Day 2ish
So luckily Day 1and Day 1ish have passed :P Day 2 was a personal achievement for me.. I'll explain.
There are a handful of experiences I've always wanted to have (in no particular order):
1. Meet Paul Taylor
2. Meet Merce Cunningham (done)
3. See the Egyptian pyramids
4. See the Sistine Chapel (to be done soon)
5. Go on tour (done)
6. See Michelangelo's Florence (including the David and the Prisoner sculptures) (done)
7. Perform internationally (done)
8. See Green Table by Kurt Jooss live
9. See Nijinsky's Rite of Spring live (done)
10. See Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun live (done twice actually - once excellent, once not so good a rendition)
11. Go to Ireland
That's about all i can think of at the moment.
Today, I saw the David and 6 of the Captives / Prisoner sculptures by Michelangelo. Oh my goodness.
Here's some background. I LOVE everything I've ever seen in books that Michelangelo has sculpted, designed architecturally, and painted. His work has greatly influenced my art. In fact, I even made a solo once that was simply moving through the Captives/ Prisoner series while at Mills.
This all said, I was worried about seeing David live. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations. All the artists I've met while abroad have assured me that it would in fact surpass my expectations. They were right.
First, the thing is HUGE. HUGE! Unbelievably huge. Second, it's so full of life. The longer I studied it the more I loved it.. the more you felt you were meeting a man rather than a stone. His eyes were so intense and the veins throughout the body were amazing.. as were the tiny bones you could see in the feet. An artist in 2004 took a hammer to it so it's now surrounded by plastic. I took one blurry photo just so you could see the scale of it... and am posting other photos I've found online to give some sense of it... but really, it's one for seeing in person.
The story behind it is quite cool too. There was this huge block of marble that no one wanted... a sculptor had thrown it away in the Duomo's lot basically. The workers there called it "El Gigante" jokingly since no one wanted it. Then, along comes M. at age 29 and asks permission to take this ugly awkward piece of marble... from it comes the most famous sculpture in the world. Funny, huh? Also, it's portrayal of David is new. We don't see David in the act of killing, nor do we see him on Goliath's head. Here we see David poised, calm, looking ahead and intelligent. In his left hand (if you look closely in person), you'll see the sling and in his right, the stone... but they're hidden because they're not as important as his mind. Tools of the mind rather than physical force. Finally, the other cool thing is that M. designed it to be atop the Duomo, so the proportions on it are really odd... the head and arms are larger than they should be when viewed from close. Somehow, though, he designed the proportions so that they would look accurate from far below.
I also couldn't help thinking about the fact that the Florentines cheered this David for it's show of intelligence and bravery or physical might... much like how we've been cheering Obama. I know it all comes back to Obama, but seriously.... the look of David reminded me of how often we've seen the "look of Obama"... poised, forward-thinking, serious, confident and intelligent.
Anyway, I ramble. Sadly the library where he designed "the world's greatest staircase" was closed for renovation.
In the end, it was a moving experience to see that someone (at age 29 no less!) could sculpt such an alive, perfect image from stone.
As for the Captives... they're amazing in their own unique way... the longer you examine them the more you physically hurt for them.. you begin feeling how they're trying to break free from the marble (or at least I do)... one is trying to pull his head out.. .another is trying to release his right hand.. another is twisting in a run away from the rock. What's amazing is that the muscle of the right arm who's right hand is locked really looks like it's pulling.... but it can never break free.
Finally... today was sunny and warm. Florence came alive and was totally crowded and chaotic and loads of fun :)
Also, I was complimented on my Italian!! A storeowner was so impressed he asked me where I was from!! Love Italy.
Oh, but Sean's point about Disneyland, etc is kinda accurate. There are so many fake sculptures everywhere (you'll see what i mean below in views of Florence area). Because the lines are SOOOOO long to get into any gallery or museum here, they've created plaster replicas all over the place of the biggies. Interesting.
We tried the Uffizi again today, but the wait was 1-2 hrs. We now have reservations for 11 tomorrow.. we'll see.
The David (you can also see two of the Prisoners on each side). It's blurry cause photos were not smiled upon so i had to take it fast :P
The Prisoners (two of them, not as seen in gallery)
Views of Florence
Mercato Plaza... there's a baker up in the window if you look closely
My
Medicci Chapel
There are a handful of experiences I've always wanted to have (in no particular order):
1. Meet Paul Taylor
2. Meet Merce Cunningham (done)
3. See the Egyptian pyramids
4. See the Sistine Chapel (to be done soon)
5. Go on tour (done)
6. See Michelangelo's Florence (including the David and the Prisoner sculptures) (done)
7. Perform internationally (done)
8. See Green Table by Kurt Jooss live
9. See Nijinsky's Rite of Spring live (done)
10. See Nijinsky's Afternoon of a Faun live (done twice actually - once excellent, once not so good a rendition)
11. Go to Ireland
That's about all i can think of at the moment.
Today, I saw the David and 6 of the Captives / Prisoner sculptures by Michelangelo. Oh my goodness.
Here's some background. I LOVE everything I've ever seen in books that Michelangelo has sculpted, designed architecturally, and painted. His work has greatly influenced my art. In fact, I even made a solo once that was simply moving through the Captives/ Prisoner series while at Mills.
This all said, I was worried about seeing David live. I was afraid it wouldn't live up to my expectations. All the artists I've met while abroad have assured me that it would in fact surpass my expectations. They were right.
First, the thing is HUGE. HUGE! Unbelievably huge. Second, it's so full of life. The longer I studied it the more I loved it.. the more you felt you were meeting a man rather than a stone. His eyes were so intense and the veins throughout the body were amazing.. as were the tiny bones you could see in the feet. An artist in 2004 took a hammer to it so it's now surrounded by plastic. I took one blurry photo just so you could see the scale of it... and am posting other photos I've found online to give some sense of it... but really, it's one for seeing in person.
The story behind it is quite cool too. There was this huge block of marble that no one wanted... a sculptor had thrown it away in the Duomo's lot basically. The workers there called it "El Gigante" jokingly since no one wanted it. Then, along comes M. at age 29 and asks permission to take this ugly awkward piece of marble... from it comes the most famous sculpture in the world. Funny, huh? Also, it's portrayal of David is new. We don't see David in the act of killing, nor do we see him on Goliath's head. Here we see David poised, calm, looking ahead and intelligent. In his left hand (if you look closely in person), you'll see the sling and in his right, the stone... but they're hidden because they're not as important as his mind. Tools of the mind rather than physical force. Finally, the other cool thing is that M. designed it to be atop the Duomo, so the proportions on it are really odd... the head and arms are larger than they should be when viewed from close. Somehow, though, he designed the proportions so that they would look accurate from far below.
I also couldn't help thinking about the fact that the Florentines cheered this David for it's show of intelligence and bravery or physical might... much like how we've been cheering Obama. I know it all comes back to Obama, but seriously.... the look of David reminded me of how often we've seen the "look of Obama"... poised, forward-thinking, serious, confident and intelligent.
Anyway, I ramble. Sadly the library where he designed "the world's greatest staircase" was closed for renovation.
In the end, it was a moving experience to see that someone (at age 29 no less!) could sculpt such an alive, perfect image from stone.
As for the Captives... they're amazing in their own unique way... the longer you examine them the more you physically hurt for them.. you begin feeling how they're trying to break free from the marble (or at least I do)... one is trying to pull his head out.. .another is trying to release his right hand.. another is twisting in a run away from the rock. What's amazing is that the muscle of the right arm who's right hand is locked really looks like it's pulling.... but it can never break free.
Finally... today was sunny and warm. Florence came alive and was totally crowded and chaotic and loads of fun :)
Also, I was complimented on my Italian!! A storeowner was so impressed he asked me where I was from!! Love Italy.
Oh, but Sean's point about Disneyland, etc is kinda accurate. There are so many fake sculptures everywhere (you'll see what i mean below in views of Florence area). Because the lines are SOOOOO long to get into any gallery or museum here, they've created plaster replicas all over the place of the biggies. Interesting.
We tried the Uffizi again today, but the wait was 1-2 hrs. We now have reservations for 11 tomorrow.. we'll see.
The David (you can also see two of the Prisoners on each side). It's blurry cause photos were not smiled upon so i had to take it fast :P
The Prisoners (two of them, not as seen in gallery)
Views of Florence
Mercato Plaza... there's a baker up in the window if you look closely
My
Medicci Chapel
posted by DOUBLE VISION | 8:52 AM
1 Comments:
Hey, we're gonna be in Ireland next weekend. Y'know, if Italy gets boring :p Love hearing all about your trip - thanks for keeping us posted!
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