Curves in All the Right Places

Curves in All the Right Places. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. May 2019.

Curves in All the Right Places II. Toronto, Ontario, Canada. May 2019.

Frank Gehry designed staircase at the Art Gallery of Ontario.

I visited the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) specifically to see this Frank Gehry creation. I went with my friend Matthew (an incredibly talented painter, http://www.matthewcarver.net/home) and he told me that Gehry actually grew up a stones throw away from the gallery. Gehry and Partners renovated the Art Gallery of Ontario in 2008 and one signature piece of the restoration was this beautiful wooden staircase. The spiral bursts up from the first floor, breaks through the glass covered courtyard, and into the other contemporary gallery floors of the museum. This section connecting the second and third floor is my favorite perspective. From this particular point of view, you can see that the railing keeps curving up higher as someone walks up and instead of becoming parallel with the floor. In this way, if you look over the railing as you ascend or descend, your view of the courtyard disappears in some steps and then returns in others. It is meant to mimic your peekaboo line of sight as if you were riding a wave.

From the view below, the staircase, to me, looks like a piece of ribbon being spun off to one side, tilting off kilter, and adding a bit of movement to the wooden structure.

Caught On Candid Camera

Caught on Candid Camera. Recife, Brazil. July 2018.

A colorful storefront that comes with a smile in Olinda, Recife, Brazil. July 2018.

Climbing Up the Walls

Climbing Up the Walls. Mexico City, Mexico. May 2018.

Building facade in La Condesa, Mexico City, Mexico. May 2018.

A Reader's Paradise

You will find this remarkable library situated in the South Side of Chicago, near the site of the future Obama Library. Artist Theaster Gates saved this early 20th century structure, the former Stony Island Trust Bank, from demolition to create this Chicago landmark, the Stony Island Arts Bank. Gates bought the building for $1 from Chicago with the vision of restoring it as a cultural hub—a place for free arts and cultural programming. To me, this room was by far the most impressive. The library is full of items from John H. Johnson, the founding publisher Ebony and Jet magazine, a the record collection from DJ Frankie Knuckles, and more. To preserve a connection to the history of the building, the bank's peeling paint and damaged ceiling tiles have been preserved as is. It's beautiful to see this shuttered bank transformed into an institution celebrating black artists, a repository for African American history, and a place where people can really feel the palpable history of the South Side.

LLamáme

Llamàme. Machu Picchu, Peru. December 2017.

It took a train and a bus for me to reach Machu Picchu. This guy made it up the 8k elevation on his own four legs and living his best life.

Let Her Glow

Let Her Glow. Beacon, New York. November 2017.

Girl meets Flavin. Girl is entranced. Dia:Beacon is the place to go to be completely immersed in contemporary art. The museum is located outside of NYC, along the Hudson River, in Beacon, New York. 

Dia Art Foundation helped spearhead the movement of converting former warehouses and industrial buildings into museums and art spaces. With the help of some artists and architects, including Robert Irwin, Dia:Beacon was converted from a 31 acre Nabisco company printing plant into the immersive art space it is today. 

This girl was sitting in her stroller until her family pulled up in front of this Flavin. Once up on her legs, she strutted immediately towards the lights. I was lucky to snap this shot right before her grandmother came into the frame to prevent her from touching the installation. I get it girl, I want to touch the Flavin too. 

Serenity Now

Serenity Now. Wilmette, Illinois, U.S. October 2017.

Baha'i House of Worship for the North American Continent. Wilmette, IL, U.S.A.

This Baha'i Temple is located just outside of Chicago and is worth a visit if only to admire the lace-style interior and exterior. I have visited my fair share of cathedrals, churches, mosques, temples etc., however this is the first religious site I have seen with this type of intricate architecture.

This Baha'i temple is one of the seven in the world and is the only one located in the United States. Completed in 1953, the Baha'i House of Worship is the oldest surviving of the seven. The Baha'i faith was founded in the mid 1800s and it is quite an inclusive religion that believes in the oneness of the world’s religions, the equality of all races, and a coming age of world peace. Baha’i temples are meant to be a place where all people of faiths can worship God. To reflect this openness, the exterior pillars include symbols representing Judaism (Star of David), Christianity (cross), and other ancient religions (swastika). 

I consider myself more spiritual rather than religious; I enjoy visiting to have that moment of reflection and introspection. It is clear, especially from the design, that Baha'i is a welcoming faith so I feel encouraged to come back, sit, and look up at this view.

Love Your Bodie

Love Your Bodie. Outer Banks, North Carolina, U.S.A., September 2017.

North Carolina, U.S.A. September 2017.

I spent Labor Day holiday this year with friends in Outer Banks, North Carolina. Outer Banks, also know as OBX, is a string of islands on the north east coast of the state. It is about a six hour drive from D.C. and a welcome getaway for a short vacation. It was my first time to this sliver of land on the coast and first time seeing these beautiful, quaint lighthouses. There are a few stretched along the length of OBX, this one with its signature black and white horizontal lines is Bodie Island Lighthouse. Apparently going into the surrounding tall grass is ill-advised as there are snakes and ticks abound this time of year, but with risk comes reward.

Beauty in Brutalism

Beauty in Brutalism. Washington, D.C., U.S.A. August 2017.

Washington, D.C., USA. August 2017.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is one of the more interesting brutalist buildings in D.C. Modernist Marcel Breuer designed the building and included two of his style signatures: the concrete curve and the deep-set rectilinear windows. The "curvilinear" shape of this 10-floor building was designed to ensure the maximum amount of light to shine into the offices while the seemingly endless grid of windows reminds you just how immense the concrete structure is. I am not typically drawn to brutalism, but HUD is striking to me because it integrates these two opposing design aspects. 

Enter the Matrix

Enter the Matrix. Mexico City, Mexico. March 2017.

Mexico City, Mexico. March 2017. 

Thanks to a tip from my co-worker, Bibilioteca Vasconcelos made it to the top of the "must visit" list for Mexico City. Walking into this massive library is like walking into the matrix: angular and futuristic. The uneven composition, transparent floors, and "floating" bookshelves make this one of the most unique public institutions I have ever seen. 

Bibilioteca Vasconcelos is named after José Vasconcelos, former president of UNAM (Autonomous University of Mexico) and a man who reformed the Mexican education system. This space was designed by Mexican architects Alberto Kalach and Juan Palomar and was inaugurated in 2006 after three years of construction. This massive library holds roughly 470,000 books throughout its six floors. This "megalibrary" is actually a fusion of five libraries into one with each individual library dedicated to a famous Mexican thinker: Ali Chumacero, Carlos Monsiváis, José Luis Martínez, Jaime García Terrés, and Antonio Castro Leal. 

A tip if you would like to take photos with a camera—you will have to "register" and sign an agreement (en español) that your photos are for non-commercial use. Upon entering, ask a security guard where to register your camera, they will point you to a small desk on the ground floor on the opposite side of the main entrance. You will be escorted downstairs to their office to sign the paperwork; the whole process takes about 10 minutes. 

Besos Por Soumaya

Besos Por Soumaya. Mexico City, MX. March 2017. 

Mexico City, Mexico. March 2017. 

Museo Soumaya is the most visited museum in Mexico and for good reason. The museum is deceptively large, six stories with over 66,000 pieces of art. The most impressive part of the museum (in my opinion) is the top floor that houses founder Carlos Slim's collection of Rodin casts, the largest collection of casts outside of France, 380 to be exact. 

Speaking of Rodin, this sweet moment on the steps of the Soumaya reminds me of his sculpture "The Kiss". It was drizzling and dusk as I was leaving the museum; when I glanced back to admire the architecture, I saw this couple sharing un beso. 

Museo Soumaya itself is quite a romantic structure. It is named after Slim's late wife Soumaya who passed in 1999. Slim began collecting art largely due to Soumaya's influence. He built this version of the museum and dedicated it in her honor in 2011. Soumaya was a fan of Rodin's work and that is why Slim has collected so many of the works over the years. 

Blue Over You

Blue Over You. Houston, U.S.A. August 2017.

I had a long layover in Houston, Texas this afternoon so I decided to leave the airport and head over to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston to spend a couple hours with their collection. I was not familiar with the museum in advance of visiting so it was a pleasant surprise to see a James Turrell installation*. It is always hard to capture a Turrell correctly through the camera because it is such an immersive light experience, however this guard's silhouette against the rich, blue backdrop of light provided a poignant moment that was worth capturing.

*Turrell, "The Light Inside" (2000)