Textures

Shiny

gritty

brittle

soft

waxy

rough

hard

wet

The Bechtler Museum of Modern Art : Charlotte, NC

(Picture from www.museumpublicity.com)

Charlotte has a new arts complex called the Cultural Campus. Visually heading up this campus is the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art. Swiss Architect, Mario Botta designed the building on S. Tryon St., where is certainly stands out against skyscrapers and antique churches. This is his second American building. He kept in step with his signature style - brick, stark, and geometric. Wagner -Murray Architects was the designer of record for this marvelous edifice. It was completed in 2009 and officially open to the public in January 2010.

The Bechtler Museum has an interesting and intimate background. After connecting the dots, I can't imagine a more appropriate Architect for this job. Let's start with the reason the museum is extant. It is the private collection of Swiss born Art lover, Andreas Bechtler. His father and uncle established a deep love for art in the 1950's, and decided to start collecting art Switzerland. Part of this is their collection inherited by their son, Andreas, and part are from his private collection. Business acquisitions had landed Mr. Bechtler in Charlotte, where he now calls home.

The museum houses a lot of recognizable names, such as Warhol, Le Corbusier, Klee and Johns, to name just a few. When I visited, I noticed that there was a large variety of "Le Corbu's" work. Everything from handmade rugs, to paintings, to, of course, furniture. Mario Botta was influenced by Le Corbusier and often quotes him, and refers to him as a Master of Rationalism. I could not find this in my research, but I believe that Botta studied under Le Corbusier at one time. (don't quote me!)

Even though this museum is small, it captures the intimacy of the art itself and the artists. One of my favorite features of this museum, and what seems to set it apart from others, are the personal letters between the Bechtler family and artists during the design processes. Also on display is a guest book from various get togethers at the Bechtlers house in Switzerland. It is a veritable "who's who in modern art". It reinstates the human side of the creativity and feeling that we can usually simply see through our own eyes, at our own perspective.

Recently, the museum added extra weekend hours. For an $8.00 adult admission, you can't beat that with a Barcelona Chair.

For more information on admission, parking and hours, go to:

www.bechtler.org/visit

From me to you, Mr. Bechtler, thank you for bringing you collection to our city!

Come on, Spring!

Hello! I just want to share some pictures of the flowers we saw in Tasmania. This is the "hurrah" in my rally to Spring. These make me smile, and I hope they do the same for you. May the upcoming warm weather bring color and joy to you!

Bloom, baby bloom!

The human side of great Architects?

I had an inspired moment of comedy as I was researching Swiss Architect Mario Botta for my next Blog entry. (incidentally, my next after this) I stated thinking, no matter how rich and famous one is, or how extraordinary a man can be, they are all still human. No? Take a look at these men. They are modern day greats. The best of the best in their field. I took a page from the files of Joan Osborn on this one, to some degree, and it's sad that I am about 15 years late.

Le Corbusier, whose real name is Charles Edouard Jeanneret- Gris, wrote the Five Pillars of Architecture, and sent my design professor into a face flushing excited frenzy at just the mention of his name. He was "da man", to him. He was not only an Architect, but was a furniture designer and artist.

(picture from www.memo.fr.com)

Mario Botta is a living Architect, and argued to be the best Swiss Architect of all time. Let's face it, if you have "of all time" after our description, you are probably epic, in some way.

(picture from www.archimagazine.com)

..and what about Frank Lloyd Wright? His life was even dissected more in the spotlight than other famous Architects, but what about his time behind closed doors?

(picture from http://www.usconsulate.com/)

We see the end results of their work, as we marvel a their achievements. We hear the stories of how they are/were good, bad or indifferent in every step of the design process. What about when they get home from a long day at the office?


What did(do) these men do in their free time?

Now, I have no allusions that I am like them, or for that matter, even good at my job. It seems though, that everyone , can relate to one another in some way.


There are some days that I just don't want to go run, no matter how nice it is outside. Would Frank Lloyd Wright throw off his cape at the door and exclaim that he will not exercise tonight, even though his wife (or mistress) was all suited up for a jog around the block?


Do these guys watch TV? Does Mario Botta tune into the Swiss version of American Idol and get mad at the Swiss version of Sanjaya?


Does he Wii bowl? If so, could he beat me?


Does leaving the sponge in the sink and not on the counter send Botta into a rage?


They walk on sidewalks, they get wet in rain like I do, so why not?

Did Le Corbu get in trouble for leaving the seat up? Did he care?

Could it have been possible that Le Corbu was a terrible driver, or threw like a girl?

Certainly, all of these men could have been the biggest Elvis fan you have ever met. I suppose they could all have been huge Pete Seeger fans as well, like me.

Did FLW prefer boxers?

Did they ever call in sick, and they weren't??

I realize that these men all worked incredible hours to master their craft, but certainly, they must have done common everyday things, like drink directly from the milk carton, or get cavities. When they go to the dentist, do they get to pick their tooth brush color?


I don't want you to think that I am putting these men down in any way. They are clear examples of perfection and greatness, but I was just thinking...

Tasmania III - The Southern Forests and Tehune Air Walk

Mostly, we stayed along the East side of Hobart everyday, except to go Southwest, about 90 minutes, to the Huon Valley to see the Forest. Oddly, the scenery on our drive there reminded me a lot of Upstate NY, aside from the slow controlled driving and dead wallabies on the side of the road. Even the produce was the same - apples and grape vineyards. What we were headed to was nothing like what the Finger Lakes Region where I grew up offered; The Southern Forest.

Okay, I could drone on about how beautiful and breath-taking it was and use words like "lush" and "magnificent". I'll leave that to the pictures. I want to hit on this part of our trip the most because I think it resonates the the dichotomy of Tasmania seems to stand for, and struggles with. Preservation (over 40% of the island is protected) and logging (huge Tasmanian Industry). This is an ongoing conflict in this area, and has lead to violence and protests between the two groups.

In the Southern forest, there stands the Tahune Airwalk, three storeys about the ground. It is the largest cantilevered structure in the world. It stands not for a record, but there to save the rain forest that it guards.

The only thing that I, sadly, can't bring to you on this page is the smell of this forest. It was so fresh and sweet, and evidently, hard to describe. If only I could smell that smell once again, I'd be in Heaven! Bottle it already!

Celery Top

Inside the Pine Forest:

Silver Wattle

Laurel

Arguably Tasmania's Tallest Tree - BIG TREE

Euclayptus regnens - Swamp Gum

Approx. 87 m - and was possibly higher until it was hit by lightning

for more information on Tasmania's Huon Valley area:

http://www.huon.org/

http://www.tasforestrytourism.com.au/

Lastly, for my next blog, I will be returning to Architecture, just for a week. I will be discussing Mario Botta, a Spanish Architect that has compelling building designs, and who happened to design the new Bechtler Museum in Charlotte, NC, which was last weekend's adventure for me and "hubby".

Tasmania II - Port Arthur Prison Colony

Penitentiary –noun
1. a place for imprisonment, reformatory discipline, or punishment, esp. a prison maintained in the U.S. by a state or the federal government for serious offenders.
(www.dictionary.com)

Before I visited, the extent of the knowledge that I had was that Australia, in fact, was a British Penal Colony a long time ago.

The reason that Australia became a part of the British Penal system was simple; Britain wanted to colonize. The French and Japanese had their eye on the land what is now Australia. Since England was overcrowded as it was, this was a good move to get the really bad prisoners away from the mainland. This is about the farthest away they could have gotten, and could solidify their position in the territory.

Being a prisoner in Australia wasn't so bad in comparison to their existing lives. At the time, the Irish were in the throes of the Potato Famine, and England was rife with disease and overcrowding. The men were sent to Australia to serve a labour sentence, typically with a family. After that, the prisoner was free, and chances are, didn't return to England. About 75,000 prisoners were transported from Britain to VDL during this time that was simply known as the"transportation period".

Port Arthur ran as a prison station from 1833-ca.1853. This was the camp on the Island of Tasmania (then called Van Diemen's Land) where the worst offenders came to stay. These men and boys (the youngest registered at age 8) were prisoners elsewhere that tried to escape their current conditions, committed murder, or was a repeat offender.

This location is where the word "penitentiary" was introduced as a system of reform. It was a way to rehab prisoners through the involvment of Christianity in the convicts everyday lives. It was also the first modern model of a prison system that we are familiar with - single or double chamber cells for each prisoner who is afforded a few hours a day outside it.

The port was protected by a dog line on the thinnest part of the Tasman Peninsula. Ten vicious dogs (one named Tear 'em) were stationed at Eagleneck, where the dogs served as a barrier to the free land.




Suffering and Conditions


William Smith O'Brien was a famous political prinsoner from Ireland, and a resident at Port Arthur. He was in a revolutionary group that was formed to fight for Ireland's independence from Britain. A journal entry stated, "more like a pretty village placed in a romantic position, than an abode of misery and crime" My sentiments were similar at first sight. Later, after he stayed a while he stated that Port Arthur was "a spot which has probably witnessed more of human suffering than almost any spot of equal size on the globe."


Officer's and their families came to settle here and called this camp home. they followed through with as normal a life as possible. They visited one another, thre parties and had clubs. Meanwhile, the prisoners were buidling ships in the water of the frigid harbor, breaking rock to actually fill in part of the harbor with land, and all the while, not allowed to communicate with other prisoners at any time.


A Pictoral Tour

The old grain house and later a prisoners dormitory. This was the sleeping house before private cells were used. A lot of fighting and conspiring went on under this condition.

A view through the trees to the rocky aqua harbor below

A view to the harbor and grain buidling that later became prisoners quarters. The grassy area that you see was infilled by the prisoners one stone at a time.

This is a view down to the harbor from near the surgeons home, which was also near the post office.

A Garden and gate at Trentham

Close up of a garden at Port Arthur's Trantham house.

Around 1853, the settlement became the solution to the calamity that the prison system itself had created within teh society there. The welfare state started there, and Port Arthur became a home for the insane, and also held what the Aussie's still call paupers. In 1877, it finally closed.

Today, you can take around $25 AUS and visit as well, but for a much shorter and enjoyable time!

Last items of note:

The employees do not dress up in costume so that they will not appear to mock the dead and suffered.

In 1996, a man open fired on the grounds, killing 35 and wounding dozens. He was caught the next day adn imprisoned. Do not ask about this occurance, for they do not wish to speak of it. There is a Memorial Garden to honor the victims of that tragic day.

In 1856, Van Diemen's Land was officially renamed Tasmania and granted self government.