sculpture

SquareOdds: Odd Faces

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I haven’t been on my blog much lately, so I’ve missed many days of Becky’s Square Odds this month, even though I love to participate! So, instead of just one oddity, here are several odd faces (including some faux faces)!

This carving is on the back of a chair at Oude Kerk (Old Church) in Amsterdam.
I found this guy looking around on Northwestern University campus, next to Lake Michigan.
How often do you see a dog with sunglasses, hanging out a car window?
A goat’s face on top of Little Goat restaurant in Chicago
At a sculpture park in Des Moines, Iowa
Two faces sculpted by the same artist


Not a real face, but this orchid sure looks like it is hamming it up for the camera!
Unusual “face” on a building in Germany
With a gaping mouth, this “face” is on a rock face (pun intended!) in Arches National Park
A stressed face on a hot day in Vienna

CFFC: Twists in Nature and Man-made Swirls

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The topic for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week is twisted & squiggly shapes. Many are found in nature, such as twisted trees…

…and saguaro cacti, which can be quite humorous to look at!

Artists have used the patterns and fractals found in nature since ancient times, such as

petroglyphs

and modern sculptures,

and a swirled “mane” on a Chinese lion statue.


And here’s one more…try to guess what it is!

CFFC: Curves & Arches in Chicagoland

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Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge this week has the theme curves and arches. Here are some recent (mostly pandemic & post-pandemic) photos in Chicago and suburbs.

Curves

Morton Arboretum (Downers Grove) sculpture
Millennium Park, Chicago – the famous “Bean”! (Although its real name is “Cloud Gate.”)

Arches

An example of Chicago’s eclectic architecture
Chicago venue – site of “Immersion Van Gogh” exhibit
Upon entering the building for Immersion Van Gogh, there is this beautiful stained glass window.
Façade of Moody Church in Chicago
Restaurant window painting of Frida Kahlo & friend, during the summer exhibit of original Frida Kahlo works at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn
Arched entry to Martin Auditorium at Ravinia festival, Highland Park
Festive arches of light at North School Park in Arlington Heights last Christmas

PPAC #4: Human + Nature

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I love this challenge that Marsha and Cee are hosting! It’s Cee’s turn this week.

Today I am featuring some interesting sculptures by Daniel Popper, an artist from South Africa, which are on display in various locations at Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois. The installation is called Human + Nature.

This is the first sculpture we saw, not far from the entrance to the park. Its title is Hallow.

Further on down the path, we came upon another one, called Sentient.

There was another sculpture in that part of the park, but even with the map, we couldn’t find it. So we drove across the highway to the smaller part of the arboretum, where we saw two more.

I neglected to take a picture of this one’s title, but it was something like Mother or Beauty.

The last one we saw was called Basilica, and there we met the artist himself, who was using spray paint to touch up a few details. Our visit was at the beginning of the display. These sculptures will remain for about a year, before they are dismantled and Popper takes them to their next destination.

The artist poses next to his sculpture, Basilica.
The name of this sculpture, Basilica, I thought was fitting. It reminded me of St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome with its curved arms symbolizing God enfolding his flock.

CMMC: Up Close and Personal

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Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge this week has the topic close-up or macro.

Hazel doesn’t really like me getting this close for a photo. She seems to be sleeping, but one eye is slightly open!

Center of Queen Anne’s lace

Taken from our balcony on our river boat cruise on the Rhine: apparently this swan is used to getting up close to humans (probably wants an edible tidbit!)

At a Buddhist temple in Des Plaines, IL

Our niece got into the shot I was aiming for.

Sometimes you run into (almost literally!) an unexpected subject. This caterpillar was hanging from a single thread – probably weaving its cocoon.

Sometimes it’s hard to tell what I’m taking a picture of! Take a guess!

I took this selfie when I was about to go outside for a prolonged period in February – rather frightening! With my glasses on, wearing a mask caused my glasses to fog up and I could barely see!

A piece of a multitude of faces, taken at Morton Arboretum’s display of sculpture by Daniel Popper. (See my blog post in PPAC #4 for more!)

Last On The Card

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With a new month having arrived, it’s time to look back at June to see the last photos I took, or in other words, Bushboys World’s challenge Last On The Card.

The last photos I took on my Sony Alpha 68 were on my birthday, when we went to Morton Arboretum in Lisle, IL. We went to see the new art installation called Human + Nature by South African artist Daniel Popper, on the day of its opening.

This sculpture is called Basilica, and the artist happened to be there, applying some finishing touches! He is not in this photo, though.

This is the last photo taken on my Samsung Galaxy A51. I was returning home on Tuesday when I saw a butterfly posed on a flower of a hanging basket next to my driveway! This shot is of the butterfly flying away – in a blur of motion.

PPAC #1: Photographing Public Art – Denver

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I am happy to get in on this brand new challenge with co-hosts Cee Neuner and Marsha Ingrao! For this very first week, Marsha is the host. She says:


The #PPAC is deliberately open – photographer’s choice. Here are some ideas to get you started.

  • Seasonal Displays
  • Graffiti
  • Statues and Sculptures
  • Collections
  • Store Windows
  • Car Shows
  • Artistic Construction (benches, buildings, bridges)
  • Wall Art (not just murals)
  • Challenge Guidelines
  • Art has to be freely visible from a public street, freeway, or walkway.
  • Photographers have free access of use for their photos – no copyrights by the artists.
  • The challenge starts every Friday by 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time.
  • Write a post on your blog, publish it, and include a link back to the appropriate host’s post – not on Cee’s or Marsha’s #PPAC page. Also write us a comment and paste the link into the comment. Sometimes pingbacks are missed.
  • Visit at least two or three other participants in the community and leave them a comment.

Here are some public art pieces in downtown Denver, Colorado. From these photos, you can see why I fell in love with Denver and hope to visit again soon!

This was the first sculpture we saw, in the downtown business district.

Most of the public art we saw was on a pedestrian street, closed to traffic.

These decorated pianos were available for anyone to stop and play (we actually saw someone playing one of them), but I don’t know how well-tuned they were!

Other public art-based entertainments: chess/checker boards!

My husband wasn’t interested in playing chess or checkers – he was just tired and wanted to sit down for a minute!

More cows:

Cows weren’t the only public art bovines on display – there were bison also!

Another sculpture:

Cleverly designed restaurant signs can also be classified as public art!

L-APC: Spots and Dots

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Spots and Dots is the creative topic for Leya’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge.

flowers (2 orchids at Chicago Botanic Gardens, sunflower at Cantigny Park-Robert McCormick estate, Wheaton, Illinois)

animals (Tanzania)

  • genets, Ndutu Safari Lodge
  • hyena, Serengeti
  • cheetah mother & cub, Serengeti
  • leopard, Serengeti National Park
  • D’Arnaud’s barbet birds, Serengeti National Park
  • giraffes, Arusha National Park

art: sculpture (dalmations in Sao Paulo, Brazil; abstract sculpture in St. Charles, Illinois; giant pumpkin somewhere in Japan – this photo was a screenshot; Chinese lion at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois)

museum art (tapestry, light display)

Leda Catunda, Onca pintada No. 1, 1984, (at museum in Sao Paulo, Brazil)
Exhibit at Museu do Futuro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

public art

  • mural on a wall in a Sao Paulo neighborhood
  • in an alley painted with murals, Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
  • Clock, city center Cologne, Germany

Lightscape light show installations for the holiday season, (Chicago Botanic Gardens, Dec. 2019 and Dec. 2020)