North American gardens – Page 79

Vintage landscape: summer shimmer

June 13, 2014April 11, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure4 Comments

“Woman and child in a field in front of a white house,” an autochrome taken between 1906 and 1942, by Arnold Genthe, via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.

“If an autochrome was well made and has been well preserved, color values can be very good,” according to the Wikipedia entry on this early color photography technique.

“The dyed starch grains are somewhat coarse, giving a hazy, pointillist effect, with faint stray colors often visible, especially in open light areas such as skies. The smaller the image, the more noticeable these effects are. The resulting “dream-like” impressionist quality may have been one reason behind the enduring popularity of the medium even after more starkly realistic color processes had become available.”

. . . The trees rustle
and whisper, shimmer and hiss.

— Amy Gerstler, from “Bon Courage“

In Rome

June 11, 2014July 19, 2017 Cindy at enclos*ure6 Comments

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Everyone soon or late comes round by Rome.
— Robert Browning, from The Ring and The Book

As you might imagine, late May was a beautiful time to be in Rome. Coming in from the airport — and later on the way to Naples — we saw swathes of red poppies blooming all along the train tracks. In the city, there were jasmine flowers everywhere. The temperatures were in the seventies, and the crowds of tourists weren’t yet (too) bad.

We continued our rather unfocused wanderings in this city as well. But I did spend about two hours in the Museo di Palazzo Doria Pamphilj* (or Pamphili), which was recommended in a 2013 New York Times article, “Three Quiet Museums in Rome.” It’s a family art collection in what is still the family’s ~~palace~~ home.

Prince Camillo Pamphilj and his brother Pope Innocent X began buying the paintings and sculptures in the 17th century. In the 18th, the palazzo became the dynasty’s principal residence, and it is now mostly presented as it was at that time.

It is quiet, and you can see masterworks by Bernini, Caravaggio, Memling, Titian, and Rubens, among others. Admission is €11 and includes a good audio tour by a current Pamphilj prince.

The extended family lives in other parts of the building (you can get a peek at their private courtyard garden just as you enter the museum). We think my husband, who met up with me later in the gift shop, may have been directed around the corner to the entrance by two of its members — older Italian ladies who told him he would “have a lovely time” in perfect British English. The audio guide tells you that English is the first language of the family today (a legacy of a 19th century English peeress ancestress).

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We were also able to visit the beautiful grounds of the American Academy of Rome on Janiculum Hill (photos above).

Miscellaneous tips for Rome

Reserve your hotel room as early as possible. I started looking about six weeks before our trip, and all of my first and second choices were booked up.

The two (casual) restaurants we particularly liked were:

the pizzeria Panattoni, Viale di Trastevere 53/57 (dinner only, cash only, closed Wednesdays) in Trastevere — for thin Roman-style pizza.
L’Antica Birreria Peroni, near Piazza Venezia — serving lunch and Peroni beer to local businesspeople. (The menu they gave us was only in Italian, but you can see a translation here.)

I liked the Kindle guidebook Revealed Rome by Amanda Ruggeri (and her blog of the same name) for culture, restaurant, and shopping tips. I also consulted the blogs Parla Food, Aglio, Olio e Peperoncino, and The Guardian’s city guide for Rome.

I also liked Italian Survival Guide (on Kindle and paper) by Elizabeth Bingham for a good explanation of Italian pronunciation, numbers, and basic phrases, as well as culture tips.

Not Built in a Day by George H. Sullivan is an interesting guide to Roman architecture, but don’t buy the Kindle version, as I did. The maps are tiny and fuzzy, making it very difficult to follow his walking tours.

*It is not part of the large park, Villa Doria Pamphili. The Palazzo is just northwest of the Piazza Venezia in the historic city center. The entrance is on Via del Corso.

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Vintage landscape: Poca, WV

June 2, 2014April 11, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ure6 Comments

“Water cooling towers of the John Amos Power Plant* loom over Poca, [West Virginia], home that is on the other side of the Kanawha River. Two of the towers emit great clouds of steam.”

This photo† (shown here with original caption) was taken in August 1973 by Harry Schaefer for DOCUMERICA, a photography project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

There are more pictures from DOCUMERICA here.

*Three-unit coal-fired power plant.

†Via the U.S. National Archives Commons on flickr.

Vintage landscape: Chicago mural

May 31, 2014June 4, 2014 Cindy at enclos*ure2 Comments

“Deteriorated wall mural adjacent to a vacant lot on 35th Street in South Side Chicago. Many Black artists are active in painting outdoor murals in the city’s Black communities. They feel it is a means of sharing art with people of the ghetto who never go to the museums.”

This July 1973 photo was taken by John H. White for DOCUMERICA, a 1970’s photography program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. It’s shown here with the original caption.

The EPA hired over 100 photographers to “document subjects of environmental concern.” The work continued until 1977 and left behind an archive of about 20,000 images.

In addition to recording damage to the nation’s landscapes, the project captured “the era’s trends, fashions, problems, and achievements,” according to the U.S. National Archives, which held an exhibit of the photos, “Searching for the Seventies,” in 2013.

There are more pictures from DOCUMERICA here.

Life in gardens: Chicago

May 29, 2014April 11, 2016 Cindy at enclos*ureLeave a comment

“Black youngsters performing on an empty lot at 5440 South Princeton Avenue on Chicago’s South Side at a small community program called “an Open Air Fashion and Talent Show” presented by “the New Between The Tracks Council.” It is one of many block clubs and community groups organized to help youngsters “do their thing” during special weekend programs in empty lots in the black communities.”

These photos* were taken August 1973 by John H. White for DOCUMERICA, a 1970s photography project of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. They are shown here with their original caption.