Showing posts with label Sculpture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sculpture. Show all posts

Friday, January 6, 2012

Zuccotti Park, New York City


Mark di Suvero's, Joie de Vivre
On both my trips to New York City in 2008 and 2010, I have at various times found myself wandering through Zuccotti Park. Strictly speaking, it is more of a plaza than a traditional park, and in fact it used to be known as Liberty Plaza Park. Created in 1968, the park was one of the few open spaces with tables and seats in the Financial District. It is located just one block from the World Trade Center. Following the events of September 11, 2001 it was left covered with debris, and subsequently used as a staging area during the ensuing recovery efforts.

As part of the Lower Manhattan rebuilding efforts, the park (renamed Zuccotti Park in honor of John E. Zuccotti, a former City Planning Commission chairman),  reopened on June 1, 2006, after an $8 million renovation which involved regrading the area, the planting of numerous trees, and the reintroduction of tables and public seating.

The park is home to two sculptures: Joie de Vivre by Mark di Suvero, and Double Check, a bronze businessman sitting on a bench, by John Seward Johnson II.

Double Check, John Seward Johnson

When I first saw Johnson’s life sized statue of a businessman sitting on a bench, I was some distance away. Initially, I thought the figure was one of those ‘human statues’ that can be seen in many major cities around the world. You know the sort I mean: they cover their clothing in paint, strike a fancy pose, and only move if you put a coin or two in their tip jar.

On closer inspection, I realised that this incredibly life-like figure was forged in bronze. Apparently, the artist John Seward Johnson II, uses casts of real people as the basis of his work, which accounts for the realism of his sculptures.

Double Check, John Seward Johnson

Joie de Vivre, seen below and in the top image, is a 70-foot-tall sculpture by Mark di Suvero. The work, consisting of bright-red beams, was installed in Zuccotti Park in 2006, having been moved from its original location in the Storm King Art Center, Mountainville, NY.

Mark di Suvero's, Joie de Vivre
Of course, since I was last in New York City, and by extension Zuccotti Park, the area has become known around the world as the location of the "Occupy Wall Street" protest which began on September 17, 2011. It will be interesting to see if the OWS protests are still taking place when I visit New York again over the summer of 2012.

Here is a short video I shot during my April, 2008 visit to the park.
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Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Fotos – Moon Lantern Festival

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The Moon Lantern Festival is held as part of the annual OzAsia Festival which takes place every spring in Adelaide, Australia under the direction of the Adelaide Festival Centre. The OzAsia Festival celebrates the diversity of Asian life – from the Indian subcontinent, to Japan, China and Korea, and South-East Asia and Indonesia (and a multitude of places in between).

The OzAsia Festival and the Moon Lantern Festival are great examples of how our communities are exploring the links between Australia and our neighbours in the Asian region.
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The Moon Lantern Festival takes place each year when the moon shines brightest – at the time of the full moon on the 15th day of the eighth lunar month. This festival celebrates the South-East Asian belief that the moon provides positive influences over the earth during this time of the year.

The Festival brings together families to enjoy the beauty of the moon, eat moon cakes, sing songs about the moon and take pleasure in each other’s company to celebrate this special event.
For Australia, the countries of the Asian region are of critical importance. They are our closest neighbours and major trading partners. Their rich traditional and contemporary cultures provide opportunities for our social, creative and intellectual development.
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The Moon Lantern Festival is celebrated by many Asian cultures including Chinese, Vietnamese, Thai, Laotians, Cambodians, Koreans, Japanese, Indonesians, Malaysians and Singaporeans. For many Asian cultures, the Moon Lantern Festival is the most important date in the second half of the lunar calendar and has been celebrated for thousands of years.

In Australia ‘mid autumn’ is early spring, so the first full moon of the new season is a important time, when winter is behind us and the energy of summer is on the horizon. People celebrate the beauty of the moon at public celebrations across Australia, as well as in backyards, with lanterns and moon cakes.
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In Vietnam the Moon Lantern Festival is one of the most popular family holidays, while in Korea the festival occurs during the harvest season when Korean families thank their ancestors for providing them with rice and fruits. The Japanese too celebrate the full moon in September, admiring the moons beauty and praying for a good rice harvest.
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And yes, despite a day of clouds and overcast skies, the full moon did make an appearance right on queue, soon after the sun set in the west and the Moon Lantern Festival got underway.

-o0o-

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Things You Discover Walking - Vertical Carpet

Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990
Stephen Killick's 1990 work, Vertical Carpet (hardwood, industrial resin, 230 x 440 x 20 cm), graces the exterior wall of the Adelaide Festival Centre close to the main entrance.

Close up of Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990
A plaque attached to the wall close to the work states: The three central figures in this allegorical relief sculpture are intended to symbolise technology, money and innocence, which the artist regards as the controlling influences in contemporary society. Killick stated that the wider meaning of the tableau is deliberately enigmatic and open to individual interpretation, intended to have infinite readings. The figures assume attitudes that are readily identifiable, but their relationship to each other and the scene as a whole is affected and determined by the course of history.

The work was commissioned by the Adelaide Festival Centre Trust in 1990. Assisted by the Art for Public Places Program of the South Australian Government.

Close up of Vertical Carpet, Stephen Killick, 1990
Stephen Killick was born in London in 1947, and came to Australia in 1952.

This post is another in an occasional series of entries under the general theme: Things You Discover Walking. The premise behind the series is that you never know what might be just around the corner from your home, place of work, or favourite attraction, and the only way you might discover them is if you get out of your car and start walking.

-o0o-


Thursday, April 28, 2011

Things You Discover Walking #2

Roy 'Mo' Rene (1891-1954)

Image: Roy ‘Mo’ Rene statue

It just goes to show how rarely I walk down Adelaide’s Hindley Street. The statue of Roy ‘Mo’ Rene had been in place for at least four months in 2010 before my round the world trip, but if I had been on Hindley Street during those four months, I was completely oblivious to this wonderful statue.
Created by the South Australian artist, Robert Hannaford, to commemorate one of Australia’s most famous funnymen, the statue stands on the corner of Hindley and Leigh Streets.

The plaque set into the pavement at the foot of the statue states: “One of Australia's greatest and most loved comedians, Roy Rene was born Harry van der Sluys (or Sluice) in Hindley Street, Adelaide.

The son of a Dutch cigar merchant, and one of seven children, he loved to perform from a young age. His first professional job was at the Adelaide markets and his stage debut was as a singer at the Theatre Royal in Hindley Street.

The young Roy moved to Melbourne with his family to continue his acting career. He performed around Australia and New Zealand, eventually moving to Sydney where he joined the vaudeville circuit. Roy Rene became famous for his superb timing and funny gestures and for his distinctive make-up - a painted white face and black beard.
Later, by then known as 'Mo', he teamed with comedian Nat (‘Stiffy’) Phillips and the duo became the renowned 'Stiffy and Mo' comedy act. In the 1940s he turned to radio and his show McCackle Mansion was a huge success.

Some of 'Mo's' favourite catchphrases are still part of Australian vernacular. For example: "Strike me lucky," "Fair suck of the sav," "Don't come the raw prawn with me," and "You beaut!"

The Australian entertainment industry's annual 'Mo Award' for excellence in live performance is named after him.

Commissioned by the Adelaide City Council, the sculpture was created by Robert Hannaford, and installed in Hindley Street in February 2010.
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