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The amazing Russian Matryoshka dolls

2009-07-04T11:26:43Z

31 renowned fashion designers around a single task: recreate the legendary Matryoshka dolls for the tenth anniversary celebration of the Russian Vogue. After an invitation from the magazine's editor in chief, Aliona Doletskaya - who, some say, is one of the few executives in the magazine who can be considered a human being - important names like Prada, Moschino, Saint Laurent, Armani, Dolce&Gabana, Oscar de La Renta, among others, explored a cutting-edge approach to the task, producing small, contemporary works of art, filled with a cultural connection between Russia's past and present.

Each brand produced a sketch, which were then handed over to some of the best craftsmen in the country and produced in wood, measuring 50 cm in height and 60 cm in diameter. The dolls were then hand-painted according to the drawings.

It was its quick popularity and wide spread that made the Matryoshka dolls one of Russia's most prevailing symbols. The first dolls are credited to Sergei Maliutin, dating back to 1890. Inspired by the Japanese wood dolls, he drew a project of one that would have typical clothes and appearance. They were eight small peasants that followed a concept already well known in the country, of hollow objects which contain similar ones inside in progressively smaller sizes (take the Fabergè eggs, for instance).

Those small objects travelled through an entire century, adapting themselves to historic demands - such as matryoshkas portraying leaders like Krushchev and Lenin, educational, decorative or commemorative demands, such as Russian Vogue's; this shows their the infinite ability to adapt themselves and the many interpretations they can have, remaining, at the same time, unchanged and never out of date. About the collection, Aliona Doletskaya said: each matryoshka is unique and a work of art in itself. Landmark, sculpture, work of art - you can call it whatever you like.

The dolls can be seen in November's Russian Vogue and also at the magazine's website: vogue.ru.

Waltz with Bashir: drawing war memories

2009-07-01T12:27:24Z

As a narrative, Israeli Ari Folman's movie tells the story of a former combatant trying to recover his memories of the Lebanon war in 1982 - the arrival of the Israeli troops in Beirut and the massacres in the refugee camps.

This is when you ask yourself an important question when it comes to the topic of military responsability. How much can someone who watches a war unfolding understand what is actually happening? Ari isn't aware of every fact in this war; apparently, aside from the highest political and military ranks, noone seems to know exactly why they are there; the war moves and the advances of the tanks happen almost like an excursion, with background music, even, and before the sudden deaths noone seems to know what to do. And when horror first starts to seep in noone even notices. Can we ask for more from someone who is holding a gun in his hands?

How does a soldier interpret the world in which he moves in? And to what extent is keeping his distance a legitimate move of survival, and to what extent does it incriminate him? The first time I ever stumbled upon this debate, the war was a different one: journalists, historians and former German soldiers were discussing a series of newspaper articles to what extent did regular troops in World War II (the ones who were not in the SS) knew about the atrocities happening in the concentration camps. "I saw weird things, but that never crossed my mind" - is that an acceptable excuse?

But enough of guilty and not guilty. Waltz with Bashir is a visually powerful movie, which proves that a good animation doesn't need the realist effects of the Disney/Pixar movies, with its shininess and shadows, perfectly round, trying to exude tridimensionality. The opening scene, with the dog race, is a thrilling hallucination. The expressiveness in the faces, in an apparently rigid drawing; the soundtrack is astounding, giving the pictures a different meaning; and finally the picture of a conflict in the Middle East that does not come down to the number of deaths we hear about on television - these are only a few of the good reasons not to miss Waltz with Bashir.

You can watch the trailer here:

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The Thin Man Series

2009-06-28T12:44:38Z

Although he couldn’t have imagined it at the time, Woodbridge Strong Van Dyke (better known as ‘one take’ Woody) was making cinematic history when he paired vamp Myrna Loy with aging actor William Powell in the hugely successful screwball-comedy-meets-mystery movie ‘The Thin Man’ in 1934.

Based on Dashiell Hammett’s hard-boiled final novel, ‘The Thin Man’ follows the adventures of retired private detective Nick Charles (Powell) who, wherever he goes, gets tangled up in a web of mystery and crime, not to mention booze and hilarity, and is ultimately forced to take sleuthing into his own hands.

With the help of his adventure-seeking wife Nora (Loy) and his wire-haired Terrier dog Asta (Skippy), Nick unravels the strange disappearance of a mad inventor (in ‘The Thin Man’, 1934), is caught in the middle of a deadly family affair (in ‘After The Thin Man’, 1936), solves the murder of a Long Island industrialist (in ‘Another Thin Man’, 1939), straightens out some shady business at the race track (in ‘Shadow of The Thin Man’, 1941), finds out that small-town life in Sycamore Springs is bubbling with crime and deception (in ‘The Thin Man Goes Home’, 1944) and cruises the underworld of jazz (in ‘Song of The Thin Man’, 1947).

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The plot is consistently enthralling throughout the entire six-movie series, however what truly holds ‘The Thin Man’ together and makes it watchable time after time are its clever dialogues and hilarious battle-of-wits between Loy and Powell who never shy away from poking fun at each other: ‘That flatfoot I married thinks he’s smart!’ remarks Nora dryly after doing some investigating of her own, against her husband’s wishes.

What also sets these movies apart from other detective dramas are the fascinating humour and light-heartedness with which the characters take every situation and its fast screwball-like pace, only made possible due to the movies’ off-the-wall scripts and laid-back acting.

Throughout the years, numerous attempts to replicate the ‘Thin Man’ magic have been made, with Loy and Powell themselves starring together in a string of films outside the series. However, nothing will ever be able to match Nick and Nora’s ‘urbane oddball highball mix’- ‘I never enjoyed work more!’ Loy once admitted. In the end it shines through.

Magical images and optical illusions

2009-06-26T11:26:50Z

Published in the Scientific American magazine, it is worth checking out some pictures that give us a feeling of illusion when we look at them.

You can find more pictures in the Scientific American article.

The hearts of the Earth

2009-06-21T11:29:49Z

Mangal em Voh, New Caledonia (photo by Yann Arthus-Bertrand)

This pictured travelled the world. It hasn't been airbrushed and it isn't a digital manipulation. The heart shape of this clearing was not designed by men, but is rather a natural process of vegetation elimination due to the water's salinity in the region. It became one of Yann Arthus-Bertrand's most famous pictures and served as the symbol for his "Earth from Above" project. But our planet has other natural hearts...

Not far from New Caledonia we can find another heart-shaped land mass: the island of Tavarua, in the Fiji islands. It is a heavenly place, surrounded by a coral reef, explored for tourist purposes. You can see it in Google Maps.

In Patagonia, in Lake Gutierrez to be more precise, there is also a small heart-shaped island (picture at Google Maps). On the other side of the world, in Croatia, the Galesnjak island has the very same shape (picture at Google Maps).

Close to Australia, in the Great Coral Barrier you can also find a coral reef in the shape of a heart. You can only see it from the sky, or at Google Maps.

At the Chembra peak, in Kerala, in India, at 2100 m of altitude, there is a small natural lake that is very sought-after by tourist for its peculiar shape: a heart (picture at Google Maps).

Two more coincidences. First, a little wood in the north of Spain, in Cantabria. It only assumes this shape when looked at from this angle though. You can see it at Google Maps. Finally, a swampy area at the Guantu natural park, in Taiwan (image at Google Maps).

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Alternative uses for your laptop

2009-04-25T17:23:01Z

If the computer was one of the biggest technological conquests of the twentieth century, then the portable computer is the icing on the cake. In a small rectangle of reduced width and light weight, made out of plastic or metal, there is an entire world of hidden possibilities. Here are some suggestions of uses that make the laptop an object adaptable to any situation, as strange as it may seem. If we open it, for instance...

Its shape, with two articulated surfaces, aside from working as a great shovel, can also offer us moments of great ease and rest in our busy daily life.

Closing it back, we'll be surprised to find that it can be turned into an magnificent nutcracker. The HP models were the ones that showed the best performance in this field. If we keep it closed, we'll be able to use it for countless tasks around the house, such as catching mice and killing flies.

However, if any brand will do when it comes to replacing a ping-pong racket, only the unusual MacIntosh is able to fry an egg, thanks to its aluminium body, concieved to dissipate heat...

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Chris Jordan: pictures of intolerable beauty

2009-04-23T17:27:44Z

Sunday Afternoon at the Grande Jatte is an icon of modern painting. This huge pannel, standing at about 3 metres in width and 2 metres in height was painted in 1884 by Georges Seurat using a technique called Pointillism, which consisted of grouping small coloured dots in a certain way so that its fusion in the retina would produce an understandable picture. In this way, a work of such a dimension is composed of tens of thousands of strokes, each of them, literally, a pixel. But, what can this have to do with consumerism? Chris Jordan explains.

As the American, and consumerist, he is, Chris Jordan wants to call attention to the large quantity of garbage that is produced by his fellow men. The process he found to do so is not only effective, but surprisingly beautiful. He called them, and rightly so, images of intolerable beauty.

His works of art are huge and repetitive groups of consumed objects, assembled in a way so that they create patterns and images. They are then photographed. The outcome, seen from a certain distance, can remind you of paintings sometimes; however a closer look reveals the materials they are made of. The author also discloses the amount of time it took for the objects to be consumed: in this particular case, the 106 000 bottles of soda are produced every 30 seconds in the USA alone!

More can be found here: mobiles, cigarette ends or ammunition cartridges, creating blots that vaguely resemble the Abstract Expressionism of Pollock.

Nereus - submersible watercraft

2009-04-21T17:27:19Z

Nereus is an innovative concept by designer Mathias Koehler, which combines a water bike with a paper kite. The control of the vehicle is assured by two pedals, while the handlebars allow the Nereus to perform its most notable feature: its ability to submerge. The immersion, however, is short-lasting, as the vessel's light structure impels it to the surface.

The navigation aboard the Nereus is bound to be exciting and fun, especially while facing the wind, in zigzags. Imagine a dolphin's movements and you'll have a close idea of how this cutting edge vehicle moves. Only one question, which is also a fear: how do you stop this thing?

Link

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Modern architecture for elephants

2009-04-19T17:29:11Z

One of the responsabilities of an architect is to guarantee that the buildings they design are perfectly adequate to their users. If this task is sometimes difficult, due to the particular taste of some people, picture a situation in which the users, aside from not being human, are enormous. That's what happened with the elephant's pavilion at the Copenhagen Zoo, in Denmark, designed by architect Norman Foster.

A group of Indian elephants are the happy inhabitants of this new construction which tries to recreate, as closely as possible, their natural habitat. Two large spaces allow the animals to get together and even sleep in herds, which is unusual in captivity. The ceiling is a glass structure, in the shape of a bubble, which simulates the environment created by tree tops. In its interior there are also the obvious pools of water and mud, essential to their existence and some true comforts, such as a heated floor.

Foster + Partners

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Pinhole panoramic cameras

2009-04-17T17:24:38Z

Photograph by Chris Lentz

It should be mandatory that every aspiring photographer started out in the world of photography through the pinhole technique. It's something as simple as a box with a little hole made by a pin in it, from where the light goes through and projects an image unto a photo-sensitive negative in its interior. Then, it all comes down to light control and framing. But, after all, isn't that what photography is all about? Furthermore, the results can be fantastic and very encouraging. Now picture a box with not one, but several holes placed radially to cover a 360º angle, in order to get a panoramic picture. Such a box exists and is fascinating.

We can find two versions of this 'magical box', basically a sophisticated, hand-crafted camera. Not at all digital. Both of them work with traditional, medium-sized, 120mm negatives and produce 6x17 cm photographs. Of the first one, which is called the Hexomniscope, only 25 copies were produced. It is composed of a barrel with six orifices placed hexagonally (hence the name), each one working independently from the others. The Omniscope only has four orifices, but has the ability to create anamorphic images. This means the lens is not parallel to the film, which can correct perspective effects and, even, add them. As an additional feature, there is also a barrel with orifices of various diametres.

If you still have any doubts about the technical and aesthetic quality of the pictures these devices are capable of taking, here are a few examples. The rest is here.

Photograph by Walter Crump

Fotografia de Jeff Dorn Jr.

Photograph by Sue Anne Hodges

Photograph by Paul Kennedy

Photograph by John Lee

Photograph by Gianpiero Pagnini

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Tropical Islands: reutilized old airship hangar

2009-04-15T17:27:42Z

The amazing airship hangars never cease to amaze and fascinate us. Although their creation has a very specific function in mind, its use does not necessarily need to be restricted to a single use. As such, the challenge of recovering and finding new uses for out-of-use hangars is as alluring as the contrast it can result in. That's what happened in the hold hangar in Berlin, from where some of the most famous zeppelins have come from. Today, it has been turned into a huge artificial paradise, a tropical island in the middle of the austere climate of Berlin.

Tropical Islands, that's what it's called, has been working since 2004 and is part of a world wide net of turistic infrastructures, with its headquarters in Malasia. Its promotor, Colin Au as invested about 95 million dollars in the project, which, by itself gives you an idea of the magnitude of the enterprise. The space is massive: 5 000 000 m3. In its inside a small ecosystem with dozens of plants, sand beaches, lakes and waterfalls has been created, including bird sounds are broadcast through skillfully disguised speakers.

In addition, there are obviously other features, like in every other turistic resort, such as lodging (tents and bungalows), game courts (tennis, golf, aquatic sports), bars and restaurants, a shopping mall, shows and various other activities. The size of the former hanger allows it. If you choose to go to the beach, you can certainly get a nice tan, even when it is freezing cold outside, as long as there's sun outside and its rays come through the wide glass ceiling.

Tropical Islands

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Alison Brady: photography and surrealism

2009-04-13T17:24:14Z

It's hard to look at photographs by American photographer Alison Brady without being shaken. There is something disturbing in her images, in the poses, the lighting, the mystery that vaguely resembles surrealistic paintings, something that places us in the uncomfortable role of the voyeur. However, these are not paintings, but rather pictures of real people and real things. This realism makes them even more extraordinary.

The artist explains that she explores subjects that are related to the alienation of western culture, which is expressed through phsycological disorders, such as depression or anxiety and even traumatic situations. She tries to express it all through over-the-top, grotesque compositions, in which horror, erotism, beauty and humour are mixed. Sometimes interesting contrasts and sybolic evocations appear and, accidentally, bring out images from our subconscious.

Nevertheless, Brady's photographs reveal great imagination, creativity and dramatic sense, creating, with few, well-run means, profoundly poetic and suggestive atmospheres. If Freud were alive, he would certainly find excellent material in these pictures...

Link

Eugenio Recuenco - fashion photography

2009-04-11T17:23:10Z

Spanish photographer Eugenio Recuenco is revered as one of the best fashion photographers of our time. His work is creative, technically irreproachable and visually stunning. It's no wonder he is one the most sought after artists by the biggest ad agencies to take the pictures for the campaigns of some of the most widely known brands in high fashion.

Recuenco's CV is impressive. He has taken photos for Diesel, Mango, Chanel, Carolina Herrera, Vuitton, among others. Nowadays, he works exclusively for Vogue. Master of a very peculiar style, which Versace called 'cinema-like', Recuenco fills his pictures with an aura of mystery and exoticness which takes us back to visual clichés, that closely resemble the world of cinema, especially adventure and fantasy films. It isn't hard to identify references to great movies.

As imagens são dispostas em sequência, como se fossem fotogramas, e contam uma história; a composição é dramática e rigorosa; o domínio da cor e da luz é total. O resultado são fotografias de grande beleza que passam subliminarmente a mensagem comercial pretendida, ainda assim deslumbrante. Absolutamente indispensável uma visita a este com diversos trabalhos do fotógrafo.

The images are displayed in a sequence, as if they were a photogram, and tell a particular story; the mastery of colour and light is complete. The outcome: photographs of great beauty that superbly convey the intended commercial message and still manage to look stunning. This website, with various works by the photographer, is well worth the visit.

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Ten nostalgic minutes of ZX Spectrum

2009-04-09T17:23:17Z

As a follow up to the article about the Commodore Amiga, today we are taking a trip even futher back in time and revisiting some of the most remarkable ZX Spectrum games.

Once again, this is absolutely nostalgic and only directed at fans of the technological world. Review some images you probably haven't seen in a while. R-Type, Ghosts and Goblins, Silkworm, Tetris, Cobra, Rick Dangerous, Shadow Dancer, Arkanoid, Green Beret, Saboteur, Bubble Bobble, Elite, Sentinel, Winter games, Manic Miner... These were the ones I immediately recognized. Like the previous article, it's a 10-minute trip to the past to realize just how much technology has evolved during the past 1/4 of a century.

So? Recognized any of the games? Tell us which...

Discovering inexistent sounds with an OTTO

2009-04-07T17:25:22Z

Every object that surrounds us emits small sounds; sudden tremors and vibrations that aren't usually detected by the human ear, product of the activity and movement of daily life.

If these sounds were audible, in what way would they change our hearing attention and our perception of apparently inanimated objects that surround us? Is it possible we would look at these objects as new instruments, or would they continue to be seen as mere background sound to our daily life?

The Madsound project is a different proposal, created by the Royal Arts College. Its goal is to explore new ways of appreciating the environment, space and objects, through the identification, combination and manipulation of apparently inexistent sounds.

To fullfill this goal, they created the OTTO (which means 'ear' in Greek), a device that enables you to listen to hidden and tenuous sounds. This gadget works thanks to a small polymer piezoelectric which, when in direct contact with a surface, detects the smallest vibrations, transforming it into sound through a connected speaker. This device can be placed in practically any surface, thanks to a combination of suction and magnets. By placing various OTTOs in different objects you can create new sonic experiences and reinvent your own environment.

madsounds.blogspot.com

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Russian cameras: pure fascination

2009-04-05T17:21:41Z

The austere lines and peculiar look of a Russian camera during the Soviet Union times are unmistakeable. It's a whole different world. Its weight, representative of it robust built, and indecipherable acronyms in cyrilic letters have nothing modern about them. They might have something of timeless though, as they were built to last. Whoever is the proud owner of a Zenit, or a Chaika, of a Smena, or a Lomo or a Moskva has, aside from excellent photographic equipment, a piece of the old Soviet Empire...

The history behind the Russian cameras follows the history of the Revolution itself. It's in the post-Revolutionary years that the first cameras of this kind appear, part of the eternal Soviet strategy to rival the Western world and show that socialist technology is better than the capitalist one. One of the first photo cameras was, however, a blatant copy of the German Leica, and was named FED. The acronym stands for Felix Edmundovich Dzerjinski founder of the secret police Tcheka, which was later to become the KGB. All very patriotic.

1934, the FED 1 was released, an exact replica of Leica 1a, in only a limited number of copies. Socialist technology had, from them on, the necessary knowledge to produce high quality photographic equipment. Even its most delicate part, the polishing of the lenses was achieved with great precision. The rest of it was robust.

While FED became the trademark brand, others followed, in a productive and propaganda-driven Soviet effort, that were of equal importance and quality. Such is the case of Zenit, which became very popular in the West. The Zenit 3, produced in 1960 using only rudimentary mechanisms was one of the most interesting of them all - an excellent device for whovever wishes to learn the basic photographic techniques.

The Zorki Stereo, for instance, comercialized in 1948 was very similar to FED. It had, however, the added possibility of having a device incorporated into it that was able to take stereoscopic photographs, a very popular genre at the time that has since ceased to be used. The Sputnik, launched in 1955, as well as the satelite of the same name, was specifically concieved to take this kind of pictures.

One of the oldest cameras, together with FED, was the Sport, an uncommon name, in this context. It was also one of the first cameras to carry the SLR system of lenses. Notice the heavy volume of the prism in its top part.

The Estafeta (also an unusual name), was a 6x6 medium format movie camera, produced in 1960. Huge and heavy. On the other side, in the same year, the Vega model of Kiev was released, rivalling the small Japanese cameras. Finally, a rarity, the Horizont 202, especially concieved to take panoramic photos. The objective rotated 120º and impressed a 24mm film in a length of 58 mm.

It's all here

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MailRail - the underground London mail

2009-04-03T17:27:33Z

In London there's an underground system of mail distribution which served the city for over 140 years, the MailRail. This surprising fact, however, is unknown to most people. The structure is similar to that of a subway, with small carriages moving along tunnels with a 2-metre diameter, as is if they were small mine wagons, which is understandable, given Britain's mining tradition. It seems like a toy, but the mail actually arrived at its destination on time - now, that is truly surprising!

The idea came up long ago, in 1855 and basically consisted of a tunnel subject to vacuum with a railway inside it. The carriages would be moved along by the suction created by a compressor in one of the ends of the tunnel. Still, this crafty system seemed to be manageable to its creator, Thomas Rammell, which led him to create the Pneumatic Despatch Company, in 1859.

After building a small test line, the idea proved to be efficient and a proposal to enlarge the line was ensued. The first branch line connecting two mail posts was openned on January 15th 1863, with a daily traffic of about 70 mine cars. Each trip from one mail post to the other took a little over a minute and there it remained for only the time it took to be loaded with merchandise again, setting off as soon as possible.

Inauguration of the first branch line in 1865 and a mine car at the time

Electrification of the railway line from 1915 to 1924

Electric carriages in 1930

Carriage in 1962 and the Mount Pleasant station

The MailRail worked well for a number of years, even improving with the introduction of new wagons, slightly larger. However, the evolution of surface transportation rendered it obsolete. After some hesitation, a new system of electric propulsion was adopted. We were still in 1895, but the line adaption only started to take place in 1915 and was only finished by 1927. Along the way, World War I came and went. During the war, tunnels and train stations were used as a shelter, especially for works of art (a large portion of the contents of the Tate Gallery were kept in these places). The same was true for World War II, however, during this time, the MailRail kept working, only stopping between 11 pm and 7 am.

After the war, the underground mail was at its peak. It worked in three shifts for 19 to 22 hours a day, except on sundays, which were used for maintanance of the line and carriages. Only during the last 25 years of the last century did it start losing its importance and accumulating losses, which eventually led to its prolongued death. Stations and branches started closing, one by one, until its complete shut down, in March 2003. The famous system is now a quiet complex of derelict tunnels where only ghost-trains run...

If you wish to get to know more about the MailRail, here are two interesting links here and here.

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Ron Mueck - monumental hiperrealist sculpture

2009-04-01T11:21:28Z

Our first reaction when standing before a work by Ron Mueck is of awe. Our admiration creeps up on us almost instinctively when we examine the details of the human bodies that are invariably the topic of his sculptures. Is the author of this work an artist or just an excellent craftsman - a technician? He himself places himself outside this issue: "I have never wanted to be a sculptor. I don't know why I do it, but the truth is I can't imagine doing anything else. I don't consider myself an artist, this is simply the only thing I know how to do."

Actually, Mueck is a puppet creator. Born in Australia, he settled in London in 1983 to work with Jim Henson, the famous creator of Sesame Street and the Muppets. The experience he aquired led him to venture into the world of advertising as a mannequin maker. From here on his story resembles a fairy tale... In 1996 Portuguese painter Paula Rego, who had been living in London for long, met Mueck and ordered a Pinocchio mannequin from him for one of her works. The puppet he created was so expressive that the painter kept it for herself in her studio where, some time later, it was discovered by art collector Charles Saatchi. The puppeteer saw himself drawn from the advertising world and into the art world.

His entrance in the art scene was a true scandal! One of the first works he displayed was a sculpture of his father, who had recently passed away, naked. Full of realism, the sculture had another, even more shocking, characteristic: it wasn't even a metre long. What twisted idea was that? Far from being scandalous, it was a heartfelt act of love.

This is one of the best qualities in Ron Mueck's work: the frailty of human beings is presented in a raw way, not perfect human beings, but precisely the opposite. That's the quality that makes them unbearably real, but also profoundly emotional, touching even, as the monumental or small scale of the figurines adds an unnerving oddness. Simultaneously real and fake, they embody the duality of the human being, bearer, as Pinocchio, of truth and lies.

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Amazing rooms of knowledge

2009-03-30T17:24:46Z

Library at the University of Coimbra (1290), Portugal

Throughout its existence, mankind has always looked for ways of consolidating its knowledge and conveying it to future generations. What would be of history or of knowledge if the happenings and hardships of humanity hadn't been written down and stored somewhere? Quite simply, they would've become facts which quickly turned into legends.

We all have a place that fascinates us. A place that has an almost magic aura, that makes us think about various issues. One of the places that fascinates and attracts me the most is an old library, filled with books and knowledge. Strolling around the very same place someone else has strolled, shelf after shelf, closet after closet of books that have been an open door for knowledge and mankind's own evolution is a staggering experience.

Knowing that some of these books have been, at some point, handled by students and masters that possibly went on to change humanity through their contributions towards medicine, philosophy, engineering or poetry makes the experience of standing in such a place, at least, fascinating.

Here are some pictures of these amazing rooms of knowledge.

Portuguese Royal Cabinet of Reading (1837), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abbey Library(613), Suitzerland

Library at the Palace and Convent of Mafra (1715), Portugal

Library Strahov (1143) - Prague, Czech Republic

George Peabody Library (1857), USA

Library at the Benedictine Monastery (1074), Austria

Library at the Melk Abbey (1089), Austria

Sansovino's Library (1560), Rome

Library at Trinity College (Séc. XVI), Dublin, Ireland

Vatican Library (Séc. IV), Vatican, Rome

Austria's National Library (1493), Vienna, Austria

Klementium Library, Prague, Czech Republic

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The Awakening - a colossal sculpture

2009-03-28T12:24:11Z

A gigantic bronze statue, 30 metres high, emerges from the ground at the Potomac Park, in Washington DC, USA. Actually, the sculpture is composed of five separate pieces that create the illusion of being a single one. The Awakening is a work of art by American artist J. Seward Johnson, Jr. and has been in the park since 1980, since the International Sculpture Conference Exhibition. An interestng fact: due to the proximity to the Potomac river, sometimes the area gets completely underwater, giving an even more dramatic expression to the sculture, that looks like a mythical Neptune struggling not to drown...

Link

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