These are what I call "superfluous details." The only reason for them to be there is their beauty.
Europe (do the English mind if I include them in Europe?) has America beat hands down in this department. We have loads and loads of art, of course, but you have it at every corner, every turn. It's everywhere you look, and it's what makes Europe so moody and grand and different.
Don't stop! Please! Hee hee. Petrea, I must confess to being a great fan of art for art's sake; of the deliberate and wilful inclusion of good design into utilitarian objects against all financial reason. I am a Socialist of the William Morris school and this kind of unnecessary beauty thrills me. I think America is the richest nation on earth partly because most of your designers (the Chrysler building being a glorious exception) are beaten down by the philistine thugs of capitalist profit, leaving you with more spare cash to spend on guns and burgers but with plain and unadorned lamp posts. I must confess to being in love with the street furniture of London and Paris.
I LOVE it! All of it. I am all for sneaking art into everything. Oh and the tea party movement would be happy to kill art at the present time. They are currently trying to kill public education and sadly art is one of the first things to go.
I will have to teach language arts next year as they(the administration) have discovered that I am certified in that area as well as visual arts.
"...the deliberate and wilful inclusion of good design into utilitarian objects against all financial reason." May I borrow that phrase, Dive? It's exactly what I mean by "superfluous details." These unnecessary things are absolutely necessary to our well-being.
Neetzy, you speak truth. It's painful, frustrating, infuriating to see the oil companies making huge profits, receiving subsidies and paying little or no taxes in the US, while our schools go begging. Who's going to run these companies in 20 years? The kids will all be too ignorant to manage a checkbook, much less a corporation.
Art for art's sake. Killed essentially by the "up for tender" movement, which can also be linked to "poor quality" and "limited lifespan". Somewhere in there I think there is a hint of "the street artists will get to it anyway, at no cost to us, and no blame on us if it turns out hideous".
Ms.M, the sphinx benches are all along the Embankment beside the river and are modelled on a pair of sphinxes who guard Cleopatra's Needle, the Egyptian obelisk in the river bank.Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me. The British Museum is full of it. Come on over and I'll give you a guided tour.
Neetzy, hoorah for guerrilla beautification and sneaky art. And a pox on government arts cutbacks. So they're going to double your workload next year? Yikes! As if you're not already too busy.
Petrea, you know you can use anything of mine; I am honoured.
Vic, that's one of the things I love about doing some work for the Trust again; the fact that the budgets allow me to sneak good design into every corner and crevice of the new buildings. Such a welcome relief after working for housing developers who will pare things down and haggle over the last nail.
Come on over and get the fish. I'm pretty sure you'll need to reinforce your bonnet before you fit it though.
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These are what I call "superfluous details." The only reason for them to be there is their beauty.
Europe (do the English mind if I include them in Europe?) has America beat hands down in this department. We have loads and loads of art, of course, but you have it at every corner, every turn. It's everywhere you look, and it's what makes Europe so moody and grand and different.
I'd better stop.
Don't stop! Please! Hee hee.
Petrea, I must confess to being a great fan of art for art's sake; of the deliberate and wilful inclusion of good design into utilitarian objects against all financial reason. I am a Socialist of the William Morris school and this kind of unnecessary beauty thrills me.
I think America is the richest nation on earth partly because most of your designers (the Chrysler building being a glorious exception) are beaten down by the philistine thugs of capitalist profit, leaving you with more spare cash to spend on guns and burgers but with plain and unadorned lamp posts. I must confess to being in love with the street furniture of London and Paris.
Oh, and no, we don't (or at least I don't) mind being part of Europe. It is indeed a grand and different place, and very definitely a moody one!
Street art like this is wonderful and fascinating. I like the Sphinx bench especially. Been reading about ancient Egyptian mythology and art lately.
I LOVE it! All of it. I am all for sneaking art into everything. Oh and the tea party movement would be happy to kill art at the present time. They are currently trying to kill public education and sadly art is one of the first things to go.
I will have to teach language arts next year as they(the administration) have discovered that I am certified in that area as well as visual arts.
"...the deliberate and wilful inclusion of good design into utilitarian objects against all financial reason." May I borrow that phrase, Dive? It's exactly what I mean by "superfluous details." These unnecessary things are absolutely necessary to our well-being.
Neetzy, you speak truth. It's painful, frustrating, infuriating to see the oil companies making huge profits, receiving subsidies and paying little or no taxes in the US, while our schools go begging. Who's going to run these companies in 20 years? The kids will all be too ignorant to manage a checkbook, much less a corporation.
Art for art's sake. Killed essentially by the "up for tender" movement, which can also be linked to "poor quality" and "limited lifespan". Somewhere in there I think there is a hint of "the street artists will get to it anyway, at no cost to us, and no blame on us if it turns out hideous".
I want that fish on the bonnet of my car.
Ms.M, the sphinx benches are all along the Embankment beside the river and are modelled on a pair of sphinxes who guard Cleopatra's Needle, the Egyptian obelisk in the river bank.Ancient Egypt has always fascinated me. The British Museum is full of it. Come on over and I'll give you a guided tour.
Neetzy, hoorah for guerrilla beautification and sneaky art. And a pox on government arts cutbacks.
So they're going to double your workload next year? Yikes! As if you're not already too busy.
Petrea, you know you can use anything of mine; I am honoured.
Vic, that's one of the things I love about doing some work for the Trust again; the fact that the budgets allow me to sneak good design into every corner and crevice of the new buildings. Such a welcome relief after working for housing developers who will pare things down and haggle over the last nail.
Come on over and get the fish. I'm pretty sure you'll need to reinforce your bonnet before you fit it though.
Actually the more I think about it I'd love to see that fish mounted on the front of a pushbike.
Your mind works in mysterious ways, Vic. I like that.
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