MOOSE AT THE FOUNTAIN

 

This post came about thanks to Tundra Bunny, in a comment last week on a moose statue in a photo I took recently on a Philly weekend jaunt. It got me going back to look at photos I'd taken of this landmark over the years. Since there has been a lot of discussion in recent years with statues in public spaces, with some statues coming down through formal and informal means, here are some of the photos of the George Washington Monument in Eakins Oval. One of my favorite fountains and art sculptures in Philadelphia. This monument is especially complex, and has evocative, allegorically rich and often lifelike figures in it, this monument in Philly, is located at the base of the Art Museum steps. Anyone who's spent time in Philly probably knows this place and fountain and monument very well, with its swirl of animal and human figures enveloping the high up equestrian statue of George Washington.

The monument and fountain were commissioned and design by sculptor Rudolf Siemering. The sculpture was dedicated in 1897 at the entrance of Fairmount Park and then moved in 1928 to its present location after the completion of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in town. The bronze and granite sculpture features a uniformed Washington mounted on a horse at the tip top and facing southeast down the Ben Franklin Parkway towards City Hall. The face of the sculpture was made from actual impressions of the former president. made while he was in Philly for a stopover.  The lower levels of the fountain feature two Native Americans, two Europeans, and animals that are native to the United States. There are moose, bison, deer, cow, bear, eagles, a serpent, some Koi fish and even a salamander.

The scheme of the fountain asserts a hierarchy...although I find it interesting that the sculptor had two European figures and two native American figures all on the same level of beauty and detail. All the figures are done very well and all equally gorgeous and lifelike.

The southeast side of the pedestal, facing the parkway has a female figure on the next level up, apparently representing liberty.

I have always enjoyed the fountain in Philly, one of my favorites. And when there is a nice breeze it's nice feeling the little bit of mist hit you on a hot day.  It also occurred to me from a distance, the monument draws attention to Washington as the main figure. But up close while always wandering and photographing the monument, I found myself forgetting about the Washington statue completely. It wasn't till that hawk landed that I was reminded of him up there. The main features up close are the animals and allegorical figures. I wonder if this was likely the sculptor's intent, because the sight line within the monument complex do not allow you to look up and see Washington himself, if you are looking from a spot inside of the complex. I feel the sculptor seems to want us to examine and admire these figures more and ultimately relate to the artwork at this level, rather than Washington himself, who seems to be over seeing a new America..

NEMOURS ESTATE

The one thing about living where I do, is we are so close to many different day options or weekend Get-Aways. In addition to Philadelphia, New Hope and Harrisburg, we are also so close to NYC, the Adirondacks Mts and the Pocono Mts, Washington DC, Balitmore, and numerous stops in Delaware such as the beach points and Wilmington. Which is where the day took stockbroker and I for a day trip to the Nemours Estate. One of two times we got together on his visit.

I couldn't believe I lived so close and have never seen it. Nemours is all around spectacular too! It exists as a perfectly preserved piece of the Gilded Age, seemingly untouched by the hands of time. With acres of glorious gardens and a mansion designed by Carre're and Hastings, it will exceed any grand estate expectations you may have. Constructed in 1910 as a gift to Alfred I DuPont's Francophile second wife Jessie, this massive 77 room mansion was modeled after Versailles'Petit Trianon.Designed in one of my favorite styles, Rococo, it is an absolute architectural showpiece, but still much smaller than the "summer cottages" that I have seen in Newport. The mansion still showcases workmen and craftsmanship we don't and won't see again...every excess of the era. Solidly built of granite, it features exotic woods, marble, intricate wainscotting and moldings and faux finishes. Indeed, no expense was spared to impress his bride and this attention to detail survives to this day. Additionally, unlike many gutted Gilded Age homes, here the original decor remains intact, featuring over 110,000 items including a clock made for Marie Antoinette, ending up in the hands of the DuPonts. While Alfred DuPont dies in 1935, his wife Jessie remained at the estate until her death in 1970, where the ownership then passed to the Nemours Foundation, which per DuPont's instruction was to open the property to the public.

According to our tour brochure. these gates once stood outside the Russian Palace of Catherine the Great, but now call Nemours home. Pretty neat.

The pedestal pillars and clock was the one pictured here that belonged to Marie Antoinette.

Can you believe the intricate woodwork in this room on the walls, and that floor! Took my breath away.

In memory of the favorite Bloodhounds and family pets that once roamed the property.

 Sure, don't see work and craftsmanship like this anymore. Also makes one sad to see how disposable we have become and will settle for subpar construction anymore. 

SCULPTURE

After everybody left for the weekend, The Lad and I went on to spend a day in Philadelphia just for shits and giggles, had a walk about and had a nice three martini lunch. But the one thing that caught our eye was an art installation that just turned a year old. Philadelphia has kept this a hidden street art exhibition. The work is of the talent, and I might add handsome, Miguel Antonio Horn who placed it there, with essentially no fanfare at a garage alley on Cuthbert Street between 12 and 13th streets. It was pretty cool, and I can't believe I have never seen it before this. The sculpture is suspended 20 feet over an alley, with two groups of entangled bodies grapple with the task to sustain or hold up a bridge that spans the width of the street, that connects to different parts of a parking garage. The artist I read made the art exhibit from connecting thousands of large metal 3D cutouts welded and bolted together. What I found neat was is that it appears to meticulously integrate into the existing buildings environment as part of the city's renown art program. From its interaction with its surroundings and scale on this tiny Philly alley to the detail, and vulnerability of these absolutely mesmerizing forms that make it up. Just WOW! Another reason I love walking Philly and looking and taking all in. The city is famous for art installations where you don't expect them. 

Plus we got a fun lunch and drinks with reader, the Mahogany Empress!

BENEATH THE SURFACE

I have always been drawn to the water and have always lived within 10 minutes or less of some form of body of water. But I'm far from a mermaid. I know enough to save myself and it ends there, yet I like going in the ocean, jet skiing, and have done rafting and tubing. I must have a death wish. I would love to scuba dive, but alas, I don't think my nerves are that close to steel, but the depths fascinate me so. Exhilarating. Fascinating. Yet very beautifully haunting. It was a week or two ago while watching PBS that there was a piece about an artist,  Jason deCaires Taylor, and I was sucked in to the next two hours. Jason is a British sculptor and creator of the world's first underwater sculpture park, The Molinere Underwater Sculpture Park. Taylor integrates his skills as a sculptor, marine conservationist, underwater photographer and a scuba instructor into each of his projects. 

The sculptures offer a mysterious, ephemeral encounter and fleeting glimmers of another world where art develops from the effects of nature on the efforts of man. The best part of the art installations and site-specific locations, it is subtly integrating aspects of street art but also encouraging marine life, to promote ocean conservation. They are designed to act as artificial reefs, attracting corals increasing biomass and aggregating fish species while crucially diverting tourist away from fragile natural reefs and thus providing space for natural rejuvenation. Another cool aspect I learned, all the sculptures were modeled after real people Taylor knows, and residents, current and past, from his town he lives in.

Taylor's art installations changes over time with the effects of their environment. The factors create a living aspect to the works, which would be impossible to reproduce artificially. As time passes and the works develop biological growth, they redefine the underwater landscape, evolving within the narrative of nature...and promote whole new coral reefs one day helping out our oceans.

The sculpture are actual life castings and cast into concrete, and where they are subsumed by the sea and transformed from lifeless stone into vibrant habitats for coral, crustaceans, fish populations and other creatures. The result: Enigmatic, haunting and colorful commentaries about our transient existence, the sacredness of the ocean and it's breathtaking power of regeneration. Some days life and some people of this planet still amaze me.