The incoming light

Booijmans Van Beuningen museum in Rotterdam...

To me, the incoming light through two windows in the museum seem
to evoke the same sentiment as the painting of Hammershoy.

Tomorrow is here....

Sometimes people are amazed when I say that most Brazilians are very worried about the environment and care about sustainability. Non-Brazilians instantly start remembering the cutting of the rain forest.

 In December 2015 President Dilma of Brazil opened the Museum of Tomorrow here in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). We all know something has to change about our behavior towards sustainability. The term "tomorrow" is far more urgent than the more abstract "future". A nice article about the museum was published in the Guardian.



It is one of the most fantastic buildings (by the architect Santiago Calatrava) I have ever seen. It is as amazing as the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the radiant white curves makes one think of Oscar Niemeyer's soft lined buildings . This is a stunning image; a primitive reptile or an elegant flying fish like structure....stepping out of the the Guanabara Bay into the city.

 

Going inside is like walking into the mouth of an alligator.

Inside the museum is beautiful, but nothing beats the outside.

This place made me really think of Niemeyer. (The Cathedral of Brasilia / the Edificio da Bienal in São Paulo) Brazilian structures.

Our blue planet hangs (or should hang....my fault) right in the middle.

Dancing veils on a glass plate.... fantastic.

Large panels with pictures of our Earth. (On Google there are also some good pictures "from above"...)

Also interesting pictures of people all over the world on columns inside a kind of cube. It was so busy I didn't even think of taking a picture myself.

Everywhere a lot of interactive information on consoles and then again information on huge pillars.

The only physical object in the museum is the "Churinga". A "tool" of Australian Aboriginals. It symbolizes the connection with the past and the future. The knowledge and values we want to share with following generations....

From within the museum you look over the basin with the star. On the horizon is the bridge across the Guanabara Bay to Niteroi



From this angle the museum is like a magic bird landing on its peninsula in front of the old Rio.

Majestic.

Playfull.... The "Feathers" or maybe "Wings" move on the energy from solar panels.

Puffed Star II ( 6 meters in diameter) by Frank Stella.

It was hot (alsmost 40 degrees), so it was nice sitting for some time in the shade.






Everything is still new and clean. You hardly see the difference between a reflection and the real thing.

As the Museum reflects its surroundings, at the same time it reflects on the surroundings. The originally very poor and dangerous neighborhood is becoming a hot spot for tourists. The original inhabitants have been "moved". Now is the time for entrepreneurs.... to change old buildings into trendy apartments.... Prices will explode. The city is where the work is.... affordable houses are far away. Public transport is a bottleneck. Busses bloc the narrow streets. The traffic jam is enormous.
Eventually when everything is going as planned and the (above ground) metro is finished (Olympic Games!!) then half the busses will disapear and the traffic will be able to run as it should.

Glass panels, bold structures and shiny surfaces....

The Museum Reina Sofia (contemporary art) in Madrid not only houses a great collection. One of the top pieces is the Guernica of Picasso (no photo's there....).... But it also is a fantastic building. The heart of the museum is an old hospital building by the Italian architect Sabatini (last quarter of the 18th century). In 2005 the building was enlarged.

The museum is located on a square. The first thing you notice are two huge glass elevator towers with each three glass elevators (yes... this is only one).

It is fun to be in one of the towers and take pictures of the other.

Or of the square down below.

Later, having lunch on the other side of the square I was watching the elevators. They were behaving like a giant fruit machine.... Sometimes three in a row.

Bingo......

The most fantastic part was the roof pavilion.  Glass panels, bold structures and shiny surfaces. 

Fantastic reflections!

Connecting the old and the new.

Bold structures and bold lettering.

A good place to rest the feet for some time before going back inside to see even more great paintings.

The imminence of poetry.....

The imminence of poetry: The 30th “Bienal de São Paulo”

Hreinn Fridfinnsson

It is on the brink of happening; poetry speaks through the language of art.

I can show no more than just a glimpse of this wonderful event: Too much to see in one time. Too much to show in one blog post. See for yourself.

Alexandre da Cunha

Savvas Christodoulides

Ciudad Abierta

David Moreno

David Moreno

Lucia Laguna

Hreinn Fridfinnsson

Arthur Bispo do Rosário

Halfway the exhibition I was happily surprised by the fact that there was work of Arthur Bispo do Rosário. I had seen his work on the Internet by chance and had had no hope of seeing it in São Paulo. There is a museum for his work in Rio de Janeiro. For me it was one of the highlights of this Bienal. I will try to make another blog only with his work.

Eduardo Berliner

Iñaki Bonillas

Kriwet

Sigurdur Gudmundsson

Frédérique Bruly Bouabré

Anna Oppermann

Hans Eijkelboom

Hans Eijkelboom

The building itself, a creation of Niemeyer, is a happening in it's own right; especially build for presenting these Bienals. For the photographer of the exhibited works it is a disaster because of the reflection of the light falling directly from outside on polished (glass) surfaces.