SUNDAY BEST #414 - E.T., GO HOME

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity.

Please do not use this meme to advertise our goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Taken for Granted in the USA posted this lovely portrait of Etta. Please visit his blog for more great shots.

SUNDAY BEST #408 - IN THE CLOISTERS

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity.

Please do not use this meme to advertise our goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

An architectural embellishment in the cloisters of the University of Melbourne's Old Law Quadrangle.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Rupam Sarma in India posted this wonderful B&W image. Please visit his blog for more great shots.

SUNDAY BEST #383 - AT THE GALLERY

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity.

Please do not use this meme to advertise our goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

Nina Sanadze's "Call to Peace, Anatomy of the Dream", exhibited at the The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia at Federation Square in Melbourne. Sanadze, a Georgian artist residing in Australia since 1996 is making an anti-war statement, using sculptures and reimaginings of classical forms in various stages of construction, completion and/or deconstruction.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Roentare in Melbourne shared this photo from his trip to New Zealand. Please visit his blog for more great shots.

SUNDAY BEST #326 - SCULPTURE

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:
1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;
2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;
3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;
4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity.

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately.

"The Nest"  is a sculpture in the Darebin Parklands, which was made by artists David Bell and Gary Tippett from recycled materials. It is a $75,000 public art sculpture installed in October 2012 in Darebin Parklands and has divided residents, with some saying the egg-shaped work looks out of place in bushland. The artwork itself has been praised by residents, but some have  criticised the location chosen.

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Last week, Kwarkito in Paris, France, posted this wonderful, meditative and allegoric photo. Please visit his blog for more interesting photos and posts.

WIRY EGG

Having a bit of fun with some lengths of rusty wire and stones I found on a walk. I wondered if cast iron ducks lay wiry eggs? 

This post is part of the Mosaic Monday meme,
and also part of the Blue Monday meme,
and also part of the Seasons meme.

DEGAS' DANCER

Edgar Degas The little fourteen-year-old dancer (La Petite danseuse de 14 ans) 1879–81, cast 1922–37 bronze with cotton skirt and satin ribbon 99.0 x 35.2 x 24.5 cm Czestochowski/Pingeot 73 (cast unlettered) Museu de Arte de São Paulo, Assis Chateaubriand Donated by Alberto José Alves, Alberto Alves Filho and Alcino Ribeiro de Lima (426 E)

This is a sculpture by the French impressionist master Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917), which is in the permanent collection of the NGV in Melbourne. In 2016 The NGV held a fantastic exhibition of works by this artist and it was a fantastic experience seeing some of his magnificent works again.

This post is part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

MY SUNDAY BEST MEME #92 - SIMPSON'S DONKEY

Welcome to the meme, "My Sunday Best", which is a photographic and creative meme that allows you to showcase your talents in imaging. Every Sunday, you can post here showing an image you have created using your camera, (and/or) image processing software, and/or painting and drawing in the conventional way and have scanned in.

The rules are simple:

1) Create your image and post it up on your blog;

2) Put the "My Sunday Best" logo image link somewhere on your post so people can click and come by here;

3) Leave a comment here once you have posted;

4) Visit other posters' blogs and be amazed with their creativity!

Please do not use this meme to advertise your goods or services. This is a creative meme and any inappropriate links or comments shall be removed immediately!

John (Jack) Simpson Kirkpatrick (6 July 1892 – 19 May 1915), who served under the name John Simpson, was a stretcher bearer with the 1st Australian Division during the Gallipoli Campaign in World War I. After landing at Anzac Cove on 25 April 1915, Simpson began to use donkeys to provide first aid and carry wounded soldiers to the beach, for evacuation. Simpson and the donkeys continued this work for three and a half weeks, often under fire, until he was killed, during the Third attack on Anzac Cove. "Simpson and his Donkey" are a part of the "Anzac legend". 

Peter Corlett's sculpture 'Simpson and his donkey, 1915' is a bronze statue at the National War Memorial in Canberra, Australia, made in 1987-8.

This post is part of the My Sunday Photo meme,

and also part of the Photo Sunday meme.

PHILADELPHIA, USA

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States, with an estimated population of 1,567,872 and more than 6 million in the seventh-largest metropolitan statistical area, as of 2016. Philadelphia is the economic and cultural anchor of the Delaware Valley—a region located in the Northeastern United States at the confluence of the Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers with 7.2 million people residing in the eighth-largest combined statistical area in the United States.

In 1682, William Penn, an English Quaker, founded the city to serve as capital of the Pennsylvania Colony. Philadelphia played an instrumental role in the American Revolution as a meeting place for the Founding Fathers of the United States, who signed the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Constitution in 1787. Several other key Philadelphia events during the Revolution include the First and Second Continental Congress, the preservation of the Liberty Bell, the Battle of Germantown, the Siege of Fort Mifflin, and the Philadelphia Convention. Philadelphia was one of the nation's capitals in the Revolutionary War, and served as temporary U.S. capital while Washington, D.C., was under construction.

In the 19th century, Philadelphia became a major industrial centre and railroad hub that grew from an influx of European immigrants. The majority of European immigrants have come from Ireland, Italy and Germany—the three largest reported ancestry groups in the city as of 2015. The city became a prime destination for African Americans during the Great Migration of the 20th century, as well as Puerto Ricans, surpassing two million occupants by 1950. The area's many universities and colleges make Philadelphia a top international study destination, as the city has evolved into an educational and economic hub.

With a gross domestic product of $388 billion, Philadelphia ranks ninth among world cities and fourth in the nation.[12] Philadelphia is the centre of economic activity in Pennsylvania and is home to seven Fortune 1000 companies. The Philadelphia skyline is growing, with a market of almost 81,900 commercial properties in 2016 including several nationally prominent skyscrapers. The city is known for its arts, culture, and rich history, attracting over 41 million domestic tourists alone in 2015.

This post is part of the Our World Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Travel Tuesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme.

A "Love" sculpture, designed by Robert Indiana, was first placed in the plaza in 1976 as part of the United States' Bicentennial celebration. It was removed in 1978, but the sculpture was missed, and the chairman of Philadelphia Art Commission, Fitz Eugene Dixon Jr., bought the sculpture and permanently placed it in the plaza, in 1978.

Philadelphia skyline by night

Philadelphia Art Gallery

"Independence Hall in Philadelphia" by Ferdinand Richardt (1858-63)

The Liberty Bell is an iconic symbol of American independence, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formerly placed in the steeple of the Pennsylvania State House (now renamed Independence Hall), the bell today is located in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned in 1752 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly from the London firm of Lester and Pack (now Whitechapel Bell Foundry), and was cast with the lettering "Proclaim LIBERTY Throughout all the Land unto all the Inhabitants Thereof," a Biblical reference from the Book of Leviticus (25:10). The bell first cracked when rung after its arrival in Philadelphia, and was twice recast by local workmen John Pass and John Stow, whose last names appear on the bell. In its early years the bell was used to summon lawmakers to legislative sessions and to alert citizens about public meetings and proclamations.

A SHOW OF HANDS

Near the entrance of the CUA building in Brisbane's CBD is an interesting sculpture that has been added to Brisbane City's public art portfolio. Commissioned in 2002, 'Chat' by Sebastian Di Mauro features a set of of shiny steel hands rising up from the pavement, evoking a desire to gesticulate or sign, and indeed chat...

This post is part of the Photo Sunday meme,
and also part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme,
and also part of the My Sunday Photo meme.

ETHOS, CANBERRA

"Ethos" is a sculpture of a winged female figure of cast electrolytic copper, by the Australian artist, Tom Bass. The figure is robed in a fabric richly embossed with emblems and figures representing the Community. She rises from a hexagonal shaped saucer incised with the pattern of the Canberra Plan and reaches for the sun above her head. The lower part of the figure is filled with concrete for stability. The figure is 400 cm high, 76 cm wide, 90 cm deep and the bowl has a diameter of 170 cm. The circular concrete base of 50 cm height rises from a 204 cm square.

In the saucer at the rear of the figure a cartouche is inscribed "Tom Bass 1961". The saucer is centrally drained and has breather holes placed at each point of the base. The sculpture is set on a cement plinth which holds a time capsule. The capsule contains a range of material including a copy of the Canberra Times, the Annual Report of the Canberra Chamber of Commerce and a list of contributors to the sponsorship by the Canberra Chamber of Commerce.

This sculpture by Tom Bass (born Lithgow, NSW, 1916-2010) was the first commission by the National Capital Development Commission (NCDC) for an artwork in a public place. The NCDC was established in 1958 to plan, develop and construct Canberra as the National Capital and provided works of art as an integral part of its building and urban development programmes. The sculpture was commissioned in 1959.

Ethos was sponsored by the Canberra Chamber of Commerce which raised money by the sale of miniatures of the sculpture for 50 pounds and through other donations from both the business community and the public. The NCDC contributed the balance to meet the total cost of the 7,580 pounds.

This post is part of the Skywatch Friday meme.

CORDOBA, SPAIN - ALCAZAR

The Alcázar de los Reyes Cristianos (Spanish for "Alcázar of the Christian Monarchs"), also known as the Alcázar of Córdoba, is a medieval Alcázar located in the historic centre of Córdoba, Spain next to the Guadalquivir River and near the Grand Mosque. The Alcázar takes its name from the Arabic word القصر (Al-Qasr, meaning "the Palace"). The fortress served as one of the primary residences of Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon.

In early medieval times, the site was occupied by a Visigoth fortress. When the Visigoths fell to the Umayyad conquest of Hispania, the emirs of the Umayyad Caliphate in Damascus rebuilt the structure. The Umayyads fell to the Abbasid Caliphate and the surviving member of the Umayyad Dynasty, Abd ar-Rahman I, fled to Córdoba. Abd ar-Rahman I's successors established the independent Caliphate of Córdoba and used the Alcázar as their palace. The city subsequently flourished as an important political and cultural center, and the Alcázar was expanded to a very large compound with baths, gardens, and the largest library in the West. Watermills on the nearby Guadalquivir powered water lifting to irrigate the extensive gardens.

This post is part of the Wednesday Waters meme,
and also part of the Waterworld Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Outdoor Wednesday meme,
and also part of the Wordless Wednesday meme,
and also part of the ABC Wednesday meme.

ART SHADOWS

This is a piece of sculpture in the "Heide" Modern Art Gallery in Melbourne's Heidelberg. It is by Australian artist Geoffrey Bartlett (born 1952) and is called: "Circus by the Sea" (1982). The photo also shows my self-portrait... :-)

This post is part of the Shadow Shot Sunday meme.

CHRISTCHURCH CATHEDRAL, NZ

Christ Church Cathedral is a deconsecrated Anglican cathedral in the city of Christchurch, New Zealand. It was built between 1864 and 1904, in the centre of the city surrounded by Cathedral Square. It was the cathedral seat of the Bishop of Christchurch in the New Zealand tikanga of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia.

Over its history, the building (mostly the spire) has been damaged by earthquakes in 1881, 1888, 1901, 1922, and September 2010. The February 2011 Christchurch earthquake destroyed the spire and part of the tower, and severely damaged the structure of the remaining building. The remainder of the tower was demolished in March 2012, and the west wall collapsed in the June 2011 earthquake due to a steel structure that was supposed to stabilise the rose window pushing it in.

The Anglican Church hierarchy is determined to demolish the building and replace it with a new structure, which is one of the most controversial topics in post-quake Christchurch. Various groups have opposed the church, including taking it to court. So far, the judgements have mostly been in favour of the church, with one more judgement pending. No demolition has occurred since the removal of the tower in early 2012. Since 15 August 2013, the cathedral community has been worshipping at the "Cardboard Cathedral".

Construction of the "Cardboard" temporary cathedral started on 24 July 2012. The site, on the corner of Hereford and Madras Streets, several blocks from the permanent location, was blessed in April 2012. Designed by architect Shigeru Ban and seating around 700 people, it was expected to be completed by Christmas 2012, but the completion date was put back to July and then August 2013. The materials used in its construction include cardboard tubes, timber and steel. The dedication service was held on 15 August 2013. In November 2012 the diocese began fund raising to pay for the NZ$5 million project, following a High Court judge indicating it may not be legal to build a temporary cathedral using its insurance payout.

This post is part of the Scenic Weekends meme,
and also part of the Spiritual Sundays meme,
and also part of the inSPIREd Sunday meme.

After the earthquakes:

The "Cardboard Cathedral":