Mar 19 2021 - Nostalgic for Squishmallows

 

Yesterday's post ended with "Who owns the space behind your airline seat?"  Now that seems to segue into nostalgia such as remembering when there was space for one's legs on an airplane flight.  And then one could have nostalgia for when one was able to be on an airplane and take a flight.  How many degrees of nostalgia might there be? That will be a test of post-COVID times.  Will we be nostalgic over things that were taken for granted before 2020?  My vote is Yes. Supposedly nostalgia is good for you - a dip into the past. And the average person feels nostalgic several times a week - and that's young people too.  Older people more often.  And what about the expression that nostalgia makes one feel warm and fuzzy.   In one study, subjects spent time in a cold room. Some were instructed to nostalgize; some weren’t. The nostalgizers found the room warmer and more comfortable than the rest did. It seems that, to some extent, you can use nostalgia to help yourself tolerate a chilly environment. Some researchers suggest that might have had evolutionary value. So perhaps to start collecting the before and after things so as to be ready for great nostalgic experiences in the future that will make us feel warm and fuzzy. I guess that means we should buy a Squishmallow plush toy too. Here's the nostalgia joke: Why is nostalgia like grammar? We find the present tense and the past perfect. Here's the National Gallery through rose-coloured glasses. Purchase at: FAA - marilyncornwellart.com Redbubble - marilyncornwellart.ca

Pothole Karma

Somehow I cam upon this remarkable artist yesterday.   It's a good thing as a few ideas were on my mind for today's topic and I might have forgotten this.  It is too good to miss. This is Jim Bachor and here is the story:  "Around 17 years ago I learned the ancient art of the mosaic in Ravenna, Italy. The permanence of the art form is what drew me in first. Marble and glass do not fade. Mortar is mortar. An ancient mosaic looks exactly as intended by the artist who produced it over two millennia ago. What else can claim that kind of staying power? I find this idea simply amazing. Since my experience in Italy, I've devoted myself to changing people's perception of what a mosaic could be. Using the same materials, tools, and methods of the archaic craftsmen, I create mosaics that speak of modern things in an ancient voice. From junk food to coffee to breakfast cereal, my work permanently locks into mortar unexpected concepts drawn from the present." That was on a funding site named kickstarter.  He was asking for funding on kickstarter as all his work was installed - in potholes.  He has subsequently started producing pieces that can be taken home. What a lot of shows and awards.  There are lots of ice creamcicle/popsicles, dead rats, Trump, crumpled candy wrappers, roses.  And then a number of 'This is not a pothole anymore.'  He says that's probably his most popular piece. Here's a video of Jim working in the street HERE.    A story like this is wonderful - full of creativity, fun, engagement and activism.  YThere are some images off the pothole art after much driving.  It appears that one has been 'repaired' with asphalt as it disintegrates into a pothole again.   More pictures from the National Gallery.  I waited until there were some people above me so that I could some pictures of them in the water reflections.  It was a slow day, so this group was it.  Waves make the human form so intriguing.

Bees at Notre Dame

Amongst the daily headlines is this one about Notre Dame:  180,000 bees were living on top of Notre Dame when the fire broke out - and they survived.  They have a beekeeper, so this isn't a surprise hive.  In fact, there were 3 beehives, and they are still intact.  The beekeeper is Nicolas Geant.  They were found to gathered together in the crevice of a gargoyle sculpture. How did they survive?  CO2 makes them drunk, and puts them to sleep.  You can imagine that the wax in the hives might melt with the intense heat from the flames.  Do you know that bees don't have lungs?  So there would be no possibility of dying from smoke inhalation.  Nicolas feels that it is a miracle. The hives have been there since 2013, an initiative to boost declining bee numbers in Paris.  This sculpture at the National Art Gallery seemed like an engineering feat to me.  How quickly the landscape has turned to spring.  Here's the upcoming meet and greet this Sunday in Hamilton on Dundurn St. S.

This Week's Hostage Expression

U.S. Attorney General William Barr's Mueller Report press conference drew a lot of attention.  Why?  Because of the expression on Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein's face.  It is known as the hostage expression.  Something that came to my mind was that this might be an actual state of mind as a result of having worked with the Trump administration. Here's Rod Rosenstein before:   Here he is at the press conference: Don't pictures tell a story!  He's not the first to stand behind Trump with the "hostage expression"  - New Jersey Governor Chris Christie did the same on Super Tuesday in 2016 and then went on The Tonight Show to "explain it."  I wonder who might be next. We approach Easter Sunday with its religious and secular traditions. Supposedly the Germans brought the Easter bunny to America in 1the 1700s with German immigrants in Pennsylvania.  The tradition was an egg-laying hare.  The evolution since then:  This year's White House Easter Egg Roll is on April 22nd.  There were 18,000 eggs in last year's event. Two of our water abstracts from the National Art Gallery in Ottawa.

Burning Down

World heritage site, Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris has "burned down" and the iconic spire collapsed.  It is considered the finest example of French Gothic architecture in Europe.  There are incredible pictures of the spire collapsing.  The roof was oak wood from the 13th century.  The structure was known as "the forest" because it required a forest of trees to build it. Pictures of it are here on the cathedral website. Important artifacts like the Crown of Thorns and the Tunic of Saint Louis  were saved.  Other artifacts referenced include a fragment of the "true cross" and one of the nails used by Romans to crucify Christ. French billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault has pledged 100 million euros towards the reconstruction.  Another article says France's richest man Bernard Arnault pledged 200 million euros.  and a third article says  $339 million has been pledged.  I expect this is only a portion of what it will take to bring back to use. Experts claim it will take 20 years of work effort.    So our worst-case scenario is to have planned a European cathedral trip of a lifetime and today is the day you visit Notre Dame.  You might be one of the estimated 13 million visitors a year who are going to be disappointed. "We will now visit ten of the best churches and cathedrals in Europe. Notre Dame, Paris. The Duomo, Florence. The Duomo, Milan. León Cathedral, León. Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. Cologne Cathedral, Cologne. Saint Peter's Basilica, Vatican City. Saint Mary's Basilica, Krakow."   Today we look at the ceiling of the National Art Gallery.

Coloured Glass

What is used to colour glass?  The National Gallery has a glass block floor and some of the panels are rich colours - green, browns, blues.  Geology.com tells me that metals are used to impart colour to glass.   Do these metals also impart the colours in a discolouration process?  Here's the glass block image with its swirls of golds, browns, greens and blues. The glass is cloudy and milky  as well.    To me, this looks like the blues and greens of copper stains. It matches perfectly with the gallery above - it has a water feature.  It creates water patterns on the glass block floor that is directly below the water gallery.  You can see the relationship between the two floors in the third picture.