Visual Ovation

Urban Wisdom

 

After some time away, we're back.  But wherever we go, we seem to be directed towards the same message.  This time the reminder comes from Venice, delivered to us on the first morning of our explorations.  This store window engaged us with a strong piece of urban wisdom superimposed on the soft and artistic reflection of the lovely statues that adorn the church across the campo. 

The message is universal:  Try to ward off complacency.  Don't be distracted by the unimportant.  Every moment is precious, a blessing, a gift, an opportunity.

And so,

Carpe Diem!

Street Art Memorial - Natasja Saad

 

Street art can take many forms and have many meanings.  Recently, we saw one of the most poignant examples of this from the harbor in Copenhagen.  Alongside the usual collection of initials and names painted on the waterfront retaining wall, we were touched to see this memorial.  We wondered who Natasja (or Little T) might be.  And, of course, because the world really is quite small, a little internet research provided answers.

It turns out that Natasja is Natasja Saad.  She was an up-and-coming Danish rap and reggae artist who lived and began her singing career in Copenhagen.  She died tragically in a car accident in Jamaica in 2007.  Certainly, this brief recitation cannot do justice to who she was as a person or an artist.

The art of the street is, by definition, transient.  Images and text are often on display for only a short time, subsequently partially painted over by other taggers or artists, or sometimes obliterated completely.  Yet, sometimes the art is respected and left in place, as is the case here. 

Ms. Saad is buried in Copenhagen's cemetery for artists, Assistens Kirkegard, in the same company as Hans Christian Anderson and Soren Kierkegaard.  But she also has this informal memorial on the waterfront of her native city.  It is a street art memorial for an artist whose inspiration came from the music of the streets.  How poignant.  How fitting.

 An online memorial to Natasja Saad can be found at this address: 

http://www.myspace.com/tasjamusic

 

Out of Control in St. Petersburg

 

So, there we were, in St. Petersburg, Russia, a city that is so very rich historically and  photographically.  We were taking the requisite photographs of the Hermitage and other monuments, and loving every minute of it. 

But, of course, I had my eye out for street art of all sorts.  While walking with our guide, I glanced at the truck that was on my right, parked in the street, and saw this.  I don't really know what to make of it,  the image was only on the door.  But in light of the traffic situation in St. Petersburg, it did make me smile.  Just hang on....

If you know any more about the image, let us know.

 

 

On Travel, Being Playful and the Art of Discovery

 

We have just returned from a wonderful trip and we are ready to make a confession:  We have finally discovered that we are "Bad Tourists."  Well, perhaps we knew it all along, but we have never as fully embraced it as we did on this trip.  And we certainly have never been ready to make such a public admission.

Oh, yes, before we visit a place we do all the right things:   We talk to fellow travelers, read guidebooks, scan a myriad of travel magazines, look online, plan our days...the whole shebang.  And then, when we get to where we are going, we put it all aside.  Well, perhaps not all of it, but enough that we leave ourselves the time and space to simply wander in a new place and see what we can discover.  After all, why should travel be such a serious business?  Why not follow the sage advice we stumbled upon on a wall on Brick Lane in London:  Be Playful?  OK, don't mind if I do!

In letting ourselves treat travel as play, we have made all sorts of delightful discoveries, finding urban wisdom and images that make us smile.  Sometimes you just have to follow this advice found in Amsterdam:

 

...And then you see things you might never have noticed before.  Like this image:  The love may be worn, but it still calls out to us in London:

 
And, wow, the invitation to sit and chat in front of a coffee shop with this resident of Tallinn, Estonia certainly wasn't mentioned in the guidebooks:

 

And then there are things that you could not have imagined having the good fortune to discover.  Take these lovely images from a mural painted by Eeva Janes inside the small chapel at the Consistory of the Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tallinn.  We would never have known they existed but for the generosity of the kind man who was pushing the front door just as we were pulling it.  We didn't realize until later that it was the Dean of the Church, Reverend Arho Tuhkru, who recovered from his surprise and so generously invited us in.  More than that, despite being on his way out with backpack in hand, he changed his plans and took the time to show us around.  He gave us the gift of his time and the gift of sweet images from the chapel that touch us, still.  Like this Angel...

 

 ...and these lovely flowers...

 

 

And this image of generosity and compassion... 

 

 But there was more, another lovely surprise.  Reverend Tuhkru led us to the top floor to show us this angel, an image recovered from a frieze painted when the building originally was built, in 1693.  It had been covered up for years until it was discovered when the building was renovated:

 

 If we had followed the guidebooks, we wouldn't have had the delight of these discoveries. 

So being playful, open and "Bad Tourists" seems to serve us well.  We no longer struggle about it.  We will go our own way in our travels, and see what we find and what finds us.  I suppose we just have finally decided that we are old enough now to choose how we approach and explore the new places we visit. 

Of course, this stance may not sit well with others.  We did receive a disapproving look from a fellow traveler when we revealed that we visited Stockholm and did not go to the Vasa Museum.  But, you know, the Vasa Museum will be there for a while.  The lovely piece of urban wisdom that we discovered on this Stockholm window won't be:

 
 

Words of wisdom for us all, don't you think?

Healing Flags, The Kindness Flag Project

 

This is a story about the power of one person to make a difference and the power of art to help a community heal from trauma.

In June, 2011, in the aftermath of the loss of the Stanley Cup to Boston, there were riots in downtown Vancouver.  In addition to injuries, many businesses had windows smashed and there was looting.  But the response to this violation was amazing. The larger Vancouver community rose to the occasion to try to heal the damage done to the city's heart.  The next morning people flocked to the city center to start the clean up. 

But there was more.  On the boards that had been placed over broken windows, people began to write about their feelings.  Their messages were of anger, frustration and hope.  Another blog entry will focus on these.  But suffice to say that the layers and layers of writing were extraordinarily powerful.  Here is a small example from one of the boards:

 

 This is one of the buildings that took the brunt of the damage, the Hudson Bay Company.  You can see the boards behind the fencing.

 

 But this brings us to the other amazing development.  Do you see the layers and layers of prayer flags?  These were the result of the efforts of one woman, Ingrid Tamboline.  She remembered a project that had been developed to honor the visit of the Dali Lama to Vancouver a number of years before.  In this project, prayer flags were created and displayed publicly.  Ingrid's goal was simple and simply profound.  This poster shows her invitation:

 

And so the Kindness Flag Project was born. In an interview, Ingrid thought that only a few people would make these flags.  But the word was spread with facebook and flikr sites developing quickly.  Less than a week later, it was estimated that over 2,000 flags were fluttering over the damaged downtown area.

The riot occurred on Wednesday and we arrived on Sunday.  We had known about the riot, but we had not heard about the community response.  We took the sky train from the airport to the downtown, and when we emerged from the station we were amazed.  To see board after board with layers of writing and then look up to see layer after layer of prayer flags was incredible. 

The next morning we went out with the intent of trying to record this amazing piece of public art and emotion.  The more we saw and the more we read, the more powerful it all seemed. It would be impossible to photograph it all.  We simply hope our limnited collection of images does justice to the intent of the Vancouver community.

The image at the top of this blog is a collection of flags that to our eye typified the beautiful messages of love and hope and peace that were created.  But there were other messages as well.

Words of wisdom about the relationship between darkness and light in life:

 

 

 

Words of thanks to police and first responders (and this was a theme reiterated in the messages on the window boards, as well.)

 

 

 

There were comments of support to the Vancouver community (with a little humor added)

 

And a final comment about the power of social media for good:

 

We came to Vancouver hoping to capture some images of the lovely bay and interesting architecture.  But we found so much more.  In coming when we did, we were able to know Vancouver in a way that we could not have imagined.  We were able to see the strength of a community and the power of art to heal.  The flags gave messages of hope and inspiration to the sad Vancouver community and to us, as well. 

We think this flag summed it up beautifully:

 Google "Kindness Flag Project" and "Ingrid Tamboline" for more information about the Kindness Flag Project and what happened in Vancouver. To see more of our images of the flags, go to our Website to the "Transformation and Healing" folder. 

Nature's Artist

 

It is Spring and we are thinking about the beautiful Keukenhof Gardens in the Netherlands.  We have called Keukenhof "Botanical Heaven" because of the almost overwhelming beauty of the place.  Rivers of flowers flow throughout the gardens in the most amazing fashion.  Sometimes these rivers of color wind through the trees in a natural, free form manner, as above. 

Sometimes, the floral streams are more orderly, like this:

 

Or like this...

 

Can you imagine?  It really is even more beautiful than these images can convey...

 

We noticed that one little flower seems to run through many of these spectacular floral vistas.  It is a stunning blue, a tiny, compact flower called Muscari which provides a beautiful artistic accompaniment to almost any other spring bulb.  There are many varieties of Muscari, but we saw this one and understood at once that it was quite aptly named: 

 

Muscari - nature's artist - but of course.

Waiting for Couture

 

This is another one of our favorite images.  Frank took this at the marvelous Paris department store, Galeries Lafayette.  In a moment of inspired humor he titled it, Waiting for Couture, and the combination of the image and the title seems to make people smile.  He was delighted when his ladies were selected to participate in a juried show at Healdsburg Center for the Arts, with the theme of Figure, Face and Form.

But of course there is another story associated with the image that makes it special.  Just like the image mentioned in the prior posting, View of Life, Waiting for Couture was taken on our trip last year with our niece.  Her first trip to Paris.  She is an outstanding traveling companion, a lovely and smart young lady, with a great sense of humor and amazing tolerance for the foibles of her aunt and uncle. We wanted to provide her with a memorable introduction to the City of Light, in the hope that it would be the first of many trips to Paris for her.  Perhaps I am thinking about it because it is this time last year, to the day, that we set off on our adventure.  But I digress.

So, when in Paris, a young lady has to shop, and has to shop for clothes.  But our niece is a very good shopper and was not content to just throw Euros to the wind in any of the very pricey boutique options we explored.  So this lead us to Galeries Lafayette.  It was our last shopping day, and, truthfully, both she and I were beginning to worry that we would not find just the perfect dress for her.  We found the appropriate floor in the beautiful store, and while many dresses were interesting, they just didn't speak to her.  On our way up the escalator to another level, we found another area that looked promising.  Very promising.  Very, very promising.  When she opened the curtain of the dressing room, and said, "Auntie Steph, I love it," well, we both were thrilled. 

While all this was going on, we had left Frank to his own devices.  We thought he might shop in this elegant Parisian institution.  But instead, he turned his camera onto some of the interesting views there, and this was one of them.  While he was not exactly waiting for couture himself, he certainly was waiting for a fashion success for our niece.  And we all ended up happy.  My niece and I found some perfect clothes (and had some funny experiences along the way).  And Frank found these lovely, sparkling ladies, who could only be waiting for the height of Paris fashion. 

And so when we both look at this image, we smile.  We smile because of the humor of Frank's Parisian models, and we smile because it triggers marvelous memories of our travels with our lovely niece.

Frank's models can be seen at Healdsburg Center for the Arts.  Don't be frightened by the postcard for the show.  Stop by, the ladies of couture would love to have you come and admire them. 

 

 

The Art of the Line, The Beauty of the Red Dot

 
"To take a photograph is to hold one's breath when all faculties converge in the face of fleeting reality.  It is at that moment that mastering an image becomes a great physical and intellectual joy.  To take a photograph means to recognize - simultaneously and within a fraction of a second - both the fact itself and the rigorous organization of visually perceived forms that give it meaning.

It is putting one's head, one's eye, and one's heart on the same axis."

Henri Cartier-Bresson

 I was delighted to have my image, View of Life selected for this juried show at Sebastopol Center for the Arts.  And I was even more delighted when it was used in the show flyer and on the Sebastopol Center for the Arts website.  That is it, in the lower right side, the sepia view from above.

As a photographer, there are times when you view a "fleeting reality" that is so visually compelling that you can only hope that the image you create will do justice to what you have witnessed.  I loved this image at the moment that I captured it and it remains a favorite now. I have affectionately called it my "little gem."  There are several reasons why:  First, it is a very strong image graphically, because of the character and detail of the line study.  The lines are spare, strong, elegant, both man-made and natural.  But it is not static.  There is a strong sense of movement - the viewer is drawn through the image by the couple walking and the bicyclist. I printed View of Life as a small image.  I wanted the viewer to have to get close, to really pay attention to the view, to what was going on, to life.

And that brings me to the second reason why View of Life  is a favorite.  To my mind,  is a classic image that could have been taken at almost any time in almost any place.  I emphasized this timeless quality by printing the image in a sepia tone and on a slightly textured paper.  I wanted to raise questions:  When was this image taken?  In the 1930's? In the 1950's? In the 1990's?  In the new century?  Is it an old postcard, found in a dusty attic?  Where were those people going, so purposefully, amongst the bare trees? 

Should I tell you?

It is London.  2010.  Looking down from the most modern ferris wheel in the world:  The London Eye.  It was a trip with our lovely niece, her first to London, and we had pledged to her that we would not drive her crazy by taking a lot of photographs.  But there we were, on our first morning together "across the pond," above London, in the moving capsule of the London Eye, looking out of the plexiglass (not ideal photographic circumstances by any stretch of the imagination) and I looked down and saw this view of life.  And I could not help but try to capture this image.  And so one of the other reasons why it is one of my favorites is that I have the history and context of this very special time.  In a lovely instant, my head, my eye and my heart were on the same axis.

But you don't have to have that context.  It is an image about the geometry of life, anywhere, at any time.  And it is a humble visual homage to those who teach me about what it means to be a photographer.  

 This week the Art of the Line  show ended and I went to the gallery to bring this piece home.  And then I found out it had been purchased.  And so the final delight in this whole experience is that someone was touched enough by my view of life to want to live with it.  My homage to my teachers, my symbol of sweet memories, my little gem has found a new home.  As an artist, there can be no better ending.

 

Emerging Spirit

 

This image was taken in 1999.  In some respects, it was a wonderful set of circumstances:  My work had led me to Petra, Jordan, now considered one of the seven new wonders of the world.  I wandered in awe, captivated by the structures, but particularly by the colors.  Indeed, Petra has been described as "A rose red city half as old as time." 

But I also was troubled.  The work that had brought me to Jordan was becoming more difficult.  I had taken a huge risk, stopped work that I had loved, that I had been good at, to take on a new job in a completely new enterprise.  But as time unfolded, it became clearer to me that I was working in the shadow of someone who I considered a dear friend and respected deeply, but whose expertise I could never equal, and in whose shadow I would always remain.  On the trip, I had begun to fear that my spirit, my creativity, my self would be worn down if I stayed.

As I was walking in this place of rose red wonder, I turned a corner, and there she was.

Some may say that she has been worn down by the ages.

I prefer to think of her as an emerging spirit.

I include this image, today, to acknowledge the turmoil and change that is blanketing parts of the Middle East right now, including Jordan, but particularly Egypt.  Beginning in Tunisia and continuing in an extraordinary tsunami of popular rebellion, there is a spirit emerging in these places that is new.  It is unclear how this will all unfold - it is a dangerous time, full of promise and fear.

For me, following my spirit engendered a painful separation and loss that I had never imagined would happen.  But out of that time of turmoil came the most extraordinary experience:  The quite unexpected opportunity for a professional "homecoming" with the chance to work with marvelous colleagues, in a setting that I had always hoped to return to, and the opportunity to be of service to patients whose struggles were profound. It was the opportunity I had always dreamed about, but had never dared think could become a reality. In the end, in following my spirit, I found my home.  

As for the situation in the Middle East:  We can only wait and see what will happen.  The emerging spirit of change has made her presence known - it remains to be seen where she will lead.

Snow Play

 

Growing up in a subtropical climate, I still find snow to be sweetly magical.  And the playfulness of a snowman is a winter delight. The first serious snows have started, and so my favorite time of year has begun. 

This snow gentleman lived briefly last winter in Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany.  I am glad he is still with us.  He still makes me smile.

Storm Clouds Over the Third Republic

 

France is in turmoil at the moment, with unrest over proposed social and economic changes.  It is not the first time and will not be the last.  This image is from Paris, looking towards the Louvre from the Jardin des Tuileries.  With the striking combination of beautiful statuary and elegant architecture against a dramatic and ominous sky, this image seemed symbolic of tumultuous times.

Anticipation

I am going to see her, my love.  I have not seen her for a year and each time I leave, I fear that I have seen her for the last time.  Of course, I have photographs of her.  But it is not the same.  Still, they carry me through my regular days and trigger memories of our last wonderful times together.

I wonder how she will look.  Last time she was radiant and youthful in the clear, winter light.  Sometimes she wraps herself in a cloud of gray cashmere, and she looks just as beautiful to me when she is covered in this way.  She is a marvelous companion.  Oh, the stories she tells.  Of intrigue and love and history, of palaces, and of princes of peace and war.  She is strong, like a lioness.  But she is vulnerable.  Others worry about her health, and I do, too.  The winters have become increasingly difficult.  It is hard for her to tolerate the damp and cold.

Yet she is resilient and refuses to retire.  It is because at heart she is still a beautiful woman, a courtesan, craving the attention and flattery that she received in her youth.  It is true that she is no longer youthful.  In some light, she looks her age.  She works hard to cover it, though she also is unashamed of the "work" she has had on her face.  She knows skilled artisans who adore her and care for her, as we all do. In reality, she is vain.  She always has been, and with good reason.  Her beauty is legendary.  I know in the calm, bright winter light, I catch her looking at herself in the waters when they are still.  And even when the waters are murky and turgid, she still basks in her own reflection, unable to tear herself away.

I know I am not the only one.  She has other lovers, and I know she is fickle in her affections.  She is impatient with those who just visit for a day or an evening - one night stands that leave her worn and tired.  Her relatives are few, and they have left for other places.  She is left with those who love her but cannot stay.  Perhaps she prefers it that way.  I know she will be busy while I am there - the winter has become filled with parties in her drawing rooms.  She has many to entertain.  But I will be content to accept what she has to offer me.  I love to be with her in the morning, as the sun rises, bringing a warm, golden light from the glorious colors of the dawn crimson and blue sky.  It is a bit quieter then.  My favorite time, though, is late in the evening.  She has more time then, she is quieter, less preoccupied and more reflective.  It is then that she whispers stories of her other lovers, of her romances, of fantasies and mystery.

And so I sit and wait and count the days until I will be with her again.

She is the beautiful, the serene one.  She has captured my heart and soul.  She is "La Serenissima" - the Serene City - my lovely Venice.

 

I actually wrote this piece several days before we traveled to Venice in February for Carnival.  I will post more about this wonderful trip and Venice in the future.  These images are some favorites - the beautiful lady gazes at herself in her canals' reflections.

 But for now, this is dedicated to M and T with good wishes for a perfect and perfectly romantic trip to visit the lovely lady.

Stephanie

 

Birth of a Blog

It's a Blog!  Beginning with the first labor pains over the weekend to today, our blog is born.  Frank acknowledges that while he is ready to give out cigars, I have been the one laboring.  And it has been quite a labor.  Those who know me know that to call me "technologically challenged" would be a kindness.  I am, in a word, a luddite.  I have joked that candles were perfectly good sources of light.  Still, I am slowly emerging from under the rocks to reach out into cyberspace. 

My first steps into the unknown came with the development of our photography website, which we invite you to visit:  www.VisualOvation.Zenfolio.com.  I have to say that the folks at Zenfolio are fantastic:  They have put together a beautiful  product, reasonably priced, with lots of options and very, very user friendly.  Their technical support is extremely patient and kind (Thanks, Laura).  It was a wonderful way to get my little luddite feet wet.  And so the next step was a blog - not quite as easy to set up, but here we are. 

So what is Visual Ovation and why are we here? Over the years, and in part coming from Frank's struggle with leukemia, we have developed a heightened appreciation for life and for living it as fully as possible.  It is no accident that "Carpe Diem" is on our banner  (it was a sweet delight and surprise to find a boat with this name in Amsterdam).  There is nothing like being in a reverse isolation room hooked up to an IV for chemotherapy (or to witness the person you love the most in the world in this situation) to make you feel that when you get out you'll "seize the day" every day.  And when, because of the skill and grace of a wonderful oncologist and team of oncology nurses (truly angels on earth); the love and support of friends and family; and serendipitous timing of medical advances, you become blessed with good health, well, you are not going to let that blessing go to waste. 

Part of seizing the day has involved trying to see more of the world.  But to seize the day doesn't necessarily mean leaving home.  It more reflects a process of noting and appreciating the beautiful, the artistic, the interesting, the curious, the surprising and the humorous as we find it.  Sometimes we are able to capture these moments in a photograph, sometimes in words, and sometimes they just will reside within us for private sustenance.

So for us, the name"Visual Ovation" represents the experience of seeing something and being filled with surprise or delight or interest.   The idea of "applauding the artistic in the everyday" reflects our view that there is beauty and artistry everywhere, if we just can let ourselves see it and acknowledge it and "applaud" it.  Visual Ovation Photography allows us to explore such images and it is in our website and this blog that we intend to share our views.  If you are interested in musings about photography - (a new love and passion), travel (an old love and passion) and life - well, we hope you will keep on coming back. 

The following picture comes from a recent trip to Amsterdam.  We are not sure if Amsterdam is filled with what we call "urban wisdom" of if we were just ready to see it.  But we kept finding images in the streets that spoke about life and celebration and living.  On our first day, Frank took this picture.  Words to live by, though we didn't expect to see this wisdom in metal letters on a storefront.  So here's to celebrating life, new adventures, and the Birth of the Blog.    -  Stephanie