1.30.2010



Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.








:think pink 81, taiwan

1.29.2010


There are lots of good writers. There are lots of hugely skilled writers. There are lots of us who write about many subjects with curiosity and diligence. But there are very few writers who find or forge the key that enables them to unlock the hearts of their readers and of their fellow people. And Salinger did that. He did it repeatedly. And whether he was silent for 40 years or miserably grumpy for half a century, I don't care. He did that. And he alone did that. He wrote with all his stars out and the world shines brighter for him. (Adam Gopnik, NPR interview, 1/28/10)




: image dianamuse, my first copy (purchased ~1972)

1.28.2010

3:217


Good morning, New York City! You realize that by about 1:52 this afternoon, all that pretty pristine white powder will have morphed into a flow of putty-colored slurge that accumulates in three-feet-wide ponds at every corner. That's snow for you. Just doing its job.

(I do love the dash of taxi yellow in the upper right. It orients me to time and place.)





:217project; image dianamuse

1.27.2010

2:217


If Adam (top panel, looking all naked and mortified) could have glimpsed the beauty in store - check out those dancing jewel-tone reflections on the wall behind him - maybe he'd have grokked that being expelled from Eden wasn't such a bad thing after all.




The I.D.: I took this shot of the Paschal candlestick at The Cloisters in December. The decoration of the hexagonal candlestick is organized in three tiers: The upper register is devoted to the Old Testament (Adam and Eve, the Expulsion of Adam and Eve, etc.); the second register features various saints; the third register (out of view) is loaded with apostles.

Did you know? The Cloisters is patterned on the monasteries that mushroomed during the Middle Ages - a rambling structure of halls, chapels, cloisters and gardens intended to evoke, rather than duplicate, the originals of which they once were part. Contrary to what some believe, The Cloisters is not an entire monastery brought stone by stone from Europe and reassembled on its perch in Manhattan's Fort Tryon Park.

Much of the art collection came from that of George Grey Barnard, an American sculptor and collector of medieval art, who had already established a medieval-art museum near his home in the Fort Washington neighborhood. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. purchased Barnard's entire collection of art and architectural remnants as a gift to the Met; this collection, combined with a number of pieces from Rockefeller's own collection (including the Unicorn tapestries), became the core of the new Cloisters' holdings.

The Cloisters gets its name from its incorporation of five cloisters - the covered walkways where monks strolled, prayed and did manuscript illumination as well as their laundry - from the French monasteries of Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert, Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa, Bonnefont-en-Comminges, Trie and Froville. The museum opened in 1938.




:217project; image dianamuse

1.22.2010


Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.






:andrea übelacker, alle meine filzstifte (all my markers)

1.21.2010

limited print auction


Several talented photographers have offered up prints of their artwork at auction, with all proceeds going to the relief efforts in Haiti. Sponsored by switchcities, the auction is open through Friday, January 22.




:image kristel wyman, krakow, 16 x 24 print

1.19.2010

1:217*


Can you identify the sculptural relief from this close-up shot? Anyone? Anyone?







Completed in 1934, this elaborate relief by Alfred Janniot decorates the entrance to 610 Fifth Avenue (aka La Maison Française) in Rockefeller Center. This bronze wonder represents Paris and New York joining hands above the figures of three graces. Poetry is on the left. Can you guess the identity of the two other figures before scrolling down?




Yes. Beauty and Elegance. Bien sûr.





* my first entry for this year's 217project (217 original swoond/dianamuse photo posts in 2010); many, probably most, will be images of our fair manhattan in perspective of varying degrees. i better get a move on.

:images dianamuse

1.17.2010

nyc donations to haiti: plane departs tuesday



MONDAY, JANUARY 18: Just heard from Lane at charity: water. The plan is still GO for the plane to leave tomorrow. Please get your donations to 200 Varick Street by 5 p.m. TODAY.


There’s a plane leaving NYC for Haiti on Tuesday, 1/19, and charity: water needs your help filling it with cargo. As you may know, charity: water is a non-profit organization that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in developing nations.

Members of the charity: water staff have been in close contact with their field partners; they are turning the charity: water office in Manhattan into a drop-off point for the following items (those most urgently needed in Haiti this week):

Blankets*
Tents*
Sleeping bags*

Soap
Feminine hygiene products
Medical gloves
Bandages/gauze
Cases of bottled water

* these items can be gently used


If you can make a donation, please stop by the charity: water office at 200 VARICK STREET on Monday, 1/18, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. DO NOT MAIL THESE ITEMS TO THEIR OFFICE.






IF YOU CAN CARRY THE DONATIONS BY HAND IN ONE LOAD: Please enter through the front door at 200 Varick St. You will need a photo ID to enter the building. charity: water is located on the 2nd floor, Suite 201.

IF YOU ARE A BUSINESS OR ARE DONATING IN BULK: Please email Lane Wood to schedule a drop-off time. Lane's e address: lane.wood[at]charitywater[dot]org

All supplies will be transported this week by Partners in Health and distributed where they are needed most. charity: water's other partners in Haiti, Concern Worldwide US, are sending supplies from Ireland and still have a pressing need for donations.






charity: water; image courtesy boston globe