Rainy Wednesday

This painting in Edinburgh's Modern One made me think of my nieces Sierra and Ava; it reminds me of the style of drawing they have done, and so I begin with this.  I spent the morning at both Modern One and Modern Two.  Below is the entrance to Modern One.

The sculpture is a reclining figure by Henry Moore.  Though I never took an art class, I studied it extensively before I went on Jeopardy, so it's fun for me to be recognizing artists by their unique styles twenty years later.  That has stuck with me.  My study of sport and politics, not so much.

There were a lot of artist I recognized, such as Lichtenstein, Warhol, Braque and Mondrian.  And there were many I didn't recognize - some that I appreciated and some that I didn't.

The following is by Vezelay, an artist I had not heard of before, and I found it really attractive.

This next is by Ofili.  It caught my eye at first because I thought rocks were being incorporated into painting.  I like rocks!

And then I got closer and read the description and found out that these aren't rocks.  They are hunks of elephant dung - yes, indeed, pachyderm poop.  I get it that the artist is making a statement about the impact of colonialism on Africa, and I can appreciate that.  As to art, I don't know.  I'm still just not a fan of the whole Dada thing and would rather engage with art that doesn't include excrement.

So  .  .  .  heading out from Modern One.

I call the piece above Water Feature with Columns.  I call the piece below Water Feature with Raindrops.

It rained all day long.

Modern One and Modern Two are right across the street from each other  .  .  . and clearly labeled.

Approaching Modern Two  .  .  .  this one I had been inside before, but I only had opportunity to get to one room before closing time.  I covered the whole place this time around.

So, here's one of their outdoor installations.

When I first saw it, I was a bit offended, and the thought that came immediately to mind was, "Oh yeah?!  You might be surprised!"  I wondered if the placement - with the spires of St. Mary's Cathedral in the background was purposeful or accidental but ironic.  On my way out I read a description of this piece that changed my mind about it quite a bit.  The write said, in part:

[Coley] included these words, which were taken from a royal pronouncement made in the French town of Modseine in the 17th century.  The town was the supposed site of many miracles and pilgrims flocked to it.  Tired of the number of pilgrims, the King erected a sign stating, 'There will be no miracles here, by order of the King'.  Coley notes that the phrase can be understood in a number of different ways: 'People with strong belief take offence and feel it's taking hope away from situations that need a miracle.  I disagree.  I think the opposite.  For me what it's saying is: your actions have consequences and we can't sit and wait for things to happen and fate doesn't exist.' 

Yep, "your actions have consequences."  That is definitely worth thinking seriously about!

I loved this piece by Paolozzi, which channels William Blake and Isaac Newton.

And POP!  We're inside Modern Two.  There was an exhibition on Warhol and Paolozzi, and they still have a room dedicated to Surrealism, which makes me happy - got to see my Miro and Magritte and Dali that way!

Andy Warhol, of course.

Miro :-)

I was not really familiar with Paolozzi until today - though I had seen the window he had done in St. Mary's Cathedral Monday.

I was happy to see they had acquired a fourth Magritte!  Yea!

The new one is titled Threatening Weather.

So, back to Paolozzi, I found his stuff intriguing and pleasant but not really a draw for me  .  .  .

  .  .  .  until I realized there is connection going on here with Ludwig Wittgenstein (Austrian philosopher, mathematician, logician).  Now I'm drawn in and want to know more!

Here again Paolozzi mentions Wittgenstein directly on the canvas.

And I like the thoughts at the bottom of the piece.

Time for a potty break, and EVEN THE BATHROOMS are artistic!

This was supposed to be a low-key day, with just the art galleries in the morning and a lecture in the evening - and just a swing over to Circus Lane for a couple of photographs on the way home in between.  Somehow it took way longer than I expected.  Perhaps I need to start using the buses more, but what a beautiful walk I had!

I was relying on Google Maps on the phone to get me to Circus Lane from the Moderns.  I was pleasantly surprised when it took me by way of Dean Village and onto the Water of Leith Walkway.  I do wish it had been a drier day so I could have enjoyed this walk more, but it was absolutely stunning.  I'll just let the next photos and videos speak for themselves, as they are all of Water of Leith and its environs (including Dean Bridge).

And then it was time for lunch - way past time for lunch.  I walked into the first place that caught my eye.  It turned out to be lovely local pub - off the tourist path.  It was fun to sit in the bar and hear the gents talking over their pints about such news as the Scottish Referendum and the new royal baby.

My eating has been pretty spartan here, so when I saw onion rings on the menu I had to have them no matter what else I was going to get - which turned out to be a chicken enchilada.  This is also the first time I've found (made?) time to read.  I uploaded Muriel Spark's Memento Mori figuring it might be a good fit, given that she was from Edinburgh and that I'll be visiting a number of kirkyards and burial grounds.  (I hope I like her Memento Mori better than I liked The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, for which she is best known.)

And then my enchilada came with French fries - had I know this, I might not have ordered the onion rings, but who would have thought?  Anyway, I left quite full!!

The next two pictures are of Circus Lane.  I came here because I knew it to be a good place to take photographs.  The weather really wasn't cooperating today, so I got what I could.  It really is a beautiful spot in the midst of a beautiful city.

 After a trip back to the flat, it was back across town for the lecture at the Royal College of Physicians.  This was something I stumbled across weeks before leaving home and that I purchased tickets for in advance.  It's a good fit for me, as I'm writing about Renaissance Era mathematicians, one of whom was a physician who treated people with plague, so how perfect is this lecture for me?  (What follows is their promo picture and their description of the event.)

Coping with Plague: Public Health and Epidemics in Renaissance Italy

by Edinburgh History of Medicine Group

Description

Speaker: Professor John Henderson, Professor of Italian Renaissance History, University of London

Italy, though best known for the birth of the Renaissance, is also renowned for the precocious development of its public health policies in the 16th century. In this talk, Professor John Henderson will argue that it is time to re-examine and reassess early modern Italian policies dealing with plague. Henderson’s approach is to examine the often moving and tragic stories of the individuals touched by plague from either side of the doctor-patient boundary. The way in which governments and individuals dealt with plague are as relevant today as they were 500 years ago.

RCPE  has a nice big auditorium.

It was quite interesting to learn how certain public policy measures that were taken back then were somewhat effective in containing the plague.

After the lecture I checked out their exhibition on alchemy - also a topic of significant interest to me as I do my writing!  So cool!  All of this in one place!!

This scroll, from the 1400s, is being exhibited for the first time.  It gives directions for developing the Philosopher's Stone.  It's too bad it wasn't open all the way! ;-)

There were also books on display.  Oh how I would love to own such things!

So, today was great, but it came at the cost of getting soaked to the skin and remaining so all day - cold rain, not like warm, summer Michigan rain.  Can you see how wet my shirt is?  And I was wearing this under a jacket!  I'm wondering if my jacket will even be dry by tomorrow  .  .  .

OK, ending on a positive note, here is the somewhat obligatory Edinburgh Castle photograph of the day.  This is very central, and I walked past it on my way home; I've walked past it on one side or another every day.  And now time to relax and reflect on today's experiences - and maybe do some reading!  Ah!!!