June 2019 – Mostly True

The Three Shades, Auguste Rodin

This sculpture is my favorite work of art by Auguste Rodin. Despite the dark inspiration behind the piece, I find it strikingly beautiful.

The Three Shades are a representation of the tortured souls of the damned, or shades, who stand at the gates of Hell in Dante’s Inferno. The three identical figures point to an inscription that reads “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”

Originally created for Rodin’s monumental work, “The Gates of Hell,” several versions of the Three Shades were created, both in plaster and in bronze. While the plaster versions of the work are quite beautiful, I think the dark patina of the bronze is more appropriate to the darkness of the subject. This one is located in the Rodin Garden at the North Carolina Art Museum.

Three Shades

The Weight of the World

Here’s another photo that was better in black and white than in color. Atlas, an art deco sculpture by artist Lee Lawry, has stood in front of Rockefeller Center in New York City since 1937. In the original photo, the statue was a bit lost in all the tan of the building and the shadows creeping in from the left.

I like the black and white version much better. The shape and details of the sculpture show much better, particularly the muscles as Atlas struggles to support the world on his shoulders. I also think the the way the windows and doorways reach upward while the angles of the buildings center their weight on the globe are an interesting contrast. Finally, I like the way the tree branch frames the top of the photo and brings a bit of nature into an otherwise man-made environment.

AtlasInNYC2

Along the Alaska Railroad

Sometimes photos work better in black and white than in color. This photo was taken somewhere along the Alaska Railroad during our trip from Denali to Anchorage. The color version wasn’t very memorable. The overcast sky and dark green of the foliage made monochromatic and, frankly, boring.

The black and white version is much better. Highlights in the sky above and the water below and the dark patches of black spruce give the photo a wide range of shades. Also, I think the mountains are much more interesting in black and white. I really like the contrasts between the snow and the exposed portions of the mountains.

Alaska Mountains

Yukon Territory, 2016

My wife and I were fortunate to be able to travel to the Yukon Territory in May 2016. The territory is beautiful. These two photographs were taken about five hours apart on the same day. They show the wonderful variety of landscapes in the territory.

The first photo was taken along the Klondike Highway and shows the beautiful colors associated with the new growth of Spring.

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The second was taken from the return trip on the White Pass & Yukon Railroad and shows the snowy wilderness that most of us probably associate with the Yukon Territory.

View from Train 5

To put this in perspective, the distance from Skagway, Alaska, where our day started, to Carcross, YT, where we boarded the train for the return trip, is about 65 miles. Within about five hours and sixty five miles we experienced these two landscapes. The world is an interesting place.

Johns Hopkins Glacier, Alaska

Johns Hopkins Glacier is one of many glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve. Named by geophysicist Harry Fielding Reid for his Alma-mater, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. While most of the glaciers in Glacier Bay are receding, Johns Hopkins is one of the few that is advancing and actively calving.

Interestingly, climate change has a strange effect in Glacier Bay. We’re used to thinking of rising water levels associated with the melting of the ice caps, but in Glacier Bay the land is actually rising. This is because as the glaciers recede, the weight of the ice that has been pushing down lessens and the earth, like a sponge, is springing back and rising slightly.

Glacier Bay is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever had the opportunity to visit. It’s rugged landscapes are stunning. The bay is protected by its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Johns Hopkins 12 (4)

River Arts District, Asheville

Not far from downtown Asheville, the River Arts District is an old warehouse district that has been reclaimed by the art community. Chockful of artists studios and great restaurants like Summit Coffee and 12 Bones, it’s a great place to sit and enjoy the buildings which have been turned into works of art by the artists who now use RAD as their base. We visited on a beautiful August day in 2018. Here’s a sample of the wonderful wall art that makes RAD special.

Aveiro, Portugal

Aveiro Portugal is frequently touted as “the Venice of Portugal” because of its canals and colorful moliceiro boats that ferry tourists up and down the canals. While the canals and boats are an important part of Aveiro’s identity, the comparison to Venice is for tourism purposes only. Aveiro is a great little city with a lot of personality and was one of our favorite places to visit.

As you walk through Aveiro, chances are pretty good that you’ll cross one of the three canals. All of these photos were taken during the two days we spent there in March 2018. We didn’t ride the moliceiros, but the canals did provide plenty of opportunities to record our memories of this beautiful city.