Tag: Murals

Virtual Travel – Wisconsin

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

You are in Wisconsin doncha know. Our state tours are coming to an end but there is plenty to see and do in Wisconsin, and beyond.

 

2015 09 06 108 Hurley WI

 

 

State Capitol

1947     1953     1966

 

 

Madison is the State Capital. The Capitol building dates from 1917.

2012 07 15 1 Madison WI

 

 

State Symbols

State Dance – It seems nearly every state has square dancing as the state dance, but not Wisconsin. Let’s play the Beer Barrel Polka

 

State Pastry – Kringle

 

 

Madison is a pretty city situated between two lakes. The state animal, and nickname for the University of Wisconsin sports teams are the Badgers.

 

 

 

 

Towns and Cities

1940     1967     1972     1983     1997     2001    2003    2008     2017

 

Milwaukee – Wisconsin’s largest city is a Lake Michigan port city. There are a number of museums and parks along the lakeshore.

2014 09 20 8 Milwaukee

 

 

Racine is a smaller port city near the Illinois border.

2014 09 20 96 Racine WI

 

 

Ashland is located in northern Wisconsin on the shores of Lake Superior.

 

 

 

 

Wisconsin Cultures

1948     1958     1969     1987

Government State Wisconsin 1948

 

 

The Northern Great Lakes visitor center celebrates life on the Great Lakes.

2015 09 06 146 Ashland WI

 

 

The German culture thrives throughout the state. Beer, brats and cheeseheads! (photos from the internet)

Bavarian Bierhaus | © VISIT Milwaukee

look at that cute cheesehead!"-a packers fan #greenBAE #greenbay ...

 

 

 

Wisconsin Roads and Attractions

1970     1971     1973     1976     2006     2010     2011     2012     2013

 

Government State Wisconsin 2006

 

 

Wisconsin Dells – A popular tourist attraction in south central Wisconsin. While there is natural scenery there is an abundance of man made attractions. (photos from the internet)

Trips on a Tank: Wisconsin

Facts | Wisconsin Dells | Media Information

 

 

Harley Davidson Museum in Milwaukee

2014 09 20 34 Harley Davidson Museum Milwaukee

 

 

Wingspread – A Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece in Racine.

2014 09 20 102 FLW Wingspread House Racine WI

 

 

 

House on the Rock is located in Spring Green. This amazingly quirky structure was built as a result of a feud between a man named Alex Jordan and Frank Lloyd Wright. When Wright told him he wasn’t qualified to build a crate, Jordan set out to build this home.

Many question if this story is true or not, but regardless this place is like nowhere else. It is filled with automated musical instruments, strange collections, circus features including a massive carousel, and many other collections. The highlight is the ‘Infinity Room’, cantilevered out over the valley below.

2012 07 14 92 Spring Green WI House on a Rock

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tigre, Argentina – February 2020 – Prowling Around Town

Architecture, Art, Nature, Transportation

A Saturday in Tigre…

Murals of the town.
















An old car that is not a Ford Falcon (a rarity in Argentina). A classic Peugeot.





The bamboo store.






You can’t spend any time in Tigre without being along a river.





The tourists are coming back from a night on the islands.





A small market of local crafts.









The river is lined with restaurants in the park.






Jet airplanes in the yard? It is the Argentina Naval Museum.










We looked for, but did not find, the Mate Museum – but did see a giant teapot.





And with that it is time to go back to the stylish train station and head out of town.






Buenos Aires – January 2020 – Saturday Wanderings

Architecture, Art, Nature

A Saturday in the city with some random sights.

As usual, we arrived at Retiro Train Station. Today however I noticed that on the side where the long distance trains leave from there is a series of murals.




















There are a number of these vintage platform kiosks scattered about the station.






Moving on we passed by one of the colorful buses, commonly known as Collectivos – private bus companies, In the background is the National Congress Building.






Our final barrio was Puerto Madero. Once docklands, then vacant for 40+ years, it is now the newest neighborhood in the city – with the tallest buildings.









The ship ARA Uruguay is a floating museum. It is thought to be the largest ship of it’s era still afloat – more than 140 years old having been built in 1874.























A first for me – a monument to taxi drivers.






The promenade goes along what was once the riverfront. It has been reclaimed and is now a nature preserve.





There are a number of food trucks along the way, but none served cerveza. Fear not – the mobile bar is ready for you!





The area is known as Costanera Sur.





With your back to the city it feels as though you are in the middle of the tropics.







Buenos Aires – January 2020 – Station to Station Spanish History Tour in Art on the Subway

Architecture, Art, History, Transportation

The Subway Art Tours of Buenos Aires continues with the C Line. This line runs between the two major train stations, Retiro and Constitucion.

We start at Retiro.





There is a direct passage to the Subte from the Retiro concourse.





The first artwork that is seen is by Fernando Allievi. It depicts the harshness and lonliness of living in the big city.










Along the platform are mosaics celebrates diversity in Buenos Aires.





The first stop is Plaza San Martin. The artist Marcela Moujan brought the green space of the plaza into the subway station with this work.





This Neo-expressionist work by Luis Felipe Noe represents the geographical diversity of Argentina: The Mountains, The Pampa and the Jungle.





A collection of eight friezes by Rodolfo Medina celebrate the liberation campaigns that General San Martin lead to free Chile and Peru.









This piece is entitled El Sur, by Luis Fernando Benedit.




When you reach Lavalle Station you begin to get the Spanish history lesson. In this station the landscapes of the Alicante, Valencia, Teruel, Huesca and Zaragoza regions of Spain are celebrated.

















In addition to the murals in the stations the accompanying tile work is unique to each. The overall atmosphere of Diagonal Norte station is of hues of blue.








In this station the regions of Avila, Toledo, Soria, Burgos, Madrid and Aranjuez – with some of the more famous buildings of each city are depicted.





















The Avenida de Mayo station has this mural entitled ‘Spain and Argentina’, with images representing ideas. On the right Argentina is young and promising, on the left is the old establishment of Spain. The female figure in the center represents the strong relationship of the two countries, with the subway construction underneath showing the work to join the two.





The supports in the center of the platform make a perfect picture frame for this Ignacio Zuloaga Zableta mural showing the massive aqueduct.





As we continue to the Moreno station we are greeted with more Spanish landscapes: Bilbao, Santander, Alava, Navarra, Santiago, Lugo and Asturias are all represented on the murals on both sides of the platform.













Again the tile work leading to the platforms is amazing.









Independencia Station – Landscapes here include Seville, Granada, Cordoba and others.














San Juan Station – The Levante region, where the sun rises.








The history lesson is over, we have reached Constitucion – you are now fully in Argentina. The painter and cartoonist Florencio Molina Campos was famous for the characters of the Pampa region.












Welcome to Constitucion Station.






Buenos Aires – December 2019 – D Line Subway Art

Architecture, Art, History, Museum, Transportation

Christmas day morning is the perfect time to take photos of the massive amount of art in the Buenos Aires subway – the trains are running frequently but there are very few people on them, or in the stations.

This posting is not meant to be a catalog of all of the art as it would be far to extensive, rather to profile some of the best. The photos go in order from the furthest station out (Congresso de Tucaman) to the termination at Catedral. Many of the notes detailing the work came from a PDF/book published in 2017 by the city of Buenos Aires.

We start in the Congresso de Tucaman station with a large mural that is meant as a statement of freedom and independence, with a number of symbols including a condor which stands for the southern hemisphere and an eagle which stands for the northern hemisphere. This mural also represents sacred symbols and the idea that it is never too late to make dreams come true.




This mural, as well as a number of others, in the Jose Hernandez station is by Raúl Soldi. The works depict a bygone era of art and music.




The ticket level has a tribute to Lionel Messi, a legendary Argentine soccer player.




In the Palermo station are works from Milo Lockett, evoking childhood memories to provide a pleasant journey.







In the Plaza d’Italia station are three beautiful tile murals by Leonie Matthis de Villar. This one is depicting public ceremonies the chiefs used to carry out with the priest before entering the church.




The columns of the station are decorated by Marino Santa Maria, the mosaic artist we met in his studio a few weeks ago.




On the floor of the platform, protected by special resistant material, are scenes from the Port of Buenos Aires in the 1930s. It represents the Italian immigrant laborers of the day.









Many of the stations have these fantastic murals on tile. Completed by Rodolfo Franco, they were installed in the stations during their construction in the 1930s, depicting both historic and current (for 1930s) life across Argentina.

























In the Pueyrredón station are a series of illustrations by Gustavo Reinoso showing the symbols of the city in a Pop Art style.














Further into town at the Facultad de Medicina we return to more of the Franco murals.













In the Callao station there are 8 large mosaics portraying German artists who learned their artwork was destroyed by the Nazi’s at the end of World War II. Completed by Remo Bianchedi, it is a tribute to the anguish those artists felt.

Knowing this now they seem cheapened by the large advertising nearby.













The Teatro Colon station has a far more modern art approach.






Also in the Teatro Colon station are representations of the Spanish conquistadors coming to Argentina, and the impact it had on the natives.






In this mural depicting 1835, gauchos are resting after the end of their journey, leaving their carts half-loaded. This image contains those goods that were part of the international trade that later Argentina into the breadbasket of the world.





We end at Catedral where the beloved Mafalda is lamenting the condition of the world.







Buenos Aires – December 2019 – The People and Street Art of the Palermo Soho Barrio

Uncategorized

Like London and New York, Buenos Aires has a ‘Soho’, however it is not a acronym for anything – just a cool name from the aforementioned cities.

Like those other cities, the neighborhood is very stylish and ‘hip’. We took an Urban Art tour with Grace, who knows the neighborhood well.

With the gentrification and general hipster feel of the neighborhood, much of the graffiti appears polished compared to other BA neighborhoods. Still it is well done and well worth the visit.



































































Thanks Grace for an excellent tour.