came to the court and "the thirty-six states in the Western Regions" all swore their allegiance and presented tribute. It must be assumed that these 36 states included Kashgar.

 

The "Songji" of the Zizhi Tongjian records that in the 5th month of 435, nine states: Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all came to the Wei court.

 

In 439, according to the Weishu, ch. 4A, Shanshan, Kashgar and Karashahr sent envoys to present tribute.

 

According to the Weishu, ch. 102, Chapter on the Western Regions, the kingdoms of Kucha, Kashgar, Wusun, Yueban, Tashkurghan, Shanshan, Karashahr, Turpan and Sute all began sending envoys to present tribute in the Taiyuan reign period (435-440).

 

In 453 Kashgar sent envoys to present tribute (Weishu, ch. 5), and again in 455.

 

An embassy sent during the reign of Wencheng Di (452-466) from the king of Kashgar presented a supposed sacred relic of the Buddha; a dress which was incombustible.

 

In 507 Kashgar, is said to have sent envoys in both the 9th and 10th months (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

In 512, Kashgar sent envoys in the 1st and 5th months. (Weishu, ch. 8).

 

Early in the 6th century Kashgar is included among the many territories controlled by the Yeda or Hephthalite Huns, but their empire collapsed at the onslaught of the Western Turks between 563 and 567 who then probably gained control over Kashgar and most of the states in the Tarim Basin.

 

TANG DYNASTY

The founding of the Tang dynasty in 618 saw the beginning of a prolonged struggle between China and the Western Turks for control of the Tarim Basin. In 635, the Tang Annals reported an emissary from the king of Kashgar to the Tang capital. In 639 there was a second emissary bringing products of Kashgar as a token of submission to the Tang state.

 

Buddhist scholar Xuanzang passed through Kashgar (which he referred to as Ka-sha) in 644 on his return journey from India to China. The Buddhist religion, then beginning to decay in India, was active in Kashgar. Xuanzang recorded that they flattened their babies heads, tattooed their bodies and had green eyes. He reported that Kashgar had abundant crops, fruits and flowers, wove fine woolen stuffs and rugs. Their writing system had been adapted from Indian script but their language was different from that of other countries. The inhabitants were sincere Buddhist adherents and there were some hundreds of monasteries with more than 10,000 followers, all members of the Sarvastivadin School.

 

At around the same era, Nestorian Christians were establishing bishoprics at Herat, Merv and Samarkand, whence they subsequently proceeded to Kashgar, and finally to China proper itself.

 

In 646, the Turkic Kagan asked for the hand of a Tang Chinese princess, and in return the Emperor promised Kucha, Khotan, Kashgar, Karashahr and Sarikol as a marriage gift, but this did not happen as planned.

 

In a series of campaigns between 652 and 658, with the help of the Uyghurs, the Chinese finally defeated the Western Turk tribes and took control of all their domains, including the Tarim Basin kingdoms. Karakhoja was annexed in 640, Karashahr during campaigns in 644 and 648, and Kucha fell in 648.

 

In 662 a rebellion broke out in the Western Regions and a Chinese army sent to control it was defeated by the Tibetans south of Kashgar.

 

After another defeat of the Tang Chinese forces in 670, the Tibetans gained control of the whole region and completely subjugated Kashgar in 676-8 and retained possession of it until 692, when the Tang dynasty regained control of all their former territories, and retained it for the next fifty years.

 

In 722 Kashgar sent 4,000 troops to assist the Chinese to force the "Tibetans out of "Little Bolu" or Gilgit.

 

In 728, the king of Kashgar was awarded a brevet by the Chinese emperor.

 

In 739, the Tangshu relates that the governor of the Chinese garrison in Kashgar, with the help of Ferghana, was interfering in the affairs of the Turgesh tribes as far as Talas.

 

In 751 the Chinese were defeated by an Arab army in the Battle of Talas. The An Lushan Rebellion led to the decline of Tang influence in Central Asia due to the fact that the Tang dynasty was forced to withdraw its troops from the region to fight An Lushan. The Tibetans cut all communication between China and the West in 766.

 

Soon after the Chinese pilgrim monk Wukong passed through Kashgar in 753. He again reached Kashgar on his return trip from India in 786 and mentions a Chinese deputy governor as well as the local king.

 

BATTLES WITH ARAB CALIPHATE

In 711, the Arabs invaded Kashgar, but did not hold the city for any length of time. Kashgar and Turkestan lent assistance to the reigning queen of Bukhara, to enable her to repel the Arabs. Although the Muslim religion from the very commencement sustained checks, it nevertheless made its weight felt upon the independent states of Turkestan to the north and east, and thus acquired a steadily growing influence. It was not, however, till the 10th century that Islam was established at Kashgar, under the Kara-Khanid Khanate.

 

THE TURKIC RULE

According to the 10th-century text, Hudud al-'alam, "the chiefs of Kashghar in the days of old were from the Qarluq, or from the Yaghma." The Karluks, Yaghmas and other tribes such as the Chigils formed the Karakhanids. The Karakhanid Sultan Satuq Bughra Khan converted to Islam in the 10th century and captured Kashgar. Kashgar was the capital of the Karakhanid state for a time but later the capital was moved to Balasaghun. During the latter part of the 10th century, the Muslim Karakhanids began a struggle against the Buddhist Kingdom of Khotan, and the Khotanese defeated the Karakhanids and captured Kashgar in 970. Chinese sources recorded the king of Khotan offering to send them a dancing elephant captured from Kashgar. Later in 1006, the Karakhanids of Kashgar under Yusuf Kadr Khan conquered Khotan.

 

The Karakhanid Khanate however was beset with internal strife, and the khanate split into two, the Eastern and Western Karakhanid Khanates, with Kashgar falling within the domain of the Eastern Karakhanid state. In 1089, the Western Karakhanids fell under the control of the Seljuks, but the Eastern Karakhanids was for the most part independent.

 

Both the Karakhanid states were defeated in the 12th century by the Kara-Khitans who captured Balasaghun, however Karakhanid rule continued in Kashgar under the suzerainty of the Kara-Khitans. The Kara-Khitan rulers followed a policy of religious tolerance, Islamic religious life continued uninterrupted and Kashgar was also a Nestorian metropolitan see. The last Karakhanid of Kashgar was killed in a revolt in 1211 by the city's notables. Kuchlug, a usurper of the throne of the Kara-Khitans, then attacked Kashgar which finally surrendered in 1214.

 

THE MONGOLS

The Kara-Khitai in their turn were swept away in 1219 by Genghis Khan. After his death, Kashgar came under the rule of the Chagatai Khans. Marco Polo visited the city, which he calls Cascar, about 1273-4 and recorded the presence of numerous Nestorian Christians, who had their own churches. Later In the 14th century, a Chagataid khan Tughluq Timur converted to Islam, and Islamic tradition began to reassert its ascendancy.

 

In 1389−1390 Tamerlane ravaged Kashgar, Andijan and the intervening country. Kashgar endured a troubled time, and in 1514, on the invasion of the Khan Sultan Said, was destroyed by Mirza Ababakar, who with the aid of ten thousand men built a new fort with massive defences higher up on the banks of the Tuman river. The dynasty of the Chagatai Khans collapsed in 1572 with the division of the country among rival factions; soon after, two powerful Khoja factions, the White and Black Mountaineers (Ak Taghliq or Afaqi, and Kara Taghliq or Ishaqi), arose whose differences and war-making gestures, with the intermittent episode of the Oirats of Dzungaria, make up much of recorded history in Kashgar until 1759. The Dzungar Khanate conquered Kashgar and set up the Khoja as their puppet rulers.

 

QING CONQUEST

The Qing dynasty defeated the Dzungar Khanate during the Ten Great Campaigns and took control of Kashgar in 1759. The conquerors consolidated their authority by settling other ethnics emigrants in the vicinity of a Manchu garrison.

 

Rumours flew around Central Asia that the Qing planned to launch expeditions towards Transoxiana and Samarkand, the chiefs of which sought assistance from the Afghan king Ahmed Shah Abdali. The alleged expedition never happened so Ahmad Shah withdrew his forces from Kokand. He also dispatched an ambassador to Beijing to discuss the situation of the Afaqi Khojas, but the representative was not well received, and Ahmed Shah was too busy fighting off the Sikhs to attempt to enforce his demands through arms.

The Qing continued to hold Kashgar with occasional interruptions during the Afaqi Khoja revolts. One of the most serious of these occurred in 1827, when the city was taken by Jahanghir Khoja; Chang-lung, however, the Qing general of Ili, regained possession of Kashgar and the other rebellious cities in 1828.

 

The Kokand Khanate raided Kashgar several times. A revolt in 1829 under Mahommed Ali Khan and Yusuf, brother of Jahanghir resulted in the concession of several important trade privileges to the Muslims of the district of Altishahr (the "six cities"), as it was then called.

 

The area enjoyed relative calm until 1846 under the rule of Zahir-ud-din, the local Uyghur governor, but in that year a new Khoja revolt under Kath Tora led to his accession as the authoritarian ruler of the city. However, his reign was brief—at the end of seventy-five days, on the approach of the Chinese, he fled back to Khokand amid the jeers of the inhabitants. The last of the Khoja revolts (1857) was of about equal duration, and took place under Wali-Khan, who murdered the well-known traveler Adolf Schlagintweit.

 

1862 CHINESE HUI REVOLT

The great Dungan revolt (1862–1877) involved insurrection among various Muslim ethnic groups. It broke out in 1862 in Gansu then spread rapidly to Dzungaria and through the line of towns in the Tarim Basin.

 

Dungan troops based in Yarkand rose and in August 1864 massacred some seven thousand Chinese and their Manchu commander. The inhabitants of Kashgar, rising in their turn against their masters, invoked the aid of Sadik Beg, a Kyrgyz chief, who was reinforced by Buzurg Khan, the heir of Jahanghir Khoja, and his general Yakub Beg. The latter men were dispatched at Sadik’s request by the ruler of Khokand to raise what troops they could to aid his Muslim friends in Kashgar.

 

Sadik Beg soon repented of having asked for a Khoja, and eventually marched against Kashgar, which by this time had succumbed to Buzurg Khan and Yakub Beg, but was defeated and driven back to Khokand. Buzurg Khan delivered himself up to indolence and debauchery, but Yakub Beg, with singular energy and perseverance, made himself master of Yangi Shahr, Yangi-Hissar, Yarkand and other towns, and eventually became sole master of the country, Buzurg Khan proving himself totally unfit for the post of ruler.

 

With the overthrow of Chinese rule in 1865 by Yakub Beg (1820–1877), the manufacturing industries of Kashgar are supposed to have declined.

 

Yaqub Beg entered into relations and signed treaties with the Russian Empire and the British Empire, but when he tried to get their support against China, he failed.

 

Kashgar and the other cities of the Tarim Basin remained under Yakub Beg’s rule until May 1877, when he died at Korla. Thereafter Kashgaria was reconquered by the forces of the Qing general Zuo Zongtang during the Qing reconquest of Xinjiang.

 

QING RULE

There were eras in Xinjiang's history where intermarriage was common, "laxity" which set upon Uyghur women led them to marry Chinese men and not wear the veil in the period after Yaqub Beg's rule ended, it is also believed by Uyghurs that some Uyghurs have Han Chinese ancestry from historical intermarriage, such as those living in Turpan.

 

Even though Muslim women are forbidden to marry non-Muslims in Islamic law, from 1880-1949 it was frequently violated in Xinjiang since Chinese men married Muslim Turki (Uyghur) women, a reason suggested by foriengers that it was due to the women being poor, while the Turki women who married Chinese were labelled as whores by the Turki community, these marriages were illegitimate according to Islamic law but the women obtained benefits from marrying Chinese men since the Chinese defended them from Islamic authorities so the women were not subjected to the tax on prostitution and were able to save their income for themselves. Chinese men gave their Turki wives privileges which Turki men's wives did not have, since the wives of Chinese did not have to wear a veil and a Chinese man in Kashgar once beat a mullah who tried to force his Turki Kashgari wife to veil. The Turki women also benefited in that they were not subjected to any legal binding to their Chinese husbands so they could make their Chinese husbands provide them with as much their money as she wanted for her relatives and herself since otherwise the women could just leave, and the property of Chinese men was left to their Turki wives after they died. Turki women considered Turki men to be inferior husbands to Chinese and Hindus. Because they were viewed as "impure", Islamic cemeteries banned the Turki wives of Chinese men from being buried within them, the Turki women got around this problem by giving shrines donations and buying a grave in other towns. Besides Chinese men, other men such as Hindus, Armenians, Jews, Russians, and Badakhshanis intermarried with local Turki women. The local society accepted the Turki women and Chinese men's mixed offspring as their own people despite the marriages being in violation of Islamic law. Turki women also conducted temporary marriages with Chinese men such as Chinese soldiers temporarily stationed around them as soldiers for tours of duty, after which the Chinese men returned to their own cities, with the Chinese men selling their mixed daughters with the Turki women to his comrades, taking their sons with them if they could afford it but leaving them if they couldn't, and selling their temporary Turki wife to a comrade or leaving her behind.

 

An anti-Russian uproar broke out when Russian customs officials, 3 Cossacks and a Russian courier invited local Turki (Uyghur) prostitutes to a party in January 1902 in Kashgar, this caused a massive brawl by the inflamed local Turki Muslim populace against the Russians on the pretense of protecting Muslim women because there was anti-Russian sentiment being built up, even though morality was not strict in Kashgar, the local Turki Muslims violently clashed with the Russians before they were dispersed by guards, the Chinese sought to end to tensions to prevent the Russians from building up a pretext to invade.

 

After the riot, the Russians sent troops to Sarikol in Tashkurghan and demanded that the Sarikol postal services be placed under Russian supervision, the locals of Sarikol believed that the Russians would seize the entire district from the Chinese and send more soldiers even after the Russians tried to negotiate with the Begs of Sarikol and sway them to their side, they failed since the Sarikoli officials and authorities demanded in a petition to the Amban of Yarkand that they be evacuated to Yarkand to avoid being harassed by the Russians and objected to the Russian presence in Sarikol, the Sarikolis did not believe the Russian claim that they would leave them alone and only involved themselves in the mail service.

 

Many of the young Kashgari women were most attractive in appearance, and some of the little girls quite lovely, their plaits of long hair falling from under a jaunty little embroidered cap, their big dark eyes, flashing teeth and piquant olive faces reminding me of Italian or Spanish children. One most beautiful boy stands out in my memory. He was clad in a new shirt and trousers of flowered pink, his crimson velvet cap embroidered with gold, and as he smiled and salaamed to us I thought he looked like a fairy prince. The women wear their hair in two or five plaits much thickened and lengthened by the addition of yak's hair, but the children in several tiny plaits.

 

The peasants are fairly well off, as the soil is rich, the abundant water-supply free, and the taxation comparatively light. It was always interesting to meet them taking their live stock into market. Flocks of sheep with tiny lambs, black and white, pattered along the dusty road; here a goat followed its master like a dog, trotting behind the diminutive ass which the farmer bestrode; or boys, clad in the whity-brown native cloth, shouted incessantly at donkeys almost invisible under enormous loads of forage, or carried fowls and ducks in bunches head downwards, a sight that always made me long to come to the rescue of the luckless birds.

 

It was pleasant to see the women riding alone on horseback, managing their mounts to perfection. They formed a sharp contrast to their Persian sisters, who either sit behind their husbands or have their steeds led by the bridle; and instead of keeping silence in public, as is the rule for the shrouded women of Iran, these farmers' wives chaffered and haggled with the men in the bazar outside the city, transacting business with their veils thrown back.

 

Certainly the mullas do their best to keep the fair sex in their place, and are in the habit of beating those who show their faces in the Great Bazar. But I was told that poetic justice had lately been meted out to one of these upholders of the law of Islam, for by mistake he chastised a Kashgari woman married to a Chinaman, whereupon the irate husband set upon him with a big stick and castigated him soundly.

 

That a Muslim should take in marriage one of alien faith is not objected to; it is rather deemed a meritorious act thus to bring an unbeliever to the true religion. The Muslim woman, on the other hand, must not be given in marriage to a non-Muslim; such a union is regarded as the most heinous of sins. In this matter, however, compromises are sometimes made with heaven: the marriage of a Turki princess with the emperor Ch'ien-lung has already been referred to; and, when the present writer passed through Minjol (a day's journey west of Kashgar) in 1902, a Chinese with a Turki wife (? concubine) was presented to him.

 

FIRST EAST TURKESTAN REPUBLIC

Kashgar was the scene of continual battles from 1933 to 1934. Ma Shaowu, a Chinese Muslim, was the Tao-yin of Kashgar, and he fought against Uyghur rebels. He was joined by another Chinese Muslim general, Ma Zhancang.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1933)

Uighur and Kirghiz forces, led by the Bughra brothers and Tawfiq Bay, attempted to take the New City of Kashgar from Chinese Muslim troops under General Ma Zhancang. They were defeated.

 

Tawfiq Bey, a Syrian Arab traveler, who held the title Sayyid (descendent of prophet Muhammed) and arrived at Kashgar on August 26, 1933, was shot in the stomach by the Chinese Muslim troops in September. Previously Ma Zhancang arranged to have the Uighur leader Timur Beg killed and beheaded on August 9, 1933, displaying his head outside of Id Kah Mosque.

 

Han chinese troops commanded by Brigadier Yang were absorbed into Ma Zhancang's army. A number of Han chinese officers were spotted wearing the green uniforms of Ma Zhancang's unit of the 36th division, presumably they had converted to Islam.

 

BATTLE OF KASHGAR (1934)

The 36th division General Ma Fuyuan led a Chinese Muslim army to storm Kashgar on February 6, 1934, attacking the Uighur and Kirghiz rebels of the First East Turkestan Republic. He freed another 36th division general, Ma Zhancang, who was trapped with his Chinese Muslim and Han Chinese troops in Kashgar New City by the Uighurs and Kirghiz since May 22, 1933. In January, 1934, Ma Zhancang's Chinese Muslim troops repulsed six Uighur attacks, launched by Khoja Niyaz, who arrived at the city on January 13, 1934, inflicting massive casualties on the Uighur forces. From 2,000 to 8,000 Uighur civilians in Kashgar Old City were massacred by Tungans in February, 1934, in revenge for the Kizil massacre, after retreating of Uighur forces from the city to Yengi Hisar. The Chinese Muslim and 36th division Chief General Ma Zhongying, who arrived at Kashgar on April 7, 1934, gave a speech at Id Kah Mosque in April, reminding the Uighurs to be loyal to the Republic of China government at Nanjing. Several British citizens at the British consulate were killed or wounded by the 36th division on March 16, 1934.

 

PEOPLE´S REPUBLIC OF CHINA

Kashgar was incorporated into the People's Republic of China in 1949. During the Cultural Revolution, one of the largest statues of Mao in China was built in Kashgar, near People's Square. In 1986, the Chinese government designated Kashgar a "city of historical and cultural significance". Kashgar and surrounding regions have been the site of Uyghur unrest since the 1990s. In 2008, two Uyghur men carried out a vehicular, IED and knife attack against police officers. In 2009, development of Kashgar's old town accelerated after the revelations of the deadly role of faulty architecture during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Many of the old houses in the old town were built without regulation, and as a result, officials found them to be overcrowded and non-compliant with fire and earthquake codes. When the plan started, 42% of the city's residents lived in the old town. With compensation, residents of faulty buildings are being counseled to move to newer, safer buildings that will replace the historic structures in the $448 million plan, including high-rise apartments, plazas, and reproductions of ancient Islamic architecture. The European Parliament issued a resolution in 2011 calling for "culture-sensitive methods of renovation." The International Scientific Committee on Earthen Architectural Heritage (ISCEAH) has expressed concern over the demolition and reconstruction of historic buildings. ISCEAH has, additionally, urged the implementation of techniques utilized elsewhere in the world to address earthquake vulnerability.

 

Following the July 2009 Urumqi riots, the government focused on local economic development in an attempt to ameliorate ethnic tensions in the greater Xinjiang region. Kashgar was made into a Special Economic Zone in 2010, the first such zone in China's far west. In 2011, a spate of violence over two days killed dozens of people. By May 2012 two-thirds of the old city had been demolished, fulfilling "political as well as economic goals." In July 2014 the Imam of the Id Kah Mosque, Juma Tayir, was assassinated in Kashgar.

 

CLIMATE

Kashgar features a desert climate (Köppen BWk) with hot summers and cold winters, with large temperature differences between those two seasons: The monthly 24-hour average temperature ranges from −5.3 °C in January to 25.6 °C in July, while the annual mean is 11.84 °C. Spring is long and arrives quickly, while fall is somewhat brief in comparison. Kashgar is one of the driest cities on the planet, averaging only 64 millimetres of precipitation per year. The city’s wettest month, July, only sees on average 9.1 millimetres of rain. Because of the extremely arid conditions, snowfall is rare, despite the cold winters. Records have been as low as −24.4 °C in January and up to 40.1 °C in July. The frost-free period averages 215 days. With monthly percent possible sunshine ranging from 50% in March to 70% in September, the city receives 2,726 hours of bright sunshine annually.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

Kashgar is predominately peopled by Muslim Uyghurs. Compared to Ürümqi, Xinjiang's capital and largest city, Kashgar is less industrial and has significantly fewer Han Chinese residents.

 

ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY

The city has a very important Sunday market. Thousands of farmers from the surrounding fertile lands come into the city to sell a wide variety of fruit and vegetables. Kashgar’s livestock market is also very lively. Silk and carpets made in Hotan are sold at bazaars, as well as local crafts, such as copper teapots and wooden jewellery boxes.

 

In order to boost the economy in Kashgar region, the government classified the area as the sixth Special Economic Zone of China in May 2010.

 

Mahmud al-Kashgari (Turkish: Kâşgarlı Mahmud) (Mahmut from Kashgar) wrote the first Turkic–Arabic Exemplary Dictionary called Divan-ı Lugat-it Türk[citation needed]

 

The movie The Kite Runner was filmed in Kashgar. Kashgar and the surrounding countryside stood in for Kabul and Afghanistan, since filming in Afghanistan was not possible due to safety and security reasons.

 

SIGHTS

Kashgar's Old City has been called "the best-preserved example of a traditional Islamic city to be found anywhere in Central Asia". It is estimated to attract more than one million tourists annually.

 

- Id Kah Mosque, the largest mosque in China, is located in the heart of the city.

- People's Park, the main public park in central Kashgar.

- An 18 m high statue of Mao Zedong in Kashgar is one of the few large-scale statues of Mao remaining in China.

- The tomb of Afaq Khoja in Kashgar is considered the holiest Muslim site in Xinjiang. Built in the 17th century, the tiled mausoleum 5 km northeast of the city centre also contains the tombs of five generations of his family. Abakh was a powerful ruler, controlling Khotan, Yarkand, Korla, Kucha and Aksu as well as Kashgar. Among some Uyghur Muslims, he was considered a great Saint (Aulia).

- Sunday Market in Kashgar is renowned as the biggest market in central Asia; a pivotal trading point along the Silk Road where goods have been traded for more than 2,000 years. The market is open every day but Sunday is the largest.

 

TRANSPORTATION

AIR

Kashgar Airport serves mainly domestic flights, the majority of them from Urumqi. The only scheduled international flights are passenger and cargo services with Pakistan's capital Islamabad.

 

RAIL

Kashgar has the westernmost railway station in China. It is connected to the rest of China's rail network via the Southern Xinjiang Railway, which was built in December 1999. Kashgar–Hotan Railway opened for passenger traffic in June 2011, and connected Kashgar with cities in the southern Tarim Basin including Shache (Yarkand), Yecheng (Kargilik) and Hotan. Travel time to Urumqi from Kashgar is approximately 25 hours, while travel time to Hotan is approximately ten hours.

 

The investigation work of a further extension of the railway line to Pakistan has begun. In November 2009, Pakistan and China agreed to set up a joint venture to do a feasibility study of the proposed rail link via the Khunjerab Pass.

 

Proposals for a rail connection to Osh in Kyrgyzstan have also been discussed at various levels since at least 1996.

 

In 2012, a standard gauge railway from Kashgar via Tajikistan and Afghanistan to Iran and beyond has been proposed.

 

ROAD

The Karakorum highway (KKH) links Islamabad, Pakistan with Kashgar over the Khunjerab Pass. The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor is a multibillion-dollar project was that will upgrade transport links between China and Pakistan, including the upgrades to the Karakorum highway. Bus routes exist for passenger travel south into Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan is also accessible from Kashgar, via the Torugart Pass and Irkeshtam Pass; as of summer 2007, daily bus service connects Kashgar with Bishkek’s Western Bus Terminal. Kashgar is also located on China National Highways G314 (which runs to Khunjerab Pass on the Sino−Pakistani border, and, in the opposite direction, towards Ürümqi), and G315, which runs to Xining, Qinghai from Kashgar.

 

WIKIPEDIA

She is just so fun to shoot pictures of, everyone should have a corded poodle.

As you can see it is a little hazy, the smoke from the forest fires in Quebec that are over 500 miles away has made it to NH. It is a little hard to breathe, but the good thing is that it is going to make it a little less hot today, probably only in the 70's rather in the 80's, so there is an upside. Firefighters from all over Canada and from New England are in Quebec helping. There are 57 fires in Quebec of them 14 are out of control, I sure hope they get rain, and get them under control soon.

One for the 52 Week Challenge theme of Shapes and Forms.

Heading to the 1300 year old Yew tree in the Churchyard at St Mary's Church, Sullington, I hoped that my macro lens would show the shapes I remembered having seen in the gnarled old tree trunk. This area made me think of a landscape viewed from above, perhaps somewhere deep in a canyon somewhere more exotic than sleepy West Sussex.

#week14_shapesandforms

BRCC 2025 52_15

"The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the Science Museum Group. The museum tells the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It is the home of the national collection of historically significant railway vehicles such as Mallard, Stirling Single, Duchess of Hamilton and a Japanese bullet train. In addition, the National Railway Museum holds a diverse collection of other objects from a household recipe book used in George Stephenson’s house to film showing a "never stop railway" developed for the British Empire Exhibition. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001.

 

As of 2019 the museum is about to embark on a once-in-a-generation site development. As part of the York Central redevelopment which will divert Leeman Road, the National Railway Museum will be building a new entrance building to connect the two separate parts of the museum together. At the same time, the space around the museum will be landscaped to provide public spaces.

 

In 2020 architectural practice Feilden Fowles won an international competition to create the museum’s new £16.5 million Central Hall building—a key element of the museum’s Vision 2025 masterplan.

 

York is a cathedral city and unitary authority area in North Yorkshire, England. The population of the council area which includes nearby villages was 208,200 as of 2017[citation needed] and the population of the urban area was 153,717 at the 2011 census. Located at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss, it is the county town of the historic county of Yorkshire. The city is known for its famous historical landmarks such as York Minster and the city walls, as well as a variety of cultural and sporting activities, which makes it a popular tourist destination in England. The local authority is the City of York Council, a single tier governing body responsible for providing all local services and facilities throughout the city. The City of York local government district includes rural areas beyond the old city boundaries. It is about 25 miles north-east of Leeds and 34 miles north-west of Kingston upon Hull. York is the largest settlement in the ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.

 

The city was founded by the Romans as Eboracum in 71 AD. It became the capital of the Roman province of Britannia Inferior, and later of the kingdoms of Deira, Northumbria and Jórvík. In the Middle Ages, York grew as a major wool trading centre and became the capital of the northern ecclesiastical province of the Church of England, a role it has retained. In the 19th century, York became a major hub of the railway network and a confectionery manufacturing centre, a status it maintained well into the 20th century. During the Second World War, York was bombed as part of the Baedeker Blitz. Although less affected by bombing than other northern cities, several historic buildings were gutted and restoration efforts continued into the 1960s.

 

The economy of York is dominated by services. The University of York and National Health Service are major employers, whilst tourism has become an important element of the local economy. In 2016, York became sister cities with the Chinese city of Nanjing, as per an agreement signed by the Lord Mayor of York, focusing on building links in tourism, education, science, technology and culture. Today, the city is a popular tourist attraction, especially for international visitors from America, Germany, France and China. In 2017, York became UK's first human rights city, which formalised the city's aim to use human rights in decision making." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Formo parte de una expedición

al desierto del Sáhara,

solo llevo un polvorón

y una bolsa con agua.

 

Yo soy Lawrence de Arabia

y no tengo miedo de las trampas,

no hay camella que se me resista,

soy priemra plana en todas las revistas.

 

Hemos llegado a un oasis

repletito de moros,

mataremos cinco o seis

y beberemos un poco.

 

Yo soy Lawrence de Arabia

y sé que el agua está envenenada,

no bebáis amigos, es una trampa,

siempre os digo que os traigáis el agua.

 

Han muerto todos, siempre pasa igual,

y mi camello se encuentra mal.

malditos moros, qué habéis hecho con mi expedición

después de lo que me costó convencerlos.

 

Estoy solo en mi expedición

al desierto del Sáhar,

me he comido el polvorón

y ya no me queda agua.

  

Pero soy Lawrence de Arabia

y no tengo miedo de las trampas,

no hay camella que se me resista,

soy priemra plana en todas las revistas.

 

"Lawrence de Arabia"

Letra y música de David Summers

Hombres G

 

I have to interrupt the preparations for my dinner to take a quick image. I'm always surprised about the creativity of nature.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving everyone, a time when we celebrate the bounty and beauty of the Earth. The original church...this is religion in it most basic form.

Oil on wood, painted 1650 in Switzerland, Basel. Anamorphosis was often used as a secret form of communication with codes. A special glass mirror tube put in the middle was necessary to encode/ understand the picture. The reflection you see in the middle is the encoded picture on a glass tube. Impressing stuff for 1650!

 

Öl auf Holz, entsatnden 1650 in Basel, Schweiz. Anamorphose wurde oft als eine Form der Verschlüsselung von geheimen Botschaften benutzt. Das Bild in der Mitte ist die Reflexion auf eine Glasroehre, das entschlüsselte Bild. Sehr beindruckend für eine Werk aus 1650!

 

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anamorphosis

Processed with VSCOcam with b5 preset