museum visit

i took the bus up to the met museum this afternoon. i meant to leave in the morning but got caught having to make a number of phone calls beforehand. i entered through the educational entrance as it's usually not as crowded when getting a ticket.

on my way to the main hall i passed this interesting special exhibit . . 

greek and roman art in original colors . . 

i thought it was fun to see . . and the colors were pretty. this is a reconstruction of a marble statue known as small herculaneum woman, (the particular replica they used was found in delos).

 

the description of how the statue was examined for the proper colors:

 

"in ultraviolet, infrared and raking light as well as with x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. decorative elements on the undergarment were painted with a light egyptian blue, and iron-based pigments in shades of red and brown were used for the hair and facial features. green malachite survived in large areas of her mantle, blackened through fire." 

 

amazing!

as i walked the corridor i came across another one . . 

this is a reconstruction of the marble funerary statue of phrasikleia (found in the ancient city of myrrhinos in attica - you can read more about it here on its wikipedia page). the same techniques revealed the numerous pigments:

"red and brown madder lake, red and brown ocher, and lead white for the eyes, skin and hair, as well as red and yellow iron oxide, orpiment and cinnabar for the dress. certain ornaments had been gilded or perhaps covered with a lead-and-tin foil."

i finally reached the main hall and was surprised at how long the ticket line was as there hadn't been any line at the side entrance.

finally, winslow homer - crosscurrents. greg and i were here on the first day it opened, which was only for members (i think it was that way for the first week). and now it closes on sunday . . i made it just in time.

a map of the caribbean, the eastern united states and the atlantic ocean, showing his travels. he originally worked as an illustrator in new york and boston but moved down to the front lines of the civil war in virginia with the union army in 1861, where he worked as an artist for the journal harper's weekly documenting the fighting.

the veteran in a new field, 1865, oil on canvas.

i'm including the curators' posts about the paintings as they were really informative and interesting to read.

a visit from the old mistress, 1876, oil on canvas.

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he spent a lot of time in the bahamas, chronicling the life of the islanders.

 

shark fishing, 1885, watercolor on paper.

 

sponge fishermen, 1885, watercolor, gouache and graphite on paper.

nassau, 1899, watercolor and graphite on wove paper.

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"you will see, in the future i will live by my watercolors."

 

"winslow homer believed that his watercolors were essential to his artistic legacy. in his writings, the artist acknowledged their critical role in the establishment of his reputation and in his ability to earn a living. following homer's death in 1910, kenyon cox reflected on his fellow artist's mastery of the medium, asserting that 'in the end he painted better in watercolors . . than almost any modern has been able to do.' homer's watercolors are celebrated for their technical brilliance, fluid immediacy, and striking, saturated tones. in them, the artist explored on a more intimate scale the powerful themes that preoccupied him across his career: epic scenes of distress on the ocean, conflict between humans and nature, and the transience of life."

 

northeaster, 1895 - reworked 1901, oil on canvas.

cape trinity, saguenay river, moonlight, 1904, oil on canvas

early morning after a storm at sea, 1900-1903, oil on canvas.

kissing the moon, 1904, oil on canvas.

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walking to the cafeteria for lunch . . 

everything has become so expensive! the cafeteria here used to have the nicest lunches and i'd treat the girls to pasta, chocolate and tea. now everything is in plastic and paper and it feels like the prices have more than doubled . . i think they're trying to make up for when the big ceo resigned after spending too much money buying the breuer building (the met has now transferred control of the breuer to the frick museum which is using it to house their collection while they renovate their main building).

i thought i'd stop in at the louise bourgeois paintings . . i had never seen her work before.

untitled, ca 1940, oil on linen.

painting, red on white, 1945, oil on canvas.

femme maison, 1946-47, oil and ink on linen.

regrettable incident in the louvre palace, 1947, oil on canvas.

 

these ladies were so sweet . . they didn't know each other but began talking because they were wearing similar dresses . . just in different colors.

she writes, "even though i am french, i cannot think of one of these pictures being painted in france. every one of them is american, from new york. i love this city, its clear-cut look, its sky, its buildings, and its scientific, cruel, romantic quality."

the woman leaving shared with me that the artist's sculptures can be seen at dia beacon, which isn't far from here. the collection is housed in a former nabisco box-printing factory. the photos i just saw online make me think of mass moca.

passing a family program art circle on the way out.

meeting greg after taking the bus downtown . . 

ramen for dinner on charles street.

 

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my sketch from today which i feel very disappointed with . . i haven't sketched in awhile and the museum was closing so i rushed through this . . i would just like to do better next time . . maybe i better start sketching more consistently then.

wednesday recommendations

 i watched the documentary the seeds of vandana shiva this evening. it was very good and has a very important message about the need to take care of the health of our soil on this planet, the planet itself and of ourselves, each one of us . .  especially small farmers. you can access it at this link, and you can see a longer two minute trailer here.

saving seeds! (with sarvodayainstitute.org and navdanya.org)

 

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from dear world, a syrian girl's story of war and plea for peace (bana alabed), her mother writes:

 

"also, because we had some savings, we were lucky enough to be able to cope with the hardships of war in a way some other families could not. we were able to buy a generator and solar panels, and to stockpile food. with these things, we felt like we could hunker down and weather the storm until things got better.

but always, always the bombs would come again, and they would be even worse than before. the fear and despair would come crashing back even worse than before too, because we dared allow ourselves to believe it would be better this time, that the war would eventually end. it reminded us that our hope was a fragile as the first blooms of jasmine in our garden, and as easily crushed." (from page 57)

"we will always miss syria.every day you still ask when we can go home. i hope that day will come, that we will see a country that is rebuilt and a people reborn. that may be a long time from now, though. maybe you will have given me grandchildren by then. i will tell them stories about the war and how brave their mother was, how you never gave up and how you made it your mission to help people. how you spread a message of hope and peace." (page 199)

 

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and at the playground today . . 

 

it was such a beautiful day with a cool breeze and low humidity . . 

a cooler morning

it cooled down into the 60's last night, which actually felt chilly . . so it's a really comfortable morning.

 

re-reading parts of dear world . . 

and a lot of work was done at the house:

the walkway was re-bricked . . 

the downstairs was re-painted . . 

and the gate was repaired.

monday lunch date

i met korrina for lunch this afternoon (at kubeh) and afterwards we walked to jefferson market so she could renew her library card . . and also see the renovations. there was some thunder but the rain held off until late afternoon. i walked her to the train at 8th and broadway and then couldn't resist a coffee and chocolate milkshake from amorino. i miss our excursions there after third street music school concerts.

 

a print of the elevated train passing in front of the library in 1878 (a photo of a copy found at the library which is from the library of congress).

our library had some free covid tests available . . 

sunday poem and song, books and dinner

 

 the new colussus

not like the brazen giant of greek fame,

with conquering limbs astride from land to land;

here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand

a mighty woman with a torch, whose flame

is the imprisoned lightning, and her name

mother of exiles. from her beacon-hand

glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command

the air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.

"keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she

with silent lips, "give me your tired, your poor,

your huddled masses yearning to breath free,

the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.

send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,

i lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

by emma lazarus (1849-1887)

friday, july 22nd, was emma lazarus's birthday. read an essay about her poem and the statue of liberty at this link here.

 

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the first unitarian of brooklyn congregation sang blue boat home during the service this morning. it's one of my favorite songs (sung to a welsh hymn, hyfrydol). (i've posted this before . . it's really lovely.)

 

it's been very, very hot . . just a day for lying about and reading . . i read jane austen's persuasion in half a day, which i was happy about as it took me over a month to finish mary taylor simeti's on persephone's island. of course the former was a story that rolled easily from page to page and the later was stuffed with an immense amount of cultural, archeologoical and botanical information that i was trying to understand.

fresh tomatoes and leftovers tonight for dinner.

summer saturday

so many wonderful vegetables at the green market - summer squash, broccolini, butter lettuce, scallions, panisse, endive, cauliflower, tomatoes . . 

the treats . . 

i spent part of the hot late morning going through the sprinkler in the park with this little one . . 

pretty sudbury where morgan is visiting.

it's a warm night but there's a cool breeze coming through . . it's supposed to go up to 99 tomorrow . .

and it's friday already . . again; or again . . already

i took an early morning walk to the health food store on sixth avenue for some A2 milk i discovered there just last week (lucia tried it and thought it was very good). i felt like making a cappuccino this morning, and i then couldn't resist stopping at mah ze dahr's for a pain au chocolat.

kendall came over this afternoon and helped me write up a blurb about the house for possible renters. i also listened to the final congressional hearing (at least until september) . . for the first time since 2016 i'm feeling that there might be a tad of hope for this country . . if we all keep working, voting and praying . . 

 

 dinner . . 

i listened to an outdoor jazz concert from our front bedroom . . 

 

i think it went up to 94 today . . supposedly sunday it will be 99 . . at least right now there's a slight cool breeze . .