Eyes that seek the Unseen
Yesterday, another model drawing session of the Lisbon Drawing Club. The venue was again the Roman Museum, more precisely the ruins of the old Roman Theatre. The model was dressed according to the place and historic time. , Nice session, a beautiful place with a superb view to Tagus, many sailboats under a bright blue sky. Some sketches from that session
Enjoying a walk in the Botanic Tropical Garden, in Lisbon, I was surprised by this unnusual statue of a woman breast-feeding an adult male.
I looked for information about this sculpture. This baroque statue was made in Rome by Bernardino Ludovici in 1737, and brought to Lisbon by king Joao V. “Roman charity” is a classical greco-roman theme, and it is based on the story of a woman trying to save her own father, condemned to death by starvation, by secretly breast-feeding him.
As you can imagine, a variety of interpretations of this subject can be found, some of them very creative…
Reviewing my old photos, I found one that matches a well-known poem by William Carlos Williams
Pastoral
by William Carlos Williams
When I was younger
it was plain to me
I must make something of myself.
Older now
I walk back streets
admiring the houses
of the very poor:
roof out of line with sides
the yards cluttered
with old chicken wire, ashes,
furniture gone wrong;
the fences and outhouses
built of barrel staves
and parts of boxes, all,
if I am fortunate,
smeared a bluish green
that properly weathered
pleases me best of all colors.
No one
will believe this
of vast import to the nation.
from The Collected Poems of W.C. Williams, New Directions
A traditional russian religious choir by the Sitibine Ensemble https://youtu.be/ypafWjyG01o
There is a Vladimir Martinov’s version (instrumental) by the Kronos Quartet, part of the soundtracl of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grande Bellezza”
“Our ruins will never be so beautiful as the ruins left by our ancestors”. I don’t know the author of this statement but there is some truth in it. But we won’t be here long enough to confirm it.
Ruins are fascinating – they open a vast field for the imagination and they show that some things take longer to be destroyed than they took to be built. Below are the ruins of a sanatorium, from a century ago. It was never completed, and now those stones remain in a field of wild weeds.
A variety of scenarios in the banks of the Tagus
Some recent sessions at the Drink&Draw initiative and at the Lisbon Drawing Club. A mix of snapshots and sketches
The A.D.A.O. Analog Photo Festival last week-end had talks, photowalks, a market of film and analog gear and exhibitions from professional photographers. Some images from the A.D.A.O. facebook (if you have a FB account you can see the whole series). And three photos I made on May 11th
My submitted six photos were accepted for the exhibition currently taking place. The subject was “Freedom”. Here they are
Two groups of friends, with a peaceful river or a flying bicycle
A boy trying to run from his family – and to escape from the limits of the photo
An open space to breathe – or simply to contemplate
And the “Shtandart” a modern replica of an ancient Russian vessel. I was told that she is forbidden to return to St Petersburg, from where she left years ago. She is sailing around the world, teaching nautical and sailing crafts to young people. Forced freedom, to some extent, not being allowed to return home…
The ADAO (Associaton for the Development of Arts and Crafts) will organize another Analog Photography Festival next week-end. Some of my photos were accepted for the exhibition, I will post them next week
Medium Format photography – result of an incurable attraction for old books…
Study (oil pastel and graphite on paper) for an oil painting featuring African migrants – a subject that concerns us all
An unknown ritual, from a religion not yet invented. Or just a studio work with Medium Format film…
I was wandering about the concept of “sacred art”. As far as I know it concerns only christian inspired artworks. One can expand this concept to other cults and religions, as “The Sacred Art Collectors ” did. Oil on plywood, February 2024
On a sunny afternoon, first signs of the incoming Summer
João Avelar images 