Monday, May 30, 2011

Faves

    Bay of Baiae, JMW Turner, 1823, Tate Gallery

Turner is often said to be a precursor of the Impressionists.  There is some truth to this, but not much.  The Impressionists were literalists.  They did not paint what they could not see.  Turner, on the other hand, while perfectly capable of the most literal interpretations, loved injecting imaginary figures, geography and events into his paintings.  In the exquisite painting above, that's no fashionable picnic party on the left, its Apollo and the Sibyl.  You don't see classical Gods cavorting across the canvases of Monet or Renoir. The idealized landscape was what they fought against.

Turner was one of a kind.  His early work was very much in the tradition of Claude, but after he visited Italy in 1817, Turner struck out on his own path. 

In any case, Turner doesn't really reproduce.  I've seen the painting at the Tate and it has a lightness and color you don't see here.

Monday, May 23, 2011

Yap

Finality is not the language of politics.
Benjamin Disraeli

Friday, May 13, 2011

Yap

Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you really want to test his character, give him power.
Abraham Lincoln

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Vegas Pictures

Here are a bunch.  I'm pleased with the quality overall, given my recent lack of experience and the consumer lenses on the camera.  There certainly is a lot of stuff in Las Vegas.

 No cultural icon or era is safe at Caesars Palace

 The Bellagio

Lake, Bellagio

 Trumpets at Caesars

 
 Flowers #2


 Frank Gehry Building #1

  Frank Gehry Building #2

 Desert flowers

 Binion's

 Neon Gold

 Clark County Offices

 Reflection on the Strip

 Flowers #2

 Flowers #3

 Flamingo #2

 Flamingo #3


Gehry #3

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Flamingo

Yap

The dream to kill me will never be completed
Osama Bin Laden

Guess he was wrong on this one.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

More Vegas

Las Vegas

     click on image for huge

I went to Las Vegas last week for a vacation.  Here is a quick and dirty panorama showing the view from my room.  And to answer the question everyone has asked, I finished the week down $100 after playing craps and blackjack.