Ice and Glass

Posted on December 27, 2012 by Bill Chance

We had an unusual White Christmas here in Dallas yesterday. Inspired by a friend of mine and her wonderful photography, I decided to brave the sub-freezing temperatures and go down to the Arboretum one last time for the year today. The Chihuly exhibit that I visited a while back is leaving at the end of the year. I have taken (and posted) a lot of photos of the glass sculptures over the year and wanted to get in my last shot. As I looked out my door and saw my neighborhood still blanketed in a sheet of white I imagined how gorgeous the colorful glass would be in a frosty setting. I packed up my camera and a couple lenses and drove down there.

Unfortunately, it had not snowed in that part of town very much and the Arboretum was mostly free of the white stuff. Still, due to the cold it was almost empty (bunch of wimps) and the many leafless trees added a unique, open aspect to the landscape. I enjoyed walking around and filled another digital card up with even more photographs to wile away the web space over the next months.

I’ll miss the colorful Chihuly glass when it leaves in a couple of days, but I’m already looking forward to my next visit and the other natural beauties of the place.

Walking around, especially perusing the shadows a bit, I discovered there was a little ice here and there, after all.

Tuba Christmas

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Bill Chance

Tuba Christmas, Thanksgiving Square, Dallas, Texas

Hanging Art

Posted on December 25, 2012 by Bill Chance

French Quarter, New Orleans

(Click to view a larger and more detailed version on Flickr)

Sculpture in the Plaza of the Americas

Posted on December 24, 2012 by Bill Chance

Textures

Posted on December 22, 2012 by Bill Chance

The third sculpture in Lubben Plaza, after Harrow and Journey to Sirius is Gateway Stele.

The textures of art, nature, and architecture juxtaposed in the downtown urban setting.

GATEWAY STELE
1994
by Jesus Bautista Moroles
Rockport, Texas

Recalling the ancient post-and-lintel portal form, “Gateway Stele” is made of Fredricksberg granite in a universal statement of civilizations coming together. It is functional, both as a passageway to be walked through, and as a place to remain, sitting on the surrounding natural bench.

Jesus Moroles:

“In my work, I don’t intentionally follow the history of civilization, because I think it is the history of the stone that comes out in forms. The stone has a much longer history than civilization, and it is natural for stone to be used in this way.

The idea for ‘Gateway Stele’ comes from the traditional stele form, which is a monolithic stone with hieroglyphic writing. The posts of this portal have my writing in the patterns of squares cut into the stone. Just as we can’t translate the cryptic messages in the ancient stele, my ‘writing’ has no real translation, but it is meant to be interpreted on a visual basis.”

Gateway Stele

The impact of the portal is somewhat diminished by the fact that it guides the viewer into a parking lot – complete with a little cluster of valet parking attendants standing around smoking.

Speed

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Bill Chance

In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed.

—-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Skater, French Quarter, New Orleans

There is more to life than increasing its speed.

—-Mahatma Gandhi

America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed.

—-Will Ferrell

If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.

—-Mario Andretti

Journey to Sirius

Posted on December 20, 2012 by Bill Chance

In Lubben Park, next to “Harrow” is the two-part sculpture “Journey to Sirius.” I thought it looked like early video game characters – specifically giant Space Invaders – but the artists’ plaque says it was inspired by Dogon Art and Architecture.

“Journey to Sirius” by George Smith, Lubben Park, Dallas, Texas

JOURNEY TO SIRIUS

1992
by George Smith
Houston, Texas

Inspired by the art and architecture of the traditional African society known as The Dogon in the West African Republic of Mali, “Journey to Sirius” incorporates two monumental structures formed of welded steel plates addressing one another diagonally across a bed of black rock.

George Smith:

“For more than ten years I have been producing sculptures inspired by The Dogon. This fascinating African society resides in a spectacular rocky region of the Republic of Mali called the Bandiagara Escarpment. The Bandiagara cliffs stretch for 125 miles parallel to the Niger River with many sections reaching a height of 2,000 feet. It is these steep, rocky cliffs that brought about the ideas used in the creation of ‘Journey to Sirius’.

On the face of the cliffs, The Dogon create their art and architecture, which consists of carvings and drawings representing mythical ancestors that are part of their elaborate cosmology, including the mythical star, Sirius.

The geometrical surfaces of the two super structures in ‘Journey to Sirius’ are an interpretation of the natural geometry found on the face of the Bandiagara cliffs and represent matter; while the sculptural forms that cantilever from the structures represent spirit and were inspired by the cliff paintings and high relief carvings found on the cliff dwellings of the Dogon.”

“Harrow” and “Journey to Sirius”

“Journey to Sirius”

Harrow

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Bill Chance

The other day I came across an article: 5 landmarks you probably didn’t know about in Downtown Dallas. I knew four of the landmarks well, but had never heard of or been to Lubben Plaza outside the Belo building in downtown.

Last Saturday, after I did a group bike ride on Exposition Avenue and Deep Ellum that visited a number of fashion boutiques in the area (but before I came across the car fire) I wanted to ride a few more miles so I crossed downtown Dallas along the Sharrows on Main Street and jumped over to the park.

There were three cool sculptures there:

LUBBEN PLAZA

Belo Corp. developed Lubben Plaza in 1985 to commemorate the centennial of The Dallas Morning News. It was given to the City of Dallas in honor of Belo’s long-time employees, past and present.

It is named for John F. Lubben and his son Joseph A. Lubben, who together completed 101 years of combined service to the Company.

Belo commissioned three Texas artists to produce the sculptures installed here. “Harrow” by Linnea Glatt and “Journey to Sirius” by George Smith were installed in 1992 in commemoration of Belo’s sesquicentannial. “Gateway Stele” by Jesus Bautista Moroles was installed in 1994, when Belo developed the current Lubben East parking lot.

The most obvious piece was “Harrow”. It’s a giant steel spiral that rotates slowly around a circular bed of sand, cutting a series of concentric eponymous harrows and it goes.

The Harrow, in Lubben Park, Dallas, Texas

HARROW

1992

by Linnea Glatt

Dallas, TX

Combining elements of time, motion and place, “Harrow” is an installation of many materials and elements. The motorized cone of Cor-Ten steel turns on a circular track completing one revolution in 24 hours. As the cone turns, its bands travel through a bed of sand forming concentric rings, Seats of Cor-Ten and wood are placed in informal groups amidst trees outside the circle of sand.

James Cinquemani designed and produced the mechanical elements of “Harrow”.

Linnea Glatt:

“I am interested in the idea of placemaking, of which this is my most obvious manifestation. Of my works, ‘Harrow’ is the most active and on the contrary the most serene and contemplative. The repetition and constancy of the bands of the cone drawing in the sand symbolize for me the cyclical nature of life and the balancing of life’s events. The gesture is meant to embrace, to settle and to provoke thought. As with my previous pieces, ‘Harrow’ implies a human presence and dialogue.”

A distant, out of focus skateboarder jumps across the street from The Harrow.

The Harrow, by Linnea Glatt

I sat and looked at it for a while, but it didn’t seem to be moving. Maybe they shut it off on the weekends. I’ll have to check it out again, see if I can see it roll.