View allAll Photos Tagged optimism
ONE DRUM, ONE MISSION
Cardio Drumming is the most fun I've ever seen people having while working out at an exercise class! And THAT is why they come back, and what makes this so popular in Detroit.
Everybody is an instant rock star, whether or not they have any actual musical ability.
This is an activity that automatically adjusts itself to the ability level of any participant. Mild or wild, it's up to you...but the harder you hit the ball the more exercise you're getting.
You can't stand? No problem, we'll bring you a chair. If you are breathing, you're in!
(41/366/2020)
These poor daffodils. So keen to see the sunlight. Mild weather happens most of winter before unexpected snow buggers up their plans. Oh well
This bas-relief represents optimism and new beginnings in the midst of the Depression. FDR waves from an open car during his first inaugural parade.
The Details
President Roosevelt’s ebullient personality and style were important elements in the fight to lift the emotional depression which gripped the country. This aspect of the president is captured in the sculpture First Inaugural. It expresses Roosevelt’s delight at being president and that having the opportunity to serve his country. This bas-relief also reveals the relationship FDR had with the American people. In the background of the motorcade, crowds of supporters lined the streets as he passes. They strained to get a glimpse of the new president in whom they have invested their hopes for the future. The president responds to their thunderous cheers with his usual self-confidence and spontaneously waves his top hat. His smiling, expressive faces full of vitality. All this is in direct contrast to the feelings of the previous administration, whose president, Herbert Hoover, had implied that the country was at the end of its strength in there was nothing more we could do.
Sculptor Robert Graham captured all of FDR’s exuberant characteristics in a bronze bas-relief that exudes optimism. The image is based on newsreel coverage, for that was the medium through which most people saw FDR.
The sculptor selected a moment from the frames of the newsreel of FDR’s first inauguration. He has emphasized the movement of the car passing cheering crowds by sculpting a background that is slightly out of focus and has lines running through it. The figure of the president, however, is in focus, as though to emphasize his strength and his importance at this critical point in history.
Robert Graham is a figurative sculptor with an uncanny facility for capturing the evocative spirit of the person he is portraying. In this way he carries his sculpture beyond mere portraiture to the realm of universal symbolism.
Above the inspiring image of this bas-relief are carved words from FDR’s March 4, 1933 inaugural address:
“The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
—Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C., March 4, 1933
These ringing words became the catchphrase of Roosevelt’s presidency. They were not merely rhetorical words from the new president—he believed in their meaning and power.
In her memoir, This I Remember, First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt wrote of her husband, “I have never known a man who gave one a greater sense of security. That was because I never heard him say there was a problem that he thought it wasn't possible for human beings to solve.”
Robert Graham
Born in Mexico, Robert Graham came to the United States in 1950 when he was twelve years old. He studied at the San Francisco Art Institute, where the great muralist Diego Rivera had taught.
Since the 1970s, Graham’s sculptures have shifted from beautiful, small, gallery-sized environments the large monument-scale civic works such as the gateway figures at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and the Duke Ellington Memorial in New York’s Central Park.
Bob works primarily in bronze and has his own foundry where he often casts his pieces with his production team. This workshop approach to the making of art is very reminiscent of Renaissance artists and has allowed him to experiment and explore new materials and casting techniques. Masterful draftsmanship of the human form, innovative casting techniques, and an appreciation of architecture as an art of spaces as well as of forms have allowed Bob Graham to envision his sculptures as part of an expanded public life.
I look at the world through Rose-Coloured Glasses :-)
Queensland, Australia.
People Who Wear Rose-Colored Glasses See More, Study Shows
June 6, 2009 — A University of Toronto study provides the first direct evidence that our mood literally changes the way our visual system filters our perceptual experience suggesting that seeing the world through rose-coloured glasses is more biological reality than metaphor.
“Good and bad moods literally change the way our visual cortex operates and how we see,”…
sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090603103807.htm
#113/113 in group 113 pictures in 2013 , the topic is Future.
Dorothy Annan 1908 – 1983
Commissioned in 1960 by the Ministry of Public Building and Works, these murals adorned the Farringdon Street elevation of the Central Telegraph Office, which occupied the purpose – built Fleet Building. Dorothy Annan's series of nine ceramic murals are testament to the atmosphere of optimism and excitement about the new technology and communications that were transforming Britain in the 1950's and 60's
Celebrating what Harold Wilson referred to as the “white heat of British Technology”, the subject matter of these stylised and abstract stoneware panels took direct inspiration from the building, London's largest telephone exchange. Representing pylons, cables, telegraph poles, cabling, television and radio aerials as well as generators, the nine panels clearly show the influence of British Modernist artists such as Ben Nicholson, in their muted colour palette of smoky blue, brown and green, as well as their semi – abstract approach. While each panel is a unique work of art comprised of forty tiles measuring approximately thirty by forty six centimetres, there is a clear unity and symmetry to the whole
Annan took meticulous care in the research and production of the murals. She visited General Post Office buildings across London for inspiration and collected scores of photographs of radio and television aerials, wiring systems and teleprinter keyboards for reference purposes . The biscuit ware tiles were manufactured by Hathernware Ltd, and she visited their Loughborough studio, where she skilfully hand scored each wet clay tile to her design. Following their first firing, Annan decorated, glazed and fired the tiles in her studio kiln in London before their installation on site in 1961. The attention paid to the production of the tiles lends them an unusual painterly quality with clearly visible brushstrokes.
Murals were popularised by the Festival of Britain in 1951 which included over 50 specially commissioned murals. The trend reached its zenith in the 1960s as the post war building boom created opportunities for muralists, and public art was often deployed to enliven large utilitarian buildings. Dorothy Annan's mural was commissioned to 'add interest at street level' to the Fleet Building which was built by the General Post Office under the supervision of Chief Architect Eric Bedford, who went on to design the landmark BT Tower (formally known as the Post Office Tower)
A painter and ceramicist with a bohemian reputation, Dorothy Annan's early work had a loose post-impressionist style and she later went on to become a prominent member of the left-wing political organisation Artists International Association, alongside fellow members Ben Nicholson and Frank Auerbach, which embraced both Modernist and traditional forms of art. The Largest single example of her work was the Expanding Universe mural at the Bank of England, which was destroyed in 1997. Best known for her murals, Annan succeeded in constructing a personal visual language, which successfully tempered modernism with organic forms and a natural palette.
In 2011 following a campaign to preserve the exemplary murals from the 1960s, English Heritage granted these unique works Grade 11 status thereby preserving them for future generations
Beaumaris pier just before dawn.
I am optimistic there may be some decent light this week. But this morning has brought much grey cloud ...
Old Havana, Cuba
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HTT from my girl with indomitable optimism. Loving life. Loving Gumbo. Repeatedly getting gummed, but always returning for just one more shot at receiving even a small bit of Gumbo's affection. Gummed again. Even drenched, but her joy and optimism continue to flow.
[SOOC, f/1.6, ISO 100, shutter speed 1/800]
Detail of the Baptistry Window, a masterpiece of abstract stained glass designed by John Piper and executed by Patrick Reyntiens.
Coventry's Cathedral is a unique synthesis of old a new, born of wartime suffering and forged in the spirit of postwar optimism, famous for it's history and for being the most radically modern of Anglican cathedrals. Two cathedral's stand side by side, the ruins of the medieval building, destroyed by incendiary bombs in 1940 and the bold new building designed by Basil Spence and opened in 1962.
It is a common misconception that Coventry lost it's first cathedral in the wartime blitz, but the bombs actually destroyed it's second; the original medieval cathedral was the monastic St Mary's, a large cruciform building believed to have been similar in appearance to Lichfield Cathedral (whose diocese it shared). Tragically it became the only English cathedral to be destroyed during the Reformation, after which it was quickly quarried away, leaving only scant fragments, but enough evidence survives to indicate it's rich decoration (some pieces were displayed nearby in the Priory Visitors Centre, sadly since closed). Foundations of it's apse were found during the building of the new cathedral in the 1950s, thus technically three cathedrals share the same site.
The mainly 15th century St Michael's parish church became the seat of the new diocese of Coventry in 1918, and being one of the largest parish churches in the country it was upgraded to cathedral status without structural changes (unlike most 'parish church' cathedrals created in the early 20th century). It lasted in this role a mere 22 years before being burned to the ground in the 1940 Coventry Blitz, leaving only the outer walls and the magnificent tapering tower and spire (the extensive arcades and clerestoreys collapsed completely in the fire, precipitated by the roof reinforcement girders, installed in the Victorian restoration, that buckled in the intense heat).
The determination to rebuild the cathedral in some form was born on the day of the bombing, however it wasn't until the mid 1950s that a competition was held and Sir Basil Spence's design was chosen. Spence had been so moved by experiencing the ruined church he resolved to retain it entirely to serve as a forecourt to the new church. He envisaged the two being linked by a glass screen wall so that the old church would be visible from within the new.
Built between 1957-62 at a right-angle to the ruins, the new cathedral attracted controversy for it's modern form, and yet some modernists argued that it didn't go far enough, after all there are echoes of the Gothic style in the great stone-mullioned windows of the nave and the net vaulting (actually a free-standing canopy) within. What is exceptional is the way art has been used as such an integral part of the building, a watershed moment, revolutionising the concept of religious art in Britain.
Spence employed some of the biggest names in contemporary art to contribute their vision to his; the exterior is adorned with Jacob Epstein's triumphant bronze figures of Archangel Michael (patron of the cathedral) vanquishing the Devil. At the entrance is the remarkable glass wall, engraved by John Hutton with strikingly stylised figures of saints and angels, and allowing the interior of the new to communicate with the ruin. Inside, the great tapestry of Christ in majesty surrounded by the evangelistic creatures, draws the eye beyond the high altar; it was designed by Graham Sutherland and was the largest tapestry ever made.
However one of the greatest features of Coventry is it's wealth of modern stained glass, something Spence resolved to include having witnessed the bleakness of Chartres Cathedral in wartime, all it's stained glass having been removed. The first window encountered on entering is the enormous 'chess-board' baptistry window filled with stunning abstract glass by John Piper & Patrick Reyntiens, a symphony of glowing colour. The staggered nave walls are illuminated by ten narrow floor to ceiling windows filled with semi-abstract symbolic designs arranged in pairs of dominant colours (green, red, multi-coloured, purple/blue and gold) representing the souls journey to maturity, and revealed gradually as one approaches the altar. This amazing project was the work of three designers lead by master glass artist Lawrence Lee of the Royal College of Art along with Keith New and Geoffrey Clarke (each artist designed three of the windows individually and all collaborated on the last).
The cathedral still dazzles the visitor with the boldness of it's vision, but alas, half a century on, it was not a vision to be repeated and few of the churches and cathedrals built since can claim to have embraced the synthesis of art and architecture in the way Basil Spence did at Coventry.
The cathedral is generally open to visitors most days. For more see below:-
To see why this image has been posted click on johnphotographer.co.uk/documentary/?cat=58
Also it may help to go to www.flickr.com/groups/ocarts/discuss/72157667225396082/
Day 201
28th February
Had a lovely evening yesterday, Mum and I went for a spa evening at the Nirvana Spa in Berkshire, it was a birthday present albeit it a belated one as my birthday was in August! It was lovely, had a salt water flotation treatment & then spent several hours swimming and relaxing in steam room/sauna and reading with a drink. Bliss, pure relaxation.
Today its another horrible day for weather, bucketing it down on and off all day. I managed to get out this afternoon into the garden and I managed to get this shot of my Dad's lovely snowdrops. I was quite pleased with how they came out with the 50mm lens!
March tomorrow so hopefully spring is on its way now...
Get your glam on for the ocean! Marine Protected Area (MPA) Glam Shots by Jessica Ling Findley combine retro portraits and MPA animals to highlight helpful actions to heal our oceans.
The Baby Green Sea Turtle Superstar (Chelonia mydas)
Scientists observed sea turtles spend most of their time breeding and feeding at the protected Dry Tortugas Beach and the protected areas of the Florida Keys. Sea turtles maintain healthy seagrass beds and coral reefs, key habitats for marine life.
Winnie Ling is a mother and a grandmother. Especiallly for the benefit of future generations she advocates envoirnmental initiatives especially for reduction of plastics to put a stop on any more plastic ending in the ocean as the plastic we discard will come full circle back into our foods. She believes it starts with personal commitment and a life style shift. No effort is too small.
#GlamourMPA #OceanSciences #MarineProtectedAreas #climateChange #worktogether #jessicalingfindley #octopus #oceansciences #glamourshots #marineprotected #seaportvillage #portrait #artist
Project Origins:
Inspired by the world’s premier Ocean Sciences Meeting in February 2020, Seaport Village and The Port of San Diego have invited artist Jessica Ling Findley to produce a series of art experiences. She will help bring science to life through art at Seaport Village from December 2019 to February 2020. As ocean vitality becomes more critical with changing climate, these works, produced with input and data from scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and Birch Aquarium, explore how stories of Ocean Optimism can inspire us all to work together for a sustainable future. These immersive experiences invite audiences to think about the future of our oceans in new and creative ways.
About the Artist:
Jessica Ling Findley is an Encinitas based artist with a focus on social practice and environmental advocacy. Her work playfully blurs spectator and participant, engaging the audience to explore. Her public participatory work, Aeolian Ride, inflated people on bicycles in 20 cities around the world. Exhibitions and awards include: Dublin Museum of Science, New Museum, Deitch Art Parade in NY, and SDAI, Tokyo Wondersite Residency, Brooklyn Arts Council Grant and Black Rock Arts Grant Foundation.
Relay for Life of Alameda, June 21,2014
Cancer survivor Lorann Snow participates in Opening Ceremony Yoga. I was impressed with her optimism and strength.