FOUNTAINS OF THE BURJ: I live close to a fountain here in Vienna, and usually pass by it every day. On warm days I don’t even mind when the wind blows the spray in my direction. It’s quite pleasant to be honest. It got me to thinking about some really epic fountains though.
I found the alleged ‘Top 10 Most Incredible Fountains’ on Earth on Environmental Graffiti’s website. Ranking at #2, the Burj Kalifa fountain in Dubai is certainly no small sight.
It is amongst the most technologically advanced fountains in the world and cost an estimated $218 million. So although it’s only been around for four years (it was unveiled in May 2009), it certainly managed to prove that technology and modernity can meld together to produce something awe-inspiring.
The fountain, although similar to the famous Bellagio Fountain in Las Vegas, is 25% bigger and has a spray which reaches the same height as a 50 story building. Now that is something you have to see.
The lighted water show is a vision though and that’s what most important to remember. After all, it’s the dramatic, powerful beauty of the image that brought it here in the first place. Something about water shooting up from a station placed in a large body of water is fantastical. It makes you want, or even need to see it in person to believe in its beauty. So I’ll try and make it to Dubai at some point in the future, if only to catch a glimpse of this (and the city’s many other architectural wonders).
This image was sourced from Environmental Graffiti’s website.
A BEAR OF MANY SHADES: I seem to be finding a lot of beautiful paintings on Fine Art America’s website. I don’t even visit the actual site itself at all, but always find myself redirected them by eye-catching works such as this. ‘Daily Rounds - Black Bear’ by Marion Rose sees the black bear cast in strokes of blue, brown, red, purple and orange colour. I can’t imagine that a bear like this would ever chance upon falling under various pots of paint and disguise themselves in a new coat. So when I look at this oil panting I imagine the animal being cast in a multitude of colours in the early morning sun. Perhaps the sun might not have the ability to create this many colours and in such vibrant hues no less, but clearly Rose thinks so, which is why she painted the bear in such clear shades of colour. Beautiful stuff. This image was sourced from Fine Art America’s website, as mentioned above.
Why have I never seen this picture before?!
BACKSEAT RIDERS: One of the best presents that I received for Christmas last year was Albert Watson’s ‘UFO’ tome. It’s a retrospective of his most important work from over the last forty years or so. It’s a huge book featuring beautifully conceived page design and paper quality. I really recommend it, even if you don’t know that much about Watson’s work. This image was not included as it was taken from a different series, ‘Strip Search’, in which Watson travelled around Las Vegas, capturing various different scenarios. This sepia toned image of three content looking dogs peering out of the back of what looks like some type of vintage Convertible is endearing and incredibly charming. What’s most interesting is that ‘Watchdogs in Car’ sees Watson take his signature photography and shifts it from the fashion world to the world of landscape and nature imagery. The remix is one that works well, and I think you will agree.
THE QUIET CARRIAGE: So I popped along to the opening of the latest exhibition at Vienna’s Albertina museum tonight, entitled ‘Max Ernst Retrospektive’. The featured artist was someone who I am sure I have studied and written about during my time at university, Max Ernst. One of the pioneers of the Dada movement and Surrealism, his work depicted inner-thoughts and conscience transported into the real world. In doing so, he jolted the conventional depictions of society that had been prevalent in art at the time. As I walked through there were a few choice pieces that grabbed me, in particular the collages. However on the whole I felt like his work hadn’t aged as well as some of his more renowned peers such as Matisse or Picasso. Perhaps it was the fact that there is hardly any shock factor in taking human and animal bodies apart and combining them, or depicting forests as dark, alien landscapes. This work was relatively small in size but captured my imagination right away though. It must be to do with the location of the train. I do have a soft spot for train imagery because I think it’s both nostalgic and escapist. Or perhaps it’s just something genetically passed down to me from my father, who’s fascinated with them. ‘Le Train Engourdi’, one of Ernst’s surrealist pieces from 1929 depicts a beautiful, yet relatively empty dining carriage on a French train. Two women sit next to one another, lulling on one another as if exhausted from a long-haul journey in the right hand side of the picture, in the foreground. Two, more ernest looking men sit on separate seats on the left and right hand side of the carriage in the background looking on. I can’t really conceptualize a particular narrative to go along with this work, merely that these four characters are the last people remaining on the train before its final destination. Either that, or the only four who could afford the food in the dining carriage! It doesn’t even really matter though. The beautiful black and white collage is entrancing despite its simplicity and lack of revolutionary ideas. Ernst’s other work is full of innovation cold, but its his more classic, elegant pieces that really strike me, as this one does.
A PARROT’S PERSONAL PARADISE: An artist whose work I had yet to come across until recently was the 17th century German painter Georg Flegel. Flegel’s paintings compromised of still lifes that had a rich yet slightly dark quality to them, at least in terms of how the light was captured. This oil painting is lavish to say the least. The viewer is drawn into a frame where a green parrot perches comfortably on the edge of a water jug, surrounded by food galore. Oranges, grapes, figs, what looks like pomegranate and bread provide a feast that was no doubt intended for human consumption yet seems to belong to our feathered friend here due to the lack of any other physical presence. As mentioned before, I love how the parrot’s body is caught half in shadow, half in light. I mean that’s mastery if you consider that it was rendered merely by paintbrush! This is both decadent and dreamy by the same token.
MY TALK: There’s one track that is literally bumping on my MP3 player right now. As the last track before this one stops and the aggressive percussion of Amerie’s ‘Talkin’ About’ kicks in I feel a jolt of life. Which is what only the best of best music can do to you. Even though I find the lyrics in the verse a little bit convoluted, there’s such a kick to Rich Harrison’s slaming production and Amerie’s signature raspy vocals that you forget about such issues. Some people see the track as a ‘1 Thing’ wannabe, but I see this post-modern club banger as genius in its own right. It’s heavier and a bit more laid-back in its sexy confidence than the former hit. Amerie sings about love ambushing her in such a convincing, lively way that you forgive similarities in many of her tracks’ narratives (but I mean don’t all R’n’B artists sing about the same thing; love, sex etc., all the time anyway?) Can’t wait for the new album from my sexy lady. LOL. Seriously though, put this on repeat and I promise you will have a permanent smile drawn across your face. Well I do at the moment, at least.
THE GARDENS OF HANGZHOU: I think that I have wanted to visit China for the longest time ever. Even as a child there was something about the meticulous architecture and history of the country’s architecture that inspired and wowed me. I get that same kind of naive wonder looking at this photograph of the Winding Courtyard located in the middle of West Lake or Xī Hú, a freshwater lake in Hangzhou. Lotus leaves populate a spacious area in front of a beautiful traditional temple. I love how it looks like no one has ever dared to set foot in the area, although that’s evidently not true. Which is probably good as I hope to visit the lake one day.
WHIPLASH: Just fell in love with this photograph. You know, just a couple of seconds ago. Whenever I go back through my archive (one of my favourite things to do every so often) I find that the animal pictures compromise some of the most engaging shots in the archive. The photograph by Laurent Baheux depicts a tender, quiet moment in the lion cub’s everyday life; yet it’s one that we don’t often get to see, be it in National Geographic or on one of David Attenborough’s TV programmes. The sense of movement and general ease in the animal’s expression make for an intriguing mix that meshes perfectly in this lovable image.
EYE OF THE TIGER: I am sure that I have made a post with this cliche title already, but couldn’t find another one that was as closely appropriate as this one was. It’s a piercing close-up that allows the viewer to have a detailed look at what looks like a world behind the eyes of a cat, that is all I can tell you at the moment! The nature of the photograph means that you can’t quite tell the breed it is (I myself got derailed into thinking it was a tiger, after looking at the title of my own post) but there is something snowy about the animal’s fur this far up close. Well, sometimes the best images are mysteries, so I’ll let this one remain unsolved in that case.
