As Jurassic World sets new box office records, Dinosaurs dominate the downtown area of Stamford

In its second weekend since opening, Time Magazine reports that  Jurassic World has garnered over $981 million in global box office gross according to Box Office Mojo.

The film is slated to reach the one billion dollar mark this Thursday, less than two weeks after its release.

What an amazing run! (Watch out Furious 7, which reached the billion dollar mark in 17 days)

Just as amazing is Stamford Downtown's presentation of the Dinosaur's Rule outdoor art show.

40 originally designed and painted fiberglass dinosaurs are on display for free viewing throughout the summer months.

Here are examples from the Downtown art exhibit:

                                               

Stamford's Art in Public Places Summer 2014: Street Seats

Prior  inspiring  Art in Public Places shows, sponsored by the Stamford Downtown have been reported  and include slide shows of :  Reigning Cats and Dogs, Best of the Outdoor Sculptures,  Horsin Around and  last year's Downtown Abstractions. 

This year's show, entitled Street Seats features 40 originally designed and painted wooden benches found in the downtown area including our parks. Visit www.Stamford-downtown.com for a map to tour the exhibit.

Here are a few images from the exhibit to whet your appetite.

"Know your Roots" by Future 5 Art Students:

Lewis Derogene, Mykeyla Brown,Stefany Espinoza and Izzy Gomez

Sponsor: TORMAR Associates  LLC of Stamford 

One of my favorites: Can you guess 

where this bench is located? 

Again, kudos to Sandy Goldstein and her staff at Stamford Downtown for a very imaginative and  inspiring show and of course all the many sponsors of this year's exhibit.  

   

Why Stamford is a great place to live in

I could have entitled this blog: We commemorate the end of the Third quarter with 10 good reasons to celebrate living in Stamford and looking forward to the fourth quarter.

 1. The weather has been great the last few days temps in the 70's and cloudless skies and there is no finer place than Stamford downtown to dine alfresco; the restaurant patrons have been out today at tables set up in front of San Remos Pizza and Lucky's Restaurant basking in the sun.

 2. The road maintenance crews do a great follow-up job; during the summer they dug up streets laying new pvc tubings; they are now out in full force in my neighborhood preparing the roads to lay down new smooth surfaces.

 3. Stamford's Ferguson library has been hosting The Civility in America series with the support  of Mayor Pavia and the City of Stamford , The Dilenschneider Group,  Purdue,  Hearst Media Services and Sacred Heart University. We have been fortunate to hear Senator Olympia Snow, Faye Vincent, William Bratton and Joel Klein  to name a few personages.

 Set aside Tuesday, October 15th at 6 PM.  S.Georgia Nugent, past president of Kenyon College in Ohio is an advocate for liberal arts education. She will be speaking about Civility in American Society.

 4. Stamford Downtown hosts an outdoor summer art show entitled Art in Public Places. This summer thanks to presenting sponsor SAC CAPITAL ADVISORS and many other local supporters, we had 43 sculptures by 18 artists. 

 5. Our town has other permanent outdoor pieces such as J. Seward Johnson's Uninvited Advice. See the slide show by clicking here.

 6. The Curtain Call theater has been  presenting free outdoor Shakespeare performances On the Green for the last 14 years. . This year we enjoyed Othello under the stars.

  In nearby Rowayton, Shakespeare on the Sound performed As You Like it

 7. Major stars host performances in our town. Art Garfunkel, a classmate of mine, can be seen at Stamford's Ferguson library on November 8, 2013.

 8. Mill River Park has recently opened. Designed as a downtown oasis of walking paths, lawns, cherry trees, plants, benches, a carousel, skating rink and fountain, the Park now consists of 12 acres and will grow in future years to 28 acres.

     Projected cost will be $60 million. of which $14 million has been raised.

 9. Excellent public schools is another draw.

  Success Symposium 2013, featuring a panel of educators, will discuss strategies for public education. David Kirp, professor of Public Policy at UC Berkeley, is the keynote speaker. It airs at Ferguson Library this Wednesday, October 2nd from 4 to 6 p.m.

 10. Stamford hospital boasts the Van Munching facility, one of the Northeast's premier acute inpatient rehabilitation centers.

All of the above are good reasons Stamford stands out....

Kudos to two fall ladies fashion magazines: WSJ. from the Wall Street Journal and T , The New York Times Style Magazine

In a recent post, on Why I Blog, I briefly touched on the success of fashion print magazines such as Vogue, Elle and Harper's Bazaar--especially the September issues.

First there's Vogue weighing in with 902 pages total and 663 ad pages; next comes Elle with 652 pages total and 442 ad pages. Heavy, indeed.

Not bad for those who say PRINT IS DEAD!

However, of greater interest to me are the two fall fashion magazines of our two most prominent newspapers: WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine and the New York Times Style Magazine.

Cover of the Wall Street Journal Magazine

September 2013, Women's Style

Both magazines are a pleasure to peruse and read. (If you don't have copies. get them from your local library.) They are also available online.

The ads are beautifully designed and do effortlessly and seamlessly --with a little bit of help-- lead us gracefully to intriguing articles.

Isn't that what top of the line magazine journalism is supposed to do--to draw us into the mostly textual sections that can and should matter to us, perhaps, even make a difference in our lives?

Put another way, the sensuality of the models and products featured in the ads are designed to quicken our senses- male and female- then goad us to open up our wallets and buy!

Isn't that our expectation?

Then, hopefully, we should be in a frame of mind to expect and then, indeed, discover the quality of journalism that is the mark of these two papers.

The Times is 252 total pages and WSJ. is 160 pages. (Size is not the issue--it's layout, it's content. Agreed?)

Each has museum quality ads from Ralph Lauren, Armani and Chanel vying for the front and back cover ads -- as usual. After all, this publication is a showcase for their wares and they will renew their ads only if pleased with placement and quality of layout and content of articles.

With some 75 plus full page ads dominating the WSJ. publication, what room is there left  for content?

Sounds like a tug of war of sorts: ads fund the publication and hence must be prominent -- but should this bottom line consideration be at the 'expense' of articles?

The Editor's Letter offers a clue as to what to expect in each. So, kudos to both editors Kristina O'Neill of WSJ. and to Deborah Needleman of the Times.

Kristina O'Neill, Editor in Chief of WSJ. She

replaced Deborah Needleman who moved over to T Magazine 

(Photo courtesy of Fashionlogie.com)

In her Editor's Letter entitled Hidden Treasures, the globe-trotting Kristina first flies southward to South America where she heaps praises on Inhotim "an extraordinary installation of contemporary art in southeastern Brazil." She then directs our 'sails' to a Parisian superstar designer, the "effortlessly chic" Isabel Marant.

Her itinerary then has us fly across the Channel to London where "we spend time with founders of Saturday Group, fashion consultants who wear a dazzling array of creative hats."

Other venues include Sir Richard Branson's private game reserve Ulusaba in South Africa -- to 'meet' daughter Holly and her brother and a meeting with Guido Palau "the legendary hair stylist whose creativity is behind some of fashion's most iconic moments."

Collage of Venice from Wikipedia: at the top left is 

the Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city,

 the the Grand Canal and (smaller) the interior

 of La Fenice and lastly the island of San Giorgio Maggiore

The destination that impressed me the most is the Venice Biennale.

Why the Biennale?

It has lots and lots of outdoor public art especially in the Giardini and I am a great fan of public art!

My keen interest in public art and magazine media is depicted and exemplified by many blogs (ranging from the Rodin exhibit at the sculpture garden of the Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University,  Stamford's Downtown Outdoor Art in Public Places exhibits, to Kandinsky and Picasso at the Guggenheim and Kandinsky: His Paris Years 1906-1907 and as editor and publisher of Brooklyn's Community Magazine ).

Cover of Mort Walker's The Best of Times

featuring original artwork by Mort 

I also served as advertising director at Mort Walker's Best of Times Magazine. (Mort just turned 90 and is as spright and alert as a man 30 years his junior).

I am fascinated by Venice -- a city I visited as a teenager -- where every two years "the city is transformed into a grand exhibition of contemporary artwork from around the globe."  It is as Mera Rubell said "so incredible because the contemporary art interacts with the historical context..."

The online slide show is a pleasure to scroll through as we encounter the portraits of the artists and curators and gallerists and collectors. The outstanding photography is by Daniel Jackson.

The article inspires me to visit Venice for the next Biennale. Any joiners out there?

Thank you WSJ. and staff and I look forward to your Men's Style issue just posted online.

Look for my hopefully shorter blog on T, The New York Times August/Fall Fashion Ladies Style Magazine. (Click here)

The August 25, 2013 cover of the Women's Fashion Issue

from the New York Times Style Magazine

Stamford's collection of permanent outdoor art: J. Seward Johnson's Unwanted Advice

Good morning Stamford,  J. Seward Johnson's Uninvited Advice sculpture, a part of the permanent sculptures in Stamford Downtown, is featured in this slide show.

About 20 years ago, when I was working in Henderson, Nevada, I fell in love with 6 of Johnson's outdoor sculptures, which are permanently displayed in their downtown.

It's a fascinating and inspiring piece and I promise to elaborate and expand this brief blog shortly-so tune back in .

Meanwhile, enjoy.....

2013 Stamford Art in Public Places, Abstract Sculpture

First,  Kudos to Sandy Goldstein President of Stamford's Downtown Special Services District, SAC CAPITAL ADVISORS L.P. and all the other generous partner- sponsors for this year's provocative and inspiring outdoor summer exhibit representing a unique 20 year Stamford tradition of ART IN PUBLIC PLACES.

 Also, congratulations to all the dedicated acolytes of art who produced such an attractive 4-color, slick booklet entitled Downtown Abstractions. A glance at this sterling piece will make up for all and any deficiencies of my short blog. It presents bios of the 18 artists, pictures of the 43 sculptures they loaned to our city, lists of the our sponsors and a sculpture exhibit map for this show as well as for the nine permanent sculptures in downtown Stamford.

 You can access this brochure in pdf format online. Click here.

 Dictionary.com defines abstract art as "A trend in painting and sculpture in the twentieth century. Abstract art seeks to break away from traditional representation of physical objects. It explores the relationships of forms and colors, whereas more traditional art represents the world in recognizable images."

 Enough said!....almost done.

 I enjoyed my journey through the Downtown  (including First Stamford Place just across Metro North) and time permitting I will add more photos to the slide show. So do tune back in.

 For my coverage of previous outdoor summer exhibits and other outdoor art pieces and sculptures here in Stamford click here.

And, finally, if I have piqued your interest just a little about my fascination with the power of the abstract and you have patience and a few moments more, then learn and appreciate, as I did, how a truly great 20th Century artist-- Wassily Kandinsky --brilliantly pursued the path from the concrete to the abstract. If so, then click here.

If you haven't seen the show, hurry and get out to experience all the colorful vibrant pieces. The show ends on Labor Day.

Have a gr8 day, all!

Horsin Around Outdoor Summer Art Exhibition debuts in Stamford

Soaring over Stamford created by
Charles Fazzino placed in front of the Ferguson Library

A few months ago, I presented a video clip of the indoor preparations for the Horsin Around outdoor summer art exhibition. (Click here to see.)

The installation has been completed and you can see 40 life-size fiberglass horses designed by 29 artists  throughout the downtown area.

The Stamford Downtown Special Services has published a booklet that presents photos of each horse  and a map showing its location.

Enjoy the show and let me know which is your favorite.

Spotted, a new horse icon joins Belltown along Newfield Avenue in Stamford

Newfield Avenue's new equestrian metal sculpture

that is on the lawn of Lakeside Pottery 

My passion for riding and writing about horses has been covered in posts about the American Quarterhorse and the 'white horse with no name' that graces the Sunoco station across from Grade A shopping center on Newfield Avenue. (see: Newfield Avenue's fixture: a horse with no name)

Now another horse with no name has suddenly surfaced in the same neighborhood on the lawn of the Lakeside Pottery School, Studio and Gallery diagonally across from the Sunoco station. (see accompanying pictures)

This brown sculpture is now the latest addition to Stamford's outdoor art.

Indeed, it is a welcome prelude to the Stamford Downtown Special Services outdoor summer art festival, Horsin' Around. 

My Favorite Sculpture at Stamford's Art in Public Places 2011 Show: Personalities by Judith Peck

In my June 1, 2011 post, I presented a slide show of a representative sampling of the sculptures to be featured in Stamford's Art in Public Places Summer 2011 show. (Last summer, I posted a slide show of the Reigning Cats and Dogs Outdoor sculpture show as it was being readied for exhibition at the Landmark building.)

So, as you already know, Stamford has no dearth of outdoor art and part of my passion is to try to catch up with just a few with my trusty digital camera.

This year is no different. Just sample the 'difference': here's one for a spring day. 

As it turns out, this year my favorite piece, hands down,  is Personalities by Judith Peck, sponsored by SAC Capital Advisors, LP. Here is a slide show.



What makes this piece so captivating is the free form movement of the four white silhouetted figures.

You can almost feel and experience their movements as their young supple bodies sway freely on the swings and lateral ladders.

Each figure is in a different mobile position: one is crouching on a moving swing; another is doing a somersault; a third appears to be running on a track as his body is tilted to the right; finally, the fourth is leaning to his left on a plane above all the others.

Though the artist captures and isolates each figure , there is a unity of motion and a harmony of vibrant spirit common to all four.

The show is a must visit for all Stamford citizens.  The sculptures are primarily clustered along Bedford, Summer, Atlantic and Broad Streets downtown.

Personalities (number 17 on the map, click below)  is aptly located in Latham Park opposite the Avon Theater.

Now that you know which piece is my favorite, I want to know which is your favorite!

Here is a map to this year's Wit and Whimsy Outdoor show.

Stamford Hosts a Plethora of Public Art: Here's Just One for this Spring Day

Stamford's Pleasing to the eye Public Art

While waiting for the stop light at Summer Street and and 5th Street , a patient driver, eager to climb 5th homeward bound to Strawberry Hill Ave.,has such a pleasing work of outdoor art to behold.


This seaside vista opening up to the water is at once captivating, soothing and so serene in its melange of mellow sedate hues of green, pink, brown and blue pastels. It's a work of art that could easily be framed and hung in one's living room or den.

That one lone, wandering- branched. stark tree looks like it will shortly spring into floral life in what I imagine to be an early April scene along Fairfield County's shoreline.

Again, hats off to Stamford.

For a few of my dozen or so earlier blogs on Stamford's public art, click here. Then for the most recent post on public art at Glenbrook Metro North station, click here. And finally, here is a slide slide from last summer's "Raining Cats and Dogs" public outdoor display.

Stamford's Glenbrook Metro Train Station honors World Trade Center Fallen Hero: Sean Rooney

Mural of Newfield Greens Golf Course at the Glenbrook Train Station
(photos courtesy of RJ Schwartz)

On a rainy grey, bleak day earlier this week, while waiting for the connector train at the Glenbrook Metro North station, I was delighted to suddenly behold a piece of outdoor art I had never seen before.

The painting seemed to exude sunlight, a green, fecund and fertile energy and serene sense of eternal repose to the otherwise dull mundane surroundings

There, on the side of a building opposite the station stands a mural that depicts the Newfield
Greens Golf Course displayed above. The wall art was painted in memory of Sean Rooney a Stamford resident who lost his life on 9/11/01.

The painting was commissioned by his wife, Beverly Eckert.

Rodin at the the Sculpture Garden of the B. Gerald Cantor Center in Palo, Alto, California

After creating this intriguing slide show, I have been pondering for several days why I am so drawn to Auguste Rodin.

I am pondering why, as part of a mostly business trip to California, I just had to make the 55 minute trip from Marin County to Santa Clara County ( I consumed nearly 12 hours just to travel from Connecticut to the Bay Area and time was very precious to me) to visit this Rodin collection. After all, with the limited amount of time I had, I was turning down the opportunity to see a much acclaimed show at the De Young Museum of French 19th century masterpieces from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris.

Why does Rodin's vision fascinate me?

It all began with an enlarged slide of Rodin's Thinker which I saw projected on a a screen as part of my CC-Humanities Art course at Columbia. My instructor was telling the class just how overpowering a figure Rodin was and that his 'monumental' works are inspiring.

Well now, it's hard to get excited by an enlarged slide...

So, I made the trek to the Museum of Modern Art on 53rd Street, where Rodin's Balzac is displayed. It impressed me, no doubt--a single replica, much, much larger than life standing in the museum's outdoor garden. Rodin said of this piece: "Nothing else that I have done satisfies me as much, because nothing else cost me so much effort, nothing else so profoundly summarizes what I believe to be the secret of law of my art. "

Years have passed ....

Last year, the Stamford Museum and Nature Arts Center had a exhibition entitled " Rodin in his own Words: Selections from the the Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Collection" , featuring a limited number of smaller casts, many of which were apparently cast posthumously. There were photographs of his larger works as well as an excellently documented exposition on the lost-wax casting process, Rodin's favorite mode of sculptural reproduction.

Then a visit to the Philadelphia Museum's Late Renoir show in August of this year brought me in contact with their collection of Rodins. (See my recent blog on this show)

So, when I read in a guide book about the Cantors donating their collection of over 200 Rodins to The Stanford museum in 1999, I knew I had to make the trip down.

The outdoor sculpture garden contains 20 pieces comfortably spaced out over an acre. These include: the massive Gates of Hell, with figures inspired by Dantes's Inferno and presided over by The Thinker at its apex, Adam and Eve (flanking the GOH), The Three Shades, The Martyr, a Nude Study of Jeanne D'Arc.

The Spirit of Eternal Repose is the male nude captured from an upward perspective with outstretched arm and leaning towards one of two fir trees. He exudes grace, charm and harmony. It is as if Rodin is reaching deep into his soul to reflect the inner spiritual peace that man is capable of reaching.

This peace is in contrast to the eternal struggle of man's sensuality TO OVERCOME his reason and restraint; this peace is often tragically terminated by the triumph of the sexual drive over discipline that is depicted in panel after panel in the lascivious scenes of debauchery and lust in the GOH.

Enjoy the slide show as much as I enjoyed seeing the originals.

A bit of background to the Gates of Hell.

In 1880, the Ministere of Beaux Arts in Paris, commissioned Rodin "to execute, for the sum of 8,000 francs, the model of a decorative gate in bas-relief for the Musee des arts decoratives representing the Divine Comedy of Dante."

Rodin began his research by reading Dante several times, drawing hundreds of pages of studies in his sketchbook and executing dozens of maquettes (scale models); he then studied gates of the baptistry in Florence and especially Ghiberti's "Gates of Paradise."

Inspiration Art from Stamford CT

Click on this Image to Zoom into the scene

Stamford, CT is no ordinary town.

Its many residents like to collect art.

It only gets better when they exhibit their art on their lawns.

Such is the case here. Every time I head up Fifth Street, I am treated to some lawn art


In this case, it's a scene of an oldtime photographer, tall, elegant, mustached, dressed black and white to the hilt --the kind who would hold up a pan with ignition powder.

The early box camera was set on a tripod. The photographer would first pose his subject in front of the camera by looking into the lens and opening up the shutter. He would then hold up a 'flash' pan filled with magnesium powder and then mixed it with potassium chlorate which would ignite spontaneously emitting light to illuminate the subject.

For you history buffs, I quote from Robert Leggat's article which was inspired by Arthur Gill, FRPS, a prominent member of the Royal Photographic Society's Historical Group: He reports that in the late 1880's flash powder (described above) was introduced. "It would be spread on a metal dish, the metal powder would be set by percussion-sparks from a flint wheel, electrical fuse or just by applying a taper. However the explosive flashpowder could be quite dangerous if misused. This was not really superseded until the invention of the flashbulb in the late 1920's."

Leggat continues: "Early flash photography was not synchronized. This meant that one had to put a camera on a tripod, open the shutter, trigger the flash, and close the shutter again- a technique known as open flash."

And further: "Certainly early flash photography could be a hazardous business. It is said, for example, that Riis [Jacob Riis, the New York City social crusader] working during this period, twice managed to set the places he was photographing on fire!"

So much for early flash photography.

By the way, notice the speckled white dog that accompanies this outdoor image.

It's reigning dogs and cats all over Stamford!

Stamford Outdoor Public Art: High Ridge Park Corporate Center

Click on this Video to Experience Mobile Art Work at

High Ridge Park Corporate Center

Just behind the High Ridge Center Strip Mall near Merritt Parkway exit 35, lies one of the public art gems of Stamford: a mobile artwork sitting at the entrance to an inviting business park

In front of Building Two of the High Ridge Park Corporate Center sits a most fascinating work of art. As seen in both the photo and video, the piece rests on a circular conical base, attached to which are two more winglike cones that move about in the wind currents.

Consisting of 6 buildings built over a 6 year period from 1967-1973 on 40 acres, the park affords the visitor a marvelous, serene, green space environment replete with outdoor pools and sitting areas around the buildings.

It is well worth the trip and shows what planning and foresight can produce here in our jewel like, pristine environs.

Stamford Outdoor Sculpture

Many of us pass this 1600 Summer Street(at Third Street) outdoor art work on our way downtown several times a week. It somehow looks incongruous in its sheer boldness and audacity. To some it appears ugly, monstrous, out of place. To others, it becomes invisible, our senses inured to its presence.

But have we ever stopped long enough to catch a close-up glimpse and give it a chance? That's exactly what I did recently. And do you know what? I actually like it..

Perhaps, I admire the piece because no other Stamford building that I have seen thusfar has such a provocative piece. Yes, it is phallic, it is aggressive-- missile- like in its tilted position ready to let loose a burst of energy. And, yes, I respond positively to the strong orange-red hue the artist has chosen

And what do we make of those rings--one below and three or four above? I believe they symbolize peace and stability to offset the otherwise raw, naked virile/viral energy that is otherwise conveyed.

In short, the creator of this art piece is telling us that amidst the turbulence and aggression we are diurnally subjected to-- we must find the proper balance, the appropriate serentiy-- the proper Confucian middle-way in our lives.

In Case You Missed Roam Around in Stamford

The 2009 Stamford 16th annual downtown Outdoor Summer Arts presentation, Art in Public Places, featured 42 sculptures created by 18 different artists.

Alas, what a beautiful and inspiring show and a pity the show has come and gone so quickly. Fortunately, on September 3rd, I was able to catch the last hours of some of the 42 'stars' of the show in our community as they were being assembled and loaded onto moving trucks on their way to Loveland, Colorado.

All the pieces are incredible including some my Power Shot was fortunate to capture for this slide show; of particular interest is Del Pettigrew's Gracle Mania (blackbirds) and Two's Company, Kent Ullberg's bear Waiting for Sockeye and Thomas Ottenberg's But, I Feel Fine (the upside down gymnast balancing on a horse with one hand) and Tundra by Virginia Sperry.

For more photos and information about the show, log onto the Stamford Downtown website Enjoy this year's show. See you next year!