This photo I took in a place called Naarden Vesting in the Netherlands. I was visiting a show by a few photographers. This dungeon was well below the city walls that protected this town from (predominantly) the Spanish during the 80 years war. A war that raged from 1548 until 1628 (with a 12 year truce from 1609-1621).
Just try and imagine the fact that you were born when a war was raging, and you die in war time. As the average age during that period was well below 80 years. The show by Dutch photographers was quite a contrast with these surroundings.
More Flowery Lines…
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We Dutch are associated with more than our fair share of clichés. There’s the dykes, the wooden shoes, the beer, the stroopwafels to name a few. And of course our bicycles.
Abandoned lines…
On average, some 84% of Dutch own a bike. According to this blog that’s more than anywhere else in this world. And with an average ownership of 1,3 bikes per capita (!) we outrank the #2 country Denmark by a landslide.
I couldn’t find any figures of the average life span of a bicycle. But with so many bikes, and an expected life span of let’s say 15 years that means a fair number of bikes are being discarded every year. While the 15 years are entirely my guestimate, it would mean some 1.5 million bicycles are being discarded every year! And while probably a fair amount of Dutch do the right thing and discard their old bikes properly, I have still to come across one yet…
We rather tend to leave them where we parked them and ‘forget’ about them. Or dump them a little more out of sight. In a canal for instance…
To be continued…
Meanwhile, if you’re really that bored, try and read this…
I’m saving the full story behind Janis Joplin and her beloved Porsche in psychedelic lines for another post. Probably featuring more 60s & 70s stars and their cars. I’ll suffice to say here she bought this 1964 Porsche (when it came in an off-factory dull grey) second hand. At the time she paid $3,500 for it. She then gave one of her roadies, Dave Richards, $500 and a blank canvas to re-paint it.
Psychedelic lines
The roadie, Dave Richards, called his masterpiece ‘The History of the Universe’. In true psychedelic fashion after he had completely covered the car with images of Big Brother and the Holding Company (Joplin’s band). As well as California landscapes, the Eye of God, Janis’ astrological sign (Capricorn), skulls, mushrooms, butterflies, and more.
While Janis Joplin sang one of the most memorable lines in automotive history ‘All my friends they drive Porsche’s, I must make amends…Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz’ she faithfully drove her Porsche virtually everyday she was not on tour, until she departed for good in 1970.
Janis Joplin & ‘The History of the Universe’
To save the rest for another day, Joplin’s Porsche was, after some abuse to restore the grey paint job, restored to its psychedelic lines. It was finally auctioned at Sotheby’s for no less than $ 1.76 million to an unknown buyer. In typical Sotheby’s fashion, they have never disclosed his/her name.
The History of the Universe Photo Sergio CallejaThe History of the Universe with the line up of Big Brother and the Holding Company on the front fend
For more photos of 60s & 70s stars and their cars, simply click here.
Came across this painting at the ART The Hague fair a couple of weeks ago.
It mesmerized me, and looking at this picture it still does. Without the cracks and lines it would totally lose its attraction.
But typically me, I lost the piece of paper where I had jotted down the title and artist’s name… But Becky B was able out help me out with the artist, who is Lita Cabellut. And according to Wikipedia she is a Spanish multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in The Hague, Netherlands. Cabellut works on large scale canvases using a contemporary variation of the fresco technique.
Lita Cabellut
If you like her work just as much, it’s definitely worthwhile to pay her site a visit.
For more ‘mesmerizing’ art photos, see for instance here, or simply see the sidebar.
Dungeon windows is my entry in this Monday Window – Oct.21,2019 blog.
Dungeon windows
This photo I took in a place called Naarden Vesting in the Netherlands. This dungeon was well below the city walls that protected this town from (predominantly) the Spanish during the 80 years war. A war that raged from 1548 until 1628 (with a 12 year truce from 1609-1621).
Just try and imagine the fact that you were born when a war was raging, and you die in war time. As the average age during that period was well below 80 years.
And just to think about being captured as one of the bad guys and being locked up here.
For more of my entries in photo challenges click here, or simply use the side bar.
Back Catalog • the challenge seems quite simple really: ‘My challenge to you is to find an image in your back catalog that still grabs your attention and share it! Of course, if you want to re-interpret the image with what you have gained over the years, feel free to do so. Any kind of image is appropriate for this challenge! Let us know why this image still gets your attention!’
Brooklyn Bridge in New York City, 2008
Here’s my (first) entry to Frank’s Tuesday Photo Challenge. Picking this photo from my back catalog was a far from easy process.
Anyways, walking across to the other side made me feel I was trapped in an aviary. I was told by one of the ‘natives’ the lines, or nets if you will, were put in place to avoid people jumping.
She quite clearly wasn’t a fan of Rudy Giuliani’s policies: ‘if you don’t know how to tackle the real reasons, it’s safest for your re-election to tackle the symptoms.’
I’ve often been amazed at the pragmatism of Americans.
A disclaimer. I’ve just been getting interested in digital photography. I traded my analog Nikon F3 and some older bodies and lenses for a digital Leica, but I don’t really carry it around much. Find it much too bulky. Most shots I simply take with my iPhone, and do some polishing afterwards… The featured photo was taken with a cheap (as so many of my pics in my back catalog) Panasonic camera.
If you’d like to see more of my entries to photo challenges, just click here.
Took this photo at an art show in Amsterdam earlier this year. The installation, of which this head was part, was the highlight of the show (at least in my mind).
It was part of a much bigger installation
Viktor Freso’s installation
For more of my entries into photo contests click here, or simply see the sidebar.