s w o o n d (née diana:muse)

russia in color: a century ago

2012-02-02T02:17:00.001-05:00

Emir Seyyid Mir Mohammed Alim Khan, the Emir of Bukhara, seated holding a sword in Bukhara (present-day Uzbekistan), ca. 1910.

Between 1909 and 1912, photographer Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) undertook a photographic survey of the Russian Empire with the support of Tsar Nicholas II and the Ministry of Transportation. Prokudin-Gorskii used a specialized camera to capture three black and white images in fairly quick succession, using red, green and blue filters, allowing them to later be recombined and projected with filtered lanterns to show near-true color images. The high quality of the images, combined with the bright colors, make it difficult for viewers to believe that they are looking 100 years back in time. When these photographs were taken, neither the Russian Revolution nor World War I had yet begun. Collected here are a few of the hundreds of color images made available by (the miracle that is) the Library of Congress, which purchased the original glass plates back in 1948.

A chapel sits on the site where the city of Belozersk was founded in ancient times, ca. 1909.

An Armenian woman in national costume poses for Prokudin-Gorskii on a hillside near Artvin (near present-day Turkey), ca. 1910.

A view of the Nikolaevskii Cathedral in Mozhaisk, ca. 1911.

A man and woman pose in Dagestan, ca. 1910.

Metal truss bridge on stone piers, part of the Trans-Siberian Railway, crossing the Kama River near Perm, Ural Mountains Region, ca. 1910.

A boy leans on a wooden gatepost in the Ural Mountain region, 1910.

In this last image, Self-portrait on the Karolitskhali River (ca. 1910), Prokudin-Gorskii is seated on a rock beside the Karolitskhali River. The Karolitskhali is located in the Caucasus Mountains near the seaport of Batumi on the eastern coast of the Black Sea.

I'm enthralled by this whole Prokudin-Gorskii trove. Next post will offer more information on the innovative, ingenious process that Prokudin-Gorskii developed to produce these brilliant images.

:library of congress

i still have a dream

2012-01-16T11:35:00.002-05:00

The night before he was murdered, Martin Luther King warned, in his famous "I See the Promised Land" speech in Memphis, that "if something isn't done, and in a hurry, to bring the colored peoples of the world out of their long years of poverty, their long years of hurt and neglect, the whole world is doomed."

In "A Christmas Sermon on Peace," broadcast on Christmas Eve 1967 on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as part of the Massey Lectures, Dr. King acknowledged "that not long after talking about" the dream in Washington in 1963,
"I started seeing it turn into a nightmare."

He spoke of the nightmarish conditions of Birmingham, where four girls were murdered in a church bombing a few weeks after his speech. He spoke of the punishing poverty that he observed in the nation's ghettoes as the antithesis of his dream, as were the race riots and the Vietnam War. King confessed that while "I am personally the victim of deferred dreams, of blasted hopes," that "I still have a dream."

By 1967, Martin Luther King had stretched his dream to include the desire "that one day the idle industries of Appalachia will be revitalized, and the empty stomachs of Mississippi will be filled, and brotherhood will be more than a few words at the end of prayer, but rather the first order of business on every legislative agenda."

These speeches place Dr. King's dream in the broader context of his spiritual and moral evolution over the last three years of his life. Set free from the ideological confines of his "I Have a Dream" speech, King's true ethical ambitions were free to breathe through the words he spoke and wrote as he made his way to the promised land. Perhaps even more so than when he dreamed out loud in Washington in 1963, Dr. King's act of dreaming in 1967 was a courageous act of social imagination and national hope:

Yes, I am personally the victim of deferred dreams, of blasted hopes, but in spite of that I close today by saying I still have a dream, because, you know, you can't give up in life. If you lose hope, somehow you lose that vitality that keeps life moving, you lose that courage to be, that quality that helps you go on in spite of it all. And so today I still have a dream.

are you ready? here comes santa!

2011-12-24T09:00:00.016-05:00

These boys are either on leave from flying duty this year, or they're lichen loading before their Big Night.

Merry Christmas!

:dmitriy nikonov, reindeer herder, siberia; via national geographic

nicole dextras: ephemeral fashion

2011-07-24T02:17:00.005-04:00

For the past six years, Nicole Dextras has taken the native plants of the Pacific Northwest and turned them into elaborate dresses she calls "weedrobes."

Dextras’s art is made out of things found in nature: ice, grass, flowers and leaves. As such, they melt, crack, rot, disintegrate and return to their original composite elements. The dresses are beautiful, but Dextras has more than a pretty picture in mind. Her plant-based apparel is designed to confront important environmental concerns.

"I've had an ongoing interest in environmental art, and working in the theater as a clothes designer opened me up to the idea that the way people dress affects their psychology," Dextras says. "I want these dresses to open a dialogue to people about where their clothes come from."

On frames woven from flexible boughs, Dextras layers sturdy plant materials, such as yucca and eucalyptus leaves, stitched to the frames with hawthorn ‘pins’. Professional actors bring the costumes to life, improvising on themes of nature, such as Jordi Sancho’s memorable Eco-man or Nita Bowerman’s “Ivy” from the 2009 Invasive Species Show. The costumes are brought to Dextras’s back yard where the process of disintegration begins.

Dextras's studio is located on Granville Island in Vancouver BC. The artist divides her time between her art practice, teaching, casting editions for local artists and volunteering for art organizations such as the BC Book Arts Guild and the Artists and Artisans of Granville Island.

Dextras has meticulously photographed all her pieces and the performances, on view at her flickr stream and on her website.

:nicole dextras, weedrobes summer series; artist statement; shop

triangle shirtwaist fire: march 25, 1911

2011-03-25T11:52:00.001-04:00

One hundred years ago today, New York City's Triangle Shirtwaist Factory burst into flames, killing 146 garment workers and fundamentally changing the way America viewed its laborers. In the months after the blaze, dozens of workplace regulations were passed, helping to make factories much safer. The Triangle fire inspired a massive unionization push that paved the way for the development of America's middle class.

On March 25, 1911, a fire tore through the top three floors of New York's Asch Building (Washington Place and Greene Street), home of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company. On the eighth floor, where the blaze began, garment workers and their supervisors quickly filed out. Two floors up, the company's owners — Max Blanck and Isaac Harris — were notified by telephone of the fire and escaped by jumping to the roof of a nearby building.

But on the ninth floor, there were no phone calls, fire alarms or other warnings. In fact, the 200 seamstresses who worked there — many of them new immigrants to America — didn't realize there was a fire until smoke began pouring in from the floor below. Within a half hour, more than half of those women were dead.

In remembrance of the tragedy, a special memorial meeting was held this morning at the factory site. A fire truck ladder was raised to the sixth floor, representing the highest story firefighters could reach during the tragedy.

:washington post article, "what the triangle shirtwaist fire means for workers now"; wnyc article, "remembering the triangle shirtwaist fire, 100 years later"

visionaries: shadi ghadirian

2011-03-22T13:56:00.015-04:00

Shadi Ghadirian is a photographer who lives and works in her native Tehran.

Ghadirian's work is intimately linked to her identity as a Muslim woman living in Iran. In her Qajar series, Ghadirian questions the role of women in society at large and explores ideas of censorship, religion, modernity and the status of women. The Qajar series of portraits was inspired by old plate-glass photographs from Iran's Qajar period (1794-1925). "Until that time, portraits were forbidden in Iran for religious reasons," Ghadirian says, "so the impact of these photographs on 19th-century Iranians was enormous."

For her own Qajar portraits, Ghadirian asked a painter friend to recreate the elaborate 19th-century backdrops. She then borrowed vintage clothing in which to dress female friends, and reproduced the poses from the old photographs, incorporating her own twist. Ghadirian juxtaposes the traditional images with symbols of contemporary life.

Ghadirian studied photography at Azad University in Tehran. After finishing her undergraduate work, Ghadirian began her professional career as a photographer. Her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across Europe and the United States. Ghadirian's photographs are in the permanent collection of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, among others. Currently, Ghadirian works at the Museum of Photography in Tehran.

:images shadi ghadirian

empire

2011-03-21T07:17:00.001-04:00

From the Top of the Rock, mid-week, late February. The sunset, supported by a stunning cast of thousands, takes its rightful turn at showing off.

:images diana murphy

saturday fare: the metropolitan

2011-02-17T02:17:00.003-05:00

Taking multiple detail shots of works of art satisfies me on several levels — not the least of which is that I can make my own postcards for later study and recall.* I've found (have you?) that museums no longer deliver on the extensive-variety-of-exhibition-postcards front. This makes me cranky, since I'm a compulsive postcard collector from way back. My solution has been to stop the moaning, just deal with it already and do it myself.

Case in point: Two or three (four? whatever) Saturdays ago, I took these photos of the Tomb Effigy of Elizabeth Boott Duveneck at the Met. I've seen the sculpture many, many times on Met visits — and I've photographed it before as well — but this time around, I wanted to move in and capture a sense of the rich patina and the artistry of the folds and deep relief. And so? And then? Well?
Me likey. Me not grumpy anymore. And for you, my dearest darlings, repros of these and many other swoond and beautimuse images (card-size, wall-size and in-betweens) will soon be available to order online.

About the artwork: After the death of Elizabeth Boott Duveneck (1846-1888), her bereaved husband, the painter Frank Duveneck, modeled a funerary monument with the guidance of the Cincinnati sculptor Clement J. Barnhorn. Reminiscent of Gothic and Renaissance gisant (recumbent) tomb effigies, the figure reclines peacefully, arms folded over her chest. The palm branch stretching nearly the entire length of her body symbolizes Christian victory over death. The original bronze is on Elizabeth Duveneck's grave in the Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori, the Protestant cemetery on the outskirts of Florence.

* Many thanks to all of you who have inquired about prints, cards and large-scale reproductions(!) of my photos. I've responded to most of you individually, but I want to make sure you know that you'll soon be able to place orders online. As ever, thanks for your visits and support. Mwah! and again, Mmmwah!!

:all images diana murphy; tomb effigy of elizabeth boot duveneck, 1891; this cast, 1927; gilt bronze; the metropolitan museum of art, new york city

frozen fruit

2011-02-04T05:13:00.010-05:00

To quote the Cowardly Lion: Unusual weather we're having, ain't it?

:images diana, groundhog day on ice

check out groupings of my upsized photos here at beautimuse

today in new york

2011-01-27T07:51:00.002-05:00

My thought: The neighbors will probably postpone their garden party.

:image diana, rear window series

here comes the sun

2011-01-21T13:28:00.003-05:00

The depth of color and shadow produced by sidelong sunrise light (featured here) is endlessly fascinating to me.

(And, lest we forget, sunset light has its own special mojo. But it's sunrise's turn today. Thank you.)

:image diana murphy

snow divide

2011-01-17T16:17:00.007-05:00

This afternoon in Riverside Park.

:image diana murphy, new york city

2011-01-01T10:09:00.021-05:00

1-Jan-65

The kings will lose your old address.
No star will flare up to impress.
The ear may yield, under duress,
to blizzards’ nagging roar.
The shadows falling off your back,
you’d snuff the candle, hit the sack,
for calendars more nights can pack
than there are candles for.

What is this? Sadness? Yes, perhaps.
A little tune that never stops.
One knows by heart its downs and ups.
May it be played on par
with things to come, with one’s eclipse,
as gratefulness of eyes and lips
for what occasionally keeps
them trained on something far.

And staring up where no cloud drifts
because your sock’s devoid of gifts
you’ll understand this thrift: it fits
your age; it’s not a slight.
It is too late for some breakthrough,
for miracles, for Santa’s crew.
And suddenly you’ll realize that you
yourself are a gift outright.

- Joseph Brodsky
(translated from the Russian by the author)

Brodsky wrote this poem while in internal exile in Norenskaia, in the Arkhangelsk region of northern Russia. In the Soviet Union,
New Year’s celebrations came to be seen as a substitute for Christmas. This translation was found among his papers.

:image diana murphy, new york city

joyful, merry, happy to you and yours

2010-12-25T02:17:00.001-05:00

:image diana

the warm-up

2010-12-22T06:13:00.001-05:00

:image boston globe

il passaporto

2010-12-15T04:13:00.004-05:00

The annual New Yorker Passport to the Arts weekend in mid-November provides ample photo ops. This year was no exception. Here's one of my images from our day out: a (very) young art student flanked by two Christopher Griffith prints. Sweet.

Somehow, someday, somewhere I'll post a full series of photos from the Passport weekend — and I'll get around to the myriad other photo projects that are waiting in the queue (isn't that what 2011 is for, people?).

P.S. Alexander Gronsky's show, The Edge, is on view at Aperture through January 11, 2011. Totally worth a visit.

:image diana

2010-12-07T06:13:00.003-05:00

I took this shot last summer at Great Escape.

Oh, the irony.

:image diana

2010-11-27T10:25:00.004-05:00

A trepidatious Buzz gingerly navigates his route down Seventh Avenue.

:image diana, parade

wallflora

2010-11-08T04:17:00.018-05:00

Lower East Side

Central Park

SoHo

Upper West Side

:images diana murphy, new york city

surf & turf

2010-11-01T04:17:00.003-04:00

My favorite shot from all the Halloween Hullabaloo this weekend.

Alternate title: Dude, Where's My Carp?

:image diana murphy, amnh's halloween fright at the museum

2010-10-31T02:17:00.001-04:00

Creepy weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image diana murphy

swoond feature: bryan schutmaat

2010-10-28T06:13:00.007-04:00

One of Texas-based photographer Bryan Schutmaat's most recent honors is inclusion in the impressive lineup of semi-finalists in this year's Hey, Hot Shot! Competition at Jen Bekman's 20x200 Project. We recently interviewed Schutmaat to learn more about his profound connection to photography and its place in his life.

Many of your photos are shot in the Great Plains region of the United States. What is the history of your relationship to that part of the country?
I don't have much of a history with the Plains. Only in the past few years have I started to spend time there. Prior, I had merely driven through on a number of occasions. But it was then, in passing, that I came to admire the vastness, the calmness, and the strangeness of it all, prompting me to later make photos there. My series, Heartland, is a response to that impulse, and by taking pictures I've become even more fascinated with those landscapes, which at first glance seem to contain so little, but if investigated, offer so much.

What aspects of yourself — your personality, world view, ways of relating — are reflected in your photographs?
This is a tough question, one I'm grappling with and one I could better answer after living longer, and shooting and maturing more. It's unclear to me if my work reflects — or if it even ought to reflect — much about me. Someone else might say otherwise, but I don't really think my pictures are imbued with a sense of my personality or views; for the most part, they're neutral. Heartland, for instance, contains a lot of photos of churches and Christian content. From those images alone, it would be hard to determine my worldview, political opinions, thoughts on religion, and so on. I think religion is nonsense, but I don't want to say that through my pictures. I'm more interested in giving the audience an impartial atmosphere to exist in and explore on their own. They can bring whatever they want to the pictures. Still, I understand I'm painting a portrait of American culture, and the photos often reveal things about the people who live in the areas I depict. But I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything. The only thing I'm pushing is a sense of vision (however, this could change in the future).

What is the last film (movie) that you saw? Please give us a mini-review.
Most recently, I saw Anthony Asquith's The Browning Version. It's has some overly sentimental scenes, which are to be expected from a 1950s movie, but with age comes forgiveness. It wasn't a fantastic movie, though, I must admit it had beautiful parts that got me choked up. It's one of the those films that reminds you that you can't relive life. Recommended.

What is your earliest visual memory?
I can't answer this question with any degree of accuracy. Memory is hazy and indistinct. Interestingly, photography changes how we perceive the past. Often, when looking at childhood photos, I can't discern if I actually remember an event, or if I think I remember an event because I have a tangible trace of it before me. This happens with stories families tell as well. With early memories, I never know what's real or what's an invention of mine based on pictures and family conversation.

You mentioned in an interview last year that, when you first discovered photography, "taking pictures got me excited, not just about photography, but about living." Do you still feel that way? Why?
Yes, totally. Photography brings steady excitement to my life. It's an obsession that makes me glad to wake up in the morning.

Do you have any pets?
Yes, my girlfriend and I are proud owners of an adopted, mixed-breed dog who resembles a labradoodle.

Imagine an "ideal day taking photographs." What would that day look like?
An ideal day photographing would probably just be goofing around taking pictures of the aforementioned dog rolling in the grass or something. I love photography as a whole, but sometimes the actual act of taking the pictures fills me with apprehension, especially when I'm trespassing or dealing with strangers or shooting something I really don't want to screw up. The best day of taking photos would be a relaxed day after a really taxing and productive one.

Where has the photo journey taken you lately? What projects are currently in the works?
I don't want to divulge much, but I'll tell you that I'm taking pictures of strangers in Montana, and this has put me in contact with a number of unusual people with remarkable stories.

You note on your website that you're pursuing an MFA in Photography from the University of Hartford. How's that coming along?
It's going well. It's a limited residency program, so I only have to be on campus for a couple weeks every few months, which allows me to be out west, shooting in areas better suited for my interests. The faculty's comprised of my heroes, and my classmates are entirely praiseworthy. I feel like a guy who wandered off the sandlot and somehow ended up in the big league dugout.

Prints can be purchased directly from Bryan — contact him for pricing, sizes and availability. There are also small selections of the artist's work available through 20x200 as well as Galerie Wanted Paris.

P.S. If you don't already know, the Hey, Hot Shot! Competition Finalists will be announced tomorrow evening (Friday, October 29) at the first-ever Blurb Pop Up/NYC at 60 Mercer Street (between Broome and Grand). You can still squeak in today with an RSVP. Get to it.

:images bryan schutmaat

perpetual vert

2010-10-22T03:13:00.004-04:00

Fort Tryon Park, mid-October.

:image diana

2010-10-16T07:57:00.007-04:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image diana murphy; one of many visual delights from a walk around the hood this morning; new york city.

this one gets a pass

2010-10-13T14:27:00.004-04:00

:image diana; i'm letting this one into the competitive hedge series - california edition - because scads of cropped bamboo can pass for hedge in southern california. any of you familiar with the walk from santa monica beach to venice beach know this exact spot.

2010-10-09T19:17:00.003-04:00

Good autumn weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image diana murphy

swoond feature: maximilian haidacher

2010-09-22T09:51:00.027-04:00

What a stroke of good fortune (on this first full day of autumn!) to feature the work of celebrated Austrian photographer
Maximilian Haidacher.

Drawn to deserted, remote areas that bear the heavy footprint of social phenomena (tourism, sporting activities, technological advancement), Haidacher plays with the relationship between civilization and nature. His photographs elicit a mystical tension between what is simultaneously present and invisible. I find Haidacher's photographs to be completely captivating in their stark beauty and their skillful organization of line and form.

Max was kind enough to answer a few questions for us. So here we go.

You've described your work as having "a touch of dreariness and abandonment." How have these themes evolved?
MH: First, I guess, it’s the result of the way in which I seem to work best: On my own, intuitive, in the early morning, in fog or under overcast skies, often on Sundays. Second, the concept of showing man-made changes in alpine, rural and urban spaces in a deserted kind of way appeared to be most interesting and promising among all other concepts I’ve been playing with in the beginning. And it still keeps me going.

Whose work do you most admire?
MH: A couple of years ago, when I decided to do art photography in a serious way, I was very much inspired by almost everything that came out of Germany in the 1980s and 90s, especially Bernd and Hilla Becher and their Düsseldorf School. People like Thomas Ruff, Boris Becker, Candida Höfer, Andreas Gursky, Axel Hütte, Simone Nieweg and many more. Today, I’m having a hard time really admiring something.

What are your greatest inspirations in life?
MH: Good conversations, good books, newspapers, magazines, paintings, travelling and music.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?
MH: A slice of bread and jam, some fruits and a very large cup of black coffee.

What's the most beautiful thing you've ever seen?
MH: I guess a photograph my girlfriend shot some time ago: Two baby hedgehogs holding paws.

How do you feel about your photo equipment? Any changes or additions planned for the near future?
MH: Not really. After years of experimenting, after buying and selling lots of stuff, I think I’m finally happy using two medium format cameras.

If you could travel anywhere today and take photographs, where would you go?
MH: That destination probably changes everyday, but right now, I’d choose Norway or Canada.

What's on the last roll of film you shot?
MH: A huge plastic unicorn mounted on a truck with knights pictured on its tarp.

:images maximilian haidacher

2010-09-21T10:53:00.004-04:00

:image diana, twice-adorned cornice

2010-09-20T13:10:00.002-04:00

:images diana murphy, latest additions to the black & light series

2010-09-16T06:35:00.004-04:00

:image diana murphy, autumn, almost

2010-09-11T22:01:00.005-04:00

:image diana murphy, morning meeting

2010-09-06T14:17:00.015-04:00

Here we have our latest entrants to the ongoing Competitive Hedge series.

:images diana murphy, competitive hedge

packing up, heading home

2010-09-05T09:35:00.008-04:00

See you on the other side of this unofficial last-gasp-of-summer weekend.

:image diana murphy; from roadside russia, 2006

2010-08-26T06:13:00.006-04:00

:image diana murphy, bronx zoo; more from this progressive series at the other place

2010-08-24T04:17:00.010-04:00

Payoff for taking a different route through Brooklyn yesterday.

:image diana murphy, blocks

2010-08-23T15:06:00.020-04:00

As I drove south toward lower Manhattan this morning on my way to Brooklyn, I was listening to an NPR report about the latest iteration of madness taking place in that part of our city. I grabbed my camera (I'm a really safe driver, promise), hoping to capture visually some of the sorrow and distress I'm feeling right now about this recent acceleration of jingoism and intolerance. It worked.

:images diana murphy, hard rain

|

2010-08-21T09:23:00.017-04:00

:images diana murphy, competitive hedge

saturday fare

2010-08-16T06:13:00.007-04:00

:images diana murphy, 217project no. 43

2010-08-13T22:17:00.008-04:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image diana murphy, moscow white night, 2006

photo impressionism

2010-08-11T00:07:00.009-04:00

:images diana murphy, levon's place; 217project no. 41

2010-08-10T08:50:00.004-04:00

:image dianamuse; 217project no. 40

the wild

2010-08-09T13:17:00.013-04:00

Welcome to my little walk through Riverside Park this a.m. As I took a bunch of snappies and absorbed the early morning light, I imagined myself (via a rich portion of luck and a good bit of hard work) someday visiting the luminous Janelle, traveling alongside her through the wild kingdom that is her home. Oh, but wouldn't that be swell?

:images dianamuse; 217project no. 39

quick-change artist

2010-08-05T11:17:00.017-04:00

Same trip, different outfit. The sky plays dress-up, too.

Flying over the Atlantic. See the teeny tiny boats. I count four of them.

This one knocks my socks off.

:images diana murphy, horizon series; 217project no. 38

saturday fare

2010-08-03T04:13:00.004-04:00

:images diana murphy, grids; 217project no. 37

2010-07-31T18:26:00.012-04:00

:image dianamuse, moma 12:27 p.m.

217project no. 36

2010-07-28T05:54:00.007-04:00

Nothing in the world is permanent, and we're foolish when we ask anything to last, but surely we're still more foolish not to take delight in it while we have it.

- W. Somerset Maugham, The Razor's Edge, 1943

:image diana murphy, 217project no. 35

the naturals

2010-07-19T11:17:00.009-04:00

More from my AMNH mini-series. In lieu of serious summer travel (sigh), we're content to hop over to 81st and CPW and imagine ourselves photographing the wildlife — up close and personal — in the eastern Congo or the Serengeti Plains.

Did you know? The Akeley Hall of African Mammals in the American Museum of Natural History is named after Carl Akeley, who conceived of, designed and collected for the hall. Akeley was a dedicated explorer, taxidermist, sculptor and photographer who led teams of scientists and artists on several expeditions to Africa during the first two decades of the 20th century.

Carl Akeley died of a fever during an African expedition in 1926, ten years before the Hall was completed. He was buried in a place depicted in the Hall's famous Gorilla Diorama (first image in this post).

I think this one is still my favorite. I posted it previously here.

:images dianamuse; 217project no. 34

opus magnolium

2010-07-17T06:17:00.008-04:00

As promised, full magnolia splendor from pre-oil-spill days of yore (remember them?). Please oh please enjoy.

:images dianamuse; 217project no. 33

2010-06-26T01:16:00.010-04:00

Beautiful weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image dianamuse; i took this shot (and a guskillion others) this afternoon in the land that time forgot;
217 project no. 32

pine pom-pon pick up stix

2010-06-23T15:25:00.019-04:00

On a recent weekend trip to Ithaca, New York (home to Lake Cayuga and Willard Straight Hall), I took a few snaps of these wonderful prickly pine explosions. I like the high contrast of pattern against the stark white morning sky. Have a look at some other (large-scale) versions right here at beautimuse.

:images dianamuse; 217project no. 31

through the looking glass

2010-06-14T06:13:00.008-04:00

I took these shots of some pretty flowers that materialized on Mother's Day. I like the subdued tones and the hazy, underwater "effect" — the result of aiming my camera at an antique mirror in our bedroom.

Plus: A (partial) self-portrait. It's the closest I've come so far to exposing myself here at the place. Baby steps.

Thanks for stopping by and saying Hey.

:217 project no. 30; images dianamuse

coney island treasure

2010-05-20T06:13:00.009-04:00

Childs Restaurant, situated along Coney Island's boardwalk, opened its doors for business in 1924. The building was designed by Dennison & Hirons in a fanciful resort style, combining elements of the Spanish Colonial Revival (relatively rare in NYC) with numerous maritime motifs. Friezes of sailing ships and King Neptune adorn the tops of the arches; the roof is intricately decorated with carvings of fish.

I took these colorful detail shots of the Childs building last summer. Here's some more of the building's history:

The Childs building served as a firebreak during the Coney Island Fire of 1932 and saved other buildings from destruction. Originally, Childs was topped by a roof garden with a pergola above the main restaurant, and featured rooftop dancing. With the disinvestment in Coney Island by NYC during the 1940s and 50s, most of the area's businesses closed, including this Childs Restaurant.

Childs Restaurant under construction and completion, 1924 (vintage photos courtesy of NYPL Digital Collection)

In the 1950s, the vacant building was used as a candy manufacturing facility, although the building itself was not cared for and fell into disrepair in the subsequent decades. Then fate played its hand once more. In 2003, Childs was designated a New York City historic landmark. Since 2005, the building has played host to a hot pink roller rink in the summertime. Beyond that, City Planning has yet to determine just what to do with the building. One thing's for sure: This beach beauty will survive.

:217project no. 29; color images dianamuse, childs restaurant building, 2009; vintage photos courtesy of nypl digital collection

hamlet in stockholm

2010-05-05T02:17:00.003-04:00

Makes me chuckle every time I look.

You too?

:image ken mccown

28:217

2010-05-01T23:17:00.001-04:00

:217project; image dianamuse, may day fair

2010-04-30T18:45:00.015-04:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may roam.

:217project no. 27; image diana murphy, afternoon in morningside park

relief

2010-04-27T14:07:00.005-04:00

Yet another obsession of mine: architectural detail. These are a few snaps from my burgeoning collection — I took these pics early one morning a couple of weeks ago. The sidelong a.m. light is killer.

:217project no. 26; images dianamuse

a tree grows on henry street

2010-04-26T07:17:00.004-04:00

I was in Brooklyn this past Friday morning, just so you know. As I inched my way through traffic on Henry Street (Brooklyn loses many points for its narrow streets, useless crossing guards at every corner and unoccupied driveways — I mean, really), the loveliest red foliage caught my eye. One parking space later, I was happily, obsessively capturing as much of the red-flora/blue-backdrop goodness that I could cram into whatever time I didn't really have — all the while considering its similarity to Emilio's runner-up collection from Runway's finale the night before. Such a pretty palette.

:foliage images dianamuse; project runway images new york magazine

call him ahab

2010-04-25T06:13:00.000-04:00

Last August, Matt Kish took on a whale-size project of his own making: Draw an original artwork from a page of Melville's Moby Dick every day.

The illustration above takes inspiration from page 18:

Depend upon it, landlord, that harpooneer is a dangerous man.

:image matt kish, acrylic paint, collage and ink on found paper, august 23, 2009

2010-04-23T14:17:00.003-04:00

Creative and colorful weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:kate woodliff, rose mandala, fabric collage, 35" x 33", 2008; kate woodliff at ada gallery

25:217

2010-04-22T04:22:00.002-04:00

:217project; image dianamuse, green day

24:217

2010-04-12T06:13:00.004-04:00

:217project; image dianamuse, saturday twilight at the met

visionaries: keith carter

2010-04-10T06:13:00.002-04:00

In Keith Carter's book, Fireflies, a compilation of his portraiture of children, Carter describes his work as a “world of truths and half truths where the inhabitants might be amiss or fallen from grace; they inhabit a peaceful kingdom where everything that falls deserves a chance to be restored."

Chicago Art Magazine recently reviewed Keith Carter's new show at Catherine Edelman, Seen and Unseen:

Discourse between the small, intimate, and whimsical, and the introspective and macabre make for a compelling cerebral trip to a different place and time. A place where nothing is as it seems, somber children engage the onlooker with pensive stares, and a highly symbolic narrative slowly unravels only with further study.

Heavily influenced by Paul Strand, Carter’s work is about the celebration of life’s imperfections. Other influences come from his own childhood growing up in Louisiana and Texas. At first glance, the work seems traditional and contemplative in nature, the imagery is quiet, like a low hum; naturally lit and toned, the photos blur the edges between fantasy and reality. Aptly playing with scale and selective focus compositionally, Carter is a gentle guide as he leads us into this world he created for the viewer to revel in.

Following is the introduction from Keith Carter's Artist Talk video for the exhibition (the gallery's complete Artist Talk series can be found here):

Keith Carter's Seen and Unseen is on view at Catherine Edelman through May 1. Regrettably, I won't see the show in person, but one of my great pals is going in my stead next week. (Seen and unseen, indeed.)

:images keith carter, seen and unseen; catherine edelman gallery; exhibition catalog

2010-04-09T04:13:00.000-04:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be — or wish you were.

:image via the best part

beauty pageant

2010-04-07T12:37:00.004-04:00

I can't stop! I'm completely obsessed! These are the precious few days of spring when the magnolia trees are in bloom — and I cannot get enough. I confess that a few things might be slipping through the cracks:

Are we having any dinner? You had lunch, didn't you?

Weren't we scheduled to meet today at 10:00? Gosh, I'm sorry. Let's push it to next week. You'll be fine. Really.

Woman, where's my Super Suit?* Oh, just wear what you wore yesterday. Trust me. No one'll be the wiser.

People, don't you know the MAGNOLIA TREES ARE IN BLOOM!

I'm working on a photo pageant — a veritable Project Runway of Full Frontal Flora — featuring (you guessed it) the magnificent magnolias of NYC. Stay tuned. They are spectacular.

:images dianamuse
* for spcm

brood

2010-04-07T08:25:00.029-04:00

Tennessee resident and flickr contributor Lucycat began photographing the progress of bluebird nest boxes in her yard in 2004. She kept her first complete documentation in 2005 at flickr.

(Take a deep breath and ponder the utter beauty, the exquisite shape and color. Exhale. Carry on.)

Of course, you have to witness the results — one! two! three! four! five! — right here.

(Awesome little guys.)

As of July 2009, there have been 79 bluebirds that got their start in Lucycat's nest boxes. She "encourages anyone who has the appropriate habitat to put up nest boxes for these beautiful birds. They can definitely use the help, and they make wonderful neighbors."

What (or whom) are you incubating and brooding over this spring?

:images lucycat; for joanna

design kudos

2010-04-06T04:13:00.001-04:00

Design student Linna Xu's brilliantly conceived and executed package design for Ilford film stopped me in my tracks. Visually, the package is meant to resemble a Twins Lens Reflex Camera from the 1800’s, which was one of the earliest types of cameras to use
120 film. The package includes assembly instructions and all of the necessary materials for easy reassembly as a fully functioning pinhole camera.

More photos and story here.

:images and story via the dieline

23:217

2010-04-05T14:13:00.000-04:00

I enjoy the idea of taking a photo of someone taking a photo. I gave it a go recently in the African Mammals room at The American Museum of Natural History. Fun.

:217project; image dianamuse, amnh

transfigurations

2010-04-04T15:17:00.006-04:00

For seven years, Michael Lundgren worked exclusively on his Transfigurations series. He began the work in 2000 as a graduate student at Arizona State University. The project culminated in a monograph published in 2008. From the artist's statement:

Borne from a long-term relationship with the desert, these pictures refer to the heart of these places, not by description, but by metaphor. If I have learned anything from Postmodernism, it is that photographs are not the thing itself. These photographs are a lust for the primitive, for what lies behind personality. They are a search to understand beauty and terror, which are bound to one utter certainty — change.

:images michael lundgren

22:217

2010-04-03T17:17:00.007-04:00

This happy, accidental tabletop arrangement is so packed with print and pattern goodness, I couldn't walk by without taking a quick shot and sharing it with you, my dearests.

:217project; image dianamuse

21:217

2010-04-03T06:13:00.003-04:00

:217project; image dianamuse, decorative detail from the great cathedral; easter weekend schedule at st. john the divine

20:217

2010-04-01T17:31:00.008-04:00

A big adventure day in our fair city. Took many photos. This is one of them.

:217project; image dianamuse, this morning on the 1 train, looking out at the elevated platform on 125th

southern exposure

2010-03-31T06:13:00.009-04:00

Orthodox Christianity has a knack for building its churches and monasteries in inhospitable places. But only a few can rival Trinity Church on King George Island. It is the southernmost Orthodox church in the world, built near Bellingshausen Station, Russia's permanent outpost in Antarctica.

In the mid 1990s, Patriarch Alexius II of Moscow gave his blessing for this audacious project. The church was constructed in Russia and transported by a supply ship to its present location. One or two monks from Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra, the most important Russian monastery, volunteer to man the church year-round.

While most buildings in Antarctica are built to hug the ground in order to reduce their exposure to the polar wind, this church proudly stands 15 meters tall. It is a wooden structure, built from Siberian pine and carved in the traditional Russian style by the master carpenters of Altay.

The priests take care of the spiritual needs of staff from nearby Russian, Chilean, Polish and Korean research stations. Their obligations include praying for souls of 64 Russians who lost their lives in various expeditions — as well as performing the very occasional, very chilly, baptism.

The church is large enough to accommodate 30 visitors, although it is rarely filled to capacity. Recently, the first wedding ever celebrated in a church in Antarctica was performed in Trinity Church. Two researchers were married: a Chilean and a Russian.

:images atlas obscura

philip guston and other passover seder apparitions

2010-03-30T16:17:00.024-04:00

:217project no. 19; images dianamuse; i like all these images, though the mind boggles at the difference in light quality and texture among them. i shot them last night with the same camera. must be that low-skill/no-flash alchemy at work again.

30 rock, c. 1933

2010-03-30T07:17:00.004-04:00

Such a photo.

:image via shorpy; rockefeller center and rca building from 515 madison avenue, december 5, 1933; digital image recovered from released emulsion layer of the original 5x7 acetate negative. photo by samuel h. gottscho.

triple triptych

2010-03-29T06:13:00.015-04:00

Can you plot the locations of each of these threesomes on a map of Manhattan?

Hint: If you draw lines connecting the three location points, you'll end up with a very long, narrow scalene triangle with the longest side on the right. Fun, huh?

First responder to email me with an answer (undoubtedly clever, perhaps correct, but not necessarily both) identifying the three locations will receive something nice and New Yorkish (I won't send gefilte fish through the mails - promise) via United States
Postal Service. From me to you.

e address = dianamusemail [at] gmail [dot] com

:217project no. 18; images dianamuse

17:217

2010-03-28T10:29:00.013-04:00

:217project; image dianamuse, for luisa

2010-03-26T13:17:00.007-04:00

Fine weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image rob kroenert, 2/18/10; every year during the month of february, the horsetail falls in yosemite national park turns golden around sunset.

16:217

2010-03-25T23:17:00.003-04:00

This found collage is courtesy of the construction guys working at the corner establishment. They were demolishing and/or renovating something or other yesterday - in the process, they unintentionally (I think) assembled some amazing sidewalk sculpture. This was a one-day-only exhibit; by this morning, the sidewalk had been swept clean.

(I love that the shadows add a dimension of their own. Shadows intrigue me ever so much.)

:217project; image dianamuse

pop!

2010-03-24T17:47:00.010-04:00

:217project no. 15; dianamuse, wednesday afternoon

2010-03-23T23:17:00.005-04:00

Fascinating typographic collages from artist Alexis Anne Mackenzie. Mackenzie started making collages in a visual journal she kept in high school. She went on to study at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She now lives and works in San Francisco.

All of my collages are composed by hand, cut from books I've been collecting for years, and painstakingly pieced together as seamlessly as possible. They create themselves through a process beginning with a loose concept, followed by a series of trials and errors, subtle maneuvers, selection/elimination, harmonious unions and happy accidents. It is a meditative process....

My general intent, throughout all my work, is to portray the world as a flawed thing of beauty - a place that shines brightly, but has a dark side to match.

14:217

2010-03-21T19:44:00.017-04:00

A rite of spring: The early-Sunday-evening happy dance on West Houston.

:217project; image dianamuse

13:217

2010-03-20T20:17:00.002-04:00

Spoils from this week's Central Park treasure hunt.

:217project; image dianamuse

2010-03-20T05:17:00.002-04:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

Happy Spring!

:image boston globe; masked dancers wear their traditional ritual masks during a festival in the village of kalipetrovo, northeast of the bulgarian capital of sofia. participants dress in sheepskin garments and wear scary masks with the intention of driving away evil spirits and ghosts for the beginning of the spring season. now that's what i call spring cleaning.

12:217

2010-03-18T23:17:00.004-04:00

Fierce and constant, the guardians of New York are legion.

:217project; image dianamuse, cornice detail, fifteen-story residential building, upper west side

floral lab: annet van der voort

2010-03-17T09:17:00.001-04:00

Photographer Annet van der Voort observes the transformation of flowers, especially tulips, and captures images of them in their various states of decay. Her technique for producing this remarkable artwork is completely without camera. In a complex process, van der Voort scans the wilting splendor of the flowers and, in doing so, expresses her understanding of vanitas — the philosophical idea of the transience of everything mundane.

:order limited edition prints of annet van der voort's work at lumas

2010-03-15T15:27:00.002-04:00

We must cast our bread
Upon the waters, as the
Ancient preacher said,

Trusting that it may
Amply be restored to us
After many a day.

That old metaphor,
Drawn from rice farming on the
River's flooded shore,

Helps us to believe
That it's no great sin to give,
Hoping to receive.

Therefore I shall throw
Broken bread, this sullen day,
Out across the snow,

Betting crust and crumb
That birds will gather, and that
One more spring will come.

- Richard Wilbur

:image tabi**chu; richard wilbur poem, ecclesiastes 11:1, courtesy of the new yorker, 3/22/10

saturday fare: dan gualdoni

2010-03-13T06:13:00.029-05:00

The imagery from Dan Gualdoni's body of work, Coast Redux, examines vast, ethereal, invented environments along the sea. Rocks rising from fog, clouds floating in the atmosphere, light captured in translucent layers of color all fuse to create a mysterious sense of place. By layering the surface with thin skins of paint and by varying the positions of the horizon line in the composition, Gualdoni is able to produce paintings that “hover between pure abstraction and natural realism.”

Gualdoni will participate in the upcoming Invitational #1, opening April 22 at Kathryn Markel Fine Arts.

:work from dan gualdoni's coast redux will be on view april 22 - may 22 at kathryn markel fine arts in chelsea;
posted by diana murphy

11:217

2010-03-12T01:11:00.016-05:00

Joyful weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:217project; image dianamuse, facade of the russian tea room
russian tea room slogan: six minutes and twenty-three seconds from lincoln center and slightly to the left of carnegie hall

dreams of flying

2010-03-11T04:13:00.015-05:00

Inspired by classic children's books as well as modern superheroes, Jan von Holleben started producing Dreams of Flying in 2002 with children from his local neighborhood in southwest Germany. Jan brings the influences of his parents (a cinematographer and a child therapist) to his work. His focus on the visual representation of childhood comes from his teacher-training coursework: he combines the theories of 'Child History' and 'Play' with his personal experience and childhood memories.

Do you still fly in your dreams — or dream that you will once again?

:jan von holleben

10:217

2010-03-07T01:17:00.003-05:00

Post no bills.

:217project; image dianamuse, west 57th street

2010-03-05T14:17:00.003-05:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

No one knows for sure what creates these picturesque dark streaks on Mars. A leading hypothesis suggests that the streaks are the result of fine-grained sand sliding down the banks of troughs and craters. In this image, dark sand appears to have flowed hundreds of meters down the slopes of Acheron Fossae. The sand flows like a liquid around boulders, and, for some reason, lightens significantly over time. This sand flow process is one of several which can rapidly change the surface of Mars; other processes include dust devils, dust storms and the freezing and melting of areas of ice.

:image nasa, slope streaks in acheron fossae on mars

make something cool every day

2010-03-01T11:17:00.001-05:00

:behance network, ice (mobile phone photo)

know your audience: tim davis

2010-02-24T07:17:00.017-05:00

Bridge Street Books

Oh, the hilarity of Tim Davis's self-referential My Audience project.

Photography Club

Observations from a recent lecture at Hamilton College:

Prior to beginning [the] lecture, Davis insisted that all audience members be seated in the middle section of the [lecture space], where nearly all seats were quickly filled. Rather than starting his talk, he began adjusting a camera that stood on an impressively large tripod. He took three photographs of the audience, requesting that each member look as though they were sitting in an incredibly boring lecture.

His first few slides continued on the subject of why he photographs those who attend his presentations. Davis showed numerous photographs of past audiences while explaining that, in this way, he gets to continue his work even when giving speeches. In this way, he never has to leave the craft that he loves. (Hamilton College News)

American Academy in Rome

Strand

Cal Arts

KMA Docents

:tim davis

gasp

2010-02-23T01:17:00.004-05:00

Have you ever? The utter gorgeousness is nearly more than I can bear. But you can handle it. Yes, you can.

:image lee gunho; harpar's bazaar japan, september 2007 via livejournal

incomplete alphabet

2010-02-22T04:13:00.003-05:00

Rendered in biro (ballpoint) pen by master calligrapher Luca Barcellona. Luca's calligrafia set is a reservoir of gorgeous hand lettering.

Magia.

:luca barcellona, alfabeto incompleto

9:217

2010-02-20T07:17:00.002-05:00

Every little flake is sacred. Each one gets a fleeting close-up.

Snowstorm + night + camera + flash = this image.

:217project; image dianamuse

abandoned

2010-02-18T14:17:00.009-05:00

These stunning images of forsaken Russian houses make my heart ache. Left uninhabited and neglected in Russia's remote forest regions, the dilapidated structures bear silent witness to bygone days. To my mind, they reflect some fundamental aspect of the Russian spirit in their dignity and beauty.

:images andrew qzmn - first spotted at lori's glorious automatism a couple of years ago

8:217

2010-02-16T06:15:00.014-05:00

These are my shots of three sculptures from the Jack Pierson: Abstracts show at Cheim & Read last fall.

Pierson works in a variety of media, including photography, video, collage and sculpture. He is well known for reappropriating commercial signage and large-scale vintage lettering. For the Cheim & Read exhibition, Pierson repositioned letters and other signage details - broken pieces, numbers and symbols - to create new sculptural abstractions. By removing the hierarchy of language, and therefore its immediate associations, Pierson strives for "universality where narrative is no longer recognizable." The sculptures do not rely on words to communicate; they provoke a more visceral reaction.

This one endeared itself to me with its calligraphic swagger.

:217project; images dianamuse; jack pierson desire/despair

make the red lantern

2010-02-14T12:03:00.007-05:00

Wishing you a Happy New Year - whether it be 4708, 4707 or 4647.

:images life, workers at the fine arts red lamps factory co. in beijing

2010-02-13T04:13:00.000-05:00

Good weekend, everyone. Wherever you may be.

:image pictoris, tblisi underground