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Friday, December 30, 2016

Past and Present Pleasure as an Antidote to Gloom






This Christmas card is by Eric Rohman, one of the foremost designers of vintage Swedish movie posters, from the mid-1930s. Dark clouds of history were rising and the world was threatened by depression, hunger, threats of dictators and war.  The card was intended to show light shining through the gloom.  The color scheme of blue and yellow, the colors of the Swedish flag, elicited a patriotic sentiment.  There are beams of light shining up from the church and down from the stars, emphasizing vertical dimension and giving depth: the arc of the horizon suggests the Earth in a starry universe surrounded by pillars of stability.   We felt the card evoked a feeling of hope during hard times, a message reassuring in this and the coming year.  The inscription is in Swedish and means "Good Yule."






Some of the pleasures of the holidays include Christmas meal above and elaborate toy train setup at the National Botanic Garden below.  This boy could not contain his delight.





Meadow Colors December 2016










Houston Meadows
Andorra
Wissahickon Valley
Fairmount Park
Philadelphia, PA

More info on Friends of the Wissahickon website.

December Skies, 2016

 Sky looking southwest from Washington DC at sunset.
The end of an empire?....


The area over the Potomac is a flight way; planes fly down that corridor every 2-3 minutes.







December morning sky looking south near Philadelphia.

December trees form fine etching lines against the sky.

National Gallery East Wing Open Dec 2016


The sky above the National Gallery on Constitution Mall in Washington.
Yes, it is a grey December day.
Also, security and communications were already going up a month before inauguration day.

Below, serene art inside the East Wing:  painting by Franz Kline on the wall.







 Movie in the wonderful theater in the East Wing.
This is an unforgettable film:



Thursday, December 15, 2016

December, 2016: Beginning of Winter



The leaves came down and trees are bare.
The election happened and the world is dark.