Our last morning we toured the National Museum of Scotland. Naturally, most of my photographs were about the geometry of the space and less about the exhibits themselves. As ever, click on any of the pictures below to see them at full size (clicking the post title first if that doesn’t work for you in email or on social media).
After a walk by the Water of Leith and the Dean Village we eventually made it back to the Scottish National Galleries of Modern Art. There are actually 2 buildings at opposite ends of a small park. In the morning we walked though Two. In the park there’s a construction of an open room with half-silvered glass inviting spectral self portraits.
We returned there in the afternoon for a coffee and then made our way to Gallery One. Click any of the images below to see them bigger (you may need to click on the post title to go to the web site if you’re seeing this in email or social media).
No visit to a museum would be complete without a review of the geometry of the spaces. Click any of the pictures below to see them full sized (you may need to click the post title first if you’re not seeing this directly on the web-site).
Our final morning in Antwerp was spent at the KMSKA (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen), which underwent a massive refurbishment for many years. It’s a stunning museum and as you can see I continue to be interested in capturing the spaces, the geometry, the whiteness (and blackness), the symmetry and awe of this cathedral to the beauty of the capitalist art world. Please do click into the images below to see them all full-sized (you may need to click on the post title above first if you’re seeing this in email).
Evidently James is an English version of Jacob, via Latin and Old French. A monumental, lavishly decorated Gothic church, home to the tomb of artist Peter Paul Rubens which, alas, was closed with a lot of the church for renovation when we were there. The rear wall you see in the first picture with window light falling on it from the right is actually a painting on a barrier. Click any of the pictures to see them enlarged (unless you’re seeing this in email, in which case you may need to click the post title above first).
Once again, I’m struck by the architecture, the geometry, and the use (or absence) of colour in contemporary museums, almost more than by the photography I went to see.
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Bruges’ Groeninge Museum was excellent. Laid out in a somewhat traditional chronological fashion, century by century, it offered laminated placards in every room with explanations for most of the artworks so you didn’t need to bend over to read ill-placed, scantily illuminated placards and block other visitors’ view. Of course, as I’ve been doing in almost every museum we’ve visited, I found the mirrors tto photograph myself in.
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While in Ghent, we visited this historic cathedral. Click any image to see them large (click post title, above, first if that’s not working).
We visited the Museum of Contemporary Art. I photographed some items I found particularly compelling, particularly if I could find an artistic shot to take, rather than a simple deadpan documentation, continued my series on the geometric spaces in museums, found mirrors in which to photograph myself, and was introduced to Grace Ndiritu, who we would see again in Antwerp.
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While we have been round the castle keep several times, the palace itself is only open for touring on Wednesdays. We finally took the £5 tour which was quite interesting, covering the long history of the castle and its occupants and architecture. Naturally, I took a bunch of pictures along the way. Click the images to see them full sized (if viewing in email, you may need to click the post title first to open the web site).
I often post a “hotel room view” out the window. In this case we were staying at a lovely Bed and Breakfast, the Kimberley in St Agnes. Here are a few pictures from the room featuring the play of light through the blinds and on the walls. If viewing in email, click the post title to click into the images and see them larger.
Modern galleries present a lot of opportunities to take stark, geometric pictures.
Seems like every gallery I go to, I find a reflection of myself down a corridor in a doorway.
Galleries and museums, because of their preference for white walls and a kind of deluxe starkness, often provide geometric black and white still life opportunities. I’ve often photographed corners, nooks, and chairs in such places.
The next morning, in bright sunlight, I noticed the reflection from the window on the kitchen backsplash (see last post).
I was struck by the shadows and light on the cabinet doors of the kitchen, so I got the tripod and took a few shots at different distances. This one is a 26-second exposure so I’m guessing the motion blur is coming from the actual shutter press (no mirror flapping on my Fuji).
with apologies to Joseph Kossuth
