Tag Archives: museum

Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: New York City, Photographs: Urban/Street

Calder and Lunch, A Juxtaposition

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Calder and Lunch, A Juxtaposition
A surprising juxtaposition between the “Calder: Hypermobility” exhibit and a nearby restaurant at the Whitney Museum, New York

Calder and Lunch, A Juxtaposition. New York City. July 3, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

A surprising juxtaposition between the “Calder: Hypermobility” exhibit and a nearby restaurant at the Whitney Museum, New York

During an early July visit to New York City we found time to wander over to the new Whitney Museum to view several exhibits, including a special exhibit of Alexander Calder’s mobile and similar pieces. Not only did it include a large number of his pieces, all assembled in one room, but the museum arranged to put many of the pieces in motion, as they were intended to be experienced. Some of the mobiles depend upon shifting air currents, but several of the other pieces are actually motorized. The exhibit was fascinating in many ways — the setting-in-motion was part of it, but also the presentation of so many of these pieces one space was unusual.

Something else was unusual about the exhibit, and I found it a bit jarring. The Calder exhibit was in a large space on the top gallery floor. Many of the Calder pieces are enhanced by lighting that reveals the changing shapes of their shadows as they move, and monochromatic background walls help isolate the objects so that their forms are more clearly visible. But one wall turned out to hold a huge opening to an adjacent eating area, with bustling waiters, loudly conversing guests, the clanking of dishes and silver way, and big windows open to the brilliant glare of Manhattan. The juxtaposition was so odd and jarring that I just had to make a photograph.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: Architecture, Photographs: San Francisco, Photographs: Structures and Objects

Inside The Oculus

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Inside The Oculus
Play of midday light and shadows on the walls of the Oculus, SFMOMA

Inside The Oculus. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. July 13, 2017. © Copyright 2017 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Play of midday light and shadows on the walls of the Oculus, SFMOMA

This week we made a visit to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) to see and hear the Soundtracks exhibit, which presents objects and installations of sonic art of various sorts. To be honest, I wasn’t that hopeful about this exhibit — I’ve often found that many visual artist’s ideas about sound art can be naive and banal in too many cases. However, the exhibit was (is, and you should go) excellent, with a wide variety of work that is interesting in a range of ways.

In any case, virtually every visit to this museum is also an excuse to make at least a few photographs, often of the architecture of the place. The central “Oculus” structure (which housed one of the sonic art pieces, too) is interesting to me as much for the play of light and shadows on its curved walls as it is for its own architectural form. I have photographed it many times, but being so close to the summer solstice the shadows took on different qualities than I had seen before. Here shadows from the structure of the upper window fall across a curved wall that is perforated by a pattern of large holes.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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Photographs: France

The Louvre

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The Louvre
Courtyard and people, the Louvre

The Louvre. Paris, France. August 11, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Courtyard and people, the Louvre

We spent about a week exploring Paris during the summer of 2016. Mostly we wandered, with a few specific goals in mind, and many opportunities for (sometimes random) discoveries. But there were a few things that we knew we had to visit, and the The Louvre was, of course, on that list. The museum is gigantic, with collections that are so extensive that a single day visit — which is what we had — only affords an opportunity to visit a small portion of the museum. We managed mostly one floor of one wing.

The grounds within and around the Louvre are constructed on a monumental scale. While many parts of Paris feature narrow and twisting streets, here there are vast open courtyards and buildings that extend over great distances. This photograph was made from one of the upper levels of the museum, and it looks back toward the central open area, across which groups of people walk.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
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All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.

Conservation/Environment, Photographs: England, Photographs: People, Photographs: Urban/Street

Pedestrian and Cyclist

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Pedestrian and Cyclist
Pedestrian and cyclist on walkway in front of the Tate Modern, London

Pedestrian and Cyclist. London, United Kingdom. August 7, 2016. © Copyright 2016 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Pedestrian and cyclist on walkway in front of the Tate Modern, London

We were well into our stay in London in the summer of 2016 when we finally got around to going to the Tate Modern, where there was an exhibit of paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. I think we waited because she is American, we’ve seen shows of her work a lot, and we probably wondered how new the work would be in a London show. Because of our (misguided!) thinking, we ended up here with only a few hours to spend — only to discover that this was the most extensive collection of O’Keeffe’s work that we had seen in one place and that we didn’t have nearly enough time to see it all.

At one point, perhaps while waiting for our turn to enter the exhibit, we stepped out onto a balcony that was open to the landscaped area between the museum and the River Thames, where there were many pedestrians and a few cyclists. If I watch long enough I find that the passers-by sometimes assemble themselves into interesting groupings and patterns, so I indulged myself in a little bit of overhead photography, looking down from my high perch. The walkway took on a striking blue color in the shadow of the building, lit by the gigantic blue light panel of the sky as a walker and a cyclist approached one another.

G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.
Blog | About | Flickr | Twitter | Facebook | Google+ | LinkedIn | Email

All media © Copyright G Dan Mitchell and others as indicated. Any use requires advance permission from G Dan Mitchell.