EVERYDAY MODERNISM
On a forced march thru Tokyo, I was stunned to have this building suddenly appear across a parking lot. When you see something like this, it almost takes your breath away. I call this...
Category: TRAVEL
MINAMIDERA
Two heroes that we have referenced in these pages are the artist James Turrell and the architect Tadao Ando. So I am happy to report that I was able to experience a confluence of...
ORDINARY BUILDING JAPAN
While walking thru a rural Japanese village, this Ordinary Building Japan, or more accurately this residence, caught my eye. As it was on a corner lot, I was able to take two photos from...
NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WESTERN ART
I didn’t know there was a LeCorbusier building in Tokyo. Yet there is. It is called the National Museum of Western Art. Many sources say that it is one of his least known buildings. ...
ANDO MUSEUM – NAOSHIMA
The drawing above most likely looks incomprehensible. And I think that’s ok, given the initial incomprehension that you experience when you enter this building. The Ando Museum in Naoshima, Japan, one of the Art...
SKETCHING AT THE MET
I saw two people sketching at the MET’s David Hockney show. In most museum shows that I see, it is rare to see someone with a sketchbook. Yet these two people were drawing from...
LIGHT AND DEATH
People who have had near death experiences typically describe the experience as a passage into light. I could not help thinking about this as we experienced James Turrell’s Perfectly Clear (1991) at Mass MOCA....
TRANSPARENT PHOTOGRAPHY
In an article in Psychological Science, as reported in the Times, researchers found that taking photos serves to increase your memory of the experience. The studies found that taking photos increases your engagement with...
DRAWING LIGHT
In Morocco, it is all about the light. We saw a couple of my attempts to respond to the Moroccan light with the drawings at the page Representational Transparency and Ordinary Building – Morocco. When light...
ORDINARY BUILDING – MOROCCO
It is the light. The constantly changing light. And the blueness of the sky. In Morocco, I found myself spending a lot of time looking directly up. And one reason was the courtyards. Every...
THE BANALITY AND THE ECSTASY
It never occurred to me that I would draw it later. Why draw banality? During our Ottawa trip, (previous page about Ottawa here), we went to the Diefenbunker. The Diefenbunker is a relic of...
WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT
Ottawa is a fun city. Actually, we love all Canadian cities. Come to think of it, we really like Canada. As in it would be a reasonable place to live. But I digress. We...
VOLUBILIS VISITOR’S CENTER
The visitor’s center at Volubilis, Moroco, is very good. It is always interesting to be presented with a visitor’s center when traveling. Of course, visitor’s centers are built at popular tourist destinations. These centers...
STONE OBSESSION
I suddenly became obsessed with stones. Standing stones, to be exact. In the Volubilis site in Morocco. As I was walking thru the ruins, I suddenly became fascinated with large stones that were still...
REPRESENTATIONAL TRANSPARENCY
Once in a great while, I take a photo that I really, really like. The photo at left is in this category. This was taken while in what was called the Prison de Kara,...
SHOOT DOWN
Always take advantage of the opportunity to take photos looking down. When traveling, you are given many opportunities to go up into things. This might be the camponeili of a cathedral. You might be...
ISLAMIC POLLOCK
I take photos of Islamic calligraphic writing on buildings. In a Madrassa in Morocco, I was struck by the caligraphic similarities of this Koranic text and Jackson Pollock’s paintings, photo above. This building was...
FES TANNERIES
The tanneries in Fes, Morocco are of course world famous. Animal hides are tanned and colored in large vats. All of the dyes are natural. Saffron is yellow. Mint is used for green. Poppies...
BEAUTIFUL FUNCTION
The road from Tinghir to Midelt in Morocco has to be one of the world’s great drives. Take the R703. The mountainous scenery on either side is like no other. There was hardly any...
TRAVEL BUILDING 1
During a day trip to Sintra which is about an hour by train outside of Lisbon, we were walking hurriedly to catch the train. I was taken by this building. Yet there was no...
THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BUILDING IN THE WORLD 1
We were hungry for lunch. Trip Advisor said there was an interesting spot not too far from where we were. After making our way thru the streets of Lisbon, a small courtyard opened before...
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