Friday, October 31, 2014

Fontaine de Trévise

Fontaine de Trévise, cité de Trévise, Paris

Fontaine de Trévise
Cité de Trévise
Quartier du Faubourg-Montmartre, 9th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Santa Maria della Fava

Church of Santa Maria della Fava, Castello, Venice

Santa Maria della Fava, also Santa Maria della Consolazione
Campo de la Fava, Castello
Venice, October 2013

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

Benetton B192

Benetton B192, Lime Street, City of London, London

Benetton B192 designed by Ross Brawn and Rory Byrne
Lime Street, City of London
London, September 2014

“Michael Schumacher’s success all began when he joined the Benetton-Ford race team. What’s more, 2012 marks the 20th anniversary of a landmark year, the season where Michael Schumacher earned his first podium and scored his first victory in 1992 with Team Benetton. Coincidentally, racing fans can now own a piece of history: the 1992 season Benetton F1 car is now available for sale.” (Michael Schumacher’s 1992 Benetton-Ford Formula 1 race car for sale, AutoGuide, March 2012)

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Water Pump

Water pump, Keibelstraße / Wadzeckstraße, Berlin

Vintage hand water pump
Keibelstraße / Wadzeckstraße
Berlin, September 2011

Monday, October 27, 2014

La séparation du couple

La séparation du couple, The Separation of a Couple by de Max, Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris

“La séparation du couple” (The Separation of a Couple) by de Max, 1902
Cimetière du Montparnasse , Montparnasse Cemetery
Quartier du Montparnasse, 14th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

La séparation du couple, which was originally destined for Luxembourg Gardens, can be found in the cemetery's 4th division. Perhaps the saddest of all the monuments there, the separation of the couple was moved to the cemetery in 1965 because it was considered too obscene for Luxembourg. It depicts a woman straining to rise from her grave to console her mourning paramour, face in hands, standing above her.” (The Montparnasse District, French-at-a-Touch)

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba

Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, copy of the original bronze panel of the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti, Baptistry of Saint John, Florence

“Solomon and the Queen of Sheba”, copy of the original bronze panel of the
Porte del Paradiso (Gates of Paradise) by Lorenzo Ghiberti
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence Baptistery)
Piazza del Duomo
Florence, October 2013

See also: Adam and Eve - Cain and Abel - Noah - Abraham - Isaac with Esau and Jacob - Joseph - Moses - Joshua - David

Saturday, October 25, 2014

Keyworth Centre

Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University, London

Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University
Keyworth Street, Elephant & Castle
London, September 2014

“At nine storeys, the Keyworth Centre makes a dramatic gesture to the street with a glazed face fronting an atrium that runs the full height and most of the width of the building. Internally, two sets of free-standing timber ‘pods’ with curved timber-clad walls are set symmetrically either side of the atrium. They are used for seminars and informal teaching; the storey-height spaces between them are enclosed with glass balustrades to form terraces which students can use as ‘break-out’ spaces, with views into the atrium and out through the glazed wall.” (Keyworth Centre, London South Bank University, AJ Building Library)

Friday, October 24, 2014

San Giorgio in Velabro

Church of San Giorgio in Velabro, via del Velabro, Rome

Church of San Giorgio in Velabro
Via del Velabro, Ripa
Rome, May 2012

“After the killing in May 1992 of Italy's top Mafia prosecutor, the Government began its biggest crackdown against the mob in years, arresting the reputed boss of all bosses, Salvatore Riina. In response, the Mafia launched five car bomb attacks in Rome, Florence and Milan in 1993, that left 10 people dead and dozens wounded. The targets included the Uffizi Gallery in Florence and two of Rome's most venerable churches, San Giovanni in Laterano and San Giorgio.” (Bombed Church Is Resurrected in Rome as Testament to Faith, The New York Times)

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Serrurerie Victor Massé

Serrurerie Victor Massé, Locksmith Victor Massé, rue Victor Massé, 9e arrondissement, Paris

Serrurerie Victor Massé (Locksmith Victor Massé)
Rue Victor-Massé
Quartier Saint-Georges, 9th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red by Tom Piper and Paul Cummins, Tower of London, London

“Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red”, 2014
Poppies by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, setting by stage designer Tom Piper
Tower of London
London, September 2014

“Don't miss the major art installation Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red at the Tower of London, marking one hundred years since the first full day of Britain's involvement in the First World War. Created by ceramic artist Paul Cummins, with setting by stage designer Tom Piper, 888,246 ceramic poppies will progressively fill the Tower's famous moat over the summer. Each poppy represents a British military fatality during the war.” (Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, Historic Royal Palaces)

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

San Simeone Piccolo

Church of San Simeone Piccolo, Grand Canal, Venice

Church of San Simeone Piccolo
Santa Croce
Seen from the Canal Grande (Grand Canal)
Venice, September 2012

Monday, October 20, 2014

Serpentine Pavilion

London

Serpentine Pavilion 2014 designed by Smiljan Radić
Serpentine Galleries, Kensington Gardens
London, September 2014

“The 2014 Serpentine Pavilion is designed by Chilean architect Smiljan Radić. A semi-translucent, cylindrical structure that resembles a shell and rests on large quarry stones, this year’s Pavilion occupies 350 square metres of the Serpentine’s lawn and is home to and inspiration for the Park Nights series of events.” (Serpentine Pavilion 2014, Serpentine Galleries)

Sunday, October 19, 2014

Rue de la Gaîté

Montparnasse, mural by Loren Munk, rue de la Gaité, boulevard Edgar Quinet, Paris

“Montparnasse”, by Loren Munk, 1993
Rue de la Gaité / boulevard Edgar Quinet
Quartier du Montparnasse, 14th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“The artist Loren Munk is known for his cubistic paintings that combine urban imagery with exhaustive historic research, complex systems of thinking and painterly finesse. Since his SoHo debut in 1981, Munk has overseen an international career that includes exhibitions throughout the United States as well as Brazil, France and Germany. Most recently, Munk has been producing a series of paintings that tackle the subject of art itself through a historical and diagrammatic lens. In addition to his studio work, Munk is also a writer and curator. In his role as the Uber-chronicler of the New York art scene, Munk is known by his alias, James Kalm. Through his famed online video program, The Kalm Report, Munk tours artist's studios, gallery exhibits and art world events throughout New York City.” (Loren Munk, Freight + Volume)

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Deadly Nightshade

London

“Deadly Nightshade” by Julian Wild, 2014
Bishopgate, City of London
London, September 2014

“A sculpture called Deadly Nightshade will soon be creeping up the wall of NatWest bank’s flagship branch in the Square Mile. The artist who created the five metre-high “psychedelic man-made weed” said he hopes it will encourage City workers to look up from the Bishopsgate pavement. Julian Wild sculpted the 150kg work in his Dalston studio. It is made from stainless steel with two stems made to look as thought they are climbing up the grey brickwork.” (‘Deadly Nightshade’ sculpture, London Evening Standard)

Friday, October 17, 2014

Giovanni delle Bande Nere

Giovanni delle Bande Nere by Baccio Bandinelli, piazza San Lorenzo, Florence

Monument to Giovanni delle Bande Nere by Baccio Bandinelli, 1540
Piazza San Lorenzo
Florence, October 2013

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Paleys upon Pilers

Paleys upon Pilers by Studio Weave, Aldgate, London

“Paleys upon Pilers” by Studio Weave, 2012
Aldgate / Aldgate High Street
London, September 2014

“Paleys upon Pilers is an intricate timber palace perched on pillars that marks the spot of Aldgate and commemorates its most distinguished resident, Geoffrey Chaucer. It also celebrates the gateway from the City of London to the Olympic Park for the London Festival of Architecture 2012.” (Paleys upon Pilers, Studio Weave)

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Skaters on a Bridge

Roller skaters, Pont Saint-Louis, Paris

Roller skaters
Pont Saint-Louis
Quartier Notre-Dame, 4th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Anteros

Anteros by Alfred Gilbert, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Piccadilly Circus, City of Westminster, London

“Anteros” by Alfred Gilbert, Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, 1893
Piccadilly Circus
London, September 2014

“Although the statue is generally known as Eros, it was created as an image of his twin brother, Anteros. The sculptor Alfred Gilbert had already sculpted a statue of Anteros and, when commissioned for the Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, chose to reproduce the same subject, who, as ‘The God of Selfless Love’ was deemed to represent the philanthropic 7th Earl of Shaftesbury suitably. Gilbert described Anteros as portraying ‘reflective and mature love, as opposed to Eros or Cupid, the frivolous tyrant.’ The model for the sculpture was Gilbert's studio assistant, a 16-year-old Italian, Angelo Colarossi (born 1875).” (Shaftesbury Memorial Fountain, Wikipedia)

See also: Queen Alexandra Memorial

Monday, October 13, 2014

L'homme pressé

L'homme pressé, Man in a Hurry by Thomas Houseago, outside Palazzo Grassi, Canal Grande, Grand Canal, Venice

“L'homme pressé” (Man in a Hurry) by Thomas Houseago, 2011
Outside Palazzo Grassi
Canal Grande (Grand Canal)
Venice, September 2012

“Schimmel sees echoes of Michelangelo — ‘the bulk and awkwardness’ of David — in the monumental sculpture that Houseago is currently making for French collector Francois Pinault's Palazzo Grassi on the Grand Canal in Venice. It's a standing bronze figure, more than 30 feet tall, to be installed before the Venice Biennale next summer. The MOCA curator anticipates that this sculpture, like his others, will have a dynamic, ‘almost performative quality.’ ‘When I saw the Palazzo Grassi, I had a vision of a large striding figure walking out into the sky,’ says the artist, a burly figure who looks like he could work construction, and once did. ‘It will stand on a platform, on a plinth that's in the water, so it will rise out of the water like Poseidon.’” (Sculptor Thomas Houseago's shape-shifting world, Los Angeles Times)

Sunday, October 12, 2014

ArcelorMittal Orbit

ArcelorMittal Orbit by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London

ArcelorMittal Orbit by Anish Kapoor and Cecil Balmond, 2014
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford
London, September 2014

“ArcelorMittal's court challenge to Europe's cap-and-trade scheme, recently reported by PointCarbon, is its most recent act of resistance against the EU emissions trading scheme (ETS), the main mechanism for driving down CO2 levels in industry. ArcelorMittal's action brought before the European general court sought damages for being forced to pay for its greenhouse gas emissions because the company claimed the scheme threatened its business unfairly. The court dismissed the challenge last month.” (ArcelorMittal's emissions make a monumental joke of Olympic park tower, The Guardian)

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Monfort-Théâtre

Monfort-Théâtre, former Théâtre Silvia-Monfort by Claude Parent, Parc Georges-Brassens, rue Brancion, Paris

Monfort-Théâtre (former Théâtre Silvia-Monfort) by Claude Parent, 1991
Parc Georges-Brassens
Quartier Saint-Lambert, 15th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

“In May 1989 the Carré Silvia-Monfort ended its time in tents to build a permanent theatre designed by the architect Claude Parent. Housed on the former access ramp into the abattoirs, it would be a hexagonal metallic pyramid 23m high beside the parc Georges-Brassens. On Silvia Monfort's death in spring 1991, whilst the theatre was still under construction, the Conseil de Paris unanimously decided to name it after her. The mairie de Paris also made Régis Santon its head. It finally opened on 7 January 1992, with a production of Jean Anouilh's La Valse des Torréadors. Since September 2009, under the leadership of Laurence de Magalhaes and Stéphane Ricordel, the Théâtre Silvia Monfort changed its outer appearance, adding coloured images, a bar and refurbished dressing rooms mixing up the universes of 1970s circus caravans and a garden terrace.” (Monfort-Théâtre, Wikipedia)

Friday, October 10, 2014

Canada Water Library

Canada Water Library by CZWG, Surrey Quays Road, Southwark, London

Canada Water Library by CZWG, 2012
Surrey Quays Road, Southwark
London, September 2014

“The design of the new library needed to avoid multiple levels which would have cut off the interaction between the different user groups and also demanded a higher level of staff to service the library. CZWG’s solution to this problem was to create an inverted pyramid for the overall form of the building.” (Canada Water Library by CZWG, Dezeen Daily)

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Tindaro Screpolato


“Tindaro Screpolato” (Tyndareus Cracked) by Igor Mitoraj, 1998
Giardini di Boboli (Boboli Gardens)
Florence, October 2013

Tindaro Screpolato is an enormous bronze statue by sculptor Igor Mitoraj that is located in the Boboli Garden in Florence, Italy. The Germany-born Polish artist's towering structure features the cracked and disembodied face of a man set against the lush, green landscape of the garden. The crumbling visage complements its lively environment, at times seeming like its guardian that weathered down to nothing more than a fractured face, holding its position nonetheless.” (Giant Cracked Face Statue Depicts Strength and Fragility, My Modern Met)

See also: Testa Addormentata - Tindaro - Centauro - Colosse - Ikaria - Bronze Doors - Le Grand Toscano

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Centauro

Centauro by Igor Mitoraj, Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf, London

“Centauro” (Centaur) by Igor Mitoraj, 1994
Montgomery Square, Canary Wharf
London, September 2014

“Igor Mitoraj’s Centauro shows the great mythological beast of the centaur, which is depicted partially incomplete but ready for battle. A truly European artist, Mitoraj was born in East Germany of Polish parents and initially studied classical painting in Cracow before moving to Paris in 1968. He began experimenting with sculpture following a visit to South America and then embarked on a series of trips to Greece to study classical sculpture.” (Igor Mitoraj: Centauro, Canary Wharf Group PLC)

See also: Testa Addormentata - Tindaro - Tindaro Screpolato - Colosse - Ikaria - Bronze Doors - Le Grand Toscano

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Tindaro

Tindaro by Igor Mitoraj, Puteaux, La Défense, Paris,

“Tindaro” (Tyndareus) by Igor Mitoraj, 1997
Puteaux, La Défense
Paris, July 2008

See also: Testa Addormentata - Centauro - Tindaro Screpolato - Colosse - Ikaria - Bronze Doors - Le Grand Toscano

Monday, October 6, 2014

Lego Beaubourg

Centre Georges Pompidou built with Lego, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Thames Wharf Studios, Rainville Road, Hammersmith, London

Model of the Centre Georges Pompidou made with Lego
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, Thames Wharf Studios
Rainville Road, Hammersmith
London, September 2014

“Since half of the total available site was set aside as a public square, the building had to be tall enough to accommodate the 90,000 square metres of space demanded by the brief. The decision to place structure and services on the exterior was driven primarily by the need for internal flexibility, the scheme provided huge expanses of uninterrupted space on open floors nearly 50 metres deep.”(Centre Pompidou, Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners)

Sunday, October 5, 2014

Fritto Misto

Fritto Misto, Burano, Venetian Lagoon, Venice

“Fritto Misto” (Literally: mixed fried food)
Burano, Venetian Lagoon
Venice, September 2012

“Small morsels of meat, seafood, or vegetables coated with batter and deep fried” (Fritto misto, Merriam-Webster)

See also: Fondamenta della Pescheria - Color Like Music - Rio de San Mauro

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Elephant

Elephant by Bill Woodrow, Tate Britain, Millbank, London

“Elephant” by Bill Woodrow, 1984
Tate Britain, Millbank
London, September 2014

“The head, mounted colonial fashion on the wall, was constructed around an ironing board because of its triangular shape and strong frame. I used the ear shape of some old wall maps of Africa and South America... The fact that they are third world continents soon became the point of the work. I thought of jungles, deserts, shanty towns, natural forces, technology, tribes, revolutions. This finally produced an elephant lifting an automatic weapon from a water hole, with the car doors I had found at a breaker's yard forming its banks.” (Elephant 1984, Tate Britain)

Friday, October 3, 2014

Le Bateau ivre

Le Bateau ivre, The Drunken Boat, by Arthur Rimbaud, as a wall poem in rue Férou, Paris
Le Bateau ivre (The Drunken Boat) by Arthur Rimbaud, 1871
As a wall poem in rue Férou
Quartier de l'Odéon, 6th arrondissement
Paris, July 2014

Le Bateau ivre

Comme je descendais des Fleuves impassibles,
Je ne me sentis plus guidé par les haleurs:
Des Peaux-Rouges criards les avaient pris pour cibles
Les ayant cloués nus aux poteaux de couleurs.

J'étais insoucieux de tous les équipages,
Porteur de blés flamands ou de cotons anglais.
Quand avec mes haleurs ont fini ces tapages
Les Fleuves m'ont laissé descendre où je voulais.

Dans les clapotements furieux des marées
Moi l'autre hiver plus sourd que les cerveaux d'enfants,
Je courus! Et les Péninsules démarrées
N'ont pas subi tohu-bohus plus triomphants.

La tempête a béni mes éveils maritimes.
Plus léger qu'un bouchon j'ai dansé sur les flots
Qu'on appelle rouleurs éternels de victimes,
Dix nuits, sans regretter l'oeil niais des falots!

Plus douce qu'aux enfants la chair des pommes sures,
L'eau verte pénétra ma coque de sapin
Et des taches de vins bleus et des vomissures
Me lava, dispersant gouvernail et grappin

The whole poem in French
The Drunken Boat

As I was floating down unconcerned Rivers
I no longer felt myself steered by the haulers:
Gaudy Redskins had taken them for targets
Nailing them naked to coloured stakes.

I cared nothing for all my crews,
Carrying Flemish wheat or English cottons.
When, along with my haulers those uproars were done with
The Rivers let me sail downstream where I pleased.

Into the ferocious tide-rips
Last winter, more absorbed than the minds of children,
I ran! And the unmoored Peninsulas
Never endured more triumphant clamourings

The storm made bliss of my sea-borne awakenings.
Lighter than a cork, I danced on the waves
Which men call eternal rollers of victims,
For ten nights, without once missing the foolish eye of the harbor lights!

Sweeter than the flesh of sour apples to children,
The green water penetrated my pinewood hull
And washed me clean of the bluish wine-stains and the splashes of vomit,
Carrying away both rudder and anchor.

The whole poem in English
(translated by Oliver Bernard)

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Brandon Street Housing

Brandon Street housing by Metaphorm, Elephant & Castle, Southwark, London

Brandon Street affordable housing by Metaphorm, 2010
Elephant & Castle, Southwark
London, September 2014

“Brandon Street contains 18 two- and three-bedroom flats for social rent behind a glittering, undulating ceramic-tiled façade that sweeps along Brandon Street just south of the Heygate. This east-facing wall graduates in colour from yellow on the far left to deep red on the right, and at its foot has a long bench in grey and white concrete facing the street, with four trees to shade it.” (Sunshine in Southwark, London Evening Standard)

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

David

David, copy of the original bronze panel of the Gates of Paradise by Lorenzo Ghiberti, Baptistry of Saint John, Florence

“David”, copy of the original bronze panel of the
Porte del Paradiso (Gates of Paradise) by Lorenzo Ghiberti
Battistero di San Giovanni (Florence Baptistery)
Piazza del Duomo
Florence, October 2013

See also: Adam and Eve - Cain and Abel - Noah - Abraham - Isaac with Esau and Jacob - Joseph - Moses - Joshua