matouenpeluche

A stroll down Macquarie Street into Hyde Park

Another pre-pandemic city field recording taken at approximately 9:00am Monday morning in mid February. The recording begins at the corner of Martin Place just as a bus trundles past. From there I walked up the super historic street that contains important old sandstone buildings such as the Sydney Hospital (1811), the NSW Parliament House (1810), the Historic Houses' headquarters (1854 - formerly the Sydney Mint building), the elegant St James' Church (1824) and Hyde Park Barracks (1811) just to name a few. I pass lively cafes and morning bustle, stopping for a minute at a popular cafe that was doing a roaring trade. From there I walked to the end of the street past the statue of Queen Victoria gazing at the law courts on the right which is in turn being gazed at by a statue of her Consort, Prince Albert on the opposite corner to the left. I then crossed the road and walked into Hyde Park. I walk up to the splashy sound of the Archibald fountain which is accompanied by the cheery sound of rainbow lorikeets calling to each other in the large fig tree canopy overhead.      

Macquarie Street walk

 

Out and about - March/ April photos

Here are a few photos I've taken on my travels recently:

1) The GPO clock 2) the stylish Art Deco entrance of the State Theatre 3) the decommissioned historic wooden escalator in Wynard train station now preserved and displayed as art: the "Interloop". 4) a handsome moth on the Great North Walk 5) a night jar in the Australian Museum 6) an example of a common mushroom sprouting up everywhere recently - this one from Garigal National Park 7) one of many sandstone faces that adorn the GPO (now Westin Hotel) 8) a rainy day reflection of the palm trees along College Street.  

Thought of the Day

A thought of the day courtesy of that great Victorian/ Edwardian French sculptor Auguste Rodin. Other great things Rodin said were:

"Nothing is a waste of time if you use the experience wisely"

"Sculpture is the art of the hole and the lump"

"I invent nothing, I rediscover"

"The work of art is already within the marble, I just chop off whatever isn't needed" 

"I am like a moon that shines on an immense, unknown sea where ships never pass"

Famous Cats in History (Part Two)

Famous Cats in History (Part Two) - A more comprehensive (and colourful) diagram.

Sydney Botanical Gardens

So, I spent an hour in the botanics last Friday. It was a very rainy and humid hot day, but the gardens were full of flowers which more than made up for the hard work of walking there in the tropical weather. The best display was the pond by the Chinese Garden that had the most magnificent lotus flowers in various stages of blooming beauty (see above)! There were also many exotic brightly coloured flowers, however, my second favourite display was a lilac lily type flower that was covered in misty dew. My third favourite display was the (quite extensive) begonia beds that showcased every possible type, breed, colour, size and shape of begonia that you could ever wish to see.

Bondi Junction Statues

I've been watching Mary Beard's excellent "Rome: Empire Without Limit". This documentary reminds you just how enormous the Roman Empire was and how much we are indebted to it today. Anyway, speaking of the classical world, several weeks ago I was at a loose end in Bondi Junction, so I decided to take some photos of the tops of buildings. To my surprise, Bondi Junction is actually full of classical Victorian statues. You might not see them immediately, but if you look up, it's like a classical pantheon of gods and goddesses! I have collected together here only a couple of the many photos I took on that fine winter afternoon.

Hilma af Klint

These paintings are by the Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint. I have seen the painting above before - I thought it was pretty and assumed it was quite modern, but it is actually very old - possibly even 100 years old as Hilma af Klint lived from 1862 - 1944. She was in fact the very first abstract painter and she was way before her time. I think her work is quite fantastic and extraordinary and I am very sorry I won't be in London to see her show at the Serpentine Gallery that runs from the 3rd of March to the 15th of May.  

Images from here and here.

Feathered Fans from the Philadelphia Museum of Art

These beautiful feathered fans come from France, America and China and they are all part of the Philadelphia Museum of Art's collection. There are lots of other pretty fans too, but I have selected the feathered fans particularly as I was interested in the different shades, designs and types of feathers used that make them all so utterly unique. 

 

All images from the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Koloman Moser - Art Nouveau Master

I have totally fallen in love with Austrian Vienna Secession art nouveau artist Koloman Moser! I have actually blogged about him before in an art nouveau post I did a while back, but this post is just for him!

All images form here, here and here.

René Jules Lalique and Lucien Gaillard: Art Nouveau Masters

René Lalique is perhaps best known for his glass designs, but he was also an exceptional designer of hair accessories and jewellery. These pieces above, which feature a necklace, brooch and two hair combs are exquisite examples of his work and classic examples of the art nouveau style generally. There is also a silver plated sycamore hair pin by Lucien Gaillard, bottom right, which caught my eye.

René Lalique necklace from here, brooch from here, combs from here, here. Lucien Gaillard sycamore hair pin from here.