Simon Schama Power of Art

is amazing. Finally, a documentery that shows Paul Gauguin in his true light:

http://www.booksplendour.com.au/gallery/classics/Gaugin/gauguin_piano.jpg

Merry Post-Christmas everyone and a happy impending New Year.

The Roman Conclusion

Molly McCormick’s Hits List of Rome: 

Top 20 Architectural Sites in Rome:

1. Pantheon
2. The Vatican City (Notably Bernini’s Piazza)
3. The Church of Al Quatri Fontani
4. Parco Della Musica
5. The Roman Forum
6. Castle Sant’Angelo
7. Villa Adriana
8. Catacombs of San Callisto
9. Montemartini Museum
10. Jubilee Church
11. Cerveteri
12. EUR
13. Via Leone XIII (Take the 870 Bus, to get the best view of the city)
14. Sant’ Agnes a Agone
15. Largo Argentina
16. Sant’ Andrea al Quirinale
17. Sant’ Ignazio di Loyola a Campo Marzio
18. Villa Pamphili
19. Grand Mosque
20. Capitoline Museum (Especially the Tabulareum) 

Top 10 Museums in Rome:

1. Villa Borghese
2. Capitoline Museum
3. Vatican Museum
4. Palazzo Della Expositione
5. Montemartini Museum
6. Barberini Museum
7. Museum at Castle Sant Angelo
8. Capuchin Crypts
9. Museo Nationale
10. Girabaldi Museum (Currently in the Monument to Victor Emmanuel II) 

Top 10 Food Joints in Rome:

1. Carlo Mentha Trattoria
2. Ostia Pucci Restorante
3. Super Pizza E…
4. Vocipelli
5. Café Quirino
6. Pizza Simone
7. Ristorante Chinoisese a Largo Argentina
8. La Cisterna
9. Botticelli’s Bar
10. Rosso Bar
    

Top 10 Sculptures in Rome:

1. Apollo and Daphne (Bernini)
2. La Pieta (Michelangelo)
3. Pluto and Persephone (Bernini)
4. David ( Michelangelo)
5. Laocoon (Unknown)
6. David (Bernini)
7. Venus Victrix (Canova)
8. Sleeping Hermaphrodite (Unknown, Not the Canova one…that one sucks. Sorry.)
9. The Boxer (Ancient Greek)
10. St. Cecelia (Maderno)
    

Top 10 Paintings in Rome:

1. Judith Slaying Holofernes (Caravaggio)
2. The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)
3. The Sistine Chapel…All of It ( mostly attributed to Michelangelo)
4. The School of Athens (Raphael)
5. La Fornarina (Raphael)
6. The Glorification of The Reign of Urban VIII (Cortona)
7. The Calling of St Matthew ( Caravaggio)
8. The Conversion of Saul (Caravaggio)
9. Triumph of St. Ignatius of Loyola (Pozzo)  
10. Maroon on Black (Mark Rothko, on loan from the Tate Modern, London) 

Cities (Both Italian and Abroad)

1. Rome
2. Paris/Versailles
3. Edinburgh
4. Venice
5. Glasgow
6. London
7. Munich
8. Florence
9. Cerveteri / Pompeii
10. Tivoli

So right now I’m on the plane heading back home, well at least I was when I wrote this, but let’s not get into technicalities. I’m not going to lie, I cried a little bit on the bus this morning leaving from AUR heading to the airport. But it’s not my fault, the sun was coming up over the mountains and the morning fog was clearing over the city and part of me was crushed in the wake of its beauty.

 I love Rome; I love every rock and every crevasse of that city. It can be so loud and so dirty, but it’s also the most amazing place in the world. I was one time reading a guidebook and it said, “Italy: probably the easiest place to fall in love with and the hardest to leave.” Completely true.

 Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad to be going home, but part of me will always live in Italy. Whether it’s walking in the footsteps of the emperors at the Villa Adriana or getting chided by a nun on the #8 tram, Seeing Bernini’s Apollo and Daphne in person or eating a fried rice ball with mozzarella cheese in the middle, Rome has something for everything, and meant everything to me

The lists aforementioned and aforeseen were really really hard to make. There was so much that I loved that making a list, while fun and interesting for me personally, was completely pointless.
If you haven’t been to Rome, go. If you already been, go again. Now it’s time for me to fill out my customs card and eat this sandwich that has been staring me down for a good 15 minuets. 

With my sincere regards,

Margaret “Molly” Elizabeth-Brendan-Joan McCormick

Back when I was still....I was still in love.

The last day in Rome.

 What a great semester it's been, I don't know yet how to put it into words, maybe time and hindsight will allow me to have an accurate understanding. But right now, I feel like it's in the old movies when the couple is at the station and the woman is leaving and the man is chasing after her but then the platform stops and the train keeps going. I don't know if I'm on the train or the one chasing it, but I think the feeling is close to the same.

This morning I went with some fellow archi-holics to Rome's one and only Mosque. It was a really beautiful building, not because of the plan or the elevation (which were interesting, but not exactly overwhelming), in this case "God was in the Details". Since Mosques can't have any physical depictions of God (statues, paintings, etc.) the arches and the tiles have to serves as decoration. The tiles were interesting, mostly floral arrangements, but the arches are the ones who stole the show. They twisted around into something similar to northern gothic vaulted ceilings,

http://www.dkimages.com/discover/previews/1052/865661.JPG

http://www.nycerome.com/rome-hotels-images/areas-of-rome-images/auditorium-area-pictures/mosque-in-rome.jpg

 but was still mimicing (or perhaps was being mimicked by) the large chandeliers hanging down from them.

http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2003/feb/europe_muslims/five/main.jpg


After that I walked by the Parco Della Musica, which I have talked about in great length previously. This time they had turned part of the building into a ice-skating rink and the other part into a house for "Babba Natale", If you can guess who that is. Hint: Kids were freaking out.
Then onto EUR.

EUR stands for *translated* Universal Exposition in Rome a plan conceived by Mussolini, begun in 1935 finished in 1942. The area is the best standing example of Fascist Architecture in Rome, or anywhere else really. The eerie overly-pristeen nature of the project comes from the combination of two rivaling architectural movements who wanted to get their foot in the door with the growing political party. On one side were the Neo-Classists, people who believed that the only way to be truly great was to embody the past, on the other side were the "Rationalists" who were the Italian students of Modernism.

As a side note, the requirements to be a "Modernist" in the field of Architecture essentially means that you have to follow, or at least respect, the teachings of Le Corbusier.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Corbusier

 However Italian architecture dose'nt really grasp the man who says "the house is a machine for living" so they take several of his ideas but fuse them with abstract concepts from Vitruvius and the Renaissance.

So by the combination of the Rationalists and the Neo-Classists we get EUR. The idea being that yes, we have all this great history, but we also have a great future. However the plan was never completely finished as the Fascists were ousted out of power in WWII. I had been by EUR once or twice before hand and had referenced ideas about it in a presentation I did, but I did'nt get a chance to really explore it until today.

When I was there, the whole area was almost deserted, It was like a sea of travertine and I was the only one there. The buildings (including the famous "square colosseum") had a stiffness to them that was unnatural.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/PalazzodellaCiviltaItaliana.jpg

But as near as I can tell in all the concept drawings I had seen of them, all of the buildings were shown with only a few scale people in them, not a large crowd, so maybe I was seeing them in the right setting it's just you, the travertine and the arches.

You can tell walking around that this is a work in progress, a failed work in progress. Almost like an allegory for Fascism in Italy on the whole. Not that it wasn't  interesting, but rather the area now lacks the sterness that the shapes are meant to convey. The colored apartment buildings of Rome are starting to sneak into this area and the regemented white shapes of EUR don't do well with competition.

People aren't supposed to live like the architects of EUR envisioned, they need to be more human. And in the end that's the problem with the buildings at EUR, they aren't built to Human-Scale. I mean they may have the proportions for doorways and steps, but just walking around you can tell these buildings aren't meant for people, they're meant for an idea.

I like the buildings there as objects, but I'm not convinced about them being livable spaces is I guess what i'm trying to say.

OK, so now it's past 11:20 and I have to be up tomorrow by 5:30..Goodnight all!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Stu Arbury of L.A. fame made this with the help of the good people at Office Max: It is now my Christmas Card...forever.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1341864237

I think it suits us perfectly.

I have one final left and hopefully I will look deep within my brain's heart to find the power to destroy it. 

Also! 

Final Drawing Series 

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Final-Drawing-Series-1-72008976

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Final-Drawing-Series-2-72009018

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Final-Drawing-Series-3-72009054

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Final-Drawing-Series-4-72009164

Roma E Amore OR I draw me some sluts and virgins

Face Paint and Wisdom

"i feel like i need to write a letter:

dear rome,

you have your art, your history, your food, now give me back my molly.

sincerely,

renee"

-Renee Farrah

Today a mime (you know the kind with the face-paint and the devil-may-care attitude) made fun of me on Via Del Corso when I was finishing up my Christmas shopping. He made a face at me and mimiced my walk while I was trying to ignore him, I saw him farther back on the street and I thought what anyone in my situation would have thought: "dammit...a mime" and tried to devise a way to avoid him. However seeing no other opportunity at the time, I tried to ignore him...failed. If living in Rome has taught me anything it's to never make eye contact with a mime, especially when you're trying to elude them.

The Dead and The Living

    So on Saturday I got up pretty early for what was enivitably going to be a very, very long day. We (and by we, I mean, Tabitha Rachel Andy and myself) were all going out to the town of Cerveteri, about an hour outside of Rome by bus. Why? To see Etruscan Tumuli.

    A Tumulus is a type of burial mound that can be found all over they world through many different regional variations. You might know the bee-hive huts of Ireland or perhaps those of the Hallstatt found in Austria. While there are many different kinds of Tumuli, the idea is basically the same. Underground burial sites that are made larger by adding dirt on top. However what was interesting about the Etruscan Tumuli was their complex floor plans (mostly based on the houses the Etruscans would have lived in), not to mention that many of them were amazingly well preserved.

The Etruscans were the Pre-Roman people of Italy, from which we derive the name "Tuscany" they were a people who were greatly influenced culturally by the Greek Colonies in the South, but were still unique from the other cultures around them. Sadly, much of their culture was lost, or rather, absorbed when the early Romans conquered them (a fate that is prone to happen to those without centeralized government). After which the Etruscans were characterized by the far more austere Romans as being loud, crude, liberal and down-right coarse people whom the Roman's had had the good sense to eliminate. But in a more positive light, you could call them people who were into life, food and love. (a very early indication of the Italian people themselves)

Much of what we know about Etruscan life is what we learned through their deaths. Hence the field trip.

The Tumuli had a large variety in size and shape The simplest being a rectangular cut-out of the stone, the most elaborate being full-scale houses. The most famous of these being the "Tomb of the Reliefs"

http://www.tronchin.com/Art1A/lecture11_files/image015.jpg

But my favorite was not the "tomb of the reliefs" but the one right next to it; which featured a secret passage that went under the stairs and led into another burial chamber. That one was amazing because when you walk by it on ground level you see a small well-like hole and then when you're down in the secret room, it's your only source of light. I'm thinking maybe they would use it to burn fires underground and have a place for the smoke to go. That...or to scare children, really either one would work.

In Cerveteri there were over 60 tombs you could walk in (we may have gone in some that were restricted..but I brought my waterproof boots to Italy for this very reason), many of which with paintings like the one seen above. Also, there was a snack bar...in the Tumuli grouds...ok. sure. why not. I ate there, the lasangna was delicious.

Sadly all of the urns had been either taken out, stolen or destroyed. Which is a shame because while i'm usually creeped out by cemetaries and death somehow an urn that looks like this:

http://www.puc-rio.br/louvre/images/iager05.jpg
http://www.bicciculture.com/bChome/wp-content/uploads/etruscan_couple.jpg

is a little less eerie.

The best part is when Tabitha and I were walking around on the upper level through a series of mounds, we eventually climbed to the top of one and got the most amazing view of the ocean on the left and the mountains on the right. Just past the Tumuli was a vineyard..Sometimes I love this place so much it hurts. A list? lets?

1) Wine
2) Beautiful
3) Ancient History
4) Architecture
5) Etruscans
6) there were also cows there...i guess.

So overall a very cool trip.

On our way back Andy noticed that there was a crypt he had visited for class one day was still open, so we hurried and went inside. Well, I suppose this must have been a burial-themed day because while the Etruscan Tumuli had no bodies in it, this crypt was entirely made of human bones.

This Crypt is better known as the Capuchin Cemetary.

as close as the spelling is to Cappuchino, this crypt was not, in reality, a fluffy delicous coffee beverage. The crypt houses the bones of over 4,000 monks in 6 small rooms. The reason so many of them wished to be burried there was that the dirt that lines the crypt was brought over from Jerusalem in the early part of the 1500's. However 4000 people take up a lot of space so the monks decided to take the remains and create intricate patterns with the bones.

It's strange, creepy and downright wierd, but also intriquingly and morbidly beautiful. Granted the whole time we were in there I thought I might pee my pants, but I had heard about it and I'm glad I got to see it.

Here are some pictures (Be forwarned, very creepy):

http://www.stuardtclarkesrome.com/CAPUC2.JPG
http://www.qsov.com/Italy2005/018CapuchinCrypt1.jpg
http://www.qsov.com/Italy2005/019CapuchinCrypt2.jpg

After all that Hullaballoo we decided to get a nice dinner, you know, to get the creepy out. I had the first legitamate chicken sandwich I had had in four months.

This morning I went to the Porta Portese Market and bought Christmas presents....counterfeit? possibly. cool? very much so.

Mith Otolgee

Here is part of my mythology paper, specifically the myth-part. The other part is analysis..but I think we've all had enough of that.

Minerva and the Web

Minerva was walking once on a bright and dusty beach. The day was brilliant white and the sea hissed with hushed satisfaction. The goddess had just finished helping scientists in a nearby valley perfect their latest invention; a stronger computer. They had called Minerva there to receive her blessing (or at least her consent) on their product. Having seen the wonders man was capable of in the name of knowledge had pleased the goddess greatly. So to reward herself, she walked along the shore, to revel in the greatness the gods could create.

 By and by Athena found a piece of driftwood from which she could best admire the pretty scene. When she sat upon it, a gleam brought on by the bright day caught her eye. It was her long-since-finished handiwork that stared back at her. A grey spider’s web was dangling in the knob of the pale wood; usually this site would have been barely visible but not today. Athena admired the beauty of the weaving and felt the surge of victory over her once arrogant foe. She went so far as to mock the spider;

“Where is your brilliance now Arachne? You, insect who once sought to challenge Minerva herself. Ha! Even now, long after our contest is over, I am still a goddess and you are still as you ever were, insignificant.”

 Just then a harsh wind blew the weaving of the web and the spider was left to clutch to the driftwood. When the wind had passed, the spider’s work was gone and the insect began again. As Minerva watched the spider continue on its mercenary drudge, she began to feel guilty. How could man help but be foolish, it being a creature with such a miserable fate, having to be born human? To work and work, to live and die, to love and hate in all too short a time. Was it their fault they were so foolish? Could anything be done to help them? Moved by pity Athena decided to aid man, and a smile crossed her face as she looked upon the web.

So, all the gods were called to discuss Athena’s new plan. She proposed an idea to connect all the people of the earth, by means of a web, believing that this net would stop man from making the same mistakes over and over again by sharing information with one another. If only this had happened earlier, then perhaps Arachne would have learned the mistake of Niobe, or Niobe learn the mistake of Medusa, Medusa the mistake of Marsyas. But such was sadly not the case.  

Each god said that they would contribute what they knew, or what they wanted people to know, for gods must also have their secrets. When it was near complete, wicked and listless Discordia felt that all was going far too well so she slyly spoke too loud “Who will guard this wonderful new web we are making? Surely, whoever does will have to be powerful and wise. For this will be as large as the whole world. ” All the Gods began to think of how powerful and wise they were, and then Mars spoke.

“This will help us fight wars in the future, to share strategies, control weapons even to launch attacks, I should control it.”

At this Hermes frowned “No, this will be more for Trade than for War, Mars. For what system of communication is not used for commerce? If anything, I should control it, I am the messenger of trade.”

“For Trade?” laughed Apollo “Trade of music perhaps. With a tool like this, the musician can play anywhere in the world, even long after the sound has stopped.”   

Ceres then said “Those matters are trivial; this is a creation of great purpose. With this people can keep records of Nature. They can know when a frost is coming from the north, a storm from the south; this will help them understand the physical world.”

Neptune, who above all, lives to surprise sailors with sudden storms, feared that man would grow to know his tricks. “Man should not know the thoughts of the gods…I should guard it, to make sure our important secrets are not released.”

Before long all the gods were fighting about who should be the one in charge of this web. Venus claimed it would be the best way for people to find matches. Bacchus claimed it would be best for spreading the rules of drinking games. Juno insisted that she was the queen of the gods, so therefore should have control of this second world, since her husband controlled the first. Pluto did not much care either way, all the wisdom men could gain would not save them from his inevitable fate. Minerva was furious that someone would presume they could control what was her idea. Surprisingly Jupiter refrained from the fight, “I have one world to be king of already” he chuckled “there is no need for me to have another.” Eventually the scene became exactly what Discordia wanted; a bitter and loud argument.  

The clouds shook and darkened with the anger of the gods. Eventually Minerva, frustrated with the pettiness of her family, asked Jupiter to make a decision. For his word was law. At this he considered what each one had said.

“This web,” he began “will be everything, so it is not for any one god to control. Each one of us has had a part in it, each one of us will control it in our own ways. However, we cannot allow man to grow too wise from our knowledge.” Jupiter then looked at Discordia, who had been standing behind Mars, lest anyone know she started the argument.

“You, you are the most necessary for this project to work. Spread your skills about this web, once it is given to man. Confuse the facts, cut the connections, when they least expect it. Do not act too much, so man does not give up on the web, just enough. Always make man doubt the facts on this web, perhaps they are, perhaps they are not.”

Minerva was angered by this; her idea was first fought over and now was being turned against those she was trying to help.

“How can you allow this father? This web was supposed to make men wiser, not more confused.”

Jupiter then asked her:

“What would happen if man was to suddenly receive everything we gods have without working for it?”

Then she understood. To simply give man all the answers to life would make him lazy and arrogant, true knowledge must be worked for. Minerva then thought of Arachne, the inspiration for her great endeavor and realized that Jupiter was right. Man should not grow arrogant, to exact revenge on the world would be exhausting.

 When they had finished with their work, they decided that they could not just hand down the web all at one time. For this is not how a web is woven. To weave a web strings must be pulled at attached all over.

 The Gods handed down their strings to many people. From the mechanical city of Pittsburg, to the rolling skies of Santa Monica, farther still to the ends of the earth, to Asia, to Africa, to Europe, to all over. To scientists, to artists, to musicians, to students and to politicians. The politicians would later claim that the gods had handed it directly down to them, even to go so far to say that they had created it, but as we all know, that is ridiculous. Each person contributed what they knew in addition to what the Gods had put in. Slowly but surely the web grew stronger, and as it grew more and more people became attached to it, thus fulfilling the dream of Minerva to connect men to one another, to share information, stories, lessons, etc. Once the web had taken root, the gods left it mostly to man so that he may continue to maintain and expand the web, but they always kept an eye on it. However, while the other gods go about their regular business, the one goddess who is always involved is Discordia. Do not think man so wise as that he must always be kept in check by the Gods; man often spreads his own wrong information, believing it to be true. One can always count on man to argue a point until it is certain he is completely wrong. But, whenever man gets a little too close to being completely right in any field and it is then when Discordia steps in.

Palazzo delle Esposizioni

Today's rant will be about how the:

Palazzo delle Esposizioni = awesome.

While this museum is by far the most "Americanized" museum (that's right including the Ara Pacis..believe it!) in Rome, it's surprisingly one of my favorites. The whole museum only focuses on two to three artists at a time, and they get a multiple room set-up, so you can get really into each one. The other cool thing about it is that they take from a lot of different sources. When I went today it was a focus on :

Mark Rothko

http://webexhibits.org/colorart/i/abstract/Rothko,-Untitled,-Seagra-01.jpg

and

Stanley Kubrick

http://www.acmi.net.au/experience/images/img_kubrick_hero.jpg

both amazing exhibits.

I like Mark Rothko, I'm putting that out there. A lot of people don't like him, and in truth, I can see why. Rothko's Art can often be categorized as being "background" art. They lack dramatic subject matter and it's almost as if the human element of a Rothko is not the painting, but the people looking at it. It's probably this de-humanized humanity that I like most about him: his work is something raw and emotional and exsistential all at the same time and it's pretty hard to have all three.

I'm also aware that they're just big blocks of color, but it's not what the colors are, it's how they make you feel.

something like:

http://time-blog.com/looking_around/Mark-Rothko-No-14-1960-7893.jpg

is completey different from

http://www.doctorhugo.org/synaesthesia/art/WhiteOverRed.jpg

even though it's esentially the exact same set up. Also you have to get really really close to a Rothko to get the full effect, it's hard to explain, but sometimes the color connections in his work is even more important than the colors themselves. Looking at it , It's almost the inverse of impressionism; as you sometimes have to squint and stand back to figure out a Monet, to figure out a Rothko you got to get really really close and look really really hard.

But as good as the Rothko exhibit was, the Stanley Kubrick exposition was extraordinary. Kubrick is the director behind:

Dr. Strangelove OR How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
2001: A Space Odyssey
A Clockwork Orange
Barry Lyndon
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
Spartacus
Lolita
Eyes Wide Shut

Just to name a few.  They had clips from all the movies focusing on his ideas in each one, props, and interviews with Kubrick about each of his films. We even saw the space-baby and one of the sets they used for shooting 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Very very cool.

Sadly they did'nt have the Mario Ceroli exhibit up anymore when I got there, a big bummer.

http://www.romeguide.it/mostre/foto_database/1674.jpg

Ceroli reminds me of an earlier Ray Smith:

http://www.raysmithart.force9.co.uk/images/main/11RED1.jpg

Also this was my last week of classes, next week is finals and right now it's a little too surreal that I will be leaving Rome in less than 10 days, so I'm trying not to think too much about it but here are some things that I am looking forward to when I go home:

Friends and Family
Mexican Food
My Car
Microwaves
Having the dollar be worth something
Having a stronger grasp on the language

Here are some things I will miss when I leave Rome

The Art
The Architecture
The Food
The Weather
....i'm just going to stop before I get too sad.

Miss you guys and see you soon!

I surrender to the stawberry ice cream

Sorry for the lack of update, Kate and Ted were in town this week and they took first priority. But now that they have headed back to the good old U.S. of A. I'm going to fill you in on their stay:

The first night she was here was Kate's Birthday so that night we had planned a dinner in Trestevere, however I met them before hand right after my drawing class which happened to take place in the Forum. We decided to meet in the Piazza of the Capitoline Museum right next to Marcus. Maybe it's a sign that I've really come to love Rome and all it's crevaces because Kate and Ted got lost in trying to find me.
If I remember correctly her exact words were:

"Why did you pick a museum that's impossible to find?"

I completely forgot that I was in a foreign place and that they speak a different language and so naturally assumed that she would be able to find it no problem. Up the hill...hidden behind a huge building...in a busy part of a strange city. The fault was mine, but it was a surreal feeling. Especially because i'm leaving in a week and a half. So after we retreived one another we went into the Capitoline. It does have the best view of the Forum...ever. Man I bet those guys who worked in the Tabularium were lucky. After that we went to a photography exhibit and got some lunch. It was at this point I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. How many times do I get to see my sister in Rome?  Answer: Not a lot. We walked around a little and I showed them some churches, Piazza Navona and, of course, the Pantheon we took our time in each place and I caught up on the news from home.

For dinner that night we went to a restraunt in Trestevere and did Kate's 25th up right.

The next day we left early from the Termini station heading to Naples. Naples is an interesting city..i'll put it like that. Parts of it are interesting and intriguing. Other parts make you fear for your mortal being. Their tram system I think was my favorite, it's less like a tram and more like a sideways elevator that goes through the mountain by means of a pully system. We walked around the downtown area and while the opera was only 10 euros, it started in 2 min and lasted 4 hours so by my math it was:

 4h(10e*3/ 2m)= meh.

Instead we went into the Castle Nuovo and checked that out. There was actually a number of really cool things in there. There was one part where they had done restorations on a catacomb and had put glass over it, a few skeletons were prominently displayed. A "memento mori" if ever you saw one. The main hall was where the city council of Naples meets. We read the description of it which was paraphrased as:

There was once beautiful frescoes: destroyed by fire
Amazing mosaics: stolen in war
A choir loft: hit by cannonfire
and a spiral staircase: now in disrepair.

It leads me to think, man, what a great movie that would be if it happened all at once. Also what a creul thing to do to promise beautiful things just to deny you a colon later..lame Naples, lame.  We walked out and at this point realized that Naples after dark is very different from Naples in the light. The city at nightfall turn to a ghostown were the shadow people eye you and grip with the decision on whether or not to turn the night into a story they tell later. In short; i'm glad Ted was with us. Fed up with maps eventually we just grabbed a taxi, got some dinner and went back to the hotel. It should be noted that one of the places we ate at gave Kate and I menus that did'nt have prices on it. Ted got one with prices on it. This was clearly done on purpose and it may be the most sexist thing that has ever happened to me.

The hotel we stayed in was amazing. If for whatever reason you find yourself stranded in Naples: San Francesco al Monte. Remember that. San Francesco had once been a monasatry, but after all the monks moved out it was converted into a hotel high in the hills. The view was spectacular and from the top floor balchony you could see the castle, the historic distric and (after it had finished raining) all the way to the other side of the bay. That night I took a bath, I havent had one of those in months and let me tell you the awkward fitting shower I have in Rome never seemed less appealing after that bath. There were jets in the tub as well as bath salts. I felt like a new person.

The next morning we were having breakfast when we heard a commotion comming from a few streets down. Ted asked me what I thought it might be, I said I thought it might be a strike because the person on the megaphone sounded oppressed. ( I learned about foreshadowing in high school and always thought it was a little rediculous of a concept..until now. )

After that we went downstairs to ask the conceirge what was the best train to take to Pompeii. He replied:

"Small problem today, there is no transportation."
"In Naples?"
"In Italy."
"ahh..I see."

Transportation Strikes...all across Italy...all day.

So when Kate came to Italy she only really wanted to see one thing, that one thing you ask? Pompeii, everything after that was icing. A few years ago she had tried to go and see the ancient city however scene and situation forbade it. Naturally this second time she would not be denied. We went through the options and decided that the best route for us to take if we wanted to see the Pompeii and get back to Rome in one day would be to rent a car. and drive it. in Naples. awesome.

Kate took the reigns of the car because she was the only one of us who could drive stick. Sitting in that car was probably in my top ten most terrifying experiences of my life. The only reason anyone should ever drive in Naples is if they are training to compete in a demolition derby. (This is a thought shared by the Fromer's guidebook.) The streets were tiny, people were moving unbelievably fast and the hills are steep and unforgiving. Eventually we made it to the Autostrada and went to Pompeii. The Autostrada reminded me a little of Mario Kart 64, specifically the Princess Peach level. We just had to watch for the green turtleshells and we'd be fine.

We finally made it to Pompeii and thanks to the Transportation strike, we were three of the total 20 people who had come that day. Having the whole place to ourselves was unbelievable. I loved it. Kate got a little teary-eyed and Ted believes in a past life he was a Pompeiian wine bartender. The first time around the ruins had been impressive but now that no one was there it was more etherial. Suddenly there was a sense of loss that I had not had before and the whispering hisses of death crept into my thoughts. Then Ted tripped on the stones and I was back to reality.

We headed back to Rome. By the time we got into the city it was pitch black Kate was nervous, I had bit my lips so much that they threatended to bleed and Ted was doing his best with the map. Eventually we got to Termini Station and tried our best to find the Avis sign, only later to discover that the car drop off was three blocks down in a parking garage on the seventh floor...oh Rome.

After that experience we decided to drink til it was funny.

The next day we went to the Villa Borghese and I loved it all over again. Kate is a huge Bernini fan and Ted was starting to get into it to, Her favorite was Apollo and Daphne, Ted's was Pluto and Proserpina. Then we went to the big sites off of the Via del corso, The Spanish Steps, the Trevi Fountain. We then walked back along the tiber towards Castle St. Angelo and towards the Vatican. That night reminded me that walking at night in Rome is amazingly different from walking alone in Naples, as in, i'm not fearing for my life.

On Sunday we went to market in the morning. Originally there had been some bus miscommunication but that was bound to happen eventually. However when we got to the market my sister was impressed with the amount of stuff they had there. She was exspecting it to be much scarier than it was, I specifically avoided those areas of the market.

We met up for dinner later and they told me about the Forum and the Colloseum and I ate lasagna.

On monday we made our goodbyes, I wished I could have spent the day with them, as they were going to the Vatican but I had to unfortunately go to class.

I'm sad they had to leave, but I'll see them again soon and I'm pretty excited about that. I'm really missing some things back home, drive-thru Taco Bell, the Simpsons in english and yes...bathtubs. It hurts to think of leaving sunkissed Rome,  but it has to be done. Then back into the open arms of Winter Washington go I.

I'll see ya in Venezia

Happy Belated Thanksgiving everyone!

As for the students of the American University of Rome, our thansgiving was provided by the school. It was nothing close to home-cooking (specifically my aunt donna's artichoke dip) but it would do. AUR brought in an Italian priest to say grace for us. Which was elegantly stated as:

"God is great,
God is good,
Let us thank him,
for this food."

also hillarious.

 We had our fill of Italiano-American style potatoes, turkey, stuffing, etc. and headed towards the transtation, hopped on the 11:00 night train towards Venice and were on our way. We were afraid that there would'nt be able to get any sleep seeing as how we would be moving. BUT as it turns out you can flatten out your seats and between Joanne, Jen and myself, we all had our own seperate..we'll call them beds for a lack of a better word.

 We got into the city of water at 5:30 in the morning. I want to take this time to say that I LOVED Venice, but I do have one problem with it. No bathrooms. Seriously. The bathroom on the train was really gross and the bathroom in the trainstation did'nt open for another hour. Putting your bladder in check is a serious constraint on a weary traveler. Believing we would have better luck towards the more touristy areas, we made our way through the winding streets.

Venice dosen't really have city planning, I mean it's like the urban planners were talking and said:

"Hey Guisseppe, where should we build this building?"
"umm...where there is'nt water?"

So it took us a long time to find St. Mark's Square. We tried using the map, which eventually became more hindrancce than help and started to follow signs. Some of them looked offical, others did not. After many wrong turns we came across the most beautiful piazza.

http://members.cox.net/mkpl3/italvac/066-venice-st-marks-sq.jpg

I'm really glad I went to Venice when I did, I had been to Venice before, In fact I had my 13th birthday there. But Summer Venice and Winter Venice are very very different. Think of it as the bi-polar city.

Since the Renaissance, Venice had been praised for it's Summer lighting and artists like Da Vinci, Bellini and Titian sought to capture that specific light. It is the light that inspired chiaroscuro shading.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/Leonardo_da_Vinci_025.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Bellini_mirror.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/41/Tizian_085.jpg

However inwinter, It's a light that is moody, dark and much like the time between waking and dreaming. Disorienting but also intriguing. However at 5:30 in the morning, tired, needing to pee, it's not as romantic as it sounds. Eventually we found a cafe that had the most delicious croissants. They were like, bread, chocolate and the stuff of my dreams all inside a neat little package. There was also in this cafe, even more importantly a bathroom. It's amazing how much the little things matter when you're traveling. The world can be brand new after a cup of coffee. We then made our way to the Doge's Palace.

The Doges were essentially "Dukes" that ruled for life in Venice. Pretty much kings, they were usually considered to be the shrewdest minds in Venice. The palace was pretty reflective of that. In Rome, to show power you show as much gold , silver and fresco as possible. Because surely, more is more. But at this palace, it's not so much how much you show, it's what you choose to show.

There is a understated quality to the structure. You get the feeling that they have money, but they have so much money they don't need to flash it around. It's in the detail;  spectacular carving, materials, fine brush work. Roman grandure is meant to impress, Venician grandure is meant to intimidate.

We also went to the bell-tower in St. Marks, by the time we got there the entire Piazza was completely flooded. There were people walking around in plastic bags as shoes, also lots and lots of rubber boots. Finally an entire city that understands and appreciates the glory of Wellington Boots.
Back to the bell-tower, we were there while the bells started ringing at noon. At first we thought that maybe the bells were for show, but then we found out otherwise first hand. I should be getting my hearing back any-day now.

After that we went on a walking tour of the city and got to see the Canals, the Piazzas, The Churches and the beautiful glass they have there. Venice is maybe one of my favorite cities because it is so unique. I mean a lot of cities have canals, Amsterdam being the one that comes to mind. But in cities like Amsterdam there is at least an order, a reasoning. Venician canals seem like the kind of place where dark stories are born and bread, here the element of water is king and the city's mood depends on it. It seems like the kind of place you would have in a dream, like, "We were living in this city, but all the streets were water and I could'nt find anything, it was so wierd." There is an eerieness that is unavoidable and very very beautiful.

We took the train back to rome around 5 in the afternoon and got back around 10. Away from the water, towards the hills. All and all It was a wonderful trip.

A Brief History on Vegetables

Dear Carlo Mentha Trattoria,

You have a plate-sized pizza for 2 euros..and it is amazing. By the logic of your menu, my food will cost as much as the drink I get to go along with it. This is an act of genius unparalleled.

Bless you Trattoria, may your Marinara continue to outshine all around it.

Sincerely,

Molly McCormick

P.S. Did you know that the Tomato was only introduced to Italy in the 16th century? It originally comes from the Americas...fancy that.

I want to be beside her, She wants to be admired.

Ok so, there is now officially less than a month left until my return to the states that happen to be united. I'm torn,  I'm in love with Rome, in all her caramel-colored golden glory but I'm also pining for the crisp starchy white of a picket fence and christmas in the Old-Line State. I wish I could have both, but I can't. At least circumstance has made the choice easier since I need to be in Philadelphia mid-way though January. This week Richard came down from England and met up with his Mom here. I showed them around some of the important sites and I know it sounds wierd but showing other people the sites of Rome re-invigorates my passion for them. It's just a nice reminder of how spectacular they are.

Being in Rome is a lot like learning how to drive, the first time you get behind the wheel you're apprehensive and regardless of how prepared you think you are, you're going to mess something up. But eventually you get to know how to move about, things that were so intimidating before are now common place. Before you know it, you're eating while you go around, listening to the radio too loud. You get into the motions of an action and it takes someone sitting in the passanger side saying "Hey, what's that?" to remind you that the Trevi Fountain is intoxicating.


Mrs. Mckey took me out to dinner a few times and it was really generous of her, to pay her back i'm going to cook them Lasagna from scratch ( they showed us how to do that on the Tuscan wine trip I went on last week, though I have yet to fly solo on that one) when we get back.

* I can't remember if I talked about that trip or not, so just to be safe I'm going to talk about it again*

That trip was the BEAST. We drove out into the countryside in the morning and got to the Vineyard around eleven. They showed us the vines, as well as the cellar with the barrels, our tour guide commented that this particular area of Tuscany is where a lot of people come to film movies.

" That hill over there is where they filmed Gladiator, I don't know why they did'nt film it on our hill, our hill is just as nice as their hill."

It was really film-worthy. The day we were there it was on the cold side but the strong winter sunlight just made the whole place look even more enchanting. I was there with Doug, Tabitha, Andy (all of us Architecture majors) and we all ackowledged our dorkdom when we had a long talk about how old the house might be, where and when the additions were added. The strangest element was the doorway located at the end of an arch, which structurally should'nt work, but did. We then got to have a huge meal, when I say huge, I mean five courses. five. five courses of food. and wine, let's not forget the wine. the wine was VERY important...also delicious. At the end of the meal we walked around and found some gardens and silliness ensued.

However, silliness is always tempered with tradgedy. Such was the case here at least. On the trip there were two busses, on one bus there was a kid who had drank and ate too much and had thown-up. I was glad I was on my bus until we pulled over and our battery died.  So here are your options : gross puke bus that goes OR clean freezing non-moving bus. I chose the non-puke bus, which was the best choice because then they bought us food (as if I needed more) while we waited for the next bus to come. I got the kids meal, it came with a really sweet pen.

* Back to Rome*

This weekend I went to the ARA PACIS MUSEUM designed by Richard Meier.

http://www.europaconcorsi.com/db/pub/images/7218/1539424218.jpg

Which stands out from (we'll call it.. ) Cannon Rome, but the scale is referencing the buildings around it, in an attempt to fit in. I liked the stairs on the exterior, I thought they were pretty interesting. Now I had read some reviews of this buildings that were not...kind. Aside from the problems with having too much glass (this is apparently bad for the marble because it has to expand and contract due to moisure) the interior is incredibly distracting from the altar itself.

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/italy/rome/arapacis/0079.jpg

The materiality and geometric use of "coffers?" is challenging the ara pacis for visual suppremecy but at the same time trying to honor the antiquity of the object. Basically, this building is being two-faced. Making the motions as to honor the Ara, but secretly fighting it. However I found the other areas of the museum to be very interesting.

I don't know if it deserves it's terrible reputation, but it certainley dose'nt deserve a good reputation.

The Ara Pacis itself was pretty cool, the reliefs had people who were alive at the time, young and old. It's almost like an Augustan snap-shot of Roman Nobles. The floral motifs were pretty neat as well, they almost seemed to bloom.

Also this morning, I went to the Trastevere market, that place is so cool. I bought a few little things, the best find being a pair of wool gloves for a euro. They're in the washing machine right now, because...well just because. And tonight I'm heading out for chinese food, something that I have been in serious lack of....oh man... I just remembered, Chipotle in a month. snap.

things I like....

  http://blogs.chron.com/handstamp/archives/bears.JPG 

I know it's dark, but I was bumbleing around on the computer today and I remembered how much I love Edward Gorey. 

Also I watched some sweet Simon Schama action the otherday online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/powerofart/ if you want to see something really awesome check it out! 

because todays the kind of day where you have to blog twice.

maybe you should just drink a lot less coffee.

Pictures + geek out today


Renzo Piano is amazing. You might now him from his imfamous Centre Georges Pompidou. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Georges_Pompidou )  Which is what it is, innovative but perhaps a little presumptious. However I went to his concert hall the other day and I was completely blown away. COLOR! He uses Color! No one ever uses color in their buildings! Finally someone who was not afraid to be snubbed by the neo-modernist crap that says "white is the only color you need".  

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-5-69713278
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-13-69714029 
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-10-69713793
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-12-69713982

Materiality here is amazing, he only uses lead, rubber, cherry wood and steel but it's perfect in the enviornment. 

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-11-69713881
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-4-69713210
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-7-69713504

While we were there, a classmate Bryan and I got into a fight about what the roof was made out of. He said metal, I said rubber.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-3-69713148

we were both right. lead for the structure, rubber for the acoustics. but still, there was more rubber than lead so I was crazy right. This picture dosent really show it but I was soooo crazy right.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-6-69713454

There's also this sweetness where the three "beatles" rotate around a big courtyard that doubles as a fourth stage...genius.

The cool thing about all this is that it was originally organized differently, however when they discovered the remains of a ancient roman villa Piano built it into the program. Now they have a mini-museum dedicated to the villa INSIDE the concert hall, he never touched the villa and made it really easy for archeologists to excavate.

and then for fun I took pictures of leaves and busses,
 
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-1-69712953
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-2-69713042
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-8-69713603
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/piano-9-69713714

you may notice that they're all the same color scheme...that was not intentional but it was delightful, delicious AND delovely. 

On a sadder note,

The city of Rome is in a bit of an uproar today. It turns out that two days ago there was a fight north of Rome when two rival groups of soccer fans ran into each other at a bar. The cops came in and broke it up, but the respective fans were still fighting until both groups got back into their cars and drove off. Apparently there was an accidental shot fired and one of the fans was killed. The Roma soccer fans were so outraged at the police that they cancelled the soccer game and started vandalizing government buildings, cop cars and the former olympic buildings in the area. I thought about going to the game that night, but when it came down to it, the tickets were sold out. A lucky break I feel. 

However it's a very strange occurance because Rome dosent really ever have violent crime, petty crime all the time, but when it comes to people getting killed, it's not very common. They take killing, even accidental killing very, very seriously. It makes me wonder if there would have been the same reaction back home, or would we have just continued with the game with no more than a "how unfortunate".  We'll never know. 

On a more cheerful note, I need ideas for a drawing series. I think i'm going to do the anagram Roma e Amore and do a series of Venus statues around Rome. The Vatican Museum , Borghese Museum, the like. Because, despite it's problems, I do love Rome. 

i'm going to pistol whip the next guy who says "shenannigans"

"Hey Farva, what's the name of that restaurant you like? You know the one with all the goofy crap on the walls?"
"Shenannigans? are you talking about shenannigans?"

Shennanigans indeed. That's what this afternoon was. An explanation you say? So be it.

So for my Mythology class there are three required field trips for the semester, the first one was to a museum near the Pyramid (yeah that's right Rome's got one of those things too). We are on the second one now, at the Roman Forum. Now I knew that the field trip was scheduled to leave from Piazza Venezia at 12 noon so I figured why not take the morning easy. When 11 rolled around I called Brian's apartment (he's in my class, I figured we would go together) only to discover from his roomate, Doug that he had left 30 min prior to my call. Intrigued, I looked down at Joanne's computer clock only to discover that it was already 11:55 am. So...i'm supposed to be 30 min away in 5. The conversation I had with Doug at that point was:

"wait what time is...ugh...I.oh..crap...jesus....noon.. crap.crapp.CRAP..."

*click*

Turns out while the rest of the world's satalite-linked electronic devices re-set their time when the hours changed my cell phone did not. awesome. So then I jumped the hell out of my apartment and started double-timing towards the Forum, with no specific plan on how to find my class but only the vague notion that they would be somewhere in the Forum.

Who should be on stike today? Transportation. All of it. There was only one tram running, going the oppostite direction I needed. So I moved up to triple time. I arrived at Piazza Venezia at 12:35  to be greeted by an entire mob of people marching down Via del Corso. All wearing the exact same burgandy and orange jumpsuits. I think that's where the transporation workers got to.

Eventually I got to the Forum and scouted out from the Tabularium where the class might be. I saw a group of 20 kids wearing backpacks and thought my troubles were over...false. After running down the cobblestones to reach what I thought was them, it turned out to be a pack of japanese teenagers. After this I started huffing all over the Forum for my class. I discovered that my professor looks like maybe...20 different German people. pfft...blondes.

As it turns out one of my classmates Josh was at the Forum that day with his parents. We talked for a few and I told them of my troubles, they told me good luck, and I pressed on. After about 30 min of trying to get up higher to see people and getting nowhere I was beginning to become disheartened. At this point I just sat next to something that looked important (which turned out to be the Temple of Vesta) and waited.

 I learned more about the Temple of Vesta that day then I thought I could ever learn, that can happen when about 5 different tour groups come where you choose to sit.  Most of them not in english.  As a side note, I should probably start working on my conversational Cantonese.

After about 30 min of waiting, I had pretty much given up hope and decided to make my way back to my apartment to call my mom and frump. I was about to leave through the steps when who should walk by but my Professor , engrosed in a map and the rest of the class in his wake. Shocked and seizing an opportunity, I hid behind a collumn and jumped in the back. Andy noticed I had arrived late and I muttered my numerous mistakes. He laughed and shared his hand-out.

The first moral of the story:

It's not very educational to show up and hour and a half late to a 2 hour lecture.
 
The second moral:

 You'd think it was "never give up" but I only found them after I had given up...so maybe...I don't know. Keep fighting? Had I given up earlier I never would have found them. yeah. I think "Keep Fighting" works.

On the side note of "keep fighting" my brother Tim is a bad-ass.

http://philau.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=30816008&id=53100493

  Because I like you guys here are all my sketches from over fall break!

 http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies1-69306772

 http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies2-69306943

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies3-69306995

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies4-69307059

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies5-69307161

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies6-69307309

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies7-69307378

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-8-69307615

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-9-69307547

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-10-69307785

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-11-69307878

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-12-69307957

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-13-69308055

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-14-69308193

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-15-69308245

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-16-69308307

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-17-69308399

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-18-69308504

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-19-69308727

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-20-69308796

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-21-69308857

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-22-69309013

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-23-69309118

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies24-69309221

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-25-69309303

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-26-69309441

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-27-69309517

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-28-69309598

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies29-69309724

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/sketchies-30-69309802

Be aggressive B-E Aggressive; Just one girly at the tourney

ok, so Tabitha warned me that showing the rest of my photography class how to scan slides would just result in a broken scanner and she was right. FORTUNATELY PhilaU has a seperate library with many, many scanners so today I bring you this:

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-1-69242816
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-2-69242901
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-3-69242986
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-4-69243072
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-5-69243136
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-6-69243326
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-7-69243409
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-8-69243495
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-9-69243629
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Fall-Break-10-69243696

fall break photography!

also check facebook for more pictures!

OK so after I left Paris the internet decided to cost a pound for 20 min, and I'm like...no. So this livejounal is going to be especially long.

Versailles:

wow, so I guess one noble said to the other
"Hey you know what baroque needs?"
"I don't know Louis, what?"
"More cherubs, also flowers...you know what, let's just throw money on it and see what sticks."

so to sum up: Oppulence

 it was really extravagant, I can see why peasants revolted. This is not to say it wasnt beautiful, it was very, very beautiful. However unlike the gothic extravaganzas that were in Paris this style is'nt "for the people" this is just royalty being royalty. Also seeing Versailles allows me to understand Adolph Loos, ( a famous french-based german architect from the 1900s) who said that decoration was the tool of oppressors. Not that I agree, but at least now I get it.
The Palace itself had some of the most beautiful colors I have ever seen. A lot of them were very Italian colors (oranges, yellows, golds) but done in a very french style so it's like seeing the place i left behind through a different lens. But while the Palace had top-billing, the gardens stole the show. The go on for miles and can boast a hedge maze, a farm, an orangery, several canals, a restaurant, three cafes and that's right..sheep.

At the entrance to the Queen's hamlet there was a stand for Orange Juice and I was particularly thirtsy, so I indulged on what was a 3 euro dixie cup of fresh-squeezed oj. Now, I'm not an expert in orange juice, I did'nt go to agricultural school, nor have I kept up to date the fruit-related-current events but I'm going to put a bold statement out there and say that this orange juice was the best orange juice on the planet. It was amazing, I would kill for that juice, that's how good it was.

For those of you who don't know, this was not my first time at Versailles, I had been there only once before. It was many, many years ago when I was a little girl. I'm not going to tell the whole story but let's just say it involved myself, food poisoning, the anti-chamber of the queen and my father's jacket.

*spoilers*
I did'nt puke this time, so that was a huuuuuuuuuuuge plus.

When I got back from Versailles I drank with the people at the hostel, a french-canadian, a parisian (moving into a new apartment), an australian and a guy from northern california. The next morning I got up early, checked out and started the journey towards Glasgow.

Here's what's awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
Taboleh at the Cafe

Here's what's not awesome at the Beauvais Airport:
A snotty girl from Loyola who got all fussy when I asked her what the line she was in was for

pfftt...Loyola girl, you can't ruin my fall break with your crappiness.

Glasgow Prestwick is about an hour outside of the city-center, but it was really easy to take a train there, so once that was achieved, I checked into my hostel and pa-a-a-a-assed out.
The next day I took a day-trip to Edinburgh, which is my dad's favorite city and I can see why. On the trainride there a lovely scottish woman named "Norma" and I got to talking and she drew me a map of where I should go and what I should do as well as pointed me in the right direction after I got off the train. (Scottish people in general are some of the nicest people you could ever meet, plus it was nice to talk to some one who understood english for a change.) I  walked up to the castle first because It was the highest hill, which I didn't want to climb later in the day.

Edinburgh Castle:
* Scottish Crown Jewels
* Beautiful
*Cannons (that they fire at noon)
*Charming Chapel
*Cafe with a delicious hot chocolate
*Awesome exhibit about POW's at the castle during the Revolutionary War. This was complete with Scottish people trying really hard to do American accents. They went from a boston to a new york, oil and water people, oil and water.

Then I went into Thistle Church.
      *Elegantly understated
      *GREAT progression of arches, interesting arranged. They almost make the shadows dance.
      *Really interesting wood-cuts

I spent a couple of hours in the Edinburgh National Galleries and was really impressed with their collection. Edinburgh not being particularly famous for their collection but they had one of my favorite paintings of all time:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/4940?initial=G&artistId=3374&artistName=Paul%20Gauguin&submit=1

they also had some great pieces by scottish painters including:

http://www.nationalgalleries.org/collection/online_az/4:322/result/0/5327?initial=R&artistId=4399&artistName=Sir%20Henry%20Raeburn&submit=1

...nice garders.

Of course then I walked down the Royal mile to Enric Miralles' Scottish Parliament building. A lot of the scots don't like this building, I like it however I'm not going to say it "fits in" with Edinburgh. The design is based off of Macintosh flowers and of course the Scottish symbol of the thistle. Which I guess gives it's architectural "rough edges", like the leaking roof. I can't believe I just wrote that.

The next day Charles R. Mackintosh and I had a date in Glasgow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Rennie_Mackintosh

I know it's touristy but I got on one of those busses with the open top that goes around the city and you get on and off and can take pictures from the bus. I usually think it's a little bit on the wussy side, but after walking everyday in paris and then in Edinburgh, I was ready for a break. On a side note, I'm never knocking on those busses again, they are a great invention they take you everywhere you want to go.
I got to see the Mackintosh House, The Glasgow School of Art , The lighthouse, The willow tea rooms and still a lot more great architecture in Glasgow. I was blown away with the variety, it was strange to see so much *NEW* after Rome, which has a tendency to hate anything after Baroque and Paris which holds the constant pressure of it "being in Paris".

The architecture in Glasgow has something that few European cities have, experimentation. Maybe not everything will work, but it's new and it's unique. It dosent have to be done by someone you've heard of in "Architectural Digest" it can be someone looking to prove themselves and I like it. Glasgow was one of those cities that expanded too fast during the industrial revolution and it left a few strech-marks that leads the city to try and reinvent itself now. The town hall in Glasgow, it should be noted, was too amazing for words on the inside.

My last stop was foggy London Town, which was an fast-paced and interesting way to end the trip. It was gray most of the week and a half I was on break, but finally when I got to London it cleared up into a beautiful day. So I guess, not-so-foggy London Town. I was really late comming into the city. The airport ran a bus into Victoria Station but the driver was Italian and about an hour into the supposedly "45 min" trip I heard her pick up her cell phone and ask "Dove e la stazione della Victoria?" (Where is Victoria Station?) which was most forboding.
Eventually I met up with Richard and we went out for dinner and drinks.

London was very, very cool. There's a dance that happens between old granduer and new granduer and the Sir Norman Foster building looks like it blast off at any second. I'm pretty sure it's the secret space ship for the queen in case of nuclear fallout.

http://www.uk-photo-library.co.uk/london/images/4741.jpg

Richard was kind enough to show me around the next day, we got fish and chips, walked along london bridge, went to the Globe theatre, found a sweets and cheese market and then spent the afternoon at the Tate Modern. My favorite thing about the Tate was that for several of the exhibits there was music that accompanied it. So while you're looking at a piece of art, you're hearing the art as well. There was another great series of videos that showed the same scene from differenent points of view. A dog accidentally trips a man, which I didn't know could be any funnier, but  seen from the Dog's point of view changed that thinking.

There was also an interactive section where you answer questions about artists, If you won you got to pick the next artist to ask questions about Richard and I won with our powers combined. We also licked the crack, I would'nt recommend, it tastes like oppression...and pinesol.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/graphics/2007/10/08/ntate2.jpg

Finally I returned to Rome to a perfectly shining day. I was starting to get a little Rome-sick, and that was only for less than two weeks. I don't know what's going to become of me when I leave for good. All and all a great break. I'd never traveled by myself before which was an interesting expierence. It gets a little lonely at times, but you have the freedom to do whatever you want, so the give and take are pretty much in balance.

Now it's time to do the homework I should have been doing over break. Goodnight and Goodluck.

Sketchbook Fun

Sketchbook Fun #1:

The scanner I used is kinda crappy so sometimes there are colors when there should not be.

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/National-Museum-68992640

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Tiber-Island-68992529

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Trees-by-the-Colloseum-68992402

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/full-self-portrait-68992304

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/selfportrait-close-up-68992202

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/SABINES-68992062

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Villa-Borghese-68991840

Stay Tuned for Fall Break Update tonight!

J'adore Paris

So tonight will mark my third night in Paris and I am loving every minuet of it, but got to get this out: Paris is spoiled with their art. In the way that Rome is spoiled with great architecture, Paris is spoiled with great art. It's everywhere and it makes me so envious, I just hope they can appreciate it. Yesterday I went to the Louvre and spent the entire day there. When the people at the hostel asked me what else I did; I tried to explain that to "see" the Louvre it takes an entire day. It's like reading "the Aeneid" or "the Odyssey", it's epic, emotional, gorey, poetic, it takes forever, parts of it you're like "come on! Get to the point!" and you love all of it. There is no way to deny it's greatness. Also, Japenese tourists are hillarious, they're so into everything and the excitement is contagious . I also have never loved Delacroix more, he's one of the names that everyone talks about and for a long time I was like "meh" but the 18th century hallway changed my mindset completely,  I liked everything he did, which is something to be wary about usually, but I couldnt help myself.

"Delacroix said of Rembrandt that his work would be in higher regard than that of Raphael, his blashemous prophecy came true within fifty years" -Phantom Limb

P.S.   I.M. Pei, if you're reading this, I don't believe for a second that you wanted people to see through the pyramid as you elegedly claimed for your addition. You can't see through it. You, sir, lied to me, the louvre and the french people but I'm going to let you go just this once because it's awesome.

Today I went to the Musue D'Orsay and as the Louvre is to "The Odyessey" the D'Orsay is to a Shakespearean sonnet. It's much smaller but everything they have there is excellent. It's all impressionist oriented and they have everything from Manet to Rodin. You have to go. That's it. The colors of a Cezanne, the moodiness of a Degas, the surreal quality of a Van Gogh, the moment of a Monet, and they're all right next to each other. The even have all the prelim sketches which makes me want to just pass-out.

I also hit up the standard Paris sites:

The Notre Dame   = SO amazing, it 's good to have some Gothic for a change
The Arc di Triumph = oh Napoleon; you're fun
The Sacred Couer di Montmatre = A pleasant surprise, I didnt think it would be  as good as it was
The Eiffel Tower = It's the Eiffel Tower guys.

tomorrow I go to Versailles, woot!

Back by Popular Demand

So yesterday I went to Pompeii and the day before that I went to the Villa Borghese, to describe the latter I'm going to quote the famous and imfamous Dominic Galante:


""sildhfuurfdfvkdjfnvfkjdfsdfbsdkjfbjksdf"
that's me spazing at the idea of the Borghese Museum."


and it's true. That museum was amazing. It's probably one of the harder museums to get into just because you have to book it, like, 4 days in advance. Plus it's also one of the most exspensive tapping out at 13 euros, roughly 16 dollars. But just like a cut of perfect steak the experience is totally worth it. It's situated in the middle of a really pretty park, with a series of other museums out there as well. But the Galleria Borghese is clearly the Tyranasaurus in the land of giants.

My favorite part you ask? An entire museum full of Caravaggios and Berninis. I'm going to repeat that.
AN ENTIRE MUSEUM FULL OF CARAVAGGIOS AND BERNINIS

at the site of Apollo and Daphne I think I passed out just a little.

http://gallery.euroweb.hu/art/b/bernini/gianlore/sculptur/1620/apollo_d.jpg

The detailing on the fingers was amazing, the myth is that a woman turns into a tree to escape being captured by the god Apollo. If you're into Baroque, you gotta go. Also apparently not everyone is into Baroque, (bad joke comming) which I find hard to believe (it's on it's way) because if it's not Baroque (here it comes) don't fix it. (ouch)

They don't allow you to take pictures in the Museum so just to give you a taste here's the website. (Pictures included)

http://www.galleriaborghese.it/borghese/en/edefault.htm

On Saturday we went to Pompeii, and it was Amazing. pictures to come soon. The coolest thing about Pompeii is that it was almost completely entact, down to the Frescoes. Pictures soon to follow.

And speaking of pictures:

http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Cover-of-Biscotti-Quarterly-67846606
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Firenze-67846806
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Firenze-Frescoe-67846970
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Duomo-67847080
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Florence-Sabine-Statue-67848059
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Santa-Maria-in-Firenze-67848235
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Duomo-looking-Down-67848310
http://chillicheesefries.deviantart.com/art/Florence-Ufizzi-67848829

For those without Facebook: To make them bigger just click the picture.

Falling, yes, i'm falling and she keeps calling me back again

Dear Italy,

This is clearly unfair. Not only do you have amazing countryside but you have astronomically beautiful art and architecture. My weak sensibilities have no chance under the influence of red wine and yellow sun. I hope you're happy in making me love you.

- Molly

On Thursday I saw Richard Meier’s Jubilee Church

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/jubilee/jubilee1.jpg
http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek05/tw0107/0107arch_8jubilee_b.jpg

It was Rome without being Rome-y. Masonry but not married to a box or a sphere. I think I left part of my heart there. I can't say much more than that.

Yesterday I went to Florence for a day-trip because I really needed to see the Duomo (also the Baptistery) in person as well as the Uffizi and the Academia.

Duomo
http://www.usm.maine.edu/eng/duomo%20brunel.JPG

Baptistery
http://pictures.exploitz.com/Baptistery-Florence-photo--_smgpx10001x14546x1e07af6dd.jpg

I took the train from Termini at 10:30 am and got into Firenze at noon. As I came out of the train station I checked on my map to see what direction I needed to walk to find the Florentine masterpiece of Santa Maria del Fiore. But I didn't need a map, had I looked up instead of been engrossed by the map, I would have seen a GIANT DOME. I discovered this when I put the map back in my bag. Originally it looked as if there were two large churches right next to each other a few blocks away, but when I came up close it was just one huge (and when I say "huge" I mean at least several dinosaurs)church.



http://www.romanconcrete.com/graphics/florence_dome.jpg

That was the really nice frescoe they had on the dome interior but aside from that the walls were pretty much blank (with the exception of a few very small paintings of notable Florentines, Dante, etc.). I wasn't disappointed, just surprised really. It's actually kind of nice to look at structure for a change. It's a reminder that great architecture doesn’t just happen; it's not just a physical work but also a mental work as well.

The Duomo itself is an interesting story. During the Middle-ages every city was trying to prove its worth with a greater and grander cathedral than its rivals (usually neighbors). Florence was desperate to prove its strength over Pisa so a grand cathedral was planned, larger than any other in Europe at the time. However the plans called for a huge dome (this dome was to be an equal to the Pantheon in Rome, just a few feet less wide but over 60 feet off the ground) that no one knew how to build, but they figured by the time the rest of the church was built, someone would have figured it out. WRONG. No one knew how to complete the church and it was left unfinished for many years until this guy:

http://paradoxplace.com/Perspectives/Italian%20Images/images/Portraits/Fathers%20of%20Perspective/Brunelleschi-BR500.jpg

shows up. The son of a watch-maker, goldsmith/architect: Filippo Brunelleschi. He kept it secret how he solved the problem. But the drum was too small, the weight was too much and the arches were too high. Still today people aren’t really sure how he figured it out.

http://www.boisestate.edu/courses/hy309/pics/duomo.cross-section.jpg

The line at this point was too long to climb to the top of the Duomo so I said "maybe later" and marched myself towards The Uffizi.

Let me sum up my reaction to the Uffizi:

This is me:
http://www.speakeasydesigns.com/richter/pix/nerd.jpg

This is me at the Uffizi:

http://img.stern.de/_content/56/29/562954/fan1_600.jpg

I loved it. Here is just a laundry list of SOME of the greatness they have there:
http://www.igreens.org.uk/Titian-uffizi-Venus.jpg
http://www.svreeland.com/judith-uffizi.jpg
http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/greekroman/images/SandroBotticelli-The-Birth-of-Venus-1490.jpg
http://www.sai.msu.su/wm/paint/auth/botticelli/botticelli.la-primavera.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/fc/Caravaggio12.jpg/524px-Caravaggio12.jpg
http://www.artchive.com/artchive/p/parmigianino/long_neck.jpg

The last one is a painting I had seen before in books and had really hated. Mary's head should be falling off and Baby Jesus looks dead. But seeing it in person, I really liked the figure of a prophet in the background. I mean, the scale is not really right for the space, but it was intriguing. So I still don't like it, but I don't hate it as much as I used to.

Those are just a few of them, there was over 2000 paintings, it just kept going. Amazing.

After that I walked down and saw the line for the Academia. Under 30 min, so I bought a sandwich and hopped in. Midway through the sandwich was a wonderful surprise of tomatoes and meat which I had no idea was there. It was like this sandwich was blessed with magical properties that gave it the powers of a gourmet meal. This may have been the Omega Sandwich, which all other sandwiches aspire to become...it was extraordinary.

In the Academia there was a small gallery which I walked through, and then followed another one, all the while wondering where they were hiding the David, I mean, it's huge. Then I found it.

http://faculty.evansville.edu/rl29/art105/img/michelangelo_david2.jpg

the important thing about the David (why it's so famous) is because of the story it tells just by standing there. He's not looking at you; he's looking at his side. He hasn’t thrown the rock yet. Look closely in those eyes, is that fear? Concern? This is David right before he strikes Goliath, He's sizing him up. It's the tension of that moment.

Finally I was walking back to the train station and saw that the line for climbing the Duomo was non-existent, so I paid and started to climb. Almost 600 steps later I saw this:

http://www.placestovisitinflorenceitaly.com/photos/duomo-belltower-florence.jpg

at sunset. Check out pictures on facebook, to be posted this afternoon.
There were also some people taking pictures of biscotti at the top of the Dome. They were from a gourmet food magazine. At least I hope so, because otherwise they were from a magazine about Biscotti. Which I'm not sure would be interesting. I mean I don't know the drama behind dried fruit prices or chocolate coating but I don't know if I would subscribe to "Biscotti Quarterly".

Who am I kidding, Of course I would.

Molly: "Can I take one of those?"
Lady: "What? The biscotti?"
Molly: "No, a picture"
Lady: "You don't want a biscotti?"
Molly: "Well, If you're offering..."

she was not.

Then I took the 7:30 train back and crawled into bed in Rome at 10:30pm 12 hours of great fun.

But everything looks perfect from far away.

Today I'm feeling a little philosophical, so you can either just sit there and take it or you can leave and drink a refreshing cold glass of diet coke plus (the plus means it's healthy ...apparently). If I were you I would go and enjoy a delectable contemporary convenience but if you're entertained by tangents, by all means stay.

So a very long time ago when I was starting college and hadn't even discovered Architecture a very interesting man (a.k.a. Father McNally S.J. and if you don't know him I'm sorry) told me that the study of Art and Architecture comes down to "Taste" and that there was "Good Taste" and "Bad Taste". After asking us what the difference between them was and receiving no answer, he suggested that before we draw the borders we should study both to try and find it. It was the introduction to "Experiencing Architecture", a class that eventually led me to change majors, schools, socks, etc.

I think I've finally figured out what he was trying to tell me and maybe it's a sign of how dumb I actually am that it took me this long to figure it out.

Education, it comes down to education. I'm going to show you with, what else, visuals.

Example 1A

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Death_of_Marat_by_David.jpg

Is this painting beautiful?

I think so. The white of innocence being consumed by the black of death, the red of life blending with the water he was bathing in and the untouchable form of the soul leaving on the right, the wake of an action. The composition, the colors and most importantly the emotion. This is a graceful and loving portrait of a murdered man. Look at how delicately and precisely that face is rendered.

But is it in good taste?

Absolutely not. This painting was made shortly after the death of the Jean-Paul Marat. Marat was a radical writer during the infamous Reign of Terror. This movement that held the gasping people firmly in its grip après la revolution. Like most radicals he referred to himself as "The Friend of the People", but what people? His writings said that the murders already committed by the state were not enough. Anyone who had ever been associated with the King should be killed. He saw suspicion everywhere and in those times suspicion led straight to death.

The Painter, Jacques Louis-David should have been more aware of the dangerousness of these ideas. Before the revolution he had often painted the people who would later be murdered in the Reign of Terror. The happy couple in this portrait by David had once clashed with Marat and felt the brunt of that decision later.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/David_-_Portrait_of_Monsieur_Lavoisier_and_His_Wife.jpg

Msr. Lavoisier escaped the guillotine, his wife did not.

Eventually Marat was murdered and immediately there was a cry for his Apotheosis and David was more than happy to help. However several years after the Revolution, David realized the mistake he had made and hid the painting away, it was rediscovered after David died in exile.

So to sum up: Marat = Total freaky-deaky-crazy-pants and painting him like an angel is not in good taste.

Example 1B

http://www.a-r-m.com.au/images/projects/41/photos/Vanna%20Venturi%20House_large.jpg
http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/images/pho/t041/T041606A.jpg

Is this house beautiful?

No. Way. I mean really. What the hell is this house? Is it a house? It may be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen.

Is it in good taste?

Yes, this house may be ugly but it is also probably one of the most sophisticated buildings in the history of western architecture. Here Robert Venturi has not only combined the styles of the past two thousand years but is also making you re-think how you can recognize a house.

See if you can find all these icons in the building:

Corbusier Windows from Villa Savoye

http://faculty.evansville.edu/rl29/art105/img/corbusier_savoye.jpg

A Roman Arch (Keystone Missing)

http://www.makingthemodernworld.org.uk/learning_modules/maths/02.TU.03/illustrations/02.IL.24.gif

Log-Cabin Window

http://www.antique-used-tools.com/CabinWindowWoodR_WY_bw_51406_reduced_wtmk.jpg

If you read the roof structures they're not that far from FLW.

http://www.prairiestyles.com/images/architects/wright/ingalls.jpg

But doesn’t look a little like this as well?

http://www.topbun.com/userpics/layouts/thumbnail/childrens_house_th.jpg

the list could go on for days

He uses the language of recognition to completely change what you think about them. I hate the way this building looks, but there is no way to deny it of its rightful place in Architectural History.

To Sum up: The Vanna Venturi house is what happens when you put 2000 years of Architectural Digests in a blender and then paste it back together over your child's drawing of a house, but it's brilliant.

So let's remember how this all got started. Good taste vs. Bad Taste. Learning about things like The Death of Marat or the Vanna Venturi House may change what you think about them, but it doesn’t change what they look like. So does educated taste really matter then? Who knows. Maybe. But the difference is that when you learn about a painting or a building, you should learn about it, don't just look, don't just be moved, understand it, really understand it.

More things are beautiful than you think. And things that are beautiful often are uglier than you think.

Siquis erit, qui turpe putet servire puellae,
illo convincar iudice turpis ego.

But as far as creating art... That's way too complicated to get into on Livejournal.