This was our daughter's entry for the Masquerade (costume/performance) competition. The costume is completely her creation. She is Akita Neru, a vocaloid character. What's a vocaloid? It's Japanese pop music that is sung by a fully computer synthesized voice.

If you thought she was the only vocaloid character at the con, or that no one recognized her character, well, you'd be mistaken, actually.

Photo by Cimmorene

Dr. Fryer is synthesizing precursor solutions to be used in the sol-gel (solution-to-gel) fabrication of metal oxide thin films for high-temperature gas sensing. These liquid solutions are then conditioned into gels, which are coated onto glass substrates and then calcined (aka “baked”/”cooked”/”annealed”/etc.) at 900°C to produce solid, ceramic thin films, roughly 100-nm-thick. After optimizing the fabrication of these films, they will be incorporated into surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor devices. Developing thin film gas sensing materials that are stable in high-temperature, corrosive atmospheres is the goal of Dr. Fryer’s work here at NETL.

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.

Bob Farese Jr. has always lived between identities. Trained as both a physician and a scientist, he’s someone who listens as intently as he investigates. You can sense it when he speaks—quiet, deliberate, with a kind of inward momentum that doesn’t announce itself but builds as he connects ideas.

His laboratory work focuses on lipid metabolism and its role in disease. That phrase might not catch the average ear, but it describes a world of hidden choreography inside our cells. The way fats are synthesized, stored, mobilized, and burned can determine whether we thrive or falter. Bob’s research has helped illuminate this hidden world, especially the biology of energy storage in lipid droplets—organelles once overlooked but now recognized as central to metabolic health and even neurodegeneration. His discoveries have changed how scientists understand fat-related disorders, from liver disease to dementia.

But the story doesn’t begin at the lab bench. He grew up the child of a prominent endocrinologist, moving frequently—but settling in Florida. Science was in the air, but so was music, drawing and painting. In school, he studied chemistry, then medicine. Even then, clinical work wasn’t enough. He wanted to understand the root causes of illness, not just treat symptoms. That curiosity led him to basic research, and eventually, to a life where he’s as comfortable with a pipette as he is with a Leica.

Bob’s scientific path crystallized when he joined forces with his scientific partner, Tobias Walther. The two now co-lead a lab—first at Harvard, now at Sloan Kettering—and are known as a rare scientific duo, leading a lab guided by rigor and collaboration. Their partnership has shaped a lab culture that values openness, creativity, and humor—qualities that continue to attract a steady stream of talented students and postdocs.

Alongside the science, Bob has always made room for the arts. Photography, in particular, is more than a hobby. His images often capture quiet, observational moments—a play of light through a window, a worn hand resting on a table, a curve of architecture that might otherwise go unnoticed. There’s a kind of stillness in his photographs that mirrors the clarity he brings to his research.

He speaks often about balance. Not in a performative way, but with genuine thoughtfulness—the balance between work and life, between ambition and humility, between the urgent pace of science and the slower rhythm of understanding. His home reflects this equilibrium. It is gracious and warm, filled with books and framed prints, personal but not curated. It’s easy to imagine it as a place where conversations run late and the espresso machine gets more use than the television.

On May 4, 2025, he was photographed in that very home. The light was low, almost theatrical, with sharp contrasts that carved out the details of his face. He sat calmly, his hands folded, eyes alert. It was the kind of portrait that reveals more the longer you look.

Bob has a rare gift for moving between worlds—the clinical and the molecular, the technical and the human, the scientific and the artistic. He is not driven by fame or academic gamesmanship. What he seems to care about most is clarity. In thought, in method, in expression. Whether he’s mentoring a student, studying lipid droplets under a microscope, or stopping to photograph the tremendous variation of patterns in water, that search for essence is always present.

At this point in his career, he could coast if he wanted to. But that’s not his nature. There are still puzzles to solve, still connections to make. And in the quiet spaces between experiments and images, he continues to listen for them.

Easier to sketch than run! This was a good exercise for sketching people on the move. I had to synthesize together quite a few passing runners to get any of the figures drawn, so each is a kind of cohort. :-)

Synthetic fluorescent mineral experiment.

Synthesized Calcite attempt

Sodium carbonate and a small amount of manganese carbonate were crushed together and hydrated with aqueous solutions of calcium chloride and lead nitrate.

The solution was allowed to precipitate in an oven.

Heat source: 500 deg. F oven (broil)

Shown under SW light.

FOV: ~3" wide

Ginko Bioworks on Display at SynBioBeta. I caught up with the head of DNA Synthesis (Ginko acquired MIT's Gen9 for this, as I was the first VC investor in their very cool way for accurately building genes with a silicon chip and error-correcting enzyme from nature)

Some quotes from Day 2 of SynBioBeta 2018:

“91% of consumers will switch brands for a deeper purpose” — Charles Dimmler, CEO, Checkerspot

“Beyond Meat and Impossible burgers led to their raw material, pea protein to skyrocket in price, from $3.50/lb to $15/lb for high end dairy. It tripled on average from tiny sales growth. Plants are not the most effective way to make proteins.” — Ryan Bethencourt, CEO of Wild Earth

“Microbes could become the primary source of Nitrogen for all crops in the world. U.S. corn consumes 6% of global fertilizer. And fertilizer production consumes 2.5% of global energy production.” — Karsten Temme, CEO of Pivot Bio

“Mosquitos are most deadly animal on earth, killing 700K people/yr.” — Todd Bixby, Intrexon

“We can synthesize the equivalent of 1 human genome on a single run.” — Ben Borgo, Agilent

The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.

BACKGROUND

The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi'an in Shaanxi province by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.6 kilometres east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found in China.

NECROPROLIS

In addition to the warriors, an entire necropolis built for the emperor was found surrounding the first emperor's tomb mound. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape with Qin Shi Huang’s necropolis complex constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace or compound.

It consists of several offices, halls, stables, and other structures placed around the tomb mound, which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. Up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.

HISTORY

According to the writings of historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE), work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended the throne. The project eventually involved 700,000 workers. Geographer Li Daoyuan, writing six centuries after the First Emperor's death, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology, "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there". Sima Qian, in his most noted work, Shiji, finished a century after the mausoleum's completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects. According to this account, 100 rivers had their flow simulated by mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land. Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations," however those words were not used in the original text, which makes no mention of the terracotta army.

High levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qian's account.

Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor, however, there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered.

CONSTRUCTION

The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and local craftsmen using local materials. Heads, arms, legs, and torsos were created separately and then assembled. Eight face moulds were most likely used, with clay added after assembly to provide individual facial features.

It is believed that the warriors' legs were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would classify the process as assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times of tight imperial control, each workshop was required to inscribe its name on items produced to ensure quality control. This has aided modern historians in verifying which workshops were commandeered to make tiles and other mundane items for the terracotta army. Upon completion, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.

The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Most originally held real weapons such as spears, swords, or crossbows. Originally, the figures were also painted with bright pigments, variously coloured pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac. The coloured lacquer finish, individual facial features, and weapons used in producing these figures increased the figures' realism. Most of the original weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army, or have rotted away, while the colour coating flaked off or greatly faded.

THE TOMB

The tomb appears to be a hermetically-sealed space the size of a football pitch. The tomb remains unopened, given concerns about preserving its artifacts. For example, after their excavation, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade. The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air and can flake off in just four minutes. There is speculation of a possible Hellenistic link to these sculptures, due to the lack of life-sized and realistic sculptures prior to the Qin dynasty according to some scholars.

EXCAVATION SITE

PITS

Four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. These are located approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the burial mound. The soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where all the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay.

PIT ONE

Pit one, which is 230 metres long and 62 metres wide, contains the main army of more than 6,000 figures. Pit one has 11 corridors, most of which are more than 3 metres wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil raising them about 2 to 3 metres above the surrounding ground level when completed.

OTHERS

Pit two has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit three is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit four is empty, perhaps left unfinished by its builders.

Some of the figures in pit one and two show fire damage, while remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found.

These, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and the subsequent burning of the site, which is thought to have caused the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta figures currently on display have been restored from the fragments. Other pits that formed the necropolis also have been excavated. These pits lie within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They variously contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armour suits, burials sites of horses, rare animals and labourers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks set in an underground park.

WEAPONRY

Weapons such as swords, spears, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and arrowheads were found in the pits. Some of these weapons, such as the swords are sharp and were coated with a 10–15 micrometre layer of chromium dioxide and kept the swords rust-free for 2,000 years. The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt. Some carry inscriptions that date manufacture between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating they were used as weapons before their burials.

An important element of the army is the chariot, of which four types were found. In battle the fighting chariots form pairs at the head of a unit of infantry. The principal weapon of the charioteers was the ge or dagger-axe, an L-shaped bronze blade mounted on a long shaft used for sweeping and hooking at the enemy. Infantrymen also carried ge on shorter shafts, ji or halberds and spears and lances. For close fighting and defence, both charioteers and infantrymen carried double-edged straight swords. The archers carried crossbows, with sophisticated trigger mechanisms, capable of firing arrows farther than 800 metres.

EXHIBITIONS

A collection of 120 objects from the mausoleum and 20 terracotta warriors were displayed at the British Museum in London as its special exhibition "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" from 13 September 2007 to April 2008. This exhibition made 2008 the British Museum's most successful year and made the British Museum the United Kingdom's top cultural attraction between 2007 and 2008. The exhibition brought the most visitors to the museum since the King Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. It was reported that the initial batch of tickets sold out so fast that the museum extended its opening hours until midnight on Thursdays to Sundays. According to The Times, many people had to be turned away, despite the extended hours. During the day of events to mark the Chinese New Year, the crush was so intense that the gates to the museum had to be shut. The Terracotta Army has been described as the only other set of historic artifacts (along with the remnants of wreck of the RMS Titanic) that can draw a crowd by the name alone.

Warriors and other artifacts were exhibited to the public at the Forum de Barcelona in Barcelona between 9 May and 26 September 2004. It was their most successful exhibition ever. The same exhibition was presented at the Fundación Canal de Isabel II in Madrid between October 2004 and January 2005, their most successful ever. From December 2009 to May 2010 the exhibition was shown in the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago de Chile.

The exhibition traveled to North America and visited museums such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Houston Museum of Natural Science, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, National Geographic Society Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Subsequently the exhibition traveled to Sweden and was hosted in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities between 28 August 2010 and 20 January 2011. An exhibition entitled 'The First Emperor – China's Entombed Warriors', presenting 120 artifacts was hosted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, between 2 December 2010 and 13 March 2011. An exhibition entitled "L'Empereur guerrier de Chine et son armée de terre cuite" ("The Warrior-Emperor of China and his terracotta army"), featuring artifacts including statues from the mausoleum, was hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 11 February 2011 to 26 June 2011. In Italy, from July 2008 to November 16, 2008, five of the warriors of the terracotta army were exposed in Turin at the Museum of Antiquities, and from 16 April 2010 to 5 September 2010 were exposed nine warriors in Milan, at the Royal Palace, at the exhibition entitled "The Two Empires". The group consisted of a horse, a counselor, an archer and 6 Lancers. The "Treasures of Ancient China" exhibition, showcasing two terracotta soldiers and other artifacts, including the Longmen Grottoes Buddhist statues, was held between 19 February 2011 and 7 November 2011 in four locations in India: National Museum of New Delhi, Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad and National Library of India in Kolkata.

Soldiers and related items were on display from March 15, 2013, to November 17, 2013, at the Historical Museum of Bern.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

In 2007, scientists at Stanford University and the Advanced Light Source facility in Berkeley, California reported that powder diffraction experiments combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the process of producing Terracotta figures colored with Chinese purple dye consisting of barium copper silicate was derived from the knowledge gained by Taoist alchemists in their attempts to synthesize jade ornaments.

Since 2006, an international team of researchers at the UCL Institute of Archaeology have been using analytical chemistry techniques to uncover more details about the production techniques employed in the creation of the Terracotta Army. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of 40,000 bronze arrowheads bundled in groups of 100, the researchers reported that the arrowheads within a single bundle formed a relatively tight cluster that was different from other bundles. In addition, the presence or absence of metal impurities was consistent within bundles. Based on the arrows’ chemical compositions, the researchers concluded that a cellular manufacturing system similar to the one used in a modern Toyota factory, as opposed to a continuous assembly line in the early days of automobile industry, was employed.

Grinding and polishing marks visible under a scanning electron microscope provide evidence for the earliest industrial use of lathes for polishing.

WIKIPEDIA

Visit us at: www.redlinextremeracing.com/

Jasper-quartz pebble conglomerate in the Precambrian of Ontario, Canada.

Southeastern Canada's ~2.3 billion year old Lorrain Formation includes some beautiful rocks that rockhounds have nicknamed "puddingstone". This refers to whitish-gray quartzites having common pebbles of red jasper.

The Lorrain Formation is somewhat heterolithic. Published studies mention that the unit has arkoses, subarkoses, quartzites, and jasper-pebble conglomerates. The latter two lithologies are present at the glacially-eroded outcrop seen here. The quartzites were originally sandstones. They have been well cemented and somewhat metamorphosed into very hard rocks. The jasper-pebble conglomerates, or "puddingstones", include clasts of white quartz and reddish jaspilites. Pebble shapes range from rounded to angular. Ordinarily, a sedimentary rock having rounded pebbles is called "conglomerate", and a rock having angular pebbles is called "breccia". This material has both shape categories, but is referred to as "conglomerate" here.

Jaspilite is a type of BIF (banded iron formation). BIFs only formed on Earth during the Precambrian - most are Paleoproterozoic in age. They are the # 1 source of iron ore for the world's steel industry. Numerous specific types of BIFs are known. Jaspilite consists of alternating laters of red and silvery-gray, iron-rich minerals. The red layers are hematite or jasper (= hematitic chert). The silver-gray layers are usually rich in magnetite and/or specular hematite. Jaspilite BIFs outcrop in many areas around Lake Superior, for example in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, Minnesota, and Ontario.

During the Paleoproterozoic, BIFs were subaerially exposed as paleo-outcrops and eroded, producing BIF sediments, including many red jasper pebbles. These mixed with quartz-rich sediments.

Regional studies indicate that the Lorrain Formation was deposited in ancient shallow ocean, lake, delta, and shoreline environments.

Stratigraphy: Lorrain Formation, upper Cobalt Group, Huronian Supergroup, Paleoproterozoic, ~2.3 Ga

Locality: Ottertail Lake Northeast Roadcut - glacial knob on the eastern side of Rt. 638, northeast of Ottertail Lake & southeast of Rock Lake, north-northeast of the town of Bruce Mines, southern Ontario, southeastern Canada (46° 23' 30.59" North latitude, 83° 43’ 10.94" West longitude)

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

Some info. synthesized from:

Hadley (1970) - Paleocurrents and origin of Huronian Lorrain Formation, Ontario and Quebec. American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 54: 850.

Visit us at www.vpxsports.com

Shop at shop.vpxsports.com

Visit us at: www.redlinextremeracing.com/

Dan Hayes, in the Materials Synthesis and Electrochemistry Lab at NETL in Morgantown, WV, synthesizing a pyrochlore catalyst for hydrocarbon reforming.

ASF 2015, "Herding Cats: Synthesizing the Intelligence Community"

Rick Ambrose

James Clapper

Andrea Mitchell

- 420MG POR CÁPSULA

- EFEITO TERMOGÊNICO

- 1 CÁPSULA POR DIA

- SUPER CONCENTRADA

- RESPOSTA INSTANTÂNEA

MAIS INFORMAÇÕES: synthesize.com.br/Produtos/Caffeine.html

Visit us at: www.redlinextremeracing.com/

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.

© Brian Callahan 2009 All rights reserved.

I love this little critter. Delicate and graceful. Hope you like.

The Glasswing butterfly, Greta oto, is a brush-footed butterfly (Nymphalidae family), whose home range extends from Panama to Mexico. This species lays its eggs on plants of the genus Cestrum, which synthesize toxic alkaloids. The butterfly larvae feed on the plants and store the alkaloids in their tissues, making them unpalatable to predators.

Two different compact cameras at the same focal length shooting side by side at the same time

Crossed-eyes 3D (stereoscopic) viewing: View the two photos cross-eyed until a third one appears in the middle, which will be in stereo 3D. The brain nicely synthesizes a composite image with realistic depth and sharpness. Then put your two hands in front of your face to cover the photos on the left and right so only the middle one remains in your sight.

True 3D synthesized moving image. This is a Glyph.

Hologlyphics are animated spatial visuals seen in full 3D without glasses. Although not the same technical process as holography, the visual result is the same, a True 3D image with full horizontal parallax. Horizontal parallax allows you not only to see the animation in 3D, but also to see all views of the animation scene within a 90 degree viewing range. As you walk left to right, the perspective of the image changes as in the real world.

The animations are also synched to music and sound.

Traverse Town First District. Inside you can work with Moogles to synthesize new items and keyblades.

"Zushi Coast Fireworks 2013"

Zushi Coast, Zushi-City, Kanagawa-Pref, Japan

Comparison synthesized light

. . . look at the faces: every soldier has a different face! Not two are similar!

______________________________________

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.

HISTORY

The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE) in his most noted work Shiji, written a century after the mausoleum's completion. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended the throne, and the project eventually involved 700,000 workers. Geographer Li Daoyuan, writing six centuries after the First Emperor's death, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology, "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there". Sima Qian wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects. According to this account, 100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land. Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations"; however, those words were not used in the original text, which makes no mention of the terracotta army. High levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qian's account. Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor. However, there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered.

DISCOVERY

The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists, including Zhao Kangmin, to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found. A museum complex has since been constructed over the area, the largest pit being enclosed by a roofed structure.

NECROPOLIS

The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. Ground-penetrating radar and core sampling have measured the area to be approximately 98 square kilometers.

The necropolis was constructed as a microcosm of the emperor's imperial palace or compound, and covers a large area around the tomb mound of the first emperor. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape, and is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. The necropolis consists of several offices, halls, stables, other structures as well as an imperial park placed around the tomb mound.

The warriors stand guard to the east of the tomb. Up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.

TOMB

The tomb appears to be a hermetically sealed space roughly the size of a football pitch (c. 100 × 75 m). The tomb remains unopened, possibly due to concerns over preservation of its artifacts. For example, after the excavation of the Terracotta Army, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade. The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air and can flake off in just four minutes.

EXCAVATION S'ITE

PITS

Four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. These are located approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the burial mound. The soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay.

PIT 1

Pit 1, which is 230 metres long and 62 metres wide, contains the main army of more than 6,000 figures. Pit 1 has eleven corridors, most more than 3 metres wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil raising them about 2 to 3 metres above the surrounding ground level when completed.

OTHERS

Pit 2 has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit 3 is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit 4 is empty, perhaps left unfinished by its builders.

Some of the figures in Pits 1 and 2 show fire damage, while remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found. These, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and the subsequent burning of the site, which is thought to have caused the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta figures currently on display have been restored from the fragments.

Other pits that formed the necropolis have also been excavated. These pits lie within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They variously contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armour suits, burial sites of horses, rare animals and labourers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks set in an underground park.

WARRIOR FIGURES

TYPES AND APPEARANCE

The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Their faces appear to be different for each individual figure; scholars, however, have identified 10 basic face shapes. The figures are of these general types: armored warriors; unarmored infantrymen; cavalrymen who wear a pillbox hat; helmeted drivers of chariots with more armor protection; spear-carrying charioteers; kneeling archers who are armored; standing archers who are not; as well as generals and other lower-ranking officers. There are, however, many variations in the uniforms within the ranks: for example, some may wear shin pads while others not; they may wear either long or short trousers, some of which may be padded; and their body armors vary depending on rank, function, and position in formation. There are also terracotta horses placed among the warrior figures.

Originally, the figures were painted with bright pigments, variously coloured pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac. The coloured lacquer finish and individual facial features would have given the figures a realistic feel. However, much of the colour coating had flaked off or become greatly faded.

Some scholars have speculated a possible Hellenistic link to these sculptures, because of the lack of life-sized and realistic sculptures before the Qin dynasty. They argued that potential Greek influence is particularly evident in some terracotta figures such as those of acrobats, combined with findings of European DNA and rare bronze artifacts made with a lost wax technique known in Greece and Egypt.. However, this idea is disputed by scholars who claim that there is "no substantial evidence at all" for contact between ancient Greeks and Chinese builders of the tomb. They argue that such speculations rest on flawed and old "Eurocentric" ideas that assumed other civilizations were incapable of sophisticated artistry and thus foreign artistry must be seen through western traditions.

CONSTRUCTION

The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and local craftsmen using local materials. Heads, arms, legs, and torsos were created separately and then assembled by luting the pieces together. When completed, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.

The faces were created using molds, and at least ten face molds may have been used. Clay was then added after assembly to provide individual facial features to make each figure appear different. It is believed that the warriors' legs were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would classify the process as assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times of tight imperial control, each workshop was required to inscribe its name on items produced to ensure quality control. This has aided modern historians in verifying which workshops were commandeered to make tiles and other mundane items for the terracotta army.

WEAPONRY

Most of the figures originally held real weapons, which would have increased their realism. The majority of these weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army or have rotted away. Despite this, over 40,000 bronze items of weaponry have been recovered, including swords, daggers, spears, lances, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and crossbow triggers. Most of the recovered items are arrowheads, which are usually found in bundles of 100 units. Studies of these arrowheads suggests that they were produced by self-sufficient, autonomous workshops using a process referred to as cellular production or Toyotism. Some weapons were coated with a 10–15 micrometer layer of chromium dioxide before burial that has protected them from any form of decay for the last 2200 years. The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt. Some carry inscriptions that date their manufacture to between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating that they were used before burial.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

In 2007, scientists at Stanford University and the Advanced Light Source facility in Berkeley, California reported that powder diffraction experiments combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the process of producing terracotta figures colored with Chinese purple dye consisting of barium copper silicate was derived from the knowledge gained by Taoist alchemists in their attempts to synthesize jade ornaments.

Since 2006, an international team of researchers at the UCL Institute of Archaeology have been using analytical chemistry techniques to uncover more details about the production techniques employed in the creation of the Terracotta Army. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of 40,000 bronze arrowheads bundled in groups of 100, the researchers reported that the arrowheads within a single bundle formed a relatively tight cluster that was different from other bundles. In addition, the presence or absence of metal impurities was consistent within bundles. Based on the arrows’ chemical compositions, the researchers concluded that a cellular manufacturing system similar to the one used in a modern Toyota factory, as opposed to a continuous assembly line in the early days of the automobile industry, was employed.

Grinding and polishing marks visible under a scanning electron microscope provide evidence for the earliest industrial use of lathes for polishing.

EXHIBITIONS

The first exhibition of the figures outside of China was held at National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne in 1982.

A collection of 120 objects from the mausoleum and 12 terracotta warriors were displayed at the British Museum in London as its special exhibition "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" from 13 September 2007 to April 2008. This exhibition made 2008 the British Museum's most successful year and made the British Museum the United Kingdom's top cultural attraction between 2007 and 2008. The exhibition brought the most visitors to the museum since the King Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. It was reported that the 400,000 advance tickets sold out so fast that the museum extended its opening hours until midnight. According to The Times, many people had to be turned away, despite the extended hours. During the day of events to mark the Chinese New Year, the crush was so intense that the gates to the museum had to be shut. The Terracotta Army has been described as the only other set of historic artifacts (along with the remnants of wreck of the RMS Titanic) that can draw a crowd by the name alone.

Warriors and other artifacts were exhibited to the public at the Forum de Barcelona in Barcelona between 9 May and 26 September 2004. It was their most successful exhibition ever. The same exhibition was presented at the Fundación Canal de Isabel II in Madrid between October 2004 and January 2005, their most successful ever. From December 2009 to May 2010, the exhibition was shown in the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago de Chile.

The exhibition traveled to North America and visited museums such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Houston Museum of Natural Science, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, National Geographic Society Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Subsequently, the exhibition traveled to Sweden and was hosted in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities between 28 August 2010 and 20 January 2011. An exhibition entitled 'The First Emperor – China's Entombed Warriors', presenting 120 artifacts was hosted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, between 2 December 2010 and 13 March 2011. An exhibition entitled "L'Empereur guerrier de Chine et son armée de terre cuite" ("The Warrior-Emperor of China and his terracotta army"), featuring artifacts including statues from the mausoleum, was hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 11 February 2011 to 26 June 2011. In Italy, from July 2008 to 16 November 2008, five of the warriors of the terracotta army were displayed in Turin at the Museum of Antiquities, and from 16 April 2010 to 5 September 2010 were exposed nine warriors in Milan, at the Royal Palace, at the exhibition entitled "The Two Empires". The group consisted of a horse, a counselor, an archer and six lancers. The "Treasures of Ancient China" exhibition, showcasing two terracotta soldiers and other artifacts, including the Longmen Grottoes Buddhist statues, was held between 19 February 2011 and 7 November 2011 in four locations in India: National Museum of New Delhi, Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad and National Library of India in Kolkata.

Soldiers and related items were on display from 15 March 2013 to 17 November 2013, at the Historical Museum of Bern.

Several Terracotta Army figures were on display, along with many other objects, in an exhibit entitled "Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from 3 April 2017, to 16 July 2017 An exhibition featuring ten Terracotta Army figures and other artifacts, "Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor," was on display at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, from 8 April 2017 to 4 September 2017 before traveling to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to be exhibited from 30 September 2017 to 4 March 2018 with the addition of augmented reality.

An exhibition entitled "China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors" is at the World Museum in Liverpool from 9 February 2018 to 28 October 2018. This is the first time in more than 10 years that the warriors have travelled to the UK.

WIKIPEDIA

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Argentina, Buenos Aires: views from plaza San MCABA - Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires

Is it possible to synthesize the soul of a city through photographs of its buildings? The work of Michele Molinari heads in that direction, overlooking the Buenos Aires of historic monuments and focusing on the common dwellings that stud the skyline of the porteña city. They are boundary lines by day and by night, suburban intersections trying to spur on the vertical expansion of the city. Molinari’s interesting experiment is to go back to the same places after a period of time to crystalize the changes and witness the immanence of certain corners of the urban fabric. – A. Trabucco

How emotional it is to admire Buenos Aires at dusk. The passers-by are hurrying along the sidewalks and distractedly look at the camera lens. With curious or perplexed glances. […] The essence of the obscurity is easier to enjoy in the quieter neighborhoods. […] The sense of calm even appears to reach the historic center in one of the few photos of monumental Buenos Aires included in the book. The circle closes. Every splintered scrap of the urban fabric is recomposed under the protective wing of the night. – A. Mauri

CABA - Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires is a photobook. Photographs and essay by Michele Molinari, more essays by Andrea Mauri and Alessandro Trabucco. [essays are in English, Spanish and Italian]

CABA comes in 2 printed editions by Blurb, Pocket Edition [7x7in, 18x18cm, 132 pages, Standard Photo paper, Flexible High-Gloss Laminated cover, 106 color photos] and Deluxe Edition [8x10in, 20x25cm, 134 pages, ProLine Pearl Photo paper, Hardcover with Dust Jacket, 107 color photos], and one Digital Edition by Apple iBooks that features 107 + 7 bonus color photos.

CABA won Bronze Award at TIFA2020 Book/Documentary

Find it here: michelemolinari.info/2020/07/25/caba/

1.3 sec, F16, ND filter, synthesized from three RAW files.

. . . look at the faces: every soldier has a different face! Not two are similar!

______________________________________

The Terracotta Army is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE with the purpose of protecting the emperor in his afterlife.

The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong County, outside Xi'an, Shaanxi, China. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses, and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits near Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen, and musicians.

HISTORY

The construction of the tomb was described by historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE) in his most noted work Shiji, written a century after the mausoleum's completion. Work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended the throne, and the project eventually involved 700,000 workers. Geographer Li Daoyuan, writing six centuries after the First Emperor's death, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology, "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there". Sima Qian wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects. According to this account, 100 flowing rivers were simulated using mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land. Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations"; however, those words were not used in the original text, which makes no mention of the terracotta army. High levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qian's account. Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor. However, there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered.

DISCOVERY

The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists, including Zhao Kangmin, to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found. A museum complex has since been constructed over the area, the largest pit being enclosed by a roofed structure.

NECROPOLIS

The Terracotta Army is part of a much larger necropolis. Ground-penetrating radar and core sampling have measured the area to be approximately 98 square kilometers.

The necropolis was constructed as a microcosm of the emperor's imperial palace or compound, and covers a large area around the tomb mound of the first emperor. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape, and is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. The necropolis consists of several offices, halls, stables, other structures as well as an imperial park placed around the tomb mound.

The warriors stand guard to the east of the tomb. Up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.

TOMB

The tomb appears to be a hermetically sealed space roughly the size of a football pitch (c. 100 × 75 m). The tomb remains unopened, possibly due to concerns over preservation of its artifacts. For example, after the excavation of the Terracotta Army, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade. The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air and can flake off in just four minutes.

EXCAVATION S'ITE

PITS

Four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. These are located approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the burial mound. The soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay.

PIT 1

Pit 1, which is 230 metres long and 62 metres wide, contains the main army of more than 6,000 figures. Pit 1 has eleven corridors, most more than 3 metres wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil raising them about 2 to 3 metres above the surrounding ground level when completed.

OTHERS

Pit 2 has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit 3 is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit 4 is empty, perhaps left unfinished by its builders.

Some of the figures in Pits 1 and 2 show fire damage, while remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found. These, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and the subsequent burning of the site, which is thought to have caused the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta figures currently on display have been restored from the fragments.

Other pits that formed the necropolis have also been excavated. These pits lie within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They variously contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armour suits, burial sites of horses, rare animals and labourers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks set in an underground park.

WARRIOR FIGURES

TYPES AND APPEARANCE

The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Their faces appear to be different for each individual figure; scholars, however, have identified 10 basic face shapes. The figures are of these general types: armored warriors; unarmored infantrymen; cavalrymen who wear a pillbox hat; helmeted drivers of chariots with more armor protection; spear-carrying charioteers; kneeling archers who are armored; standing archers who are not; as well as generals and other lower-ranking officers. There are, however, many variations in the uniforms within the ranks: for example, some may wear shin pads while others not; they may wear either long or short trousers, some of which may be padded; and their body armors vary depending on rank, function, and position in formation. There are also terracotta horses placed among the warrior figures.

Originally, the figures were painted with bright pigments, variously coloured pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac. The coloured lacquer finish and individual facial features would have given the figures a realistic feel. However, much of the colour coating had flaked off or become greatly faded.

Some scholars have speculated a possible Hellenistic link to these sculptures, because of the lack of life-sized and realistic sculptures before the Qin dynasty. They argued that potential Greek influence is particularly evident in some terracotta figures such as those of acrobats, combined with findings of European DNA and rare bronze artifacts made with a lost wax technique known in Greece and Egypt.. However, this idea is disputed by scholars who claim that there is "no substantial evidence at all" for contact between ancient Greeks and Chinese builders of the tomb. They argue that such speculations rest on flawed and old "Eurocentric" ideas that assumed other civilizations were incapable of sophisticated artistry and thus foreign artistry must be seen through western traditions.

CONSTRUCTION

The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and local craftsmen using local materials. Heads, arms, legs, and torsos were created separately and then assembled by luting the pieces together. When completed, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.

The faces were created using molds, and at least ten face molds may have been used. Clay was then added after assembly to provide individual facial features to make each figure appear different. It is believed that the warriors' legs were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would classify the process as assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times of tight imperial control, each workshop was required to inscribe its name on items produced to ensure quality control. This has aided modern historians in verifying which workshops were commandeered to make tiles and other mundane items for the terracotta army.

WEAPONRY

Most of the figures originally held real weapons, which would have increased their realism. The majority of these weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army or have rotted away. Despite this, over 40,000 bronze items of weaponry have been recovered, including swords, daggers, spears, lances, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and crossbow triggers. Most of the recovered items are arrowheads, which are usually found in bundles of 100 units. Studies of these arrowheads suggests that they were produced by self-sufficient, autonomous workshops using a process referred to as cellular production or Toyotism. Some weapons were coated with a 10–15 micrometer layer of chromium dioxide before burial that has protected them from any form of decay for the last 2200 years. The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt. Some carry inscriptions that date their manufacture to between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating that they were used before burial.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

In 2007, scientists at Stanford University and the Advanced Light Source facility in Berkeley, California reported that powder diffraction experiments combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the process of producing terracotta figures colored with Chinese purple dye consisting of barium copper silicate was derived from the knowledge gained by Taoist alchemists in their attempts to synthesize jade ornaments.

Since 2006, an international team of researchers at the UCL Institute of Archaeology have been using analytical chemistry techniques to uncover more details about the production techniques employed in the creation of the Terracotta Army. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of 40,000 bronze arrowheads bundled in groups of 100, the researchers reported that the arrowheads within a single bundle formed a relatively tight cluster that was different from other bundles. In addition, the presence or absence of metal impurities was consistent within bundles. Based on the arrows’ chemical compositions, the researchers concluded that a cellular manufacturing system similar to the one used in a modern Toyota factory, as opposed to a continuous assembly line in the early days of the automobile industry, was employed.

Grinding and polishing marks visible under a scanning electron microscope provide evidence for the earliest industrial use of lathes for polishing.

EXHIBITIONS

The first exhibition of the figures outside of China was held at National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Melbourne in 1982.

A collection of 120 objects from the mausoleum and 12 terracotta warriors were displayed at the British Museum in London as its special exhibition "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" from 13 September 2007 to April 2008. This exhibition made 2008 the British Museum's most successful year and made the British Museum the United Kingdom's top cultural attraction between 2007 and 2008. The exhibition brought the most visitors to the museum since the King Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. It was reported that the 400,000 advance tickets sold out so fast that the museum extended its opening hours until midnight. According to The Times, many people had to be turned away, despite the extended hours. During the day of events to mark the Chinese New Year, the crush was so intense that the gates to the museum had to be shut. The Terracotta Army has been described as the only other set of historic artifacts (along with the remnants of wreck of the RMS Titanic) that can draw a crowd by the name alone.

Warriors and other artifacts were exhibited to the public at the Forum de Barcelona in Barcelona between 9 May and 26 September 2004. It was their most successful exhibition ever. The same exhibition was presented at the Fundación Canal de Isabel II in Madrid between October 2004 and January 2005, their most successful ever. From December 2009 to May 2010, the exhibition was shown in the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago de Chile.

The exhibition traveled to North America and visited museums such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Houston Museum of Natural Science, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, National Geographic Society Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Subsequently, the exhibition traveled to Sweden and was hosted in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities between 28 August 2010 and 20 January 2011. An exhibition entitled 'The First Emperor – China's Entombed Warriors', presenting 120 artifacts was hosted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, between 2 December 2010 and 13 March 2011. An exhibition entitled "L'Empereur guerrier de Chine et son armée de terre cuite" ("The Warrior-Emperor of China and his terracotta army"), featuring artifacts including statues from the mausoleum, was hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 11 February 2011 to 26 June 2011. In Italy, from July 2008 to 16 November 2008, five of the warriors of the terracotta army were displayed in Turin at the Museum of Antiquities, and from 16 April 2010 to 5 September 2010 were exposed nine warriors in Milan, at the Royal Palace, at the exhibition entitled "The Two Empires". The group consisted of a horse, a counselor, an archer and six lancers. The "Treasures of Ancient China" exhibition, showcasing two terracotta soldiers and other artifacts, including the Longmen Grottoes Buddhist statues, was held between 19 February 2011 and 7 November 2011 in four locations in India: National Museum of New Delhi, Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad and National Library of India in Kolkata.

Soldiers and related items were on display from 15 March 2013 to 17 November 2013, at the Historical Museum of Bern.

Several Terracotta Army figures were on display, along with many other objects, in an exhibit entitled "Age of Empires: Chinese Art of the Qin and Han Dynasties" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from 3 April 2017, to 16 July 2017 An exhibition featuring ten Terracotta Army figures and other artifacts, "Terracotta Warriors of the First Emperor," was on display at the Pacific Science Center in Seattle, Washington, from 8 April 2017 to 4 September 2017 before traveling to The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to be exhibited from 30 September 2017 to 4 March 2018 with the addition of augmented reality.

An exhibition entitled "China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors" is at the World Museum in Liverpool from 9 February 2018 to 28 October 2018. This is the first time in more than 10 years that the warriors have travelled to the UK.

WIKIPEDIA

Visit us at: www.redlinextremeracing.com/

Global color mosaic of Triton, taken in 1989 by Voyager 2 during its flyby of the Neptune system. Color was synthesized by combining high- resolution images taken through orange, violet, and ultraviolet filters; these images were displayed as red, green, and blue images and combined to create this color version. With a radius of 1,350 (839 mi), about 22% smaller than Earth's moon, Triton is by far the largest satellite of Neptune. It is one of only three objects in the Solar System known to have a nitrogen-dominated atmosphere (the others are Earth and Saturn's giant moon, Titan). Triton has the coldest surface known anywhere in the Solar System (38 K, about -391 degrees Farenheit); it is so cold that most of Triton's nitrogen is condensed as frost, making it the only satellite in the Solar System known to have a surface made mainly of nitrogen ice. The pinkish deposits constitute a vast south polar cap believed to contain methane ice, which would have reacted under sunlight to form pink or red compounds. The dark streaks overlying these pink ices are believed to be an icy and perhaps carbonaceous dust deposited from huge geyser-like plumes, some of which were found to be active during the Voyager 2 flyby. The bluish-green band visible in this image extends all the way around Triton near the equator; it may consist of relatively fresh nitrogen frost deposits. The greenish areas include what is called the cataloupe terrain, whose origin is unknown, and a set of "cryovolcanic" landscapes apparently produced by icy-cold liquids (now frozen) erupted from Triton's interior.

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ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (May 3, 2016) -- Army scientists are on the trail of new high-performing energetic materials.

Scientists at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory recently synthesized a new material called bis-isoxazole tetranitrate, or BITN, with potential applications in propulsion and lethality.

"BITN has a strong potential for improving insensitive munitions characteristics for gun and rocket propellants" said Dr. Jesse J. Sabatini, team leader of the Energetics Synthesis Team within ARL's Weapons and Materials Research Directorate.

Read more:

www.army.mil/article/167237

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.

Lake Travis High School in Austin, Texas, has offered the PLTW program for five years. The PLTW Model School set goals early on: students will synthesize information through a logical and systematic process that allows for the design of solutions; imagine potential solutions to problems utilizing accumulated knowledge; understand the ethical and social responsibilities of innovators, designers and technologists; communicate effectively verbally and in writing; and work effectively both independently and in a team environment.

Innovate, improve, and combine elements to create a stronger whole. Seek to understand how each part fits into the larger picture.

Synthetic Fluorescent Mineral: Mystery Halite - WL/UVc

FOV: 3" wide.

In an attempt to synthesize eucryptite a form of halite seems to have been created. Lithium chloride and aluminum chloride was combined with a solution of sodium silicate. Instead of producing a precipitate as expected, a clear green solution was produced. After crystallizing, it appears that sodium choride (halite) was produced that fluoresces orange. Normally orange fluorescing halite contains manganese and lead. No manganese or lead was intentionally added in this experiment.

Contains:

Halite ? (FL Orange >UVc)

Shown under white light (top) and under UVc light (bottom).

Key:

WL = White light

FL = Fluoresces

PHOS = Phosporesces

UVa = 368nm (LW), UVb = 311nm (MW), UVc = 254nm (SW)

'>' = "stimulated by:"

18 Watt Triple Output UV lamp from Polman Minerals - Way Too Cool UV lamps

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.

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Enter to win a TEAM REDLINE XTREME VIP 500 experience of a lifetime: www.vpxsports.com/contest-giveaway/redline-xtreme-racing-...

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This $34 bottle of oil contains "truffle essence," which is in fact artificially synthesized chemicals rather than anything sqeezed out of a truffle. Tastes good though.

. . . the real weapons the soldiers were holding have rotted away

_______________________________________

The Terracotta Army or the "Terracotta Warriors and Horses" is a collection of terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 210–209 BCE and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife. The figures, dating from approximately the late third century BCE, were discovered in 1974 by local farmers in Lintong District, Xi'an, Shaanxi province. The figures vary in height according to their roles, with the tallest being the generals. The figures include warriors, chariots and horses. Estimates from 2007 were that the three pits containing the Terracotta Army held more than 8,000 soldiers, 130 chariots with 520 horses and 150 cavalry horses, the majority of which remained buried in the pits nearby Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum. Other terracotta non-military figures were found in other pits, including officials, acrobats, strongmen and musicians.

BACKGROUND

The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 to the east of Xi'an in Shaanxi province by farmers digging a water well approximately 1.6 kilometres east of the Qin Emperor's tomb mound at Mount Li (Lishan), a region riddled with underground springs and watercourses. For centuries, occasional reports mentioned pieces of terracotta figures and fragments of the Qin necropolis – roofing tiles, bricks and chunks of masonry. This discovery prompted Chinese archaeologists to investigate, revealing the largest pottery figurine group ever found in China.

NECROPROLIS

In addition to the warriors, an entire necropolis built for the emperor was found surrounding the first emperor's tomb mound. The earthen tomb mound is located at the foot of Mount Li and built in a pyramidal shape with Qin Shi Huang’s necropolis complex constructed as a microcosm of his imperial palace or compound.

It consists of several offices, halls, stables, and other structures placed around the tomb mound, which is surrounded by two solidly built rammed earth walls with gateway entrances. Up to 5 metres of reddish, sandy soil had accumulated over the site in the two millennia following its construction, but archaeologists found evidence of earlier disturbances at the site. During the excavations near the Mount Li burial mound, archaeologists found several graves dating from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, where diggers had apparently struck terracotta fragments. These were discarded as worthless and used along with soil to back fill the excavations.

HISTORY

According to the writings of historian Sima Qian (145–90 BCE), work on the mausoleum began in 246 BCE soon after Emperor Qin (then aged 13) ascended the throne. The project eventually involved 700,000 workers. Geographer Li Daoyuan, writing six centuries after the First Emperor's death, recorded in Shui Jing Zhu that Mount Li was a favoured location due to its auspicious geology, "famed for its jade mines, its northern side was rich in gold, and its southern side rich in beautiful jade; the First Emperor, covetous of its fine reputation, therefore chose to be buried there". Sima Qian, in his most noted work, Shiji, finished a century after the mausoleum's completion, wrote that the First Emperor was buried with palaces, towers, officials, valuable artifacts and wondrous objects. According to this account, 100 rivers had their flow simulated by mercury, and above them the ceiling was decorated with heavenly bodies below which were the features of the land. Some translations of this passage refer to "models" or "imitations," however those words were not used in the original text, which makes no mention of the terracotta army.

High levels of mercury were found in the soil of the tomb mound, giving credence to Sima Qian's account.

Later historical accounts suggested that the tomb had been looted by Xiang Yu, a contender for the throne after the death of the first emperor, however, there are indications that the tomb may not have been plundered.

CONSTRUCTION

The terracotta army figures were manufactured in workshops by government laborers and local craftsmen using local materials. Heads, arms, legs, and torsos were created separately and then assembled. Eight face moulds were most likely used, with clay added after assembly to provide individual facial features.

It is believed that the warriors' legs were made in much the same way that terracotta drainage pipes were manufactured at the time. This would classify the process as assembly line production, with specific parts manufactured and assembled after being fired, as opposed to crafting one solid piece and subsequently firing it. In those times of tight imperial control, each workshop was required to inscribe its name on items produced to ensure quality control. This has aided modern historians in verifying which workshops were commandeered to make tiles and other mundane items for the terracotta army. Upon completion, the terracotta figures were placed in the pits in precise military formation according to rank and duty.

The terracotta figures are life-sized. They vary in height, uniform, and hairstyle in accordance with rank. Most originally held real weapons such as spears, swords, or crossbows. Originally, the figures were also painted with bright pigments, variously coloured pink, red, green, blue, black, brown, white and lilac. The coloured lacquer finish, individual facial features, and weapons used in producing these figures increased the figures' realism. Most of the original weapons were looted shortly after the creation of the army, or have rotted away, while the colour coating flaked off or greatly faded.

THE TOMB

The tomb appears to be a hermetically-sealed space the size of a football pitch. The tomb remains unopened, given concerns about preserving its artifacts. For example, after their excavation, the painted surface present on some terracotta figures began to flake and fade. The lacquer covering the paint can curl in fifteen seconds once exposed to Xi'an's dry air and can flake off in just four minutes. There is speculation of a possible Hellenistic link to these sculptures, due to the lack of life-sized and realistic sculptures prior to the Qin dynasty according to some scholars.

EXCAVATION SITE

PITS

Four main pits approximately 7 metres deep have been excavated. These are located approximately 1.5 kilometres east of the burial mound. The soldiers within were laid out as if to protect the tomb from the east, where all the Qin Emperor's conquered states lay.

PIT ONE

Pit one, which is 230 metres long and 62 metres wide,contains the main army of more than 6,000 figures. Pit one has 11corridors, most of which are more than 3 metres wide and paved with small bricks with a wooden ceiling supported by large beams and posts. This design was also used for the tombs of nobles and would have resembled palace hallways when built. The wooden ceilings were covered with reed mats and layers of clay for waterproofing, and then mounded with more soil raising them about 2 to 3 metres above the surrounding ground level when completed.

OTHERS

Pit two has cavalry and infantry units as well as war chariots and is thought to represent a military guard. Pit three is the command post, with high-ranking officers and a war chariot. Pit four is empty, perhaps left unfinished by its builders.

Some of the figures in pit one and two show fire damage, while remains of burnt ceiling rafters have also been found.

These, together with the missing weapons, have been taken as evidence of the reported looting by Xiang Yu and the subsequent burning of the site, which is thought to have caused the roof to collapse and crush the army figures below. The terracotta figures currently on display have been restored from the fragments.Other pits that formed the necropolis also have been excavated. These pits lie within and outside the walls surrounding the tomb mound. They variously contain bronze carriages, terracotta figures of entertainers such as acrobats and strongmen, officials, stone armour suits, burials sites of horses, rare animals and labourers, as well as bronze cranes and ducks set in an underground park.

WEAPONRY

Weapons such as swords, spears, battle-axes, scimitars, shields, crossbows, and arrowheads were found in the pits. Some of these weapons, such as the swords are sharp and were coated with a 10–15 micrometre layer of chromium dioxide and kept the swords rust-free for 2,000 years. The swords contain an alloy of copper, tin, and other elements including nickel, magnesium, and cobalt. Some carry inscriptions that date manufacture between 245 and 228 BCE, indicating they were used as weapons before their burials.

An important element of the army is the chariot, of which four types were found. In battle the fighting chariots form pairs at the head of a unit of infantry. The principal weapon of the charioteers was the ge or dagger-axe, an L-shaped bronze blade mounted on a long shaft used for sweeping and hooking at the enemy. Infantrymen also carried ge on shorter shafts, ji or halberds and spears and lances. For close fighting and defence, both charioteers and infantrymen carried double-edged straight swords. The archers carried crossbows, with sophisticated trigger mechanisms, capable of firing arrows farther than 800 metres.

EXHIBITIONS

A collection of 120 objects from the mausoleum and 20 terracotta warriors were displayed at the British Museum in London as its special exhibition "The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army" from 13 September 2007 to April 2008. This exhibition made 2008 the British Museum's most successful year and made the British Museum the United Kingdom's top cultural attraction between 2007 and 2008. The exhibition brought the most visitors to the museum since the King Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. It was reported that the initial batch of tickets sold out so fast that the museum extended its opening hours until midnight on Thursdays to Sundays. According to The Times, many people had to be turned away, despite the extended hours. During the day of events to mark the Chinese New Year, the crush was so intense that the gates to the museum had to be shut. The Terracotta Army has been described as the only other set of historic artifacts (along with the remnants of wreck of the RMS Titanic) that can draw a crowd by the name alone.

Warriors and other artifacts were exhibited to the public at the Forum de Barcelona in Barcelona between 9 May and 26 September 2004. It was their most successful exhibition ever. The same exhibition was presented at the Fundación Canal de Isabel II in Madrid between October 2004 and January 2005, their most successful ever. From December 2009 to May 2010 the exhibition was shown in the Centro Cultural La Moneda in Santiago de Chile.

The exhibition traveled to North America and visited museums such as the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco, Bowers Museum in Santa Ana, California, Houston Museum of Natural Science, High Museum of Art in Atlanta, National Geographic Society Museum in Washington, D.C. and the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Subsequently the exhibition traveled to Sweden and was hosted in the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities between 28 August 2010 and 20 January 2011. An exhibition entitled 'The First Emperor – China's Entombed Warriors', presenting 120 artifacts was hosted at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, between 2 December 2010 and 13 March 2011. An exhibition entitled "L'Empereur guerrier de Chine et son armée de terre cuite" ("The Warrior-Emperor of China and his terracotta army"), featuring artifacts including statues from the mausoleum, was hosted by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts from 11 February 2011 to 26 June 2011. In Italy, from July 2008 to November 16, 2008, five of the warriors of the terracotta army were exposed in Turin at the Museum of Antiquities, and from 16 April 2010 to 5 September 2010 were exposed nine warriors in Milan, at the Royal Palace, at the exhibition entitled "The Two Empires". The group consisted of a horse, a counselor, an archer and 6 Lancers. The "Treasures of Ancient China" exhibition, showcasing two terracotta soldiers and other artifacts, including the Longmen Grottoes Buddhist statues, was held between 19 February 2011 and 7 November 2011 in four locations in India: National Museum of New Delhi, Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad and National Library of India in Kolkata.

Soldiers and related items were on display from March 15, 2013, to November 17, 2013, at the Historical Museum of Bern.

SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

In 2007, scientists at Stanford University and the Advanced Light Source facility in Berkeley, California reported that powder diffraction experiments combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and micro-X-ray fluorescence analysis showed that the process of producing Terracotta figures colored with Chinese purple dye consisting of barium copper silicate was derived from the knowledge gained by Taoist alchemists in their attempts to synthesize jade ornaments.

Since 2006, an international team of researchers at the UCL Institute of Archaeology have been using analytical chemistry techniques to uncover more details about the production techniques employed in the creation of the Terracotta Army. Using X-ray fluorescence spectrometry of 40,000 bronze arrowheads bundled in groups of 100, the researchers reported that the arrowheads within a single bundle formed a relatively tight cluster that was different from other bundles. In addition, the presence or absence of metal impurities was consistent within bundles. Based on the arrows’ chemical compositions, the researchers concluded that a cellular manufacturing system similar to the one used in a modern Toyota factory, as opposed to a continuous assembly line in the early days of automobile industry, was employed.

Grinding and polishing marks visible under a scanning electron microscope provide evidence for the earliest industrial use of lathes for polishing.

WIKIPEDIA

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.

www.pacegallery.com/exhibitions/james-turrell-9/

James Turrell’s recent Constellation works, the focal point of this exhibition, are the culmination of Turrell's lifelong pursuit. Generating what the artist has called “spaces within space,” these luminous portals are instruments for altering our perception; gazing into them results in the slow dissolution of the boundaries of the surrounding room, enveloping the viewer in the radiance of pure color. Fusing the temporal, sensuous, and illusory qualities of his projection works and architectural installations, the Constellations synthesize several aspects of Turrell’s practice. Unlike his early projection pieces, however, they are not about generating an illusion; instead, they greet the viewer with the actual materiality of light, what Turrell calls “the physical manifestation of light, which we have trained our eyes too readily to look through rather than to look at.”

Geeta Chandran (Delhi) - Bharatnatyam - 20 October 2010 (Wednesday)

Geeta Chandran has been trained by eminent Bharatanatyam gurus, including Smt Swarna Saraswathy and Guru KN Dakshinamurthi Pillai. She has ably synthesized her eclectic training to present unique dance presentations in which she skilfully weaves abstract notions of joy, beauty, values, aspiration, myth and spirituality. Celebrated for her composite understanding of Bharatanatyam, Geeta is also an accomplished Carnatic vocalist. She is known for her work in television, film and theatre as also in dance education, activism and journalism. She is the founder-president of Natya Vriksha where she teaches and promotes Bharatanatyam. She is also the artistic director of the Natya Vriksha Dance Company, which has travelled all over the world with its superb dance presentations. Geeta has received many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Padma Shri.

Presentation

In Revision, her presentation for the evening, Geeta Chandran and her Natya Vriksha Dance Company present a selection of classical numbers from the Bharatanatyam repertoire. It is suffused with the dancer’s focus on choreographic processes of intent, content and context. The intent is to celebrate the pristine classicism of Bharatanatyam. Through her Thanjavur bani, Geeta uses the adavu as the basis of her revision. This basic unit of Bharatanatyam is cast and recast in prismatic formations. The content remains the classical. The traditional Mallari, Alarippu, Padam and Tillana form the basis of Geeta’s revision. The context is what’s been altered. Since a solo dance is transformed into a group experience, the inter-body connections create new contexts for movement. There is also the context of the space in which the pieces are being performed. The grandeur of the dance has been re-contextualized for the Purana Qila monument.