Showing posts with label Postcard. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Postcard. Show all posts

Sunday, November 12, 2023

Postcards from NYC: Cats in Art

HOME!

Spent my time in New York City last week; a life to-do activity that was everything I'd wished for and more.

My sister and I visited museums daily, then walked 'round town and Central Park to immerse ourselves in everything that is New York.

With the help of our nephew and his sweetie, we added more events to our agenda, and arrived back at our homes Saturday night with our minds full of fascinating sights, our legs and feet tired, and our hearts full.

Of the eight museums visited, below are images that included cats, controversial or not:


"Woman with a Cat"
Edouard Manet
c. 1880
The National Gallery, London
on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Saw this art while visiting the UK in 2018 here
"Cat and Bird"
Paul Klee
1928
Museum of Modern Art, New York
"Fur Traders Descending the Missouri"
 George Caleb Bingham
1845
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Black cat at the front
"Olympia"
Edouard Manet
1863
Musée d'Orsay, France
on loan to The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Black cat on the bed on right

Patience
One of the two famous Library Lions
Sculptor: Edward Clark Potter 
Carved by Piccirilli Brothers 
1911
The New York Public Library, New York
😻😻😻

Friday, July 01, 2022

Postcard: Bastet

A postcard from my recent visit to the University of Chicago, Illinois.

Day 5: Bastet, Ancient Egypt Goddess

From the placard at The Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, Illinois:

"This village shrine honors a kindly cat-goddess, called Bastet.

Much-loved for her nature - strong, fertile and agile as a cat - the goddess Bastet also represents the warm, life-giving sun.  

Religious processions (and wild celebrations) marked Bastest's feast days on the 29th day of the fifth month and the fourth and fifth days of the eighth month.  

Priests took her image from the shrine and carried it through the streets and down the river for all to see.  

In the New Kingdom Period, Ramesses IV decreed no lion hunting could take place on her days."

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Today, let's celebrate Canada Day

A recognition of the early stages of Canadian unification.

Formerly called Dominion Day, the change to Canada Day occurred in 1982.

For me personally, Canada has been a very, very good friend.

From taking in stranded travelers on 9/11/01, to recently offering a hand of welcome to immigrants and women seeking medical assistance, Canadian sensibilities and caring ways are deeply appreciated.

Well, except for Canada Geese, which are the nastiest quackers...😹
Image from Meanwhile in Canada FB feed

Thursday, June 30, 2022

Postcard: Important Motorcade

A postcard from my recent trip to University of Chicago, in Illinois.

Day 4: Witnessing Vice President Kamala Harris's motorcade in downtown Chicago.

Could be a once-in-a-lifetime encounter.

Well...there were two limousines with American flags, so the highest-ranked woman in the country just drove past us...but WHAT THE HEY!

Cool as heck; we were jazzed.

Despite current political insanity in the United States political system, I am extremely grateful for this unexpected sighting.

Let's Hop!
Click on the badge above to visit Brian's Home Blog!

😿😿😿
The Rainbow Bridge has a new angel: Cleo.
Image borrowed from Pooplogs and Peeballs Blog
Click on the image above to leave kind words for Cleo's pawrents; they are devastated.
😿😿😿

Monday, June 27, 2022

Postcard: Chicago Surprise

A postcard from my recent trip to University of Chicago, in Illinois.

Day One: An eyebrow raising 'cat' encounter.

Upon a walking tour of campus, we stumbled across this wondrous artwork.
Artist: François-Xavier Lalanne

Title: Grand Chat Polymorph (1968/2008)

Location: David Rubenstein Forum, University of Chicago

Placard: Written by Jimin Kim, BA in Art History and East Asian Languages and Civilizations, 2022 in collaboration with Roko Rumora, PhD Candidate Department of Art History

“What if we place a giant unknown living creature in a domestic space?”

"In 1968, French sculptor François-Xavier Lalanne turned this question into reality, presenting this immense sculpture as a functional object for lounge spaces. While the work appears as a massive cat at an initial glance, a closer look reveals that it is in fact an amalgamation of the body of a cat with the tail of a fish, the wings of a bird, and the hooves of a bull. Suggested by the word polymorphe in its title, a derivative term of polymorphism, the work visualizes an imaginative organism occurring in multiple forms. Inspired by the fantastical polymorphic creatures from the Ancient Near Eastern mythology the artist engaged with as an at the Egyptian and Assyrian galleries of the Louvre, Lalanne gave life to this imaginative creature, turning his own imagination into a tangible form..."

Art is meant to evoke a reaction in the mind of the viewer.

What do you think of when you see this sculpture?

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Postcards from Meow MeetUp: Moe Grey!

Previous Postcards from Meow Meet Up posts:
The Catcade

Moe Grey!

Floofalicious!
Just chillin'...
Click here for the Facebook page for Moe Grey
Click here for the Instagram page for Moe Grey

Moe Grey and his people live in the Chicago area, and we met while waiting in line to see
Summer, Therapy Cat and Kitty On The Go! 

Moe is as mellow as can be, and his fur is a delight to get one's hands on.  Such a handsome mancat...look at those eyes, those whiskers, the white paws!

I am thankful that I attended Meow MeetUp Chicago, and I have more wonderful cat information that I gathered there to post about in the future.  Thanks to Sue from The Island Cats for including me, and to the other bloggers that I hung out with:

Sweet Purrfections
Random Felines
Sparklecat
As The World Purrs
Lola The Rescued Cat

Thank you too, for your purrs for Angel.
Am posting before I have news of her ultrasound today.

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Let's Hop!

Click her to go to Brian's Home Blog!

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Postcard From Denver: Walking Day 1

Thank you for your kind words as I unexpectedly mourned Chuck in my last post!
You all are the Cat's Pajamas, the Bee's Knees, the Monkey's Eyebrows!

😻💖😻

And now...Denver, Colorado!

Nestle Purina Pet Care Co. Warehouse, as seen from the freeway

A Denver U.S. Mint building; there are several!
Did you know that the U.S. Mint is NOT run by the U.S. Government?!?

Denver City Hall, in panorama

Fabric Cat Head Costume, at The Denver Art Museum

Caricature of "Whistler's Mother", with Siamese Cat

Yes, that's a cat at the bottom, but it's more like a little piglet!

Another cat image from the Denver Art Museum
The exhibition "Serious Play" was a collection of items from 1950-60's, organized around three themes—the American home, child’s play, and corporate approaches to design—encouraging visitors to consider how design connects to their daily lives.

Huge artwork outside; I was being silly while between the monoliths. And no, I did not bring The PO'M along to style my head...😸

We toured The Molly Brown House Museum, which had some fabulous lion statues!

"Pete the Cat" stuffies at The Tattered Cover Bookstore

My new bestie, Barrie, at The Tattered Cover Bookstore
Yes, her dress is all cats, and we discussed the cat book section, and everything 'cat'!
(Ellen, from 15 And Meowing, I told her to stock your books in the kids section!)
Denver, Colorado, and it's environs; what a fabulous place to visit!  We were there and back before the snowstorms hit, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to walk, walk, walk, then drive, drive, drive!

On our first full day, we toured The U.S. Mint, and then The Denver Art Museum.  The two locations were a few blocks apart, so we walked.  We encountered a couple carrying a cat; next door was a vet's office!  Not quick enough on the uptake to snap a photo.

Just another five blocks to The Molly Brown House Museum, and we arrived for the last tour of the day.  What a fabulous place, and Margaret Brown was one heck of a person, and she NEVER yet by Molly!  It was rush hour as we walked back to the car, so we decided to hang out at The Tattered Cover Bookstore, which was huge, fun, and luckily, full of nice chairs to rest our weary bones.  While there, I met Barrie, who is a huge cat lover, and we chatted and chatted, and had the best time!  Remember, Denver made it illegal to declaw cats...YAY!

A welcoming restaurant was next door to the bookstore, and there was vegan food for me, and normal food for everyone else, but wouldn't you know it, everyone wanted the cauliflower starter!  Our evening was spent enjoying our favorite TV show, "The X-Files".  What a great day: coins, cats, artwork, cats, museum, cats, books, cats...then aliens!

👽🐈👽