tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37798070438864824282024-03-07T17:03:54.629-05:00Forgotten DelightsDianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-1260488868988090492010-07-23T13:26:00.005-04:002010-09-20T13:41:29.511-04:00Forgotten Delights blog is movingI'm moving this blog from Blogger to the Forgotten Delights website. The new address is<br />
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<a href="http://forgottendelights.com/blog">http://forgottendelights.com/blog</a>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-1219899138621473602010-07-11T12:11:00.005-04:002010-07-14T07:19:23.549-04:00What is art? (#2 of 2), excerpted from Art History through Innovators: Sculpture<div class="MsoNormal">Now let's talk about what counts as a major innovation in art.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>To convey his idea of what’s important, an artist must be able to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">communicate</i> with you.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>He has to capture your attention—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>he can’t communicate with you if your brain is channel-surfing.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>He has to show you something you can understand—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>he can't communicate without a common language.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>He has to show you something so unusual or so vivid that it makes you stand still and contemplate what he has created.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>In short, he has to make you stop, and look, and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">think</i> about his work of art.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The innovations we’re looking at on this tour are not novelty for the sake of novelty.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Every one of them gave its creator more power to make you stop, look, and think.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>And these innovations were not gimmicks or minor tweaks.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>They were so effective that they allowed many other sculptors to convey <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">their</i> values and ideas more effectively.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">On the list of sculptures and the timeline, the works that illustrate innovations of that caliber—<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>major innovations—are in bold.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>There are only 7 of them.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>We'll be looking at the other works on the list for the sake of context and contrast.<span style="color: red;"> </span> Resist the temptation to make a rude noise and fast-forward through those parts of the tour.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>You may hate medieval art, for example, but you'll appreciate Donatello and Michelangelo more if you've seen it.</div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-59420401997970804942010-07-09T12:10:00.002-04:002010-07-09T12:19:33.602-04:00What is art? (#1 of 2), excerpted from Art History through Innovators: Sculpture<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><div class="MsoNormal">Over the next month or so, I'll be posting several of the theoretical parts from my new lecture, “Art History through Innovators, Part 1: Sculpture” The lecture is designed as a walking tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but comes with a PDF of images so that you can listen to it anywhere in the world. The references to images below are to the PDF. The entire lecture (26 MP3 files and 50+ pages in PDF format) is available at </div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/ArtHistoryThroughInnovators.htm">http://www.forgottendelights.com/ArtHistoryThroughInnovators.htm</a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This first excerpt comes near the beginning of the lecture.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">EXCERPT 1A: What is art?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WP0demdJvPWuFivRRrVqS4EQzH-EfF5CNORgv_ARDcrw-gRzNy6I0QTqlywKGqmDsQFwOSLeDpWqRkLIYeA98-Cdcii7JGqAlB2522SAklU0885DZHDkfFQ4gA-XEaRQzon4LEbXunvR/s1600/288px-MenkauraAndQueen_MuseumOfFineArtsBoston+BW.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9WP0demdJvPWuFivRRrVqS4EQzH-EfF5CNORgv_ARDcrw-gRzNy6I0QTqlywKGqmDsQFwOSLeDpWqRkLIYeA98-Cdcii7JGqAlB2522SAklU0885DZHDkfFQ4gA-XEaRQzon4LEbXunvR/s320/288px-MenkauraAndQueen_MuseumOfFineArtsBoston+BW.png" width="154" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRkEmaCrWCEGwTctmtZs02d8Wupux0ATidCiuhOFOP8bTgbUJRJuWEUhOz6am-1evnCEDUJ5j3vsMacESXqEvWxNS2o2S__VfsRUQMrXjQsqM163W6Zj6dXJ4bO1yMunsszVOKv693uMG/s1600/MMASculpture20100611+052rev.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRkEmaCrWCEGwTctmtZs02d8Wupux0ATidCiuhOFOP8bTgbUJRJuWEUhOz6am-1evnCEDUJ5j3vsMacESXqEvWxNS2o2S__VfsRUQMrXjQsqM163W6Zj6dXJ4bO1yMunsszVOKv693uMG/s320/MMASculpture20100611+052rev.jpg" width="171" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">A standard art history course covers the characteristics of the art of every major civilization and every time period, from ancient through modern. In Art History through Innovators, I focus instead on one question: In 5,000 years, how did we get from a sculpture such as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mykerinus and His Queen</i> (#1A on the handout) to Frishmuth's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Vine</i>? What I want to show you are <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">major </i>innovations in art.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>That’s why the title of this tour is "Art History Through Innovators."<o:p></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal">If you have an inquiring mind, you should immediately be asking two questions.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Number 1: What is art? Number 2: What counts as a major innovation?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So: What is art? You might be surprised to hear that there’s no widely accepted definition.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>If you ask 5 staff members at the Metropolitan Museum, they’ll give you 5 different definitions.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Same thing if you ask 5 professors who teach art history.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The most difficult part of writing these tours was making sure that when we start, we’re on the same page about the meaning of “art.” So let’s try this.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Rvgyt2JEDL2hWGItCqfnnECZAbVZa6uhP5ejJHtcGjDHAb_DixS5oTjZIu4ixIl0j4pkIwUJfV_B5pWAr9zphIqeDTgbbkjXyn8Ide-_HrPK-NmoPyN1G7KGluUX9CGq20xnAetK9Uc/s1600/jordan-jumpman-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq4Rvgyt2JEDL2hWGItCqfnnECZAbVZa6uhP5ejJHtcGjDHAb_DixS5oTjZIu4ixIl0j4pkIwUJfV_B5pWAr9zphIqeDTgbbkjXyn8Ide-_HrPK-NmoPyN1G7KGluUX9CGq20xnAetK9Uc/s200/jordan-jumpman-logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Look at the Nike logo on the list of sculptures.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Do you know who that is?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Do you know what he's doing?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Is he good, bad, or mediocre at what he does?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">How did he get that way: skill, practice, luck, transcendental meditation?<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">If you recognize this figure as Michael Jordan, then the image isn't just a blob of ink on paper.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>It carries with it a set of ideas about excellence, and about how you achieve excellence.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Sculptures carry ideas with them, too.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>For example, look at Michelangelo's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">David </i>on the supplementary photos.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Most people see in it a combination of courage, strength, and alertness.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But a sculptor doesn’t just show any random idea that pops into his head.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Art works often endure for centuries, but artists never do.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>So an artist can’t sculpt an image of every single thing he sees.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>Nor can he include every microscopic detail of what he does choose to sculpt.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>He has to choose his subjects and his style based on what matters enough to him to spend days, months, or years working on.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So by showing courage, strength, and alertness in a work of art, Michelangelo says: “Such things are important to me.” A sculptor who represents Uncle Dave drinking beer in a La-Z-Boy reveals a different set of values.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>In either case, when the artist creates his work of art, he tells you: "<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">This </i>is important, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this</i> matters, pay attention to <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this—</i><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>this value, this idea, this action." Sometimes it's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this </i>kind of place, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this </i>sort of person, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">this </i>kind of feeling.<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="color: red;"> </span></b>But it’s always something the artist considers profoundly important.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">We’ll talk about why that matters to you, as a viewer, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">after </i>we’ve looked at a couple millennia of sculpture.<o:p></o:p><br />
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Coming shortly: Excerpt 1B, on what qualifies as a major innovation.</div></span></span>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-59243800718742123792010-06-25T09:18:00.000-04:002010-06-25T09:18:27.102-04:00Coming soon: "Art History Through Innovators"I'll soon be offering for sale a new 2-hour course, "Art History Through Innovators," part 1: sculpture. Designed as a walking tour of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, it comes with images in a PDF that will allow you to listen anywhere in the world. Part 2 (Painting) is in the works.<br />
I'll be posting excerpts here within a week or two.Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-85447725926844678012010-03-09T11:43:00.003-05:002010-03-09T11:48:03.569-05:00VersaQuill website and blogMost of my efforts are currently going toward my website for research and writing, at <a href="http://www.versaquill.com">www.VersaQuill.com</a>. The associated blog deals primarily with the copywriting. You can read on the About page of the blog why I'm a fan of Ayn Rand and a methodology geek:<div>
</div><div><a href="http://versaquill.com/blog2/about/">http://versaquill.com/blog2/about/</a></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-23139495597878963792010-03-09T11:36:00.004-05:002010-03-09T11:43:28.488-05:00Radio interview on outdoor monuments<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I was recently interviewed by Adam Schwartz for WFIU, a public radio station at the University of Indiana, Bloomington. We talked for an hour and a half about outdoor sculptures, abstract art, the World Trade Center memorial, and much more. It was a pleasure talking about such things with someone who asked such intelligent questions. Adam did a great job of boiling the interview down to 6 minutes, which is all the format of the program allows. Have a listen:
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</div><div><a href="http://indianapublicmedia.org/arts/arts-writer-dianne-durante-sculptures-forgotten-delights/" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 101, 204); ">http://indianapublicmedia.org/<wbr>arts/arts-writer-dianne-<wbr>durante-sculptures-forgotten-<wbr>delights/</a></div></span></div></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-69773973171061433742009-05-02T14:35:00.002-04:002009-05-02T14:38:13.193-04:00New blog: Past - Present - Principles<span style="font-size:85%;">Most of my writing is presently on my new blog, "<a href="http://www.pastpresentprinciples.blogspot.com/">Past - Present - Principles</a>, History and Philosophy for Today's News." This a trial run for a website I'd like to produce that would offer short essays on major events in American history, with suggested readings from Ayn Rand and Objectivist scholars. If you're interested in using such as site or advertising on it, email </span> <b> <span style="font-size:85%;color:#008080;"> <a href="mailto:comments@forgottendelights.com?subject=Add%20to%20Forgotten%20Delights%20update%20list">comments@forgottendelights.com</a> .</span></b>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-28874719981129496612009-04-16T10:17:00.004-04:002009-04-16T10:24:30.645-04:00The NYC Tea Party, April 15, 2009<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For the past 20-odd years, whenever I’ve seen a protest rally in NYC I’ve given it a wide berth. Such rallies usually offer the sort of speeches that require shouting after every sentence and are interspersed with long periods of angry chanting, all amidst pushing and shoving and general misbehavior. The average age of the participants is 20, and the cause being supported is usually a couple light-years to the far side of the extreme left. Why would I go to a protest? I’ve always known that changing someone’s mind depends on reasoned argument, not decibels.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But I decided this week that there’s one exception to that. When attempting to get a politician’s attention, decibels matter more than reasoned arguments, particularly when the decibels are emitted by a large collection of voters. I went to the tea party mostly to provide another visible, vocal voter … and was pleasantly surprised.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">First of all, everyone I saw in the crowd was well dressed (as if they’d just come from a paying job), patient, and polite to the surrounding NYPD officers. The average age was probably 40. The crowd eventually stretched for 3 or 4 blocks along Broadway, and from the fence of City Hall Park across a wide sidewalk, a lane or two of the street (barricaded from traffic), and another wide sidewalk. The people toward the back could not possibly see the people on stage, yet they did not push and shove. They read and commented on the protest signs held up by members of the crowd. They listened to the speakers and clapped at appropriate times. The only thing they didn’t do well was shout in unison: whenever the organizers tried to get a chant going, it fizzled. This rather amused me—we were obviously a thinking crowd unwilling to play “follow the demagogue.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As for the content of the speeches: I doubt that anyone who didn’t already believe government spending was out of control was converted; such conversion happens in the privacy of one’s thoughts, not in the presence of amplifiers on city streets. That said, the speeches were much better than I had expected, with repeated praise for capitalism and calls for a government responsible to the people. One speaker referred obliquely to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Atlas Shrugged. </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I saw several signs that explicitly referred to </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Atlas</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and met a woman who was handing out ARC’s flyer. The attendees seemed to be hard-working and thoughtful people—precisely the sort who might be persuaded by Ayn Rand’s arguments, if they are intrigued enough to read her works.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">As we were leaving, the event’s organizer reminded us not to leave trash on the ground, making a joke that this was probably the only time in the history of NYC protest rallies that such a request had been made. I didn’t see so much as a dropped tissue as we left.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The rudest the crowd ever got was in expressing its disapproval of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">New York</span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">’s senior </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">U.S.</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> senator. While it would be more accurate to shout, “If the Senator disapproves of the American Constitution and defending Americans abroad, I do not wish to have him representing me,” I have to admit (purely as a student of rhetoric) that shouting “Schumer sucks” has more punch. I hope the TV crews covered that bit and gave the senator cause for insomnia.</span></p>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-88677926110639515222009-03-20T11:05:00.003-04:002009-03-20T11:12:14.412-04:00DWJ Books<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">If you're looking for information on DWJ Books before signing a contract with them, email me at forgottendeli@earthlink.net. I signed a contract with them in May 2008 and have had many problems, which for legal reasons I won't post in a public forum. If you've been burned by them, I sympathize, but (also for legal reasons) I won't post your comments about them on this blog, either.</span>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-52416873593855273652009-03-07T08:49:00.006-05:002009-03-07T09:11:11.174-05:00Construction at the World Trade Center<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXz6EfGKeFnUJTgiGcsh9g6yr6ReWh_ddMAxozLey-_JITa77elNbaF7OeGp2OlRh6LGbPBbrrN-nWCBpHgGAGIBn4D3ttl7cwDJ78YheM0XiB20eIUinaXKe8LEQJW3Raas2Hrq5O5Bvm/s400/20090305West14th_80sm.JPG" style="text-align: left;display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; cursor: pointer; width: 300px; height: 400px; " border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310445286428051426" /><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I don’t particularly like the winning design for the new buildings on the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">World</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trade</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> site, and I detest the winning design for the memorial. Still, I found myself delighted the other day to see the skeleton of a skyscraper rising out of the pit. The building is being raised on a relatively small part of the WTC site (which occupies roughly 12 full city blocks), but the site has been a horrendous hole in the ground for so long that I was beginning to wonder when anything would be built there.
</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Here’s a photo that shows more of the site, looking due east. The 4-story steel skeleton in the first photo is at the far left. Official photos by the WTC contractors are posted at</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left; "><a href="http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/roadmap_forward.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://www.panynj.gov/wtcprogress/roadmap_forward.html</span></a></p>
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</div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwkWOINDXY77KyHILvZhBEy1n3nwP3WyRlZ_wF0MxA8wnlyjhjm1vHa-wEpJyqPUhcwNM9hh1Ry8z6Of6SVirIBkp9d9G9hUqkYs3t49BgbtVCJoCnI_UnblbXSnWFkbVcg1bZd_BQDe6z/s400/20090305West14th_81sm.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310445285976385394" /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> As I was walking past the WTC site, my MP3 player kicked up a song by Nek that perfectly expresses the exasperation I’ve felt with American foreign policy since 9/11 - and quite a while before that. The singer is addressing someone who keeps making the same mistake and then making the same excuses for it.</span>
</p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="FR" style="mso-ansi-language:FR"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><blockquote>Volverás a vivir
cuando quieras salir
planta cara a la realidad
No digas que te faltan fuerzas
Tú sabes bien que esta es tu guerra
No te busques un pretexto, yo apuesto
a que ganarás</blockquote></span><o:p></o:p></span></p><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Unpoetically translated: “You will start living again when you’re ready to look reality in the face. Don’t say you lack the strength – you know this is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">your</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> war. Don’t look for an excuse. I’m betting on you to win.” (The song is “Volveras a vivir,” from the album </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">La Vida Es.</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">)</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Winter Garden at the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">World</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Financial</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> is a huge indoor space with a barrel-vaulted roof in glass and steel. At the east end, a grand staircase of polished pink and white marble once led across a pedestrian bridge to the </span><st1:place><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">World</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Trade</span></st1:placename><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span><st1:placetype><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Center</span></st1:placetype></st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Now the staircase ends at a wall of windows that is </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">the</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> place to go for an overview of the construction on the site. I took the photos in this post from there. As I turned to go back down the staircase, I saw the palm trees that thrive inside the Winter Garden silhouetted against the sunset and the skyscrapers of </span><st1:state><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New Jersey</span></st1:place></st1:state><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. And suddenly I was much less tired and much less exasperated. Reminders of human ingenuity and progress always cheer me up. (I love taking photos of the best of </span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New York City</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. This one will probably make it to the next </span><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Upward Glance CD</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.)</span></o:p></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71aA3tAXakY7XsH_LSGUDiIYqJ80BeAyd2_YZ2lB6_ijcTTiUjhZR-bVLJxudcV9-qUEEc4HH0vdOuIzevnR9TukWa0Xag8m-mNi51_k_D6G21L9RYDG5Ci1Zx-IW8AsSMOiQc2O32VSY/s400/20090305West14th_77sm.JPG" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 400px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310445279919468130" /> <p class="MsoNormal">
</p>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-85431553581097425612008-11-21T16:41:00.007-05:002008-11-22T09:00:50.428-05:00Welcome to New York ... now go move your car (2009 calendar)<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">New Yorkers who own cars and don't have off-street parking (which can cost as much per month as a small apartment in Cincinnati) spend exorbitant amounts of time trying to remember whether their car is parked on the side of the street that'll get them a $65 ticket if the street-sweepers come through. Street sweeping is suspended for 30 or more days a year, but few of us can remember which days it's safe to ignore the posted alternate-side signs.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I was inspired to design an alternate-side parking calendar by an atonal piano piece sandwiched into an otherwise enjoyable concert. I didn’t want to walk out (the pianist was amazing), but I didn't want to listen to the "music," either. So I assigned myself the task of devising a way to incorporate some of the photos I've taken of New York into a marketing piece for my husband's dental practice. By the time the piano abuse was over, I'd had the idea of doing an alternate-side parking calendar for 2009 with photos of our neighborhood around the edges. It had to fit on a single 8.5 x 11" page, include all my husband's office info, and give a URL where people could print more copies. It had to be attractive enough that people would cheerfully post it inside their front door or on their refrigerator.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">The next day I laid out the calendar using the conventional format: 7 columns and 4-5 rows per month for 12 months. Alas, there wasn't enough space for pictures. Then I decided to apply some of the principles I'd learned in </span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">Edward Tufte's </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">Visual Displays of Quantitative Information</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">. I raised my hands and backed away from the computer (sometimes one must), and considered what information had to be included and how to organize it with the least possible visual interference. After much tweaking of font sizes, table margins, and text colors, I managed to fit all the necessary information plus quite a few photos. A scanned image is below; to see the calendar as a PDF, </span><a href="http://www.doctordurante.com/2009.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">click here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">(The blog text continues below the scanned image.)</span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE3fQGqYtVyYViq7kymgZOrRpywlZzLKALu_ugcrpPJFpkL08SIlHlbVPQZyu_slFNduSvhng1bMgFkqr90gwAzwbcNA3TAxUxnRZ8HK7wJV4yX0ho3cI-CTlffoV6bes3_f6_uMSAI_g5/s400/2009Calendar.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 316px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5271230524508182354" /></p><p class="MsoNormal">
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</div><div><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Tufte's </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Visual Displays of Quantitative Information</span></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> focuses on organizing visual information so that it's comprehensible at a glance. Reading it will change the way you look at printed material and websites as well as the way you organize material on a page - even if you're only printing a flyer for a garage sale.
</span></div><div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Print as many copies as you like of the calendar for your front door, your refrigerator, your glove compartment, and your friends. If you're curious about the images, the locations are given at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.doctordurante.com/2009.htm">http://www.doctordurante.com/2009.htm</a>.</span></p></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-61146002897798181322008-10-26T19:01:00.003-04:002008-10-26T19:04:43.194-04:00Sylvia Bokor's BlogMy long-time friend Sylvia Bokor, an artist and writer, has just started a blog. Check it out at<div>
</div><div><a href="http://www.sylviabokorcomments.blogspot.com/">http://www.sylviabokorcomments.blogspot.com/</a>
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</div><div>The latest post (as I write this) is on mystery writer John Dunning, and it nails down an aspect of his style that had bothered me enough so that I only read one of his books - but which I hadn't bothered to put into words.</div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-66480232155631608902008-10-22T21:37:00.003-04:002008-10-22T21:45:25.127-04:00History as Prozac<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I am usually “even tempered and good-natured, whom you never hear complain,” but like Henry Higgins, occasionally I get furiously angry. My trigger at the moment is the upcoming presidential election. As an Objectivist, I don’t think the government should dictate how I run my private life or my business; it ought to confine itself to protecting individual rights, including protecting me from attacks foreign or domestic. (See Ayn Rand’s “</span><a href="http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=arc_ayn_rand_the_nature_of_government"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Nature of Government</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.”) McCain and Obama are both promising more regulations and more government programs that would affect every aspect of my life, and neither one has convinced me that he’ll fight genuine threats such as Iran. So when I see either one talking on TV, I soon find myself shouting at them, and wondering how a nation with such brilliant founding principles can survive, if we're reduced to choices such as this. Pass the Prozac, please.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> My Prozac is history, because history gives me a sense of perspective on passing events. Last summer I started working part-time as a cataloguer for </span><a href="http://www.martayanlan.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Martayan Lan</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, a bookseller specializing in works printed before 1800, particularly the </span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">history of science, travel and discovery, and art and architecture</span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. I typically skim a book and then write a page-long description of it, setting the book in context as a major contribution to knowledge, a quaint leftover from an earlier age, or something between. Recently I’ve described a 17th-century book on heart defects, a collection of reports submitted by Jesuits around the world in the 1590s, French newspapers promoting the California Gold Rush, and a compilation of women’s legal rights in 16th-c. Portugal.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Not long ago I described a book of medical aphorisms: Latin couplets that purported to help students and physicians remember how to diagnose and/or treat various ailments. The information in the poems was probably centuries old when the book came out, and had mostly likely been distorted by years of unthinking repetition to the point of being useless, if not outright harmful.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Here's the kicker: the book was published in 1589. Forty years earlier (the whole working life of a physician at that time), Andreas Vesalius had dissected cadavers and had published the results of his research in a beautiful multi-volume work. (See the illustrations at </span><a href="http://tinyurl.com/6nxkr9"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">http://tinyurl.com/6nxkr9</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> ). Others were also finally looking at nature rather than parroting ancient and medieval authors: physicians of this era described the circulation of the blood in the lungs and set the foundation for the systematic study of tropical diseases. Those at the cutting edge in science knew better than to simply memorize and apply medieval solutions in Latin doggerel. Many of them must have howled with rage that any publisher would print works such as Scholtz' </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Aphorismorum medicinalium</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">And yet … eventually books like that were no longer published. Those who were constantly expanding their knowledge and confidently announcing their discoveries did eventually triumph. Reality and reason won out, in the long run - although not without staunch defenders who fought long, difficult battles.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">So when I need a pick-me-up from the current depressing presidential election, history is my Prozac. If you need some anti-depressants, try these:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"></p><ul><li>S<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">imon Winchester, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060931809/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Map That Changed the World</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bronowski, Jacob. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0061330019/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Western Intellectual Tradition: From Leonardo to Hegel</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Frederick B. Artz, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0226028402/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Mind of the Middle Ages</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul Johnson, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060935502/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Modern Times</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Paul Johnson, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0060922826/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Birth of the Modern</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic; "><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000RC39YA/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Printing and the Mind of Man</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sebastian Haffner, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0312421133/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Defying Hitler</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Herold, </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618154612/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Age of Napoleon</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Gordon, John Steele. </span></span><i><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802713645/forgottendeli-20"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> A Thread Across the Ocean: The Heroic </span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Story of the Transatlantic Cable.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Loon, Willem van</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></b></span><i><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0742613887/forgottendeli-20"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Story of Mankind</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></i><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold;color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Manchester, William</span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. </span></b></span><i><span style="color:black;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0316545562/forgottendeli-20"><span style="text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A World Lit Only by Fire</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></i><span style="color:black;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Bryson, Bill. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000WEVD3W/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Short History of Nearly Everything</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Petrocelli, Daniel. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0609601709/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Triumph of Justice: Closing the Book on the Simpson Saga</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">McCullough, David. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0743223136/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">John Adams</span></a></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Ellis, Joseph. </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400040310/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">His Excellency</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(on George Washington)
</span></li><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Shorto, </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1400078679/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The Island at the Center of the World</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> (on Manhattan)</span>
</li></ul><p></p>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-9517541984835935372008-10-15T07:16:00.009-04:002008-10-16T06:41:09.601-04:00Three-fer: Wilkinson, Wildhorn, Gill<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIT5GR0zW16cese_JuuHPTZnuCZ_Xo9ZxwW6NNOooGn0qAScnCOLAUdszuBFZ_3Ynfvyh1ZFNlweV9kyXqnWrPhfHRUW2mzKBFA_o-OxmdiK7wrButG7UidB9N9LP1XjDT2xcG_6-ayQw2/s1600-h/Futurity.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIT5GR0zW16cese_JuuHPTZnuCZ_Xo9ZxwW6NNOooGn0qAScnCOLAUdszuBFZ_3Ynfvyh1ZFNlweV9kyXqnWrPhfHRUW2mzKBFA_o-OxmdiK7wrButG7UidB9N9LP1XjDT2xcG_6-ayQw2/s320/Futurity.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257522155079334402" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Last week I visited Michael Wilkinson’s studio in </span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Manhattan</span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, and it raised my spirits for days. One of Michael’s specialties is cast-acrylic sculptures of idealized figures, usually on romantic themes. I had seen photos of many of them on his website (</span><a href="http://www.michaelwilkinson.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">www.michaelwilkinson.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">) and expected to like them, but hadn’t anticipated the impact of seeing them in person, in three dimensions. Acrylic can be highly polished or sanded to a frosted finish. The outer planes can be angled in such a way that the images molded into it are reflected back at unexpected angles. Change the angle of the light or rotate the sculpture, and the effect is quite different.</span><p></p> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjalmfeTpn_6EGVcMOGYdJtLEAgUAgqpTLBBH567Jg7k6r3rinf0ZtwXM5wyJhiFOO4PMwDI2Tm9I6RG8AE3uXr7oaqamth4DWXbX3OaG92gpUOCG-zNtm5MmD1FiEj0FdTgBBlEFP1CEWJ/s320/Sanctuary-Clr.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257521469846254946" /><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Not all artists can talk coherently about what they do. Michael can. I was fascinated to listen to him discuss his aims for different pieces, and the ways in which he manipulated the material to make his intention a reality.</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The piece that sticks in my mind is not an acrylic <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">but a bronze: a small work called </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sanctuary</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, which shows a woman leaning protectively over a man</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">. Michael said the id<span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">ea in his mind was that in a romantic relationship, there are times when one partner is exhausted by the outside world, and the other provides a sort of haven until the partner recovers.</span></span></span></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I immediately heard a song in my mind: “You Are My Home,” from the Broadway musical </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000002JFB/forgottendeli-20">The Scarlet Pimpernel </a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">(music by Frank Wildhorn)</span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> The words aren’t exactly the same concept as the sculpture, but they’re close; and I still get goosebumps when I think of the first time I heard that song <span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">performed on stage, with a dozen vocalists and an orchestra. So the </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sanctuary</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> sculpture gripped me not just visually, but via an auditory memory. (You can hear an excerpt from the song on iTunes by searching “You Are My Home.”)</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></i></span></span></p><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI3HaD7yJIPDKVX1_JVX6C0Or6Ts3y2_1ajVtVHw9v_zMxmUgJUF355Sx1rGPhxi00XsQjLnrpIci9F4K636Yoi0VNa8qSzI6vNvWJadI8EZ3mpHKuccn3c7M6I98kY98_9EGKrD-akVmt/s200/51QdUbQibQL._SL500_AA240_.jpg" style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5257341187862960786" /><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Thinking of all the times in the past years that I’ve wished I could see the </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Pimpernel</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> live on stage again reminded me, in turn, of an essay I recently read in A.A. Gill’s </span></span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/141657249X/forgottendeli-20">Previous Convictions</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> He pointed out that seeing a play live, on stage, is fundamentally different from seeing the same work on film. (Mind you, I wouldn’t want to live without film, even if I could afford to see a Broadway play every week.)</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "></span></span></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">"Film performance is a vanity, it’s done for a mirror, it’s passed through a hundred hands. The audience is an abstract. There’s no middleman between you and a stage. Every time you see Olivier perform </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Othello</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> on film it’s the same. You make no difference. What I saw onstage was unique. … You can see the same play again and again and it utterly changes. Every performance leaves a footprint, but it also leaves the text pristine and untouched. As I grow older, plays grow old with me. Their meanings change, the emphasis is different."</span></p></blockquote><p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The same is true of sculpture: seeing the original work is very different from seeing a reproduction; and seeing it under different circumstances (whether it’s simply a different time of day, or the fact that you’re a year or two older) can make an enormous difference in what the work says to you. So if you’re lucky enough to live in a town with art galleries, museums, or artists’ studios, take an hour or two to drop by for a visit—not as a “chore” to prove you’re cultured, but for the chance it gives you to see something beautiful and, perhaps, to learn something more about yourself.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">
</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0814719872/forgottendeli-20"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">, </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">which was marketed as a guidebook to </span></span><st1:city><st1:place><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">New York City</span></span></st1:place></st1:city><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"> sculpture, includes long sections on looking at art and figuring out why you react to a certain piece as you do. For beginners looking at art, see my </span></span><a href="http://forgottendelights.blogspot.com/2008/07/introducing-children-to-art.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">blog entry on introducing kids to art</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">.</span></span>
</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The sculptures are </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Futurity </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Sanctuary</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">; art and photographs
copyright (c) Michael Wilkinson, all rights reserved.</span></p>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-6070285423765910202008-09-07T08:50:00.009-04:002008-09-07T10:14:07.432-04:00Great views of Manhattan skyline<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnNrN2N1oozhDzoZzw_F-vowiLc5NmBh2BncMAeOAaWwebntxBNBdW2PjgYUESJtyckK1WFiXWACEB79_UYBaVoT61OgBrBql3N8nmyYMPTDG12hNsKM9zJMsUsP4bS6901UY8rkOoTVt/s1600-h/292.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsnNrN2N1oozhDzoZzw_F-vowiLc5NmBh2BncMAeOAaWwebntxBNBdW2PjgYUESJtyckK1WFiXWACEB79_UYBaVoT61OgBrBql3N8nmyYMPTDG12hNsKM9zJMsUsP4bS6901UY8rkOoTVt/s320/292.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243265694860827730" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQ1pzKe3KOhEf0BLYUIGrR8NQxRVzK_lPWuAMMe3pge7NBSEr5CU1AtlWkkiBlmwqObNfQXtOLjusUMlzHuaQkahcRx6VG5OCBP6hMWnchgaGxjjpDZNblF2zOgXlfZs4_jynRE7IfrC2/s1600-h/054.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiQ1pzKe3KOhEf0BLYUIGrR8NQxRVzK_lPWuAMMe3pge7NBSEr5CU1AtlWkkiBlmwqObNfQXtOLjusUMlzHuaQkahcRx6VG5OCBP6hMWnchgaGxjjpDZNblF2zOgXlfZs4_jynRE7IfrC2/s320/054.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243265720639156658" /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">New York Harbor from Battery Park</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 10px; font-style: italic;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">New Yorkers who seldom venture out of Manhattan miss the delights of seeing the sun rising and setting on the island. I recently compiled a list of my favorite places to do that. It's not exhaustive: I focus on places I can sit with a friend and have a picnic dinner (or breakfast). On Google maps, the list is called "<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&start=50&num=50&om=1&msa=0&msid=114726120835413651227.0004527776063b0097659&z=11">Great Views of the Manhattan Skyline</a>." (The sculptures in <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan</span> are plotted on a different<a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&start=50&num=50&om=1&msa=0&msid=114726120835413651227.00000111f68e0359f60f9&z=13"> Google Map</a>.)</span></div><div><div>
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">For suggestions of places to take photos (but not necessarily sit and relax), see </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><a href="http://photo.net/travel-photography-forum/00Mgbf">http://photo.net/travel-photography-forum/00Mgbf</a>
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">The pics for today's post are among the 350 images on the Upward Glance screensaver CD, available for $15 at </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm">http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm . </a></span></span>All images Copyright (c) Dianne Durante, all rights reserved.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrAOZliBnuEe3FLY2JL5I6u7xx70zWN-dvWWVQmWZ3UlmhMGy9XJ4l4OeMQ4U_NLCJomlEtbUMQ_QectznIZOxCtmj-Aw_-4zWJhE26h0d3TH7-h58dMivdGvruWZH6EGPY1p1D-SrNbY/s1600-h/294.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGrAOZliBnuEe3FLY2JL5I6u7xx70zWN-dvWWVQmWZ3UlmhMGy9XJ4l4OeMQ4U_NLCJomlEtbUMQ_QectznIZOxCtmj-Aw_-4zWJhE26h0d3TH7-h58dMivdGvruWZH6EGPY1p1D-SrNbY/s320/294.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243265725840081778" style="cursor: pointer; " /></a></span>
</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLlb9jpO5dA4bEWPEn2gXHadeTVhGrDu7EEQ-UYBSHgNjKif8W97YpOyyYdKE8kunRXvczkjFQIugKjqJlSHNq3ygiMhRa4FqtT4AR0RPkpKBkiIz6Y56Z14lKAagoeIgKerio3rmLOoy/s1600-h/192.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSLlb9jpO5dA4bEWPEn2gXHadeTVhGrDu7EEQ-UYBSHgNjKif8W97YpOyyYdKE8kunRXvczkjFQIugKjqJlSHNq3ygiMhRa4FqtT4AR0RPkpKBkiIz6Y56Z14lKAagoeIgKerio3rmLOoy/s320/192.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243265727569628818" style="cursor: pointer; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Midtown from the Pulaski Bridge</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 16px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">
</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; "><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHt7RpNxemRp31-tYYAAZznNy2h-75upciV5O8l5U0AjaMWhCKNvJ5SnHTQP8UhUhtc0iePF9bNqVv3oA14jC7d2gzQ0uxv618dJLQK4lUNRKx09wF5kqFzpdoqN_rO8m7AugSZ0jo0x_/s1600-h/349.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPHt7RpNxemRp31-tYYAAZznNy2h-75upciV5O8l5U0AjaMWhCKNvJ5SnHTQP8UhUhtc0iePF9bNqVv3oA14jC7d2gzQ0uxv618dJLQK4lUNRKx09wF5kqFzpdoqN_rO8m7AugSZ0jo0x_/s320/349.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243265735733886418" style="cursor: pointer; " /></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 13px; ">
</span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Midtown from Gantry Plaza Park</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">
</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:13px;">
</span></div></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-74311486261053336602008-07-12T18:12:00.002-04:002008-07-12T18:15:37.090-04:00Introducing Children to Art<span style="font-size:85%;">Several friends have asked me how I would go about introducing a child to art. What follows is a combination of what I did with my daughter, and what (looking back) I wish I’d thought of doing. The suggestions are geared to any age from infant to adult: pick up wherever you feel is appropriate.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">
For me, the point of looking at art is not to learn history or sociology, and it’s certainly not to wow other people with your knowledge. At its best, looking at art is pure pleasure. Even when it’s not pure pleasure, I enjoy figuring out why it’s not.
Incidentally, if you’re looking for advice on teaching a child to appreciate abstract works, you’ve come to the wrong person. You can read my thoughts on such pieces in the essay I wrote a couple years ago on </span><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/essay/ChristosGates.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">Christo’s Gates</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.
<strong>1. Learn to look.</strong> </span>
</span><span style="font-size:85%;">Teach your child to observe what’s around him by pointing things out and commenting on them. You can do this walking down the street (buildings, cars, public sculpture), with the pictures in children’s books, or any number of other ways.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">
My father used to drive through open countryside and point out what crops were being grown. That’s what interested him, and to this day, I can’t drive through Upstate New York without noticing what’s growing … and looking at the way the hills roll, the rivers meander, the mountains fade into the distance. This is despite the fact that at the time, I thought playing gin rummy with my siblings in the back seat was much more fun.
Don’t feel that what you say about what you see has to be your final word on the subject. Nor does it have to express the accumulated wisdom of centuries of scholarly research. Just saying, “My, that bear looks very happy!” is a fine place to start.
<strong>2. Think and talk.</strong>
Translating images and feelings into words helps you understand and remember what you see and feel. After you’ve made some comments, ask “What do you think?” Your talking is giving the child the words to use; eventually he’ll come up with his own, and get his opinion in even before you offer yours.
<strong>3. Evaluate and compare evaluations.</strong>
Talk about what you like and dislike about whatever you’re looking at, and (this is important) what you specifically like or dislike. Just saying “Eeuw, that stinks!” isn’t enough.
But (this is equally important) don’t impose your own views on your child. When you look at one of Raphael’s paintings of the Madonna and Child, you may think of the story of Christ, the influence of Christianity on the Western intellectual tradition, or how Raphael compares to Michelangelo. Your child may love a Raphael Madonna and Child just for the affection shown between the mother and child. Within your child’s context, that reaction is just as legitimate as yours. Don’t roll your eyes. Don’t say, “You like that? How can anyone possibly like that?” Maybe he likes it because it’s a pretty color of blue. Ask him, and listen to the answer.
Remember this kind of conversation doesn’t have to be about art. You can talk about buildings, high-tech gizmos, cars, or whatever. The point is to get your child in the habit of looking, thinking, and talking to you - not just to get him to look at art.
<strong>4. Use a camera.</strong>
Give your child a cheap digital camera and let him take photos of whatever grabs his interest. We once took our daughter to a sculpture foundry; what interested her was mostly flowering weeds. The weeds were prettier than some of the works that had been cast there, so you could argue that she was showing good artistic taste.
If you spot a pattern to what your child likes, try to find ways to see more of that. Let him put together a folder of photos for the grandparents or aunts and uncles. Use them as a screensaver on your computer. Print them out for a changing display on the walls of your home. If you want to talk with your child about art, he needs to know that you’re interested in what he likes - not just in teaching him to like what you like. (Liking what you like may come later, if you can explain why you like what you like.)
<strong>5. Visit some art.</strong>
Take your child to a museum, a gallery, or a place with lots of outdoor sculptures. Don’t plan to give an art history lecture. Don’t plan to spend more than 2 hours there - make it less if your child’s a restless type. If you’re in a mega-museum like the Metropolitan in New York, pick one room with pieces that you like, and plan to just meander through other rooms, letting your child decide which rooms to spend more time in. Pause often to talk about what you see. Let your child take photos, if the museum allows it. See if you can find a couple works on similar subjects that are hung side by side, and talk about how they’re different.
I like to compare notes as we go along of which works are my favorites, in a particular room and later in the whole visit. It helps me keep them in mind, and what my husband or child choose as favorites often reveals sides of them that I never suspected.
Notice that a concentrated look at art is the last step in this list of suggestions, not the first. You can take your child to the great museums of the world for hours on end, but if he can’t focus on what he’s seeing, and if the two of you can’t talk about what you’ve seen, what’s the point?</span>
</span>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-46819348462757893182008-05-29T20:22:00.002-04:002008-12-10T03:38:07.721-05:00Upward Glance screensaver: more photos (2)<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd2UHMlhT7s996dR-UxzQVZzr7w7PrNOEYfHPISb6xAv1TpV9d3sgmQuyPJcA5-G6HkMoL2gfmyRUuk_9wf_8R9mu5oEMgvGPQHa-2g2UYfDN-uaccV6PO8-EWONewCJZDt1PSui1gVHK/s1600-h/024.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205960011096301538" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijd2UHMlhT7s996dR-UxzQVZzr7w7PrNOEYfHPISb6xAv1TpV9d3sgmQuyPJcA5-G6HkMoL2gfmyRUuk_9wf_8R9mu5oEMgvGPQHa-2g2UYfDN-uaccV6PO8-EWONewCJZDt1PSui1gVHK/s320/024.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Here are two more photos from the Upward Glance screensaver. For more details and how to purchase the CD, see the </span><a href="http://forgottendelights.blogspot.com/2008/05/upward-glance-new-yorkers-look-at-new.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">post of 5/20/08</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Let's see, the screensaver CD has 350 images, so I can upload 4 per week for almost 2 years ... by which time I'll have another CD of photos to offer.<br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx32iEsQPLqvmC3EnjJGHryMNgmPsP1gz4v34qJ4HT6-EhFyf7El3fRzK8pgx4quqG2z9dNvfYHmPeuaurYcGgyTtmDHTQhf5wTtBVYaZnbB3Ftr2fJOZTawx9oQW-HS57IXBPeL_adLu8/s1600-h/032.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5205960376168521714" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx32iEsQPLqvmC3EnjJGHryMNgmPsP1gz4v34qJ4HT6-EhFyf7El3fRzK8pgx4quqG2z9dNvfYHmPeuaurYcGgyTtmDHTQhf5wTtBVYaZnbB3Ftr2fJOZTawx9oQW-HS57IXBPeL_adLu8/s320/032.jpg" border="0" /></a>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-38160084683973949092008-05-26T19:30:00.004-04:002008-12-10T03:38:08.135-05:00Upward Glance screensaver: more photos<span style="font-size:85%;">Here are two more photos from the Upward Glance screensaver. For more details and how to purchase the CD, see the <a href="http://forgottendelights.blogspot.com/2008/05/upward-glance-new-yorkers-look-at-new.html">post of 5/20/08</a>.</span> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLFizVwyL4HsyBNPHjWNkSIPuAbNy56HsKAzLgtSpyh-wl1DVwUSJtUu4MEsfT4ykfJ5KZve3SIUtbX0eH_pSaoCHHWVWmM70u3827VFiyECLtwrscDrfiYomQl9zyLNKCGbIvh-vLf9M/s1600-h/256.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204834343117692866" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhLFizVwyL4HsyBNPHjWNkSIPuAbNy56HsKAzLgtSpyh-wl1DVwUSJtUu4MEsfT4ykfJ5KZve3SIUtbX0eH_pSaoCHHWVWmM70u3827VFiyECLtwrscDrfiYomQl9zyLNKCGbIvh-vLf9M/s320/256.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseuzHTZmouku9ACdE3TgPGaa8zdQT26js7e6yMIVkhRDoUp7sBpMmR3CKd9GOOXcEakpck-coqpt1kgRWqT7IkuohG3n8p5woZ8CHHNQ7xtcv3cFenydsKjr0Eajch5bk4Bc0H8p9vQQZ/s1600-h/294.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5204834888578539474" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiseuzHTZmouku9ACdE3TgPGaa8zdQT26js7e6yMIVkhRDoUp7sBpMmR3CKd9GOOXcEakpck-coqpt1kgRWqT7IkuohG3n8p5woZ8CHHNQ7xtcv3cFenydsKjr0Eajch5bk4Bc0H8p9vQQZ/s320/294.jpg" border="0" /></a></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-82196143403538920382008-05-20T13:16:00.005-04:002008-12-10T03:38:08.887-05:00Upward Glance: A New Yorker's Look at New York<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0SRqAyW1WHGmf3HCinwqM9z6tw_F1ARppWSNT07vyhjoTblDq7iuK7sjhdUjdgHA5PafiZW6fog9kK1EgaoE1aVPP4hf9QmIijuD4fsqL1QUyrAAuFXQ3lG1dIyewFi2sm1tq76Su7jt/s1600-h/094.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202513666292305170" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP0SRqAyW1WHGmf3HCinwqM9z6tw_F1ARppWSNT07vyhjoTblDq7iuK7sjhdUjdgHA5PafiZW6fog9kK1EgaoE1aVPP4hf9QmIijuD4fsqL1QUyrAAuFXQ3lG1dIyewFi2sm1tq76Su7jt/s320/094.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;">For years I've used architectural photos as screensavers: the buildings and details of buildings that I've captured are a remarkable combination of creativity and technical skill, from the details on wrought-iron fences to the towers of Midtown. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">I'm offering 350 of these images on CD for $15, including shipping and handling within the U.S. Check this blog over the next month or two for more samples. For other samples, see </span><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.forgottendelights.com/UpwardGlanceScreensaver.htm</span></a></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Order the CD via </span><a href="http://www.paypal.com/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.paypal.com/</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, account of </span><a href="mailto:forgottendeli@earthlink.net"><span style="font-size:85%;">forgottendeli@earthlink.net</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">NOTE: The locations of the photos are not given on the CD as presently offered for sale, because to check and type up such as list would require many hours of additional work. If you yearn for such identifications and would cheerfully pay $5 extra for a list, email </span><a style="COLOR: blue; TEXT-DECORATION: underline; text-underline: single" href="mailto:forgottendeli@earthlink.net"><span style="font-size:85%;">forgottendeli@earthlink.net</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">. If or when the demand is great enough, I'll do the list and notify you that it’s available.</span></div><br /><div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9LIqhqbK2LsdECB1xM9lsv66LpGixccSWMZgE1dxLii1hhbbakFjJPVKI9KV0ThlDarKG3Hk-zNH4UQareH9x3tyq6gQ1BaBCqPl5BDeT9Uk3CJddkZWFit_0xw1hqqeSJZb0ao28D7y/s1600-h/120.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5202514486631058722" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu9LIqhqbK2LsdECB1xM9lsv66LpGixccSWMZgE1dxLii1hhbbakFjJPVKI9KV0ThlDarKG3Hk-zNH4UQareH9x3tyq6gQ1BaBCqPl5BDeT9Uk3CJddkZWFit_0xw1hqqeSJZb0ao28D7y/s320/120.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-14159171709899631022008-04-23T06:52:00.002-04:002008-12-10T03:38:09.084-05:00Why not live with art you love?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_7crq6pIkMoYr5MNykVeG2qvZrgypz4Im5qCSMxrkrUH2fvHYPQi7WiTwxInYvKl4gK-kAFqS1oVI1qurzSWbx0HGRZ0gyi1tWiHBXo4RL4wAwFaLvA2e-g2UxRROAvw2ORRnLzo5r-b/s1600-h/QCintro01.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5192394617212949570" style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0_7crq6pIkMoYr5MNykVeG2qvZrgypz4Im5qCSMxrkrUH2fvHYPQi7WiTwxInYvKl4gK-kAFqS1oVI1qurzSWbx0HGRZ0gyi1tWiHBXo4RL4wAwFaLvA2e-g2UxRROAvw2ORRnLzo5r-b/s400/QCintro01.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">I’m the kind of person who walks into your home and heads straight for your bookshelves and artwork. I can’t help it. As an art historian, I’m always avid to see more art, and as a mystery lover, I’m always curious to see what common threads I can identify in the books and artworks.<br /><br />Your choice of art is, of course, a very personal matter. What you like will depend both on what’s in a particular artwork and on your experiences and values. If Michelangelo’s David looks like the bully who beat you up in high school, you’re not likely to want a reproduction of him in your home. No one can or should tell you what you ought to like.<br /><br />But what if you want to own more art, and don’t know where to start looking?<br /><br />Based on my years studying art history, my knowledge of esthetics (my writing and research are based on Ayn Rand’s esthetic theory), and my familiarity with art galleries and online sources for buying art, I’m offering my services as an art consultant. If you’ve had the same works on your wall for so long that you don’t really see them any more, or if you have wall space you’d like to fill, I can help. Together we can look at your favorite works and figure out what other artists or periods you might like to explore or live with, in your home or office.<br /><br />My charge per hour for these consultations is less than the latest edition of Janson’s <em>History of Art</em> a framed 18 x 24” giclee print of the <em>David</em>. Email for details: </span><a href="mailto:forgottendeli@earthlink.net"><span style="font-size:85%;">forgottendeli@earthlink.net</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">.</span></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-57677851645686666402008-04-07T20:32:00.002-04:002008-04-12T18:00:16.604-04:00Forgotten Delights in the NY Times blog<span style="font-size:85%;">I'm quoted in the City Room section of today's New York Times blog, in an article on a bust of Aristotle that was just dedicated in Queens. Sewell Chan, who writes the column, read Outdoor Monuments of Manhattan last year and loved it, and now calls me when he needs background on older sculpture in NYC. The article is at
</span><a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/athena-and-socrates-meet-aristotle/"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/04/07/athena-and-socrates-meet-aristotle/</span></a>
<span style="font-size:85%;">
Incidentally, traveling to Queens is not a life-threatening experience - if you want to visit Aristotle in Astoria, you can expect to return unscathed.</span>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-6570585632400397542008-04-02T18:43:00.003-04:002008-12-10T03:38:09.320-05:00HBO's John Adams & the monument to the Montgolfier balloon ascension<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBNyR8wiL5Jt7dPLFY_hGx-L5gkHcQgJT2Tq2KK6BzwApu_F6J_iuViB3Y4TbwI9SLasIAYDaSrs0YtpZCVVEyPSwIrxi30JqFRlZft6adfg7Yp5JgnPgWmSPxNpPFsDZO5jALmlFGlqf/s1600-h/20080130MMA_+238.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184783215121809154" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiBNyR8wiL5Jt7dPLFY_hGx-L5gkHcQgJT2Tq2KK6BzwApu_F6J_iuViB3Y4TbwI9SLasIAYDaSrs0YtpZCVVEyPSwIrxi30JqFRlZft6adfg7Yp5JgnPgWmSPxNpPFsDZO5jALmlFGlqf/s400/20080130MMA_+238.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-size:85%;">Those of you who saw the John Adams miniseries on HBO this past Sunday may remember the scene in which Jefferson and the Adamses watched the ascension of a balloon in Paris in late 1783. Even in an era when scientific discoveries were being made with astonishing rapidity, the development of the world's first flying machine ranked as an awe-inspiring event. Wikipedia has an account of the Montgolfier balloon ascension, with an illustration that looks very much like the balloon that appeared in the Adams series. (Nice to know the producers did their homework.)<br /><br /></span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montgolfier_brothers</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br />One of my favorite 18th-c. sculptures in the Metropolitan Museum is a terracotta model over 5 feet high for a monument commemorating this ascension. It’s surmounted by a hot-air balloon and a figure of Fame blowing her trumpet. On its base, absurdly energetic putti (cupids) feed the flames that keep the balloon aloft. This is an exuberantly ornate work, one of the few sculptures in the Metropolitan that still makes me giggle with glee. If you visit the museum, look for it in the room directly behind Canova's Perseus, who now guards the main entrance to the Petrie Court. In my whirlwind tour of 4000 years of sculpture at the Metropolitan I always regret not being able to spend more time on this piece.</span></div><div><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Incidentally, I was worried that the John Adams series would be yet another made-for-TV smear job, diminishing the Founding Fathers to the Neighboring Nitwits. However, there are enough substantial quotes from Adams, Jefferson, Washington and others to bring the series up to a thought-provoking level, and the production is very well done and extremely well acted. If you've missed it, HBO is rerunning the first 4 parts on Friday, April 4th. The 5th episode (of 7) will be broadcast Sunday April 6th.</span></div><div> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-size:78%;">Sorry about the blurry photo: the Metropolitan Museum doesn't allow flash photography, and doesn't have an image on its site that I can link to.</span></div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-81296680547023972382008-03-20T08:21:00.004-04:002008-12-10T03:38:09.579-05:00Upcoming Lectures: History of Painting and Sculpture, Renaissance to Modern<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlC1F-YHyIX5RVd9OCHQPX7pwck-b0J3O7QX9-YNP2EYNbn7S0drVRApyIyems9V8FSEwLIyxpE85penWIPn-EQQoxMkfLGFaeW1O4gTAlzo6PeinLw9I5BCLNlh_ORHsr8T3s-iH7bSN/s1600-h/RaphaelSchool.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5179802698030923506" style="CURSOR: hand" height="203" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizlC1F-YHyIX5RVd9OCHQPX7pwck-b0J3O7QX9-YNP2EYNbn7S0drVRApyIyems9V8FSEwLIyxpE85penWIPn-EQQoxMkfLGFaeW1O4gTAlzo6PeinLw9I5BCLNlh_ORHsr8T3s-iH7bSN/s400/RaphaelSchool.jpg" width="320" border="0" /></a><br /><div></div><br /><div>In January <a href="http://www.cordair.com/">Quent Cordair Fine Art</a> sponsored a fine arts cruise in the Caribbean, during which I gave 6 hours of lectures: “The History of Painting and Sculpture, Renaissance to Modern (ca. 1400-ca. 1900).” The focus was on artists of genius whose innovations changed the course of art history. In the final session we studied in detail several paintings and sculptures (including Raphael's <em>School of Athens</em>) using for comparison works seen earlier in the course.<br /><br />The Cordair cruise was fantastic, and (yes, I <em>do</em> say so) these were some of my best lectures ever. I’ll be offering them as an online/teleconferencing course on four consecutive Thursdays: April 17 & 14, May 1 & 8, at 8 p.m. Eastern time. For copyright reasons involving the images used, these lectures will not be videotaped for sale, so you’ll have to catch them live or not at all. Class size is limited to 15. To register, email <a href="mailto:forgottendeli@earthlink.net">forgottendeli@earthlink.net</a> .<br /><br />For information on my other upcoming lectures and tours (including one on the World Trade Center Memorial and a series based on Outdoor Monuments in Manhattan), visit<br /><br /><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm">http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm</a> </div>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-86837731303432258432008-02-20T10:23:00.004-05:002008-02-20T10:30:40.211-05:00Upcoming: History of Sculpture Tour at the Metropolitan MuseumSculpture is designed to be seen in the round. What better way to learn the history of sculpture than to take a tour of works in the remarkable collection of the Metropolitan Museum, where you can walk around each work as you learn its significance?
In the span of 2 to 2.5 hours (including a break), this course will give you an overview of the major innovations in the history of Western sculpture, ranging from works created in Ancient Mesopotamia to those created by Auguste Rodin. The aim is to give you an appreciation of the brilliant sculptors who achieved this progress. Incidentally, once the tour is finished you'll also be able to recognize works from every major period.
In the course of the tour, we'll address questions such as: What promotes innovation, and what stifles it? How can you remember what a work of art looks like once you've walked into another gallery? How can you tell that an innovator has been at work, even if his original works are lost?
<span style="font-size:85%;">Upcoming dates:</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">Saturday 2/23/08 at 10 a.m.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">Wednesday 2/27/08 at 10 a.m.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">Sunday 3/2/08, 1 p.m.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">Tuesday 3/4/08 at 1 p.m.</span>
<span style="font-size:85%;"></span>
<span style="font-size:85%;">To sign up or to hear a sample MP3 segment, visit </span><a href="http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm"><span style="font-size:85%;">http://www.forgottendelights.com/Tours.htm</span></a>
<span style="font-size:85%;">The lecture fee of $25 (2 for $40) is payable in cash at the beginning of the lecture, and does not include the donation for admission to the Museum.</span>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3779807043886482428.post-82696131820601540262007-12-21T13:08:00.000-05:002008-12-10T03:38:09.968-05:00Holiday Cheer: Celebrating the Spirit of Achievement<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p538Cwe-mP56Qp9itvFhNzWwSZG2m7VNLiLIsBMU8RRgD2Yl72W_oTSZgxqo3cow9k3mddeXcfaNGMgw6Yc9tWkh6TpiijtOb4StzU_y5vnzKPiMnxDto8YC2wvpH2W43_dLPvPqLBTF/s1600-h/MidtownIn50s20071112+007+cropped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146491009067430050" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3p538Cwe-mP56Qp9itvFhNzWwSZG2m7VNLiLIsBMU8RRgD2Yl72W_oTSZgxqo3cow9k3mddeXcfaNGMgw6Yc9tWkh6TpiijtOb4StzU_y5vnzKPiMnxDto8YC2wvpH2W43_dLPvPqLBTF/s400/MidtownIn50s20071112+007+cropped.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-size:85%;">Nina Saemondsson (Seimondsson, Saemundsson), <em>Spirit of Achievement</em>, ca. 1930-31. Park Avenue canopy of the Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave. (between 49th & 50th Sts.), New York.<br /></span><br />In <em>Atlas Shrugged</em>, Ayn Rand writes that the hotel where Francisco d'Anconia stayed on his visits to New York was "designed as a European palace. The Wayne-Falkland was the most distinguished hotel left on any continent. Its style of indolent luxury, of velvet drapes, sculptured panels and candlelight, seemed a deliberate contrast to its function: no one could afford its hospitality except men who came to New York on business, to settle transactions involving the world." (Part I, ch. 5)<br /><br />I've always pictured the Waldorf-Astoria when I read about the Wayne-Falkland, and that seems particularly fitting now that I've discovered the name of the sculpture that adorns the canopy over the Waldorf's Park Avenue entrance. Spirit of Achievement is a stylized woman whose arched back and upward-stretched wings make her seem about to take flight. You've probably failed to notice the ten-foot figure because its silvery metal blends into the metalwork of the canopy and the Waldorf's façade. Like the Waldorf itself, the figure is in the Art Deco style - the same elegant, streamlined style that marks the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings.<br /><br />The original Waldorf-Astoria, built in the 1890s, transformed the urban hotel from a home for transients into a social meeting place. After operating costs rose sharply and the 34th Street location became more commercial, the hotel closed in 1929 and was demolished early in 1930, making way for the Empire State Building. The new Waldorf, occupying an entire city block a mile or so to the north, was begun and completed within the next three years. At the time its 47-story towers made it the tallest hotel in the world.<br /><br />The <em>Spirit of Achievement </em>is a fitting reminder that in America, the country that comes as close to Ayn Rand's capitalist society as any nation ever has, we have transformed the December holiday season into a celebration of happiness and prosperity. Stroll through the grand lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria, admire its palatial decor and its lavish holiday decorations, and count your ... achievements.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Smithsonian Institution Research Information System (SIRIS) IAS 8780237. Gayle & Cohen, <em>Art Commission and Municipal Art Society Guide to Manhattan's Outdoor Sculpture </em>(1988), p. 327 (a three-line entry). <em>New York Times </em>articles on the building and opening of the Waldorf-Astoria make no mention of this sculpture. <em>New Yorker </em>articles on the Waldorf-Astoria include passing references to it, which I haven't yet been able to check since they aren't available on line. The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf-Astoria_Hotel"><span style="font-size:85%;">Wikipedia entry on the Waldorf-Astoria</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"> includes useful links, of which the most fascinating one describes </span><a href="http://www.oldandsold.com/articles08/waldorf-astoria-17.shtml"><span style="font-size:85%;">the Waldorf's high-tech aspects</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, for example: "It has looked into the future and has prepared against the day when there will be television. Although much of the publicity concerning television has been hasty and over-optimistic, all rooms have been wired for television so that when the day of its actuality arrives those who stay at the hotel will be able to see a show or a ball game by looking on a screen in their rooms." Since the 1950s, the Waldorf-Astoria has been the venue for the </span><a href="http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Judy_Rosenberg.html"><span style="font-size:85%;">Spirit of Achievement Awards Luncheon</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;">, sponsored by the Women's Division of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University to honor achievements of individual women in fields such as philanthropy, the arts, business, government, and journalism. </span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1JW-Doh0j4zEl9iOLGsQm-OHl1hVLPUGsuClAcp8HmgCCx4NrkNjT4RY13cOBIMWUf1O7naoM6cF03-qjK8iy1CK9KByVHU-JvZWOff-HTNrfAzy8hIaQBQ44WSRLpz-0vt3Il8cktJo/s1600-h/WaldorfAstoriaMidtown20071116+009+cropped.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5146490510851223698" style="CURSOR: hand" height="358" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD1JW-Doh0j4zEl9iOLGsQm-OHl1hVLPUGsuClAcp8HmgCCx4NrkNjT4RY13cOBIMWUf1O7naoM6cF03-qjK8iy1CK9KByVHU-JvZWOff-HTNrfAzy8hIaQBQ44WSRLpz-0vt3Il8cktJo/s400/WaldorfAstoriaMidtown20071116+009+cropped.jpg" width="282" border="0" /></a>Dianne Durantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09233249351090824531noreply@blogger.com4