Tag: art

Sculpture by the sea

On By sheeplessIn Happenings & Musings2 Comments

Every year, thousands of people flock to the coastal walk between Bondi and Tamarama beaches to check out the art installations as part of Sculpture by the Sea. The path that hugs the coastline between these two beaches is spectacular, overlooking the deep blue ocean, golden sands, and steep cliffs, and it is always popular with walkers and joggers.

The day we chose to visit this year was baking hot. After a big breakfast at a Bronte beach cafe, we strolled north to Tamarama where we were greeted by this massive installation on the sands.  Very striking and spectacular from above!

sculptures by the sea 1

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We had a look at some of the other sculpture installations on the beach, and dipped our toes into the refreshingly cold water.

sculptures by the sea 4

sculptures by the sea 3

 

I particularly liked this one above, with pieces of trash masquerading as jellyfish. As a diver and beach goer, the amount of human-produced garbage that ends up in our waters is staggering, and it can have a devastating effect on wildlife.

sculptures by the sea 2

 

Due to the heat and the jostling crowds, we lost all motivation to continue onto the full length of the walk. From outings in previous years, this event is definitely a highlight, marrying art and the beautiful Sydney seascape, which is a perfect introduction to art for an ignoramus like myself!

Vivid Sydney’s festival of lights

On By sheeplessIn Happenings & MusingsLeave a comment

After a few years regrettably missing Vivid Sydney, this time I made a concerted effort to check out this year’s transformation of Sydney’s iconic buildings into canvases for lights and art.  [Working out in the suburbs, rather than the city, means that this sort of stuff requires a special effort!]

With nice balmy evenings and a festival vibe not far off new years eve, it was good fun wandering around and checking out some of the light/art installations dotted around Circular Quay and the Rocks.  Many of them required audience interaction, and the lights would dance to human movement.

vivid sydney harbour bridgeVivid Sydney Opera Housevivid sydney opera houseThe event was truly a photographer’s paradise, and I joined many others with their big tripods jostling for a good position to capture the spectacular light displays.

vivid sydneyvivid sydney customs house vivid sydney customs houseSometimes I forget how wonderful it is to live in this artistic city.  Sydney knows how to rock a festival!

Parisian pleasures

On By sheeplessIn FranceLeave a comment

Summer has finally arrived in Europe, with a glorious warm weekend heralding the beginnings of summer dresses, thongs, and jugs of Pimms and lemonade.

Alan and I spent the weekend in Paris, soaking up the sun by enjoying walks through the city, historic sights and a picnic in a park on the Seine.  We walked so far in fact that both of us were struggling through the horrific pain that our completely inappropriate walking footwear was inflicting on our feet.

On Saturday, we walked up to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower before getting the elevator all the way to the top.  The views were just magnificent!  The last time I was here in 2001, I was a poor student and could only marvel at the tower from the bottom.  From the top though, we could full appreciate how grand the Museé de Louvre was, as well as the view of the Seine snaking its way through the city.  It was quite a workout climbing all those stairs, and we thoroughly deserved that ice cream when we got back down the bottom!

The next day, we spent almost the whole day at the Louvre, admiring famous works by da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, and the statues Aphrodite (or the Venus de Milo) and the Winged Victory of Samothrace.  I was thrilled to be able to view Géricault’s Raft of the Medusa again, which is my favourite painting in the world.

We walked up the Avenue de Champs Elysée to marvel at the Arc de Triomphe, before I met up with my friend Christian for a dinner date in Montmartre.

Paris is such a beautiful city, and I definitely think that this is a place I could live in.  I think that I would get morbidly obese on all the cheese and wine that abounds in this country, although apparently French women don’t get fat!