Tag: History
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HISTORYNOW
HISTORYNOW During the consecutive lockdowns of the last few years Marc Quinn has made tens of artworks for his project HISTORYNOW which were to be exhibited at the Venice Biennale in the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Venezia. The basis of all these works is each time a screenshot from his iPhone of news and stories…
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Two worlds
Two worlds One of the always very rewarding features of the Biennale is the placement of art works in old palazzos and other historical venues spread over the city of Venice. Here we have Martin Puryear’s sculpture ‘Shackled’ (2014) exposed in the school of music that is housed in ‘Palazzo Pisani a Santo Stefano’ (1614/15).…
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Art in context
Art in context Last week we looked at hanji paper works made by Chun Kwang Young. Here we look at some more of them, but this time within the spatial context of the venue in which they are exposed. At the Venice Biennale that venue is the Palazzo Contarini Polignac. Chun’s works are still the…
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A statue of liberty
A statue of liberty In 1674, during a severe storm, the nave of the Gothic cathedral in Utrecht collapsed, and from amidst the rubble one must have been able to see the choir and the apse, which were still standing. The nave had collapsed because it had never been properly completed when the church was…
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The lost heroes of Rozenoord
The lost heroes of Rozenoord A monument of empty chairs with nameplates underneath. Names of resistance fighters – mostly – who were executed nearby in the final months of Nazi German occupation of The Netherlands during World War 2.A chair without armrests for the young ones below 30 years of age; for the ones of…
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‘Hollands Glorie’
‘Hollands Glorie’ ‘The pride of Holland’. In the 17th and 18th century the rich Dutch bourgeoisie built houses like this outside the cities at their newly acquired country estates. These were country houses (‘buitenhuizen’) where the owners would spend the summer months with their families. Between Amsterdam and Utrecht many of these country houses were…
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Getaway gateway
Getaway gateway A wall in the forest.A tightly closed gate. In my mind’s eye I see a fair maiden,kept in solitary confinement.Waiting for her Prince Charmingto come and carry her off. Photo of the week: Country estate Huis te Manpad, Heemstede, Netherlands 2021
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Surya
Surya A stream of men, women and childrenstrolls amongst the sanctuaries of the Surya Temple.A thousand years, day after day, ever changing,yet always the same, like the sun that rises and sets.Centuries … a millennium … today. Photo of the week: Surya (Sun) temple, 9th cent. AD, Katarmal, Uttarakhand, India 2021
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A wall in Kazimierz
A wall in Kazimierz Broken, mangled, scattered in disarray,unearthed from layers of dust and sand: fragments of memory of the deceased,which fit together like a jigsaw puzzle. A memorial wall for the dead,for the eyes of the living. Photo of the week: 16th cent. Jewish R’emuh Cemetery wall, Kazimierz, Krakow, Poland 2007
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Anno Mundi 5490
Anno Mundi 5490 The Jewish cemetery at ‘Ouderkerk aan de Amstel’ near Amsterdam is called Beth Haim which means House of Life. This tells us something about the Sephardim philosophy of life – and death. The picture shows a detail of a partly submerged gravestone in which we see a shepherdess with her cattle. A…
καιρός remembered 