Daydream Tourist

Oct 6

2011 World Press Photo Winners

Nothing is more compelling than an image. It is task of the photojournalist to translate a news event into something more emotionally engaging. Each year the World Press Photo foundation recognizes these professionals by selecting the top images from a variety of categories recognizing the power of an image to connect the public to traumatic world events, interesting people and moments of humanity. The 2011 winners are available on-line and can be seen at traveling exhibits throughout the world. (I should warn you that some images will be considered graphic as they contain dead bodies or body parts. The link above to the collection will display small images which can be enlarged by clicking.)

2nd Prize Spot News Stories: Corentin Fohlen (France, Fedephoto) - Anti-government riots, Bangkok, Thailand, May

Going beyond the compelling subject matter, the photos are so well composed that you have to appreciate them as art. For example, the image above by Corentin Fohlen of anti-government riots in Bangkok has an interesting blue-gray palette punctuated by orange from the fire and the man’s shirt. The taut sling-shot and extended arm dominates the foreground and introduce tension and violence which is balanced by the resting rioters to the left.

Mumbai, India by Martin Roemers (The Netherlands, Panos Pictures) part of the Metropolis series which won 1st Prize Daily Life Stories

My favorite images are the Metropolis series by Martin Roemers which won 1st prize – Daily Life Stories. By using a long exposure time, he has captured the blurred silhouettes of cars, trains and people in several major urban centers. The implied movement gives the viewer a sense of action expressing the commotion and vitality of these cities. What I love the most about these 10 images is the balance between motion and stillness. While some people anonymously blend together, there are always a few individuals perfectly in focus.

Andrew McConnell (Ireland, Panos Pictures for Der Spiegel) - 1st Prize Arts and Entertainment Single. Joséphine Nsimba Mpongo practices the cello, Kinshasa, DR Congo

I encourage you to look through the gallery and find your own favorites!

Oct 3

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Tips for Visiting Delphi, Greece

Delphi was really amazing and should be a priority on any visit to Greece. A little bit of advice can usually go a long way, so here are some tips to make sure you enjoy your visit.

1) The Delphi Museum Hours Are Variable

Cybele (left) rides a chariot pulled by a lion who is attacking a Giant, from the north frieze (Gigantomachy) of the Siphnian Treasury, on display in the Delphi Museum

I was warned (by a man in Athens no less) that the Delphi museum had odd hours. This was strangely confirmed when the three recent guidebooks I consulted all listed different hours for the museum. Once in Greece, I called ahead and found that the museum was closing at 3pm the day we wanted to go. We had lunch on the run in Thermopylae and made it to Delphi with a hour for the museum. Since the archaeological site itself is open from ~8am-8pm everyday, we saw bus loads of tourists dropped off just to look at the ruins because the museum was long closed. I’d have felt a little cheated if I came all that way and didn’t get to see the famous Charioteer statue, the architectural decorations and votive objects in the museum!

2) Pace Yourself

Delphi is a lot bigger than you think it is and built on a steep hill. If you really want to see most of the site and enjoy the staggering vistas, budget 4 hours at least to see Delphi. I suppose you could run through it quickly and just see some parts but you wouldn’t have time to start mentally piecing all the ruins together. It’s hard to approach a large archaeological like Delphi, which contains almost no complete buildings, and immediately grasp the scale. It’s pretty rewarding to sit at different vantage points and imagine the ancient city.

Reconstruction of Upper Delphi

I was hoping that things would begin to cool in early September but it was still incredibly hot in Delphi. Since there is very little shade, try to go first thing in the morning or in the afternoon (3-8pm) like we did. Take breaks, wear a hat and drink lots of water.

3) Stay the Night in Arachova

Arachova – A more authentic and relaxing alternative to staying in Delphi

As you would imagine, the modern city of Delphi is a tourist trap. The main street is lined with restaurants and cheap hotels each containing some iteration of Oracle, Apollo, Temple or Zeus in their title. I guessed as much even before I left the US and made alternate arrangements…

Arachova is about 20min east of Delphi and is a lovely town. What spares Arachova from the cheesy tourist malaise down the road is its status as a top winter destination for skiers who flock to Mt. Parnassos. Arachova has great hotels and restaurants to serve the influx of mostly Athenians coming up to ski but is empty in the summer months. Since the city draws Greek sports enthusiasts, you are spared the kitsch seen in Delphi. Arachova was a beautiful, peaceful town without the crowds and a more authentic place to hang out .

View down the main street in Arachova

There are several nice hotel options; we stayed at Xenonas Iresioni‏. It is on the edge of town but only a few minutes walk away from the center of things. The staff was great and the room was comfortable with the biggest double bed we saw in all of Greece. When I mentioned to the man at the front desk that I was unable to purchase a Delphi catalog because the museum shop had run out of the English version, he gave be an unused one that they had on hand. Talk about helpful staff!

Sep 28

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Bob Dylan’s source material uncovered

For starters, I didn’t even realize that Bob Dylan painted but apparently he has a show which opened at the Gagosian Gallery in New York City. It is not the brush work or color choices but the subject matter of this show that is getting some media attention. The New York Times reports that many of the works are copied from known photographs including two by Henri Cartier-Bresson and Life Magazine’s Dmitri Kessel. Artinfo.com has a good slide show comparing the Dylan work with the source photograph.

Top: An early 1900's photograph of a field worker in China Bottom: A painting from Dylan's "Asia Series" (Photo: artinfo.com)

Is this the art equivalent of sampling someone’s song? Should we consider this forgery? Is this worth hanging in a gallery? Yes and No. Artists have always trained by copying paintings or, in the last century, photographs. There are prestigious museums today that exhibit workshop copies of masterworks or paintings done in the style of a master by one of their apprentices. These pieces lose composition points because the student artist didn’t think of the subject, colors or lay-out themselves, but they are still well executed and beautiful so we admire these paintings. Likewise, Dylan doesn’t get any credit for creative design since the photographer set up the composition of the image. I suppose he did select the collection and add color since these are black and white photographs but there is no strong theme among the paintings’ subject matter and the color is more naturalistic than anything. Next we look for execution, and baring something truly creative that I am not seeing in these news article photos, this looks like a high school gallery show. So what we are really left with is the artist’s celebrity, which is fine. Fame often removes the objectivity of subjective art appreciation. (How many actors or actresses release terrible music or musicians try to act?) It doesn’t necessarily mean these paintings are outstanding on their own; the works should be viewed within the context of a famous and/or creative individual. That context helps us understand the artist better rather than understanding the art. It’s not the most thought-provoking artistic theme but like I said, that’s fine.

However, it seems inappropriate to exhibit these paintings as if they were unique creations since the source material is so clearly known – many with their own copy-rights. Maybe the gallery should rehang the show with the photographs nearby? It might make for a more interesting exhibition. One last, more important note to the Gallery though, I probably would not write this in the exhibition website/catalog:

[Bob Dylan] often draws and paints while on tour, and his motifs bear corresponding impressions of different environments and people. A keen observer, Dylan is inspired by everyday phenomena in such a way that they appear fresh, new, and mysterious.

Sep 24

MFA to Sell Impressionist Works to Purchase Rare Caillebotte

"Man at His Bath" by Gustave Caillebotte

To help fund the purchase a rare piece by Impressionist Gustave Caillebotte, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston is selling eight works. These paintings by Claude Monet, Paul Gauguin, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir and Vasily Vereshchagin are expected to fetch between $16.6 million and $24.3 million. It is not surprising that the MFA will need to sell art to raise the funds; its donors have recently and generous supported a fantastic new American Art wing and a Contemporary Art wing. The painting is well worth the sell-off (especially since the paintings in question have not been exhibited since 2003) and I look forward to its permanent place at the MFA.

The new acquisition is “Man at His Bath” which is notable because there are not many works Caillebotte available and is extraordinary because there are very few Impressionist male nudes. Gustave Caillebotte (1848 – 1894) was fortunate enough to be wealthy during Belle Epoch Paris which allowed him to buy works from his friends Monet, Renoir and others known today as the Impressionist. While his patronage may have had a longer lasting effect, Caillebotte himself was a very gifted artist. He and Édouard Manet are my favorite painters from the late 19th century Parisian art scene mainly because they focused on daily activities while often alluding to the darkness of modern urban life. While “Man at His Bath” is mundane but intimate, his most famous work “Paris Street; Rainy Day” at the Art Institute of Chicago depicts isolated figural groupings moving through dreary streets. Both paintings are expertly composed with a balance of light and dark and interesting lines. Caillebotte’s unique nude “Man at His Bath” is an excellent addition at the MFA – definitely worth a landscape or two.

"Paris Street; Rainy Day" by Gustave Caillebotte

Sep 22

Street Art – Hermes

Light on the Rooftop had an awesome post about street art on Freshly Pressed the other day. She showed that non-conventional and public art can still be very high quality. I haven’t seen that level of street art while in Europe (unless the Bogside murals count) but I did catch an irreverent cartoon version of a classical Greek god. I thought it was funny, or at least a funny departure from the typical Hermes iconography.

Hermes, as depicted in antiquity:

Terracotta oil flask depicting Hermes ca. 480–470 BC (Photo: Metropolitan Musuem of Art)

Modern Hermes painted above an abandoned building in Nafplion: (Google Translate tells me that EPMHE is “Hermes” in Greek if the winged helmet weren’t enough. On the billboard, he was facing an alligator in a Zoot suit which I am not sure how to interpret.)

Graffiti Hermes in Nafplion