View allAll Photos Tagged ordinary_object
Alternative Title: Resting Boar
Today's 'Tribute Tuesday' goes to Sharkoman
As well as being a handsome guy, one of his many talents is to see faces, figures and animals in the most ordinary objects.
I either walk around with my eyes closed or don't see the world as he does. And it takes a wonderful artistic mind to SEE the world as he does.
He shoots a fine portrait too.
Also: He was the subject matter in one of my all time favourite Flickr pictures - now that would be a tribute I'd love to try and repeat one day.
See that amazing picture here: Click Here
Rene Francois Ghislain Magritte (1898-1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop, minimalist and conceptual art.
Staging a conflict between conventional beauty and clashing colors, Magritte clearly indicated in this 1943 painting that he had already "quit the well-trodden path of Surrealism's fixed form." The artist lifted the pose, bedding, and curtains from a composition by the noted French Impressionist Pierre-Auguste Renoir and rendered it otherworldly by depicting the arms, legs, and torso in wild variegated hues. Despite the scene's potential for eroticism, its beguiling mixture of soft flesh and oversaturated color erases any hint of seduction.
This Magritte original was seen and photographed on exhibit at San Francisco's Museum of Modern Art.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
"L" Ordinary Object, L is for Licorice. This is the latest image in the flickrfriend challenge we call Odd Wednesday. Where a couple of us are working our way through the alphabet photographing an ordinary object for each letter. Preferably something we wouldn't normally think to photograph.
This was a hard one for me to shot. The black is so shiny on these sticks of black Twizzlers (my favorite) that in color they are so stark I was only happy with it when I converted to black and white.
Oil on canvas.
(b niterói, 1915; d rio de janeiro, 1988). brazilian painter. he entered the escola nacional de belas artes, rio de janeiro, in 1930 and in 1931 was one of the founders of the núcleo bernardelli, whose aim was to build on the initial successes of modernism. after at first being influenced by cézanne he painted cyclists, bathers and children playing, in compositions of carefully linked rectangles, cubes, cylinders, spheres and pyramids (at the swimming-pool , 1942; rio de janeiro, roberto marinho priv. col.). in later works he was briefly influenced by pittura metafisica and surrealism, surrounding ordinary objects with a schematic architecture and mysterious trompe l’oeil mannequins and faces. from 1944 to 1946 he lived in the usa and europe. in the mid-1950s, in constructions such as on a brown background (1955; u. são paulo, mus. a. contemp.) and on a red background (1955; rio de janeiro, mus. manchete), he began to produce austere works close to concrete art. he established his compositions on strict mathematical principles, generally using only two or three colours and precise lines intersected at right angles. in 1963, though retaining the formal economy of his earlier work, he returned to the figure in the series venus, angels and pageantry , treated in a manner at once sensual and ascetic (venus and the bird , 1976; rio de janeiro, gal. acervo).
Grove Art excerpts - Electronic ©2003, Oxford Art Online
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
"T" Ordinary Object. T is for Toothbrush.
The challenge was to photograph an ordinary object and make it beautiful or extraordinary. You know what I chose. But I think it turned out more cartoon like than beautiful. What do you think? This was a challenge with StudioKaufman.
INCEPTION
Dom Cobb's Totem.
"A Totem is an object that is used to test if oneself is in one's own reality (dream or non-dream) and not in another person's dream. A totem has a specially modified weight, balance, or feel in the real world but in a dream of someone who does not know it well, the characteristics of the totem will very likely be off. Any ordinary object which has been in some way modified to affect its balance, weight, or feel will work as a totem.
In order to protect its integrity, only the totem's owner should ever handle it. In that way, the owner is able to tell whether or not they are in someone else's dream. In the owner's own dream world, the totem will feel correct."
Source: inception.wikia.com
Canon EOS 400D
Novoflex EOS/LER
Leica R Summilux 1.4:50
René François Ghislain Magritte, 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist, who became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.
Magritte's earliest paintings, which date from about 1915, were Impressionistic in style. During 1916–1918, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, under Constant Montald, but found the instruction uninspiring. He also took classes at the Académie Royale from the painter and poster designer Gisbert Combaz. The paintings he produced during 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the figurative Cubism of Metzinger.
From December 1920 until September 1921, Magritte served in the Belgian infantry in the Flemish town of Beverlo near Leopoldsburg. In 1922, Magritte married Georgette Berger, whom he had met as a child in 1913. Also during 1922, the poet Marcel Lecomte showed Magritte a reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico's The Song of Love (painted in 1914). The work brought Magritte to tears; he described this as "one of the most moving moments of my life: my eyes saw thought for the first time." The paintings of the Belgian symbolist painter William Degouve de Nuncques have also been noted as an influence on Magritte, specifically the former's painting The Blind House (1892) and Magritte's variations or series on The Empire of Lights.
In 1922–1923, Magritte worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, and was a poster and advertisement designer until 1926, when a contract with Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels made it possible for him to paint full-time. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu), and held his first solo exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Critics heaped abuse on the exhibition.
Depressed by the failure, he moved to Paris where he became friends with André Breton and became involved in the Surrealist group. An illusionistic, dream-like quality is characteristic of Magritte's version of Surrealism. He became a leading member of the movement, and remained in Paris for three years. In 1929 he exhibited at Goemans Gallery in Paris with Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp, de Chirico, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Picabia, Picasso and Yves Tanguy.
On 15 December 1929 he participated in the last publication of La Revolution Surrealiste No. 12, where he published his essay "Les mots et les images", where words play with images in sync with his work The Treachery of Images.
Galerie Le Centaure closed at the end of 1929, ending Magritte's contract income. Having made little impact in Paris, Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 and resumed working in advertising.[10] He and his brother, Paul, formed an agency which earned him a living wage. In 1932, Magritte joined the Communist Party, which he would periodically leave and rejoin for several years. In 1936 he had his first solo exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, followed by an exposition at the London Gallery in 1938.
During the early stages of his career, the British surrealist patron Edward James allowed Magritte to stay rent-free in his London home, where Magritte studied architecture and painted. James is featured in two of Magritte's works painted in 1937, Le Principe du Plaisir (The Pleasure Principle) and La Reproduction Interdite, a painting also known as Not to Be Reproduced.
During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II he remained in Brussels, which led to a break with Breton. He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943–44, an interlude known as his "Renoir period", as a reaction to his feelings of alienation and abandonment that came with living in German-occupied Belgium.
In 1946, renouncing the violence and pessimism of his earlier work, he joined several other Belgian artists in signing the manifesto Surrealism in Full Sunlight. During 1947–48, Magritte's "Vache period," he painted in a provocative and crude Fauve style. During this time, Magritte supported himself through the production of fake Picassos, Braques, and de Chiricos—a fraudulent repertoire he was later to expand into the printing of forged banknotes during the lean postwar period. This venture was undertaken alongside his brother Paul and fellow Surrealist and "surrogate son" Marcel Mariën, to whom had fallen the task of selling the forgeries. At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art.
In France, Magritte's work has been showcased in a number of retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016–2017). In the United States his work has been featured in three retrospective exhibitions: at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992, and again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Politically, Magritte stood to the left, and retained close ties to the Communist Party, even in the post-war years. However, he was critical of the functionalist cultural policy of the Communist left, stating that "Class consciousness is as necessary as bread; but that does not mean that workers must be condemned to bread and water and that wanting chicken and champagne would be harmful. (...) For the Communist painter, the justification of artistic activity is to create pictures that can represent mental luxury." While remaining committed to the political left, he thus advocated a certain autonomy of art. Spiritually, Magritte was an agnostic.
Popular interest in Magritte's work rose considerably in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian); in the Flemish version he was 18th.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
...
I again missed my ordinary object post. I am on Q and I know what I want to photograph, I just can't seem to get it done. Now allergies hit me hard this afternoon. So I am tucked in bed and playing with an old image.
© Diana Yakowitz 2010 all rights reserved.
"W" Ordinary Object, W is for "Washing Machine". This is the latest image in a flickrfriend challenge called Odd Wednesday where I am working my way through the alphabet photographing an ordinary object for each letter. Preferably something I wouldn't normally think to photograph.
The clothes that a Washing Machine cleans, cleans the Washing Machine. Sym-non-bio-sis! DY
I am late again with this post but only by one day. Yesterday was an odd Wednesday and I did shoot this shot then but could not post it till today. Just three more left in the set!
René François Ghislain Magritte, 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist, who became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.
Magritte's earliest paintings, which date from about 1915, were Impressionistic in style. During 1916–1918, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, under Constant Montald, but found the instruction uninspiring. He also took classes at the Académie Royale from the painter and poster designer Gisbert Combaz. The paintings he produced during 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the figurative Cubism of Metzinger.
From December 1920 until September 1921, Magritte served in the Belgian infantry in the Flemish town of Beverlo near Leopoldsburg. In 1922, Magritte married Georgette Berger, whom he had met as a child in 1913. Also during 1922, the poet Marcel Lecomte showed Magritte a reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico's The Song of Love (painted in 1914). The work brought Magritte to tears; he described this as "one of the most moving moments of my life: my eyes saw thought for the first time." The paintings of the Belgian symbolist painter William Degouve de Nuncques have also been noted as an influence on Magritte, specifically the former's painting The Blind House (1892) and Magritte's variations or series on The Empire of Lights.
In 1922–1923, Magritte worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, and was a poster and advertisement designer until 1926, when a contract with Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels made it possible for him to paint full-time. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu), and held his first solo exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Critics heaped abuse on the exhibition.
Depressed by the failure, he moved to Paris where he became friends with André Breton and became involved in the Surrealist group. An illusionistic, dream-like quality is characteristic of Magritte's version of Surrealism. He became a leading member of the movement, and remained in Paris for three years. In 1929 he exhibited at Goemans Gallery in Paris with Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp, de Chirico, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Picabia, Picasso and Yves Tanguy.
On 15 December 1929 he participated in the last publication of La Revolution Surrealiste No. 12, where he published his essay "Les mots et les images", where words play with images in sync with his work The Treachery of Images.
Galerie Le Centaure closed at the end of 1929, ending Magritte's contract income. Having made little impact in Paris, Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 and resumed working in advertising.[10] He and his brother, Paul, formed an agency which earned him a living wage. In 1932, Magritte joined the Communist Party, which he would periodically leave and rejoin for several years. In 1936 he had his first solo exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, followed by an exposition at the London Gallery in 1938.
During the early stages of his career, the British surrealist patron Edward James allowed Magritte to stay rent-free in his London home, where Magritte studied architecture and painted. James is featured in two of Magritte's works painted in 1937, Le Principe du Plaisir (The Pleasure Principle) and La Reproduction Interdite, a painting also known as Not to Be Reproduced.
During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II he remained in Brussels, which led to a break with Breton. He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943–44, an interlude known as his "Renoir period", as a reaction to his feelings of alienation and abandonment that came with living in German-occupied Belgium.
In 1946, renouncing the violence and pessimism of his earlier work, he joined several other Belgian artists in signing the manifesto Surrealism in Full Sunlight. During 1947–48, Magritte's "Vache period," he painted in a provocative and crude Fauve style. During this time, Magritte supported himself through the production of fake Picassos, Braques, and de Chiricos—a fraudulent repertoire he was later to expand into the printing of forged banknotes during the lean postwar period. This venture was undertaken alongside his brother Paul and fellow Surrealist and "surrogate son" Marcel Mariën, to whom had fallen the task of selling the forgeries. At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art.
In France, Magritte's work has been showcased in a number of retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016–2017). In the United States his work has been featured in three retrospective exhibitions: at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992, and again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Politically, Magritte stood to the left, and retained close ties to the Communist Party, even in the post-war years. However, he was critical of the functionalist cultural policy of the Communist left, stating that "Class consciousness is as necessary as bread; but that does not mean that workers must be condemned to bread and water and that wanting chicken and champagne would be harmful. (...) For the Communist painter, the justification of artistic activity is to create pictures that can represent mental luxury." While remaining committed to the political left, he thus advocated a certain autonomy of art. Spiritually, Magritte was an agnostic.
Popular interest in Magritte's work rose considerably in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian); in the Flemish version he was 18th.
René François Ghislain Magritte, 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist, who became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.
Magritte's earliest paintings, which date from about 1915, were Impressionistic in style. During 1916–1918, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, under Constant Montald, but found the instruction uninspiring. He also took classes at the Académie Royale from the painter and poster designer Gisbert Combaz. The paintings he produced during 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the figurative Cubism of Metzinger.
From December 1920 until September 1921, Magritte served in the Belgian infantry in the Flemish town of Beverlo near Leopoldsburg. In 1922, Magritte married Georgette Berger, whom he had met as a child in 1913. Also during 1922, the poet Marcel Lecomte showed Magritte a reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico's The Song of Love (painted in 1914). The work brought Magritte to tears; he described this as "one of the most moving moments of my life: my eyes saw thought for the first time." The paintings of the Belgian symbolist painter William Degouve de Nuncques have also been noted as an influence on Magritte, specifically the former's painting The Blind House (1892) and Magritte's variations or series on The Empire of Lights.
In 1922–1923, Magritte worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, and was a poster and advertisement designer until 1926, when a contract with Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels made it possible for him to paint full-time. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu), and held his first solo exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Critics heaped abuse on the exhibition.
Depressed by the failure, he moved to Paris where he became friends with André Breton and became involved in the Surrealist group. An illusionistic, dream-like quality is characteristic of Magritte's version of Surrealism. He became a leading member of the movement, and remained in Paris for three years. In 1929 he exhibited at Goemans Gallery in Paris with Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp, de Chirico, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Picabia, Picasso and Yves Tanguy.
On 15 December 1929 he participated in the last publication of La Revolution Surrealiste No. 12, where he published his essay "Les mots et les images", where words play with images in sync with his work The Treachery of Images.
Galerie Le Centaure closed at the end of 1929, ending Magritte's contract income. Having made little impact in Paris, Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 and resumed working in advertising.[10] He and his brother, Paul, formed an agency which earned him a living wage. In 1932, Magritte joined the Communist Party, which he would periodically leave and rejoin for several years. In 1936 he had his first solo exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, followed by an exposition at the London Gallery in 1938.
During the early stages of his career, the British surrealist patron Edward James allowed Magritte to stay rent-free in his London home, where Magritte studied architecture and painted. James is featured in two of Magritte's works painted in 1937, Le Principe du Plaisir (The Pleasure Principle) and La Reproduction Interdite, a painting also known as Not to Be Reproduced.
During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II he remained in Brussels, which led to a break with Breton. He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943–44, an interlude known as his "Renoir period", as a reaction to his feelings of alienation and abandonment that came with living in German-occupied Belgium.
In 1946, renouncing the violence and pessimism of his earlier work, he joined several other Belgian artists in signing the manifesto Surrealism in Full Sunlight. During 1947–48, Magritte's "Vache period," he painted in a provocative and crude Fauve style. During this time, Magritte supported himself through the production of fake Picassos, Braques, and de Chiricos—a fraudulent repertoire he was later to expand into the printing of forged banknotes during the lean postwar period. This venture was undertaken alongside his brother Paul and fellow Surrealist and "surrogate son" Marcel Mariën, to whom had fallen the task of selling the forgeries. At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art.
In France, Magritte's work has been showcased in a number of retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016–2017). In the United States his work has been featured in three retrospective exhibitions: at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992, and again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Politically, Magritte stood to the left, and retained close ties to the Communist Party, even in the post-war years. However, he was critical of the functionalist cultural policy of the Communist left, stating that "Class consciousness is as necessary as bread; but that does not mean that workers must be condemned to bread and water and that wanting chicken and champagne would be harmful. (...) For the Communist painter, the justification of artistic activity is to create pictures that can represent mental luxury." While remaining committed to the political left, he thus advocated a certain autonomy of art. Spiritually, Magritte was an agnostic.
Popular interest in Magritte's work rose considerably in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian); in the Flemish version he was 18th.
The sight of a full shopping trolley in a lost place is depressing because it symbolizes a profound disruption of context and human experience. An abandoned shopping cart represents a stark contrast between consumerism and loss, creating a powerful emotional response.
Symbolic Meaning of the Abandoned Cart
Shopping carts are fundamentally symbols of middle-class affluence and everyday life, designed to help people with money buy things. When found in a lost or abandoned place, the cart becomes a poignant reminder of:
- Displacement and disruption
- Interrupted daily life
- The sudden absence of human presence
- A jarring disconnect between normality and abandonment
The cart triggers what one source describes as a "stress-inducing cognitive dissonance" - a mental conflict that emerges when something is completely out of its intended context. It evokes complex emotions like:
- Compassion
- Unease
- Curiosity about what happened
- A sense of loss and transience
Psychological Impact
The abandoned, full shopping trolley becomes a powerful metaphor for human vulnerability. It suggests an abrupt interruption - perhaps an emergency, displacement, or sudden life change - that left someone's mundane shopping task permanently unfinished. This unexpected stillness transforms an ordinary object into a melancholic symbol of human fragility.
It wasn't until I was ready to throw my cup away that I noticed the design and commented to a co-worker that it was too bad I couldn't photograph both sides of the cup. She, being the genius that she is, said why don't you photograph one side of yours and one side of mine and from that an image is born! I had tea, she had coffee and it was a great break from the routine of the day. Cups from a small local place "nelly's bakery" on Amsterdam Avenue between 160th and 161 Streets, New York.
Title from the small print near the bottom of the cup.
I did this at the request from bettermo who is trapped behind the censor lines in Germany.
I am not happy with the technique I used, so this may not stay up long.
I really need to learn Layer Masks.
EDIT: Thank you, Cayusa, for some wonderful advice below...I love the result much more.
FURTHER EDIT:
Submitted to Take a Class with Dave & Dave.
Week 23, Assignment 2. Surreal. We've played on the abstract jungle gym, now it's time to take a dip in the surreal swimming pool: From Wikipedia"Surrealism as a visual movement had found a method: to expose psychological truth by stripping ordinary objects of their normal significance, in order to create a compelling image that was beyond ordinary formal organization, in order to evoke empathy from the viewer."
When Spring Takes Flight: The Metal Coil's Aerial Adventure
Spring is in the air! But wait—what if we take that common seasonal expression quite literally? Imagine not the blossoming season of renewal, but an actual metal coil mysteriously hovering above our heads. This whimsical interpretation transforms a familiar phrase into an absurdist scenario worth exploring in detail.
The Traditional Meaning: Season of Renewal
When people typically say "Spring is in the air," they're referring to that magical seasonal transition when nature awakens from its winter slumber. The phrase captures the essence of environmental transformation—warmer temperatures, blooming flowers, chirping birds, and that indefinable freshness that permeates the atmosphere. Spring has sprung, and it's time to turnip the sunshine as we stop and smell the rosés while flowers bloom and bees hum. This season brings with it a sense of renewal that permeates our collective consciousness, creating what many call spring fever—a phenomenon that is truly "unBEElievable".
The traditional interpretation involves all the sensory experiences associated with springtime. We can smell the fresh blossoms, feel the gentle breeze, and witness the landscape gradually turning green. The air literally carries the scents, sounds, and even pollen that signal the season's arrival, prompting some to declare that "April showers bring May 'flowers' and 'bee'-utiful days". This interpretation reminds us that nature is cyclical, dependable in its patterns of death and rebirth, even as the specific weather patterns remain unpredictable.
A Metal Interpretation: When Coils Take Flight
Now, let's consider our alternate, more literal interpretation—what if "Spring is in the air" referred to an actual metal coil hovering in the atmosphere? Picture looking up to see a shiny, helical piece of metal floating by like some strange mechanical cloud. This spring isn't constrained by physics; it's defying gravity with metallic moxie. As metalworkers might joke, this spring has really "forged ahead" into new territory.
This airborne coil presents a mechanical marvel that would certainly catch attention. Perhaps it's a spring that's broken free from its usual constraints—no longer compressed between machine parts or stretched to provide tension. This liberated spiral has taken to the skies like a metallic bird discovering flight for the first time. The spectacle would undoubtedly cause passersby to do double-takes, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks or if the laws of physics had taken a holiday.
The Physics of a Floating Helix
If we were to seriously consider the mechanics of a metal spring hovering in the air (while maintaining our humorous perspective), we'd encounter some fascinating questions. What forces could possibly keep a metal object suspended? Perhaps it's caught in an unusually strong thermal updraft, or maybe it's been magnetized in a particular way that interacts with Earth's magnetic field. The metalworkers might say it's simply trying to "bolt" from its earthly responsibilities.
The size and composition of our floating spring would significantly impact its aerial behavior. A small, lightweight spring made of aluminum might dance and twirl in the breeze, while a heavier steel spring would need much stronger forces to remain airborne. Weather conditions would also affect our hovering helix. Rain might weigh it down, causing it to dip lower. Wind could send it spiraling in new directions, creating a mesmerizing aerial ballet. During a spring thunderstorm, our metal friend might even become temporarily energized, glowing with static electricity or conducting lightning in spectacular fashion.
Spring Meets Spring: A Seasonal Convergence
The convergence of our two interpretations creates a delightfully absurd scenario. What if a metal spring floating through the spring air begins to exhibit characteristics of the season itself? Perhaps it starts to "blossom" by unfurling its coils in the warm sunshine, expanding like flowers opening to the light. Maybe it experiences its own version of "spring fever," bouncing more energetically through the atmosphere as temperatures rise.
This hovering metal helix might even interact with traditional elements of springtime. Imagine birds attempting to perch on it as it bobs through the air, or bees confused by this shiny, spiraling object that doesn't produce nectar. Perhaps pollen itself collects on the metal surface, giving our airborne spring a yellow dusting that makes it ping with metallic sneezes. As metalworkers might quip, this spring is really "feeling a bit rusty" with all that pollen exposure.
Societal Reactions to a Literal Spring in the Air
How might society respond to the literal presence of a spring in the air? News headlines might declare, "Metal Mystery: Spring Sprung from Unknown Source Soars Over City." Social media would explode with hashtags like #FloatingSpring and #MetalInTheSky. Scientists would scramble to explain the phenomenon, while conspiracy theorists would propose outlandish origins.
Children might create games around spotting the spring, while adults would debate its significance. Is it an art installation? A weather experiment gone wrong? A sign from the universe? Meanwhile, metalworkers would likely appreciate the technical aspects, wondering about its tensile strength and composition. As one metalworking pun suggests, they might be "riveted by the talent" on display.
The floating spring might even inspire new traditions. Perhaps people would begin making wishes when they spot it, similar to wishing on a shooting star. Or maybe they'd create decorative springs to hang from trees and porches, celebrating the unusual phenomenon. The phrase "Spring is in the air" would take on a whole new cultural meaning, forever associated with the image of a metal coil drifting through blue skies.
Conclusion
Whether we interpret "Spring is in the air" as the arrival of nature's most rejuvenating season or as an absurdist image of a metal coil defying gravity, the phrase captures something magical about transformation and unexpected joy. The traditional meaning reminds us of nature's reliable cycles of renewal, while our metallic interpretation adds a layer of whimsy that challenges us to look at familiar sayings from new angles.
So the next time someone mentions that spring is in the air, take a moment to look up—you never know when a literal interpretation might spring into view. After all, in a world full of wonders, even the most ordinary objects sometimes rise above their circumstances. And whether we're talking about flowering bulbs or metal coils, there's something undeniably uplifting about spring, in all its forms. As the metalworkers say, sometimes you just need to "steel yourself" for unexpected interpretations.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
Latin and Spanish for love, in Italian 'Amore'
Reached the ski area on Mt. Lemmon in the Catalina Mountain range just north of Tucson (30 miles) when I found this grove of Aspen trees with many of them carved upon. Some snow and the creek are just visible beyond. This was taken at about 8000 ft.
For those of you who know that I usually do an Ordinary Object photo on odd Wednesdays, I have to let you know that I did not get one done for today so perhaps a day late and will post "L is for ...." tomorrow. Or, could I use this one "L is for Love (Amor)"?
(b niterói, 1915; d rio de janeiro, 1988). brazilian painter. he entered the escola nacional de belas artes, rio de janeiro, in 1930 and in 1931 was one of the founders of the núcleo bernardelli, whose aim was to build on the initial successes of modernism. after at first being influenced by cézanne he painted cyclists, bathers and children playing, in compositions of carefully linked rectangles, cubes, cylinders, spheres and pyramids (at the swimming-pool , 1942; rio de janeiro, roberto marinho priv. col.). in later works he was briefly influenced by pittura metafisica and surrealism, surrounding ordinary objects with a schematic architecture and mysterious trompe l’oeil mannequins and faces. from 1944 to 1946 he lived in the usa and europe. in the mid-1950s, in constructions such as on a brown background (1955; u. são paulo, mus. a. contemp.) and on a red background (1955; rio de janeiro, mus. manchete), he began to produce austere works close to concrete art. he established his compositions on strict mathematical principles, generally using only two or three colours and precise lines intersected at right angles. in 1963, though retaining the formal economy of his earlier work, he returned to the figure in the series venus, angels and pageantry , treated in a manner at once sensual and ascetic (venus and the bird , 1976; rio de janeiro, gal. acervo).
Grove Art excerpts - Electronic ©2003, Oxford Art Online
This is part of an ongoing project. I thought it would be interesting to look around me and see what could be interpreted as faces in every day ordinary objects. My intention is to make people look twice and to see if they can figure out what these objects are :-) Please let me know if you have any suggestions or guesses! Feel free to check out my sets so you can see the photos as a collective.
Gemeentemuseum Den Haag.
Het beeld van het kubisme zoals we dat nu hebben verschilt zeer van het beeld dat het publiek in Parijs rond 1910 had, toen vooral Henri le Fauconnier als voorman van deze stroming werd beschouwd. Nu wordt Picasso, samen met Braque en Gris, als de belangrijkste kubist gezien. Deze vierde presentatie, die het museum samen met de Triton Foundation realiseert, toont de verschillende vormen die het kubisme gekend heeft, met werk van onder meer Picasso, Braque, Gris, Le Fauconnier, Boccioni, Delaunay, De la Fresnaye, Léger, Kupka, Metzinger, Mondriaan, Valmier en Severini. Dit jaar is het honderd jaar geleden dat Picasso begon aan Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, een mijlpaal in de 20ste eeuwse kunst en de aanzet tot de ontwikkeling van het kubisme. Er zouden zich twee jaar later in het Parijs van rond 1909 twee groepen kubisten vormen: de groep met Picasso, Braque en later Gris, die voornamelijk in galeries exposeerde, met name in die van Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler.En dan was er de groep die op de grote Salons in Parijs exposeerde, de zogenaamde Salonkubisten. Omdat alleen de Salonkubisten, waaronder Henri Le Fauconnier, Gleizes, en Jean Metzinger, regelmatig exposeerden, werden zij aanvankelijk het publieke gezicht van de kubistische beweging.
Vormvernieuwing
Volgens een kunsthistorische benadering die de nadruk legt op de vormvernieuwing keerden de kubisten terug naar de basis van de schilderkunst omdat ze vonden dat de traditionele schilderkunst uitgeput was. Ze namen de elementen die samen de taal van de schilderkunst vormen – vorm, ruimte, kleur en techniek – en vervingen het traditionele gebruik van elk van deze elementen door een nieuwe interpretatie ervan. Kort gezegd was het kubisme volgens deze visie een totaal nieuwe schilderkunstige taal, een totaal nieuwe manier om naar de buitenwereld te kijken. Een belangrijk kenmerk van het kubisme komt voort uit het loslaten van het centraal perspectief zoals dat eeuwenlang door kunstenaars was toegepast. Als een kunstenaar een onderwerp volledig wilde bevatten dan moest hij een onderwerp tegelijkertijd vanuit verschillende gezichtspunten laten zien.
Picasso en Braque verwerkten in de ontwikkeling van hun kubisme twee grote invloeden: de krachtige vormen en vervaging van voor- en achtergrond van Cézanne en de primitivistische Afrikaanse, Oceanische en Iberische beeldhouwkunst. Kunstenaars als Le Fauconnier, Gleizes en Metzinger echter verbonden het vervaardigen van kubistische schilderijen ook met filosofische, wetenschappelijke en literaire theorieën; een fenomeen waar Picasso zijn afschuw over uitsprak. Met name Henri Bergsons filosofie over het belang van intuïtie en ideeën over de vierde dimensie van De Pawlowski waren voor de Salonkubisten essentieel.
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Joseph Fernand Henri Léger ( February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style. His boldly simplified treatment of modern subject matter has caused him to be regarded as a forerunner of pop art.
Léger was born in Argentan, Orne, Lower Normandy, where his father raised cattle. Fernand Léger initially trained as an architect from 1897 to 1899, before moving in 1900 to Paris, where he supported himself as an architectural draftsman. After military service in Versailles, Yvelines, in 1902–1903, he enrolled at the School of Decorative Arts after his application to the École des Beaux-Arts was rejected. He nevertheless attended the Beaux-Arts as a non-enrolled student, spending what he described as "three empty and useless years" studying with Gérôme and others, while also studying at the Académie Julian. He began to work seriously as a painter only at the age of 25. At this point his work showed the influence of impressionism, as seen in Le Jardin de ma mère (My Mother's Garden) of 1905, one of the few paintings from this period that he did not later destroy. A new emphasis on drawing and geometry appeared in Léger's work after he saw the Cézanne retrospective at the Salon d'Automne in 1907.
In 1909 he moved to Montparnasse and met Alexander Archipenko, Jacques Lipchitz, Marc Chagall, Joseph Csaky and Robert Delaunay.
In 1910 he exhibited at the Salon d'Automne in the same room (salle VIII) as Jean Metzinger and Henri Le Fauconnier. In his major painting of this period, Nudes in the Forest, Léger displays a personal form of Cubism that his critics termed "Tubism" for its emphasis on cylindrical forms.
In 1911 the hanging committee of the Salon des Indépendants placed together the painters identified as 'Cubists'. Metzinger, Albert Gleizes, Le Fauconnier, Delaunay and Léger were responsible for revealing Cubism to the general public for the first time as an organized group.
The following year he again exhibited at the Salon d'Automne and Indépendants with the Cubists, and joined with several artists, including Le Fauconnier, Metzinger, Gleizes, Francis Picabia and the Duchamp brothers, Jacques Villon, Raymond Duchamp-Villon and Marcel Duchamp to form the Puteaux Group—also called the Section d'Or (The Golden Section).
Léger's paintings, from then until 1914, became increasingly abstract. Their tubular, conical, and cubed forms are laconically rendered in rough patches of primary colors plus green, black and white, as seen in the series of paintings with the title Contrasting Forms. Léger made no use of the collage technique pioneered by Braque and Picasso.
Léger's experiences in World War I had a significant effect on his work. Mobilized in August 1914 for service in the French Army, he spent two years at the front in Argonne. He produced many sketches of artillery pieces, airplanes, and fellow soldiers while in the trenches, and painted Soldier with a Pipe (1916) while on furlough. In September 1916 he almost died after a mustard gas attack by the German troops at Verdun. During a period of convalescence in Villepinte he painted The Card Players (1917), a canvas whose robot-like, monstrous figures reflect the ambivalence of his experience of war. As he explained:
...I was stunned by the sight of the breech of a 75 millimeter in the sunlight. It was the magic of light on the white metal. That's all it took for me to forget the abstract art of 1912–1913. The crudeness, variety, humor, and downright perfection of certain men around me, their precise sense of utilitarian reality and its application in the midst of the life-and-death drama we were in ... made me want to paint in slang with all its color and mobility.
This work marked the beginning of his "mechanical period", during which the figures and objects he painted were characterized by sleekly rendered tubular and machine-like forms. Starting in 1918, he also produced the first paintings in the Disk series, in which disks suggestive of traffic lights figure prominently. In December 1919 he married Jeanne-Augustine Lohy, and in 1920 he met Le Corbusier, who would remain a lifelong friend.
The "mechanical" works Léger painted in the 1920s, in their formal clarity as well as in their subject matter—the mother and child, the female nude, figures in an ordered landscape—are typical of the postwar "return to order" in the arts, and link him to the tradition of French figurative painting represented by Poussin and Corot. In his paysages animés (animated landscapes) of 1921, figures and animals exist harmoniously in landscapes made up of streamlined forms. The frontal compositions, firm contours, and smoothly blended colors of these paintings frequently recall the works of Henri Rousseau, an artist Léger greatly admired and whom he had met in 1909.
They also share traits with the work of Le Corbusier and Amédée Ozenfant who together had founded Purism, a style intended as a rational, mathematically based corrective to the impulsiveness of cubism. Combining the classical with the modern, Léger's Nude on a Red Background (1927) depicts a monumental, expressionless woman, machinelike in form and color. His still life compositions from this period are dominated by stable, interlocking rectangular formations in vertical and horizontal orientation. The Siphon of 1924, a still life based on an advertisement in the popular press for the aperitif Campari, represents the high-water mark of the Purist aesthetic in Léger's work. Its balanced composition and fluted shapes suggestive of classical columns are brought together with a quasi-cinematic close-up of a hand holding a bottle.
As an enthusiast of the modern, Léger was greatly attracted to cinema, and for a time he considered giving up painting for filmmaking. In 1923–24 he designed the set for the laboratory scene in Marcel L'Herbier's L'Inhumaine (The Inhuman One). In 1924, in collaboration with Dudley Murphy, George Antheil, and Man Ray, Léger produced and directed the iconic and Futurism-influenced film Ballet Mécanique (Mechanical Ballet). Neither abstract nor narrative, it is a series of images of a woman's lips and teeth, close-up shots of ordinary objects, and repeated images of human activities and machines in rhythmic movement.
In collaboration with Amédée Ozenfant he established a free school where he taught from 1924, with Alexandra Exter and Marie Laurencin. He produced the first of his "mural paintings", influenced by Le Corbusier's theories, in 1925. Intended to be incorporated into polychrome architecture, they are among his most abstract paintings, featuring flat areas of color that appear to advance or recede.
Starting in 1927, the character of Léger's work gradually changed as organic and irregular forms assumed greater importance. The figural style that emerged in the 1930s is fully displayed in the Two Sisters of 1935, and in several versions of Adam and Eve. With characteristic humor, he portrayed Adam in a striped bathing suit, or sporting a tattoo.
In 1931, Léger made his first visit to the United States, where he traveled to New York City and Chicago. In 1935, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented an exhibition of his work. In 1938, Léger was commissioned to decorate Nelson Rockefeller's apartment.
Paintings by Fernand Léger, 1912, La Femme en Bleu, Woman in Blue, Kunstmuseum Basel; Jean Metzinger, 1912, Dancer in a café, Albright-Knox Art Gallery; and sculpture by Alexander Archipenko, 1912, La Vie Familiale, Family Life (destroyed). Published in Les Annales politiques et littéraires, n. 1529, 13 October 1912
During World War II Léger lived in the United States. He taught at Yale University, and found inspiration for a new series of paintings in the novel sight of industrial refuse in the landscape. The shock of juxtaposed natural forms and mechanical elements, the "tons of abandoned machines with flowers cropping up from within, and birds perching on top of them" exemplified what he called the "law of contrast". His enthusiasm for such contrasts resulted in such works as The Tree in the Ladder of 1943–44, and Romantic Landscape of 1946. Reprising a composition of 1930, he painted Three Musicians (Museum of Modern Art, New York) in 1944. Reminiscent of Rousseau in its folk-like character, the painting exploits the law of contrasts in its juxtaposition of the three men and their instruments.
During his American sojourn, Léger began making paintings in which freely arranged bands of color are juxtaposed with figures and objects outlined in black. Léger credited the neon lights of New York City as the source of this innovation: "I was struck by the neon advertisements flashing all over Broadway. You are there, you talk to someone, and all of a sudden he turns blue. Then the color fades—another one comes and turns him red or yellow."
Upon his return to France in 1945, he joined the Communist Party. During this period his work became less abstract, and he produced many monumental figure compositions depicting scenes of popular life featuring acrobats, builders, divers, and country outings. Art historian Charlotta Kotik has written that Léger's "determination to depict the common man, as well as to create for him, was a result of socialist theories widespread among the avant-garde both before and after World War II. However, Léger's social conscience was not that of a fierce Marxist, but of a passionate humanist". His varied projects included book illustrations, murals, stained-glass windows, mosaics, polychrome ceramic sculptures, and set and costume designs.
After the death of Leger's wife Jeanne-Augustine Lohy in 1950, Léger married Nadia Khodossevitch in 1952. In his final years he lectured in Bern, designed mosaics and stained-glass windows for the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, and painted Country Outing, The Camper, and the series The Big Parade. In 1954 he began a project for a mosaic for the São Paulo Opera, which he would not live to finish. Fernand Léger died at his home in 1955 and is buried in Gif-sur-Yvette, Essonne.
Léger wrote in 1945 that "the object in modern painting must become the main character and overthrow the subject. If, in turn, the human form becomes an object, it can considerably liberate possibilities for the modern artist." He elaborated on this idea in his 1949 essay, "How I Conceive the Human Figure", where he wrote that "abstract art came as a complete revelation, and then we were able to consider the human figure as a plastic value, not as a sentimental value. That is why the human figure has remained willfully inexpressive throughout the evolution of my work". As the first painter to take as his idiom the imagery of the machine age, and to make the objects of consumer society the subjects of his paintings, Léger has been called a progenitor of Pop Art.
He was active as a teacher for many years, first at the Académie Vassilieff in Paris, then in 1931 at the Sorbonne, and then developing his own Académie Fernand Léger, which was in Paris, then at the Yale School of Art and Architecture (1938–1939), Mills College Art Gallery in Oakland, California during 1940–1945, before he returned to France. Among his many pupils were Nadir Afonso, Paul Georges, Charlotte Gilbertson, Hananiah Harari, Asger Jorn, Michael Loew, Beverly Pepper, Victor Reinganum, Marcel Mouly, René Margotton, Saloua Raouda Choucair and Charlotte Wankel, Peter Agostini, Lou Albert-Lasard, Tarsila do Amaral, Arie Aroch, Alma del Banco, Christian Berg, Louise Bourgeois, Marcelle Cahn, Otto Gustaf Carlsund, Saloua Raouda Choucair, Robert Colescott, Lars Englund, Tsuguharu Foujita, Sam Francis, Serge Gainsbourg, Hans Hartung, Florence Henri, Asger Jorn, William Klein, Maryan, George Lovett Kingsland Morris, Marlow Moss, Aurélie Nemours, Gerhard Neumann, Jules Olitski, Erik Olson, Beverly Pepper, and Richard Stankiewicz.
In 1952, a pair of Léger murals was installed in the General Assembly Hall of the United Nations headquarters in New York City.
In 1960, the Musée Fernand Léger (fr) was opened in Biot, Alpes-Maritimes, France.
In May 2008, his painting Étude pour la femme en bleu (1912–13) sold for $39,241,000 (hammer price with buyer's premium) United States dollars.
In August 2008, one of Léger's paintings owned by Wellesley College's Davis Museum and Cultural Center, Mother and Child, was reported missing. It is believed to have disappeared some time between April 9, 2007 and November 19, 2007. A $100,000 reward is being offered for information that leads to the safe return of the painting.
Léger's work was featured in the exhibition "Léger: Modern Art and the Metropolis" from October 14, 2013, through January 5, 2014, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
"U" Ordinary Object, U is for "Ultra-Violet (UV or Black) Light" and Uranium Glass. This is the latest image in a flickrfriend challenge called Odd Wednesday where I am working my way through the alphabet photographing an ordinary object for each letter. Preferably something I wouldn't normally think to photograph.
I missed posting U last week so wanting to get this up before another week went by and V is due. Coming up with a U object was difficult since I did not want to photograph the obvious ones, under-ware or umbrella and after a long time thinking up an alternative, I remembered seeing a black-light at a local antique shop with a lot of other lighting. I stopped by there today and the owner, who happens to also be local Camano Island artist (and now author) extraordinaire, Jack Gunter see here, lent me the light and a lamp shade that he knew would glow quite nicely. And so U is for UV. Thanks Jack! I also made a shot with the same -2EV setting but with the light turned off. It appears below.
A black light, or Wood's light, is a lamp that emits long wave UV radiation and very little visible light. Commonly these are referred to as simply a "UV light". Fluorescent black lights are typically made in the same fashion as normal fluorescent lights except that only one phosphor is used and the normally clear glass envelope of the bulb may be replaced by a deep-bluish-purple glass called Wood's glass, a nickel-oxide–doped glass, which blocks almost all visible light above 400 nanometres. The color of such lamps is often referred to in the trade as "blacklight blue" ... Wikipedia
Weesperstraat 15/12/2014 21h07
An art project along the always busy Weesperstraat (the main axe between Noord and Amsterdam East) which tells us the history of street lights.
Amsterdam Light Festival
The third edition for this Winter event in the city of Amsterdam. The theme for this year’s festival, ‘A Bright City’, challenges artists to create a tribute to life the city. The resulting artworks present a unique take on the modern city of Amsterdam.
The city will be complemented by light sculptures, projections and installations by contemporary (inter)national artists. The boat route, Water Colors, will take visitors past artworks along Amsterdam’s canals and the Amstel. The walking route, Illuminade, winds through the city center. During the festival, light will play a central role in the city as museums and institutions organize light-related activities, introducing visitors to innovations in light art.
The third edition of the festival will take place from 27 November 2014 to 18 January 2015. The boat route, Water Colors, will take place from 27 November 2014 to 18 January 2015, and the walking route, Illuminade, from 11 December 2014 to 4 January 2015.
www.amsterdamlightfestival.com
Street Light Evolution
Artist: Koen Fraijman (TU Delft)
Location: Weesperstraat
Street Light Evolution is all about attention; attention for ordinary objects that you don’t usually pay attention to but also attention to history, to the engineers and the makers of these artworks. In this artwork, lampposts are arranged in a bouquet formation, putting each other in the spotlight.
You are invited to look at the actual lamppost, and not just its glimmer. And the artwork interacts with you, holding your attention a little longer. Street Light Evolution is a collaborative project between ten students of the Technical University Delft, under the management of Koen Fraijman. The students completed the entire project in just three months.
Made possible by: TU Delft (Technical University of Delft) - Mikana (public lighting) - Tata Steel (and some others)
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Last photo uploaded in 2014. In total I uploaded 2204 photos in the year 2014 with an average of 6.05 photos a day (grand total 12.288)
Ordinary Dictionary by Sony200boy .....
Ordinary Object. "D" is for Dictionary. This is the fourth image in the flickrfriend challenge we call Odd Wednesday, where we will work our selves through the alphabet photographing an object for each letter that we normally would not think of photographing if it weren't for the challenge.
I thought this might be a common one so decided to do more experimenting with b&w (not difficult with this subject) and used the light reflected in the magnifying glass to highlight my chosen word.
© All rights reserved
View at Felix Gonzalez-Torres "Specific Objects without Specific Form" retrospective at Wiels, february 2010.
WIELS premieres a major traveling retrospective of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ oeuvre, including both rarely seen and more known artworks, while proposing an experimental form for the exhibition that is indebted to the artist’s own radical conception of the artwork.
Gonzalez-Torres (American, b. Cuba 1957-1996), one of the most influential artists of his generation, settled in New York in the early 1980s, where he studied art and began his practice as an artist before his untimely death of AIDS related complications. His work can be seen in critical relationship to Conceptual art and Minimalism, mixing political activism, emotional affect, and deep formal concerns in a wide range of media, including drawings, sculpture, and public billboards*, often using ordinary objects as a starting point—clocks, mirrors, light fixtures. Amongst his most famous artworks are his piles of candy and paper stacks from which viewers are allowed to take away a piece. They are premised, like so much of what he did, on instability and potential for change: artworks without an already preset or specific form. The result is a profoundly human body of work, intimate and vulnerable even as it destabilizes so many seemingly unshakable certainties (the artwork as fixed, the exhibition as a place to look but not touch, the author as the ultimate form-giver).
To present the oeuvre of an artist who put fragility, the passage of time, and the questioning of authority at the center of his artworks, the exhibition will be entirely re-installed at each of its venues halfway through its duration by a different invited artist whose practice has been informed by Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ work. A first version of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Specific Objects without Specific Form by curator Elena Filipovic will open to the public and on March 5, 2010, the artist Danh Vo will re-install the exhibition, effectively making an entirely new show.
Text source :
This is part of an ongoing project. I thought it would be interesting to look around me and see what could be interpreted as faces in every day ordinary objects. My intention is to make people look twice and to see if they can figure out what these objects are :-) Please let me know if you have any suggestions or guesses! Feel free to check out my sets so you can see the photos as a collective.
View at Felix Gonzalez-Torres "Specific Objects without Specific Form" retrospective at Wiels, february 2010.
WIELS premieres a major traveling retrospective of Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ oeuvre, including both rarely seen and more known artworks, while proposing an experimental form for the exhibition that is indebted to the artist’s own radical conception of the artwork.
Gonzalez-Torres (American, b. Cuba 1957-1996), one of the most influential artists of his generation, settled in New York in the early 1980s, where he studied art and began his practice as an artist before his untimely death of AIDS related complications. His work can be seen in critical relationship to Conceptual art and Minimalism, mixing political activism, emotional affect, and deep formal concerns in a wide range of media, including drawings, sculpture, and public billboards*, often using ordinary objects as a starting point—clocks, mirrors, light fixtures. Amongst his most famous artworks are his piles of candy and paper stacks from which viewers are allowed to take away a piece. They are premised, like so much of what he did, on instability and potential for change: artworks without an already preset or specific form. The result is a profoundly human body of work, intimate and vulnerable even as it destabilizes so many seemingly unshakable certainties (the artwork as fixed, the exhibition as a place to look but not touch, the author as the ultimate form-giver).
To present the oeuvre of an artist who put fragility, the passage of time, and the questioning of authority at the center of his artworks, the exhibition will be entirely re-installed at each of its venues halfway through its duration by a different invited artist whose practice has been informed by Felix Gonzalez-Torres’ work. A first version of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. Specific Objects without Specific Form by curator Elena Filipovic will open to the public and on March 5, 2010, the artist Danh Vo will re-install the exhibition, effectively making an entirely new show.
Text source :
I was experimenting around for a school project where I had to make ordinary objects look magical.
Stars made by a six-point star lens filter.
Model: my sis Lindsay
The power went out to our neighborhood last weekend. Several hours later, when there was still no electricity- and no computer! - I decided to bide my time by doing some photography. I didn’t want to open the door to go outside to shoot, for fear of the cold winter air entering our already slowly cooling house.
So I looked for things to shoot indoors. I already exhausted the tool room (see previous images) – the last remaining place in the house where I haven’t done any photography. So what else could I shoot?
I felt like I had to get creative, to try to see things in my home with a new eye. This turned out to be a bit of a challenge. In one of my acts of, shall we say, mild desperation, I picked up a thin plastic cutting board in the kitchen, held it up against the glass door leading out to the deck, and snapped a shot.
The raw image was rather unimpressive, but with the help of Photoshop, I was able to draw out the hidden beauty that exists in these so-called “everyday, ordinary objects.”
That’s one thing I really like about digital photography. It helps you see what otherwise might be invisible.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
"N" Ordinary Object, N is for "Nest." This is the latest image in the flickrfriend challenge we call Odd Wednesday. Where a couple of us are working our way through the alphabet photographing an ordinary object for each letter. Preferably something we wouldn't normally think to photograph.
I missed my Odd Wednesday post again! So here it is, and it is probably my most ordinary shot in this series! Too many things to do but really liked the texture of this fallen nest.
© Diana Yakowitz all rights reserved.
Rumble Strips and power lines somewhere near the California, Arizona border. Drive-by on I40. While the majority of this image is of the power lines and towers and the vista. I wanted to point out the groves or rumble strips on the shoulder of this divided highway at the bottom of the photo. "A rumble strip is a raised or corrugated section of a roadway which is designed as a highway safety feature. If drivers cross the rumble strip, it will produce a strong vibration and a lot of noise, alerting the driver to the fact that he or she may be doing something dangerous. Rumble strips are common along long, boring highways which might breed driver distraction, and they may be used on curvy roads, as well. Studies on rumble strips have suggested that they do save lives, greatly decreasing the accident rate on dangerous parts of the road. The first rumble strip was installed on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway in 1952. Realizing the potential applications of the device, highway departments in many other states followed suit. Rumble strips have become ubiquitous across the United States, especially in notoriously dangerous areas." wisegeek.com
Needless to say, these strips warned me at least once to stop taking photos and watch the road! OK this is the last drive-by shot for now. Hope to have some Tucson shots for you soon after my ordinary object photo on odd Wednesday.
(btw, when I was a kid I used to pretend these power towers were Martians marching during their invasion across the desert.)
Hold your breath.
Make a wish.
Count to three.
Come with me and you'll be in a world of pure imagination
Take a look and you'll see into your imagination.
We'll begin with a spin traveling in the world of my creation.
What we'll see will defy explanation. ~ Willy Wonka
Class With Daves: The Audit Group ~ Assignment 232. Surreal.
From Wikipedia: "Surrealism as a visual movement had found a method: to expose psychological truth by stripping ordinary objects of their normal significance, in order to create a compelling image that was beyond ordinary formal organization, in order to evoke empathy from the viewer."
the hills are not as high, the sea so deep, as a dream
~kit williams
Project Description:
A Sequence of Lines and Links connects together 100’s of steel rulers in a triangulated pattern. The net-like construction drapes and buckles under it’s own weight. The triangular formation, known for regularity and stability, torques and sags, battling it’s own structure.
Biography:
Toronto artist Kristiina Lahde alters and re-formats ordinary objects and materials through a process of geometric re-organization in which measurement and pattern play a significant role. She received her BFA from the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (NSCAD) in 1999. Her 2015 solo exhibition ULTRA-PARALLEL at the Koffler Gallery garnered high praise with reviews in The Toronto Star, Akimbo, and Canadian Art. Lahde’s work has been exhibited at 57W57 Arts, New York, The Power Plant, Toronto and the 2011 Biennale de Montréal. Lahde has upcoming solo exhibitions at Central Art Garage in Ottawa and OBORO in Montreal. She was a Long-List nominee for the Sobey Art Award in 2013. Lahde’s work is in the collection of the Canada Council Art Bank. Kristiina Lahde is represented by MKG127 in Toronto, MKG127 will be presenting her work at UNTITLED Miami Beach 2016.
René François Ghislain Magritte, 21 November 1898 – 15 August 1967) was a Belgian surrealist artist, who became well known for creating a number of witty and thought-provoking images. Often depicting ordinary objects in an unusual context, his work is known for challenging observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality. His imagery has influenced pop art, minimalist art, and conceptual art.
Magritte's earliest paintings, which date from about 1915, were Impressionistic in style. During 1916–1918, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, under Constant Montald, but found the instruction uninspiring. He also took classes at the Académie Royale from the painter and poster designer Gisbert Combaz. The paintings he produced during 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the figurative Cubism of Metzinger.
From December 1920 until September 1921, Magritte served in the Belgian infantry in the Flemish town of Beverlo near Leopoldsburg. In 1922, Magritte married Georgette Berger, whom he had met as a child in 1913. Also during 1922, the poet Marcel Lecomte showed Magritte a reproduction of Giorgio de Chirico's The Song of Love (painted in 1914). The work brought Magritte to tears; he described this as "one of the most moving moments of my life: my eyes saw thought for the first time." The paintings of the Belgian symbolist painter William Degouve de Nuncques have also been noted as an influence on Magritte, specifically the former's painting The Blind House (1892) and Magritte's variations or series on The Empire of Lights.
In 1922–1923, Magritte worked as a draughtsman in a wallpaper factory, and was a poster and advertisement designer until 1926, when a contract with Galerie Le Centaure in Brussels made it possible for him to paint full-time. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey (Le jockey perdu), and held his first solo exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Critics heaped abuse on the exhibition.
Depressed by the failure, he moved to Paris where he became friends with André Breton and became involved in the Surrealist group. An illusionistic, dream-like quality is characteristic of Magritte's version of Surrealism. He became a leading member of the movement, and remained in Paris for three years. In 1929 he exhibited at Goemans Gallery in Paris with Salvador Dalí, Jean Arp, de Chirico, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Picabia, Picasso and Yves Tanguy.
On 15 December 1929 he participated in the last publication of La Revolution Surrealiste No. 12, where he published his essay "Les mots et les images", where words play with images in sync with his work The Treachery of Images.
Galerie Le Centaure closed at the end of 1929, ending Magritte's contract income. Having made little impact in Paris, Magritte returned to Brussels in 1930 and resumed working in advertising.[10] He and his brother, Paul, formed an agency which earned him a living wage. In 1932, Magritte joined the Communist Party, which he would periodically leave and rejoin for several years. In 1936 he had his first solo exhibition in the United States at the Julien Levy Gallery in New York, followed by an exposition at the London Gallery in 1938.
During the early stages of his career, the British surrealist patron Edward James allowed Magritte to stay rent-free in his London home, where Magritte studied architecture and painted. James is featured in two of Magritte's works painted in 1937, Le Principe du Plaisir (The Pleasure Principle) and La Reproduction Interdite, a painting also known as Not to Be Reproduced.
During the German occupation of Belgium in World War II he remained in Brussels, which led to a break with Breton. He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943–44, an interlude known as his "Renoir period", as a reaction to his feelings of alienation and abandonment that came with living in German-occupied Belgium.
In 1946, renouncing the violence and pessimism of his earlier work, he joined several other Belgian artists in signing the manifesto Surrealism in Full Sunlight. During 1947–48, Magritte's "Vache period," he painted in a provocative and crude Fauve style. During this time, Magritte supported himself through the production of fake Picassos, Braques, and de Chiricos—a fraudulent repertoire he was later to expand into the printing of forged banknotes during the lean postwar period. This venture was undertaken alongside his brother Paul and fellow Surrealist and "surrogate son" Marcel Mariën, to whom had fallen the task of selling the forgeries. At the end of 1948, Magritte returned to the style and themes of his pre-war surrealistic art.
In France, Magritte's work has been showcased in a number of retrospective exhibitions, most recently at the Centre Georges Pompidou (2016–2017). In the United States his work has been featured in three retrospective exhibitions: at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992, and again at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2013. An exhibition entitled "The Fifth Season" at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in 2018 focused on the work of his later years.
Politically, Magritte stood to the left, and retained close ties to the Communist Party, even in the post-war years. However, he was critical of the functionalist cultural policy of the Communist left, stating that "Class consciousness is as necessary as bread; but that does not mean that workers must be condemned to bread and water and that wanting chicken and champagne would be harmful. (...) For the Communist painter, the justification of artistic activity is to create pictures that can represent mental luxury." While remaining committed to the political left, he thus advocated a certain autonomy of art. Spiritually, Magritte was an agnostic.
Popular interest in Magritte's work rose considerably in the 1960s, and his imagery has influenced pop, minimalist, and conceptual art. In 2005 he was 9th in the Walloon version of De Grootste Belg (The Greatest Belgian); in the Flemish version he was 18th.
My name is Darby, and I am an amateur photographer. I have just started taking photos of things other than my friends and family just this year. However, even though I still have much room for improvement, I can honestly say that photography is a newfound hobby that I enjoy and love. It pushes me to think creatively and to try to capture scenes in a new and unique way. Ever since I was a little girl, I have always been stimulated by a challenge. I think of it as a way to prove that I am capable to take on anything that someone throws at me. And even though I sometimes fall short, I can at least think to myself that I put in my best effort. Photography is constantly a challenge because it requires a lot of brainstorming to even come up with the idea of what it is you want to take a picture of. Furthermore, once you come up with an idea, the actual execution of the photo can be a struggle because I am constantly trying to make the finished product look clear, interesting, and original. However, I have to admit that not everything I produce reaches those standards; again, I am an amateur.
When it comes to photography, my goal is, as previously mentioned, to capture a moment that looks clear, interesting, and original. I try to look at things from an unexpected viewpoint so that I can both capture the hidden beauty of an ordinary object and open my audience’s eyes to a new perspective of life. In order to accomplish this, I experiment with taking photos from many different angles, I zoom in on little details of an object, I toy around with the lighting until it is just right, I focus in on certain areas in the frame and leave other areas slightly blurred, etc. All of these components help me to create a photo that is both intriguing to an audience and beautiful to the human eye. After I have taken a photo and altered it appropriately in Photoshop, my ultimate goal and joy of photography is to step back and look at a picture that I am proud to call my own.
The Self Portrait/Alter Ego project has been the most challenging project so far because it has compelled me to analyze myself and choose what it is that I want the world to know about me. There are so many facets to one individual, which therefore makes it very difficult to sum them all up in one frame. And because that is the case, you are forced to choose one, two, or even three things about yourself that you think are most important about you, and then try to capture a photo of those qualities in the most interesting and creative way possible. Personally, I chose to capture the most defining aspects of my persona, the fact that I’m a violinist and that I am a black belt in Taekwondo, since these two qualities have been a part of me for the majority of my life. It took a long time for me to finally decide that this is what I want to unveil to my audience because there are so many things that shape my personality and interests. However, my violin and my Taekwondo have been a part of me for most of my childhood, and therefore I thought that it was most appropriate to show off what has stuck with me for so long. Once I finally decided on my theme for my self-portrait, I found that the actual execution of the photo was most challenging because setting the scene and getting the lighting just right was very difficult. I wanted to get a good angle so that I could show off the beauty of the violin while still keeping my Taekwondo uniform and boxing gloves in the frame. Furthermore, because I was working with a tripod to capture this photo, it took a lot more time to adjust and readjust my camera so that I could finally expose the vision that I created in my head.
The Alter Ego photo, on the other hand, is, as its name explains, a photo that portrays someone who is completely opposite of who you really are. In my basement, we have a pool table that my step dad and brothers love to play billiards on, and they have often asked me to join in a game with them. They love to play the game for fun (especially in the winter when they are cooped up inside), and even though I have played several times with them, it just isn’t my kind of thing. I don’t understand all the angles, strategies, and different ways of setting up upcoming shots; I’m just not that savvy. Another reason that I chose this photo to portray my alter ego is because, often times, pool tables are associated with bars, beer, and smoke. Personally, I don’t hang out at bars, I’m not a drinker, and I cannot stand the odorous stench of second hand smoke. Therefore, I thought that a symbol that was somehow linked to a bar-like setting would be appropriate because it involves many things that I don’t enjoy.
William Harnett (1848 –1892) was an Irish-American painter who practiced a trompe l'oeil (literally, "fool the eye") style of realistic painting. His still lifes of ordinary objects, arranged on a ledge or hanging from a nail, are painted in a way that the painting can be mistaken for the objects themselves.
© Diana Yakowitz, 2011 all rights reserved.
Magazines! Yes, I have saved all my American Photo, Camera Arts, and other photography magazines since the early 80's or maybe even 70's. They stay flatter when stacked rather than standing. This is only one portion and I like the lines of backs and edges and words and the tiny amount of color.
Tomorrow I leave for Tucson for a couple of weeks. Don't know at this time what my internet condition will be, but I am going to try to keep up but only post every few days at most. Hoping to do some more printing while I am there too and maybe finally getting the Ordinary Object images printed too.
An artwork at the Amsterdan Light Festival.
Short info about the artwork: Street Light Evolution is all about attention; attention for ordinary objects that you don’t usually pay attention to but also attention to history, to the engineers and the makers of these artworks. In this artwork, lampposts are arranged in a bouquet formation, putting each other in the spotlight.
Magritte was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for often witty and thought-provoking images. His goal for his was to challenge observers' preconditioned perceptions of reality and force viewers to become hypersensitive to their surroundings. Magritte's earliest paintings were Impressionistic in style. From 1916 to 1918 he studied at the Académie in Brussels, but found the instruction uninspiring. The paintings he produced during the years 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the offshoot of Cubism practiced by Metzinger. Most of his works of this period are female nudes. In 1926, Magritte produced his first surreal painting, The Lost Jockey, and held his first exhibition in Brussels in 1927. Critics heaped abuse on the exhibition. Depressed, he moved to Paris where he became friends with André Breton, and became involved in the surrealist group.
He briefly adopted a colorful, painterly style in 1943–44, an interlude known as his "Renoir Period". In 1946, renouncing the violence and pessimism of his earlier work, he joined several other Belgian artists in signing the manifesto Surrealism in Full Sunlight. During 1947–48 he painted in a provocative and crude Fauve style. During this time, Magritte supported himself through the production of fake Picassos, Braques and Chiricos. At the end of 1948, he returned to the style and themes of his prewar surrealistic art. His work was exhibited in the United States in New York in 1936 and again in that city in two retrospective exhibitions, one at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992.
Magritte's style of surrealism is more representational than the "automatic" style of artists such as Joan Miró. His use of ordinary objects in unfamiliar spaces is joined to his desire to create poetic imagery. He described the act of painting as "the art of putting colors side by side in such a way that their real aspect is effaced, so that familiar objects—the sky, people, trees, mountains, furniture, the stars, solid structures, graffiti—become united in a single poetically disciplined image. The poetry of this image dispenses with any symbolic significance, old or new.” Magritte's use of simple graphic and everyday imagery has been compared to that of the Pop artists although Magritte himself discounted the connection. He considered the Pop artists' representation of "the world as it is" as "their error", and contrasted their attention to the transitory with his concern for "the feeling for the real, insofar as it is permanent."
Silly photobuff shot the yellow peper in B&W at his kitchen and tried to reflect on the meaning of photography.
What is the meaning of photography?
To reveal the beauty of things around us.
To demonstrate the humanistic values of love, freedom and equality.
To seek the mystery and beauty of nature.
To show the wonderful characteristics of light.
Please add more to the list.