Sunday, May 31, 2009

Charging Bull

Charging Bull by Arturo Di Modica, Bowling Green, New York

“Charging Bull” by Arturo Di Modica, 1987
Bowling Green
Financial District, Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2007

“On October 19, 1987, Black Monday hit U.S. financial markets and the country entered a very difficult period. Di Modica recounted that he felt indebted to the United States of America for welcoming him and enabling his success. Wanting to give something back, he conceived the Charging Bull sculpture. Di Modica spent the next two years creating the 16-foot bronze, reportedly financing the $350,000 cost himself. The sculpture was created in his Crosby Street studio and then cast using a local foundry. Once complete, Di Modica spent the next few nights watching the police patrols on Wall Street trying to find a window of opportunity. After establishing exactly where he wanted to place the bull, outside the New York Stock Exchange Building, he went home to rest. On December 15, Di Modica returned with a group of friends and Charging Bull on the back of a truck. However upon his arrival, during the day time a 40-foot Christmas tree had been installed exactly where he wanted to place the sculpture. With only four minutes between the police patrols, he announced ‘drop the bull under the tree – it's my gift.’ Di Modica stayed by the bull to greet the morning commuters as they came to discover the sculpture. However, while he was away for lunch, the New York Stock Exchange arranged for the sculpture to be collected by a local firm. The late night event went on to make news all around the world, including the front page of the New York Post. Due to the public demand for the bull's return, Parks Commissioner Henry Stern arranged for the sculpture's installation at Bowling Green on December 20, where it can be found to this day.” (Arturo Di Modica, Wikipedia)

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Stereotype

Accordion player, rue Mouffetard, Paris

Sunday at noon
Rue Mouffetard
Quartier du Jardin-des-Plantes, 5th arrondissement
Paris, July 2008

Friday, May 29, 2009

Saint George

Monastery of Saints John and George of Choziba, Wadi Qelt, West Bank

Monastery of Saints John and George of Choziba
Wadi Qelt
West Bank, May 1990

“The Monastery of Saints John and George of Choziba, best known as Saint George Monastery in Wadi Qelt (Arabic: دير القديس جورج) or simply the Monastery of Choziba, is a monastery located in Wadi Qelt, in the eastern West Bank, in Area C. Its Arabic name is Mar Jaras. The cliff-hanging complex, which emerged from a lavra established in the 420s and reorganised as a monastery around AD 500, with its ancient chapel and irrigated gardens, is active and inhabited by Greek Orthodox monks. It is reached by a pedestrian bridge across Wadi Qelt, which many believe to be Psalm 23's ‘valley of the shadow of death’. The valley parallels the old Roman road to Jericho, the backdrop for the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29–37). The monastery is open to pilgrims and visitors. Established during the Byzantine period, it was destroyed by the Persians in AD 614, rebuilt in the 12th century during the Crusader period, abandoned after their defeat, and rebuilt again by Greek monks starting at the end of the 19th century. The site is associated with the lives of Elijah and that of the parents of the Virgin Mary, and holds the relics of three Eastern Orthodox saints, making it a site of intense pilgrimage.” (Monastery of Saints John and George of Choziba, Wikipedia)

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Looking at the Stars

A conversation with Oscar Wilde by Maggie Hambling, Adelaide Street, London

“A conversation with Oscar Wilde” by Maggie Hambling
Adelaide Street
London, January 2008

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Four Musketeers

Personal water crafts, the East River, New York

Personal water crafts
East River
New York, September 2007

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

What Is She Doing?

Lady in a strange pose, rue Mouffetard, Paris

Église Saint-Médard
Rue Mouffetard
Quartier du Jardin-des-Plantes, 5th arrondissement
Paris, October 2005

Monday, May 25, 2009

Maiden's Tower

Kiz Kulezi, Maiden's Tower, Istanbul

Kiz Kulezi (Maiden's Tower)
also known as Leander's Tower
Bosphorus
Istanbul, June 1991

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Golden Photo Op

Girls posing with a street performer, Covent Garden, London

Girls posing with a street performer
Covent Garden Piazza
London, March 2004

Saturday, May 23, 2009

School Buses

School bus yard, Coney Island, New York

School bus yard
Coney Island, Brooklyn
New York, September 2007

Friday, May 22, 2009

Nine Bottles

Abandoned bottles, Rue Blaise-Desgoffe, Paris

Abandoned bottles
Rue Blaise-Desgoffe
Quartier Notre-Dame-des-Champs, 6th arrondissement
Paris, July 2005

Thursday, May 21, 2009

Patience

Coloured sand bottles, Aqaba, Jordan

Pouring coloured sand inside a bottle
Aqaba, May 1995

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Starbucks vs Mr Coffee

Starbucks vs Illy Coffee, Bishopgate, London

Starbucks vs Illy Coffee
Brushfield Street off Bishopgate
London, January 2007

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Ten House

FDNY Ten House, Still Standing, Liberty Street, New York

FDNY Ten House “Still Standing”
Liberty Street, Lower Manhattan
New York, September 2008

Monday, May 18, 2009

Strange Address

Musée du Vin (Wine Museum), Rue des Eaux (Waters Street), Paris

Musée du Vin (Wine Museum)
Rue des Eaux (Waters Street)
Quartier de la Muette, 16th arrondissement
Paris, July 2002

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Guardians of Petra

Jordanian Armed Forces soldiers, Petra, Jordan

Jordanian Armed Forces soldiers
Petra, May 1995

Saturday, May 16, 2009

Frankfurt Skyline

Skyline from a bridge on the river Main, Frankfurt

Skyline from a bridge on the river Main
Frankfurt, October 2002

Friday, May 15, 2009

Mistake

McDonald's truck at Burger King, London

McDonald's truck at Burger King
Queensway, Bayswater
London, January 2003

Thursday, May 14, 2009

Rockefeller Center Atlas

Bronze statue of Atlas by Lee Lawrie and Rene Paul Chambellan, St Patrick's Cathedral, Rockefeller Center, New York

Bronze statue of Atlas by Lee Lawrie and Rene Paul Chambellan
(St Patrick's Cathedral in background)
Rockefeller Center
New York, September 2007

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

La France Renaissante

La France Renaissante by Holger Wederkinch, Bir-Hakeim, Paris

“La France Renaissante” by Holger Wederkinch, 1930
Pont de Bir-Hakeim
Paris, July 2008

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Sawhorse

Sawhorse horse, SoHo, New York

Sawhorse
West Houston Street
New York, September 2008

Monday, May 11, 2009

La défi

Boys with bicycles, Parc de Bercy, Paris

La cascade
Parc du Bercy
Quartier de Bercy, 12th arrondissement
Paris, July 2004

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Goal!

Actress Emily Mortimer, Premiere of Goal!, Leicester Square, London

Actress Emily Mortimer
Premiere of “Goal!”
Leicester Square
London, September 2005

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Le Ponant

Hommage à Nicolas Ledoux” by Anne & Patrick Poirier, Le Ponant, Rue Leblanc, Paris

“Hommage à Nicolas Ledoux” by Anne & Patrick Poirier, 1989
“Le Ponant” office building by Olivier Clement
Eutelsat tethered balloon
Rue Leblanc
Quartier de Javel, 15th arrondissement
Paris, July 2002

Friday, May 8, 2009

On a Fountain

Three Dancing Maidens by Walter Schott, Conservatory Garden, Central Park, New York

“Three Dancing Maidens” by Walter Schott
Conservatory Garden
Central Park
New York, September 2008

Thursday, May 7, 2009

On a Bench

Bronze sculpture of three girls sitting on a bench, Bleichenhof Passage, Hamburg

Three girls sitting on a bench
Bleichenhof Passage
Hamburg, May 2003

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

New York Life

Time Warner Center, Columbus Circle, New York

Time Warner Center
Columbus Circle
New York, September 2008

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

On Leash

Husbands on a leash, Reuters Plaza, Canary Wharf, London

Husbands on a leash
Reuters Plaza
Canary Wharf
London, September 2003

Monday, May 4, 2009

Sad Cafe

Staircase, Grande Arche, La Défense

Staircase of the “Grande Arche de la Défense”
Parvis de la Défense
Puteaux, La Défense
Paris, July 2008

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Neighbours

Liquor store and islamic butcher, Goldborne Road, Notting Hill, London

Liquor store and islamic butcher
Goldborne Road, Notting Hill
London, September 2006

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Anchors in Love

Anchors of a barge, Port de la Gare, Paris

Anchors of a barge
Port de la Gare
Quai d'Austerlitz
Quartier de la Gare, 13th arrondissement
Paris, July 2008

Friday, May 1, 2009

More London

People in costumes, Tooley Street, Southwark, London

People in costumes
Tooley Street
Southwark
London, September 2006