Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Springtime seems so far away on a rainy May day like today....
I made these in April when the crab apples were in full bloom.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Installation in a Landscape
For the land art project I decided to make an installation that would reflect the digital collage images I have working on the past few month dealing with bringing the inside outside and so I used my collection of Turkish rugs and kilims. The idea for this installation stems from my own photographic practice where I collage images from catalogs into landscape photographs. Working in the physical landscape, using my whole physical body to move the rugs around and the personal nature and meaning of the objects of using the rugs allowed me to have a better understanding of how objects work in the landscape and then within the frame of the camera.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
The Gleaners of Peter's Hill
My very own gleaner's landscape. Admittedly they were foraging dandelion leaves, great in salad. They were a Greek family, grandparents, daughter, grand daughter, they carried baskets.
Monday, April 19, 2010
April
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
New Born Nature
Beauty comes to those who wait.
Is that a saying or did I just make it one?
It is true.
This first winter in Boston was rough. It has nothing to do with snow, or the lack thereof but more to do with the deadness of everything. Light is blue, the air is cold. Trees are bare, green is brown life is dead. So why am I still alive?
I never feel right in the winter. When I look at my view I see a sort of reflection in the landscapes condition and my human condition.
In the winter when Arnold is trodden and tired I see my own darkness in the low hanging sun and gusting winds.
Now in the spring. I am spring. No really my name translates to springtime in Turkish and some other languages. Arnold can hardly hold back his love for spring. Every day blossoms, buds, leaves,s birds, snakes, critters, streams, ponds, life life life.
Arnold going through puberty is an intense experience. The colors become more saturated everyday, the shape of trees fill out with buds creating unbelievably intricate textures and forms.
The spring in Boston looks to be fantastic and I know summer will be so pleasant.
It's all the sweeter because we waited.
Is that a saying or did I just make it one?
It is true.
This first winter in Boston was rough. It has nothing to do with snow, or the lack thereof but more to do with the deadness of everything. Light is blue, the air is cold. Trees are bare, green is brown life is dead. So why am I still alive?
I never feel right in the winter. When I look at my view I see a sort of reflection in the landscapes condition and my human condition.
In the winter when Arnold is trodden and tired I see my own darkness in the low hanging sun and gusting winds.
Now in the spring. I am spring. No really my name translates to springtime in Turkish and some other languages. Arnold can hardly hold back his love for spring. Every day blossoms, buds, leaves,s birds, snakes, critters, streams, ponds, life life life.
Arnold going through puberty is an intense experience. The colors become more saturated everyday, the shape of trees fill out with buds creating unbelievably intricate textures and forms.
The spring in Boston looks to be fantastic and I know summer will be so pleasant.
It's all the sweeter because we waited.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
The View froom Bussey Hill
As I spend more time with Arnold and as I learn more about the experience of landscape I find myself more aware of subtle reactions. With this new attentiveness I have taken to visiting different parts of the Arnold. Bussey Hill is the summit in the main section of Arnold, more popular then Peter's Hill because of the close proximity to the main gates and the wide, paved road to the top. I had sort of avoided Bussey Hill since moving here, it is further away from where I generally go and I assumed the view would be the same as the one from Peter's Hill. As a part of learning about Peter's Hill I figured it was time to go to Bussey Hill to compare the two main peaks of Arnold. Would it be remarkably different then Peter's Hill and how?
In fact the experience of being on Bussey Hill is totally different than Peter's Hill. As one snakes their way to the top, the landscape of Boston is taken in 360 degrees. Upon reaching the summit a short fence designates the place to take in the scenic view. From here, the landscape audience is given the vista of outer Roslindale all the way to the Blue Hills Reserve. Standing there I felt like I was in different place, removed from Boston. Much like the experience of a tourist look out point or from the side of the highway with a landscape viewing platform, I could have been standing at the top of Mount Holyoke as the Massachusetts landscape stretched in front of me. Foreground, middle ground and background neatly laid out from the viewing area I felt like a tourist looking at a new landscape, meanwhile the familiar cityscape of Boston stood quietly behind me staring at Peter's Hill.
I suppose the thing about hill tops and mountain peaks is how they can help place ourselves within a topography. Looking over the land I can more easily grasp my scale and location in relation to the entire world. The high elevation allows greater freedom to possess the land as we read it and choose the piece that is most important to us. In this case standing on Bussey Hill turned me around to what lay beyond Peter. Next time I stand on Peter's Hill looking at the Boston I will know the Blue Hills are behind me.
View from Bussey Hill, Winter 1980 by Sheila Connor
View From Bussey Hill, Winter 1979 by Sheila Connor
Aerial View of Bussey Hill summit made from Google Maps.
In fact the experience of being on Bussey Hill is totally different than Peter's Hill. As one snakes their way to the top, the landscape of Boston is taken in 360 degrees. Upon reaching the summit a short fence designates the place to take in the scenic view. From here, the landscape audience is given the vista of outer Roslindale all the way to the Blue Hills Reserve. Standing there I felt like I was in different place, removed from Boston. Much like the experience of a tourist look out point or from the side of the highway with a landscape viewing platform, I could have been standing at the top of Mount Holyoke as the Massachusetts landscape stretched in front of me. Foreground, middle ground and background neatly laid out from the viewing area I felt like a tourist looking at a new landscape, meanwhile the familiar cityscape of Boston stood quietly behind me staring at Peter's Hill.
I suppose the thing about hill tops and mountain peaks is how they can help place ourselves within a topography. Looking over the land I can more easily grasp my scale and location in relation to the entire world. The high elevation allows greater freedom to possess the land as we read it and choose the piece that is most important to us. In this case standing on Bussey Hill turned me around to what lay beyond Peter. Next time I stand on Peter's Hill looking at the Boston I will know the Blue Hills are behind me.
View from Bussey Hill, February 19, 2010
View from Bussey Hill, Winter 1980 by Sheila Connor
View From Bussey Hill, Winter 1979 by Sheila Connor
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Landscape in a Box
Standing at the foot of Peter's Hill next to the train tracks. This landscape always pleases.
I imagine this my living painting.
May 16, 2010
May 13, 2010
(7:30 pm made with iphone)
May 5, 2010
May 1, 2010
April 23, 2010
April 19, 2010
April 16, 2010
April 10, 2010
April 8, 2010
April 2, 2010
March 20, 2010
March 16, 2010
February 27, 2010
May 16, 2010May 13, 2010
(7:30 pm made with iphone)
May 5, 2010
May 1, 2010
April 23, 2010
April 19, 2010
April 16, 2010
April 10, 2010
April 8, 2010
April 2, 2010
March 20, 2010
March 16, 2010The first clear day after the big rain storm.
February 27, 2010
February 16, 2010
February 5, 2010
January 26, 2010
January 3, 2010
October 13, 2009
August 13, 2009
July 11, 2009
July 11, 2009Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
The Pastoralist
1.26.10
Today I realized that my affection for this view is in large part because of genetics. It turns out that humans are attracted to landscapes that look like a good place for sheep to graze. It's the hunter gatherer in me.
It seems that my current landscape study is pastoral because if it is good enough for sheep...
Monday, January 25, 2010
This is Arnold
Quiet yet massive, complex yet incredibly thoughtful and engaging, The Arnold Arboretum ( from now on referred to as Arnold) is a tract of 265 acres in Boston, MA. Loved and cared for by Harvard University, Arnold also happens to be my backyard and one of my favorite places.
In Brooklyn I took a lot of pleasure (and sometimes grief) in living next to a fairly large park where I walked my precious beast Pierre twice a day for 4 years. Not including the hours I spent sitting on McCarren's benches in spring, rolled out on mats in the summer, or hauling milk bottles as they clank against one another to the farmers market despite pounding winter winds. I got to know McCarren Park well, maybe a little too well.
Now I have Arnold.
Arnold is more handsome then any other places I have been so close with. Arnold is big and strong, quiet and brooding, the kind of place you need a lot of time to get to know. Arnold knows a lot about
history, science, culture, nature, society. As far as favorite places go, this wins.
Since July I have been getting to know Arnold and I have to say, it's a pretty amazing place to be with. It is all landscape worthy, and incredibly beautiful all the time. If shit came raining down I know Arnold would wear it well.
Peter's Hill is where I spend the most time. It is the untamed side of Arnold, dogs run off leash, grass is rarely cut growing waist high in the summer, in the winter Peter's slopes are sparkling snow and ice, making it treacherous and perfect for sledding. Peter's Hill is Arnold's hippie alter ego.
This is an ariel portrait of Peter's HIll I made today.
Arnold is changing all the time. A giant organism constantly growing, dying, regenerating, following the four seasons in synthesis
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
