Posts from the ‘Culture’ category
“Science is an integral part of culture. It’s not this foreign thing, done by an arcane priesthood. It’s one of the glories of the human intellectual tradition.” – S.J. Gould.
Above/featured: “At times the only thing alive about me were those demons.” MUCA Munich – 31 May 2018 (X70).
One of my favourite artists is Herakut, a German duo whose street murals have appeared in Europe and around the world since 2004. Hera (Jasmin Siddiqui) and Akut (Falk Lehmann) use walls and big spaces for their big art with a signature look that includes expressive faces and big eyes, lots of photo-like details, and sharp typography. Their work explores issues such as physical and emotional isolation, maternal relationships, gender and racial equality, and all the things we think and feel lurking inside. But I think their compositions also include long notes and pauses which allow and incorporate vivid fantasy and playful whimsy.
Examples shown below include Wittenberg 2016, Heidelberg 2017, Berlin 2017, Munich 2018, Berlin 2021, Frankfurt am Main 2024.
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Above/featured: On the Art Walk trail.
In northeast Seattle, the NOAA Art Walk is contained fully within the campus of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Western Regional Center (NOAA WRC), located at Sand Point next to Magnuson Park. Initially, I’d intended only to visit one sculpture from which a “fairly successful” local band got its name. I explored the entirety of the Art Walk on a breezy sunny early-spring morning for an easy peaceful walk on a trail hugging Lake Washington’s shoreline. Over a two- to three-hour period, I encountered only a handful of other visitors, some of whom may have been NOAA staff.
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Above/featured: A quiet leafy avenue in Prague’s OlÅ¡any Cemetery.
I can’t spend all this time in the Czech capital city, and leave without paying any respects to two 20th-century personalities of Prague. Franz Kafka was an early 20th-century German-Czech writer (e.g., 1912 Die Verwandlung/Metamorphosis), whose writings became known to the world posthumously, thanks to friend and fellow writer Max Brod. In the 1960s, Jan Palach was an important historical figure of opposition who died in protest against the Communist regime.
I’m in the underground metro, heading east from the city centre towards Vinohrady and beyond to OlÅ¡any. The sun’s out on a crisp mid-autumn day, and while deciduous trees are left wanting for leaves, the latter have piled like carpets of colour on the cemetery grounds. I’m looking for the graves of Palach and Kafka who are buried in OlÅ¡anské hÅ™bitovy (OlÅ¡any Cemetery) and Nový židovský hÅ™bitov (New Jewish Cemetery), respectively.
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In thinking about things to do for free in Seattle, I thought about some of the city’s sights labelled with the letter ‘S’. There’s plenty of alliteration to follow.
I could have listed two obvious choices with the Space Needle and the Smith Tower. They are free to admire from the ground, but both require an admission charge to enter and reach the top of each respective structure for sweeping views of the city.
Here below are other arts and culture spots in Seattle that don’t cost a penny to visit or see; all locations are easily accessible with public transport.
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Above/featured: Drawings by Dan Perjovschi, 1995-2015. Globale Exhibition at ZKM Karlsruhe – 18 Nov 2015 (6D1).
I’ve had strong reactions to many pieces of art I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of seeing in a selection of museums and art galleries around the world. Here are some works of art which may provoke emotional reaction(s) from the viewer: sad, happy, angry; or perhaps, neutral. At each image, stop to a calm, pay attention to the details, and consider the caption provided.
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Fotoeins Fotografie 