Racing through the Albuquerque Sunport several times this summer, I had seen in swift passing the blindingly brilliant bling of the Low Rider exhibit that had been set-up at the end of June. Last week I had an opportunity, while waiting in the arrival area, to peruse the many amazing rides that commanded the concourse.
This powerful art exhibit of the unique Latino culture of Low Riders represents great personal pride and emotional attachment on behalf of the owners and artists (often one and the same).
These finished products are almost like songs…from memorials to love interests, family and friendships – they express heartfelt emotions to present and share with the world.
Once stereotypically thought to be limited to the bad boys taunting law enforcement with their wild paint jobs, gleaming chrome, bold moves, wild suspension, blaring music in a defiant statement of cultural expression, these amazing art pieces have since been recognized by distinguished museums worldwide for their exquisite attention to detail and the stories they tell.
In this exhibit, these moving statements of artistic expression are all home-grown. Yes, each made here in New Mexico it makes it all the more relevant.
Visitors to the Sunport have this wonderful opportunity – up close and personal – to examine the seemingly flawless machines adorned with sensational color, pattern and design. “Kids” of all ages will appreciate this show!
Each as though a canvas for the artist…motorcycles, kid’s versions and cars adorned with glitter, shine, polish and paint colors all contributing to the each unique statement. From airbrush to tedious handwork and limitless patient detailing results in exciting assemblages.
There are also decades of photos featuring the evolution of
the culture here.
By highlighting these fine, local examples the City hopes to elevate the art form on its merits and dismiss some of the stigmas attached with the stereotypes.
And we all will have a little fun imagining the thrill of taking a ride in/on one of these beauties!!!
If the Basilica in my last blog didn’t get your juices
flowing about incredible public art spaces, the Library of Congress was our
next stop. Yes, it houses nearly everything having to do with writing,
recording, documenting…but the building itself is amazing! It in itself is a
wealth of artistic detailing. The interior has more gold leaf – not gold paint
– but hammered metal gold leaf – than any other building in our Nation’s
Capital. Inside and out, the craftsmanship of the stone carvings and
architectural embellishments is magnificent. This inestimable landmark is so
much more than the sober name suggests.
We parked in the garage of Union Station and walked the few
blocks past the Supreme Court and the Capitol Building to our destination of
the Library of Congress. The brilliant blue skies behind the bright white
edifices belied what some regarded as the oppressive heat. I however am a heat
freak – it’s summer – bring it on!
Columbus Fountain at Union Station also known as the Columbus Memorial is a public artwork by American sculptor Lorado Taft, located serves as a tribute to the explorer Christopher Columbus.The Supreme Court – cool, brilliant white against a striking blue sky – at 100 ° Crouching to get a shot of our Nation’s Capitol Building.
Symbolism is executed with every inch of the design details
both inside and out of the imposing Library of Congress. Ascending the exterior
stairs sets the stage for arriving at a monument of immeasurable wealth of
human dissertation and history. Here I can only touch on the tip of the
iceberg…
Picnic tables out front at our Library of Congress…relax, grab and bite and read a bit before going back to work!!!
From an inauspicious beginning of modest expectations to
greater expanses with devastating fiery catastrophes in between, the Library of
Congress has an amazing story. Thomas Jefferson played a significant role in
re-building the foundation of what we now have today.
While waiting for the tour to begin in the magnificent
Thomas Jefferson building, we were directed to two remarkably entertaining exhibits
on the lower level – a Gershwin gathering and a Hope homage.
The George and Ira Gershwin Room is a tribute to the two
brothers and their contribution to American music. This nostalgic and very
familiar subject matter makes you hum and tap your toes. The exhibit presents
George’s piano and custom-designed writing desk, Ira’s table and typewriter,
self portraits and myriad documents that trace their lives and amazing careers.
The Hope for America Exhibit focuses on the varied careers
of Bob Hope along with other recognizable entertainers. The exhibit offers the
satirical humor – crossing party lines – both socially and politically for
which Hope was so appreciated, admired and beloved. Hope received the U.S.
Congressional Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his
commitment, in his nearly 50 year service, entertaining the men and women of
the armed forces abroad.
As the actual tour began, we were introduced with a short
film as an overview of what was to come. We were then guided up a staircase and
gathered in what was a most astonishingly beautiful, expansive space full of
piercing, daylight, sunbeams glancing off incredibly detailed architectural
stone carving and sculpture. Vast murals, vaults and arches in the 360 degrees
of beauty from floor to voluminous ceiling was staggering.
” Founded in 1800, the Library of Congress is the
nation’s oldest federal cultural institution. The Library seeks to spark the
imagination and creativity and to further human understanding and wisdom by
providing access to knowledge through its magnificent collections, programs and
exhibitions.” Thomas Jefferson stepped-in to save the Library of Congress
after a few inauspicious starts. Not
enough time devoted here to a history lesson – learn more at https://www.loc.gov/ – but this grand space into which we entered is
the Thomas Jefferson Building.
The focus of this blog is to share a bit of the art and
decorative embellishments of this stunning architectural environment –
beginning with the Commemorative Arch by Olin L. Warner (1844-1896) featuring a
young man to the left and a bearded elder man on the right signifying that the
process of learning never ceases…
Grand staircases on opposing sides of the space are adorned
with carvings of “putti” – Italian for little boys – as they are
pictured representing various occupations from gardeners to astronomers – the depiction
of each vocation is fascinating with what it means to have that respective
knowledge to pursue one’s career path.
Beneath the string of putti are representations of the 4
corners of the globe depicting figures of each, Asia paired with Europe and
American paired with Africa.
Minerva, the Roman Goddess of Learning and Wisdom is aptly
featured in a series of statues and images.
Most fascinating to me, up in an adjacent domed ceiling area
was the “Evolution of the Written Word,” a series of lunettes by John
White Alexander (1856-11915). Having previously written about the importance of
handwriting for a million reasons that go beyond, but are directly connected
to, this depicted evolution, I found this to be simple, yet profound. It is a beautifully
rendered and fascinatingly distilled artistic expression of a very significant
timeline. Beginning with The Cairn – we see them stacked stones on beaches for
fun and on paths in the wilderness as markers, but here Alexander renders
primitive man communicating by stacking stones to possibly mark the dead, a
passage or a place of significance.
As the history progresses, Oral Tradition becomes the means
of communication – but only/obviously in personal contact. Words are created.
Then Egyptian Hieroglyphics enter the scene with images representing words
depicted on surfaces.
Picture Writing on animal skin – and ultimately more refined
to vellum – becomes a more mobile means of communication.
Theologians recording ancient stories of biblical history
brought monks to the art of the written word in compilations of the Bible as
the first manuscripts/books became recorded.
And then an exponential leap in communication came with the invention of John Gutenberg ca. 1400-1468 of the Printing Press! Asia had its versions of printing machines even before Gutenberg, but inspired by seeing grapes at harvests being “pressed,” he put that concept into the process of placing individual letters in place and pressing them onto paper. Western Europe then had a movable metal type process that increased productivity of printed material – printing the first ……in Western Europe. The tour guide sadly explained to us that Gutenberg died a pauper as his investors, not patient with economic fluctuations, excused him from his rightful place in the business and left him to live out his life only to receive proper recognition posthumously.
It is the first complete book
extant in the West and is also the earliest to be printed from movable type. This
rare version is printed on vellum.
Unfortunately, at this point in the tour, we had to excuse
ourselves with a quick wave and thanks to our guide as we were departing later
that afternoon. Before leaving the building though, we dashed upstairs to
discover the main Reading Room – entering from a way upper tier, we had a
bird’s-eye view of this grand space. The scale was daunting and the spectacular
architectural detail was breath-taking. The WOW-factor was palpable!
The Reading Room.
Eight giant marble columns each support 10-foot-high
allegorical female figures in plaster representing characteristic features of
civilized life and thought: Religion, Commerce, History, Art, Philosophy,
Poetry, Law and Science.
Layer upon layer of intricate, symbolic details.
The 16 bronze statues upon the balustrades of the
galleries are a tribute to men whose lives symbolized the thought and activity
represented by the plaster statues.
Shhhhhhhhh……it’s the Reading Room
And with that – we only had enough experience and education about this incredible resource and monument of artistic beauty to whet our appetite for more and surely lure us there again for more information about all that comprises this amazing public gift and resource.
Ta Da!!! Seriously – standing there in awe…taken with my phone!
There are so many wonderful things to see and do – get out there and see it!!!
Artistically embellished
architectural splendor is an understatement for all the wonders that await when
visiting our Nation’s Capitol. Washington, D.C. is my home town. Growing up
inside the Beltway, venturing into the District for work or pleasure was once my
norm. I know I took it for granted. Like
many, when one lives and plays in a place, it often becomes routine. Work the
same place, drive the same route, play in the same spots…unless there is a
special concert to catch or event prompted by others to attend, one often
misses the wonders that are right around the corner.
Therefore, when I visit, I try to
make it a point to investigate and experience things I have never seen or
things that I haven’t seen for quite some time. This visit featured the grand
dome of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
It was the focus of our outing,
but the surrounding chapels and all there was to see became such an educational
and eye-candy dazzling afternoon of mosaic artistry that our eyes and neck were
fatigued from staring at the details and craning to view the enormous vaulted expanses
of blazing glory.
Lest you think I exaggerate, know that the majesty of the iconic images have been rendered in such exquisite detail and with such amazing colors of tiny, precisely placed tiles that the work makes you gasp and say “whoa” at every turn.
And this is just touring the many spectacular chapels on the way to the nave where the vaulted domed ceilings explode with color, detailed imagery and astonishingly expansive scale! It is then, upon entering this awe-inspiring space, that gasps and whoa fall away to near breathless speechlessness as eyes well with tears at the splendor.
The detail was similar to that of
the magnificent mosques we experienced in Istanbul – but there, we walked in
and BAM the spectacular space was huge and instantly revealed – definite WOW
factor – but here at the Basilica, it was a fascinating process of discovery as
we investigated each chapel and made our way up to the grand expanse of the
vaulted nave.
I am not going to give you a
guided tour of what we experienced, nor am I going to attempt to convey any
aspect of the historical tracings of the biblical references…but I am going
to attempt to impart the beauty and artistry that one doesn’t have to be a
catholic to appreciate. Photos can’t begin to accomplish what it takes to get
the full effect of these amazing designs, patterns, details…
Marble columns throughout the Basilica are identified by place of origin of the stone.
I encourage everyone to experience this majestic edifice and the beautiful grounds towering above the trees in NE Washington, D.C.. It will not disappoint. https://www.nationalshrine.org/
