Ex Nihilo
On the drive to Mt. Rainier, on Route 706 in Ashford, you will suddenly come across a 17 foot giraffe leaning into the road, serenely munching on some green leaves. This would be perfectly normal if you're on an African safari, but you're not and neither is the giraffe. It's made of metal and it's part of the many sculptures exhibited in a sculpture park called Ex Nihilo. In Latin it means something out of nothing and it belongs to Dan Klennert. At first I thought this guy's sculpture was the one used on the cover of Pearl Jam's Riot Act but it's not. That one was by Kelly Gilliam and they're not even sculptures, they're just "metal figures" (it says so in the booklet, go check.)
These pictures were taken in 2004 when we first visited Mt. Rainier. When my mom and in-laws came for a visit in '05, we only drove by the park but didn't stop, leaving me pouting and sulking the rest of the drive home (I stopped pouting when I got some Krispy Kreme donut in me.)
I thought it might be something my brother-in-law would enjoy. It's certainly something I think my brother would think is cool. On hindsight, though, maybe it was good that we didn't stop. I don't think scupltures made out of skulls and bones is something our mothers would appreciate. Plus, the Klennert family gravesite was at the back and that would have totally creeped my mother-in-law out.
Graves aside, the sculptures in the park are awesome. I'm always amazed at how someone can turn the cold hard metal pieces into something beautiful and alive. I wish I had the talent to do something similar but I can't even roll out a proper plasticine snake. All I can do is enjoy and appreciate a good sculpture - it's form, it's material, the little details. And then take lots and lots of photos.
4 people wrote:
so. cool!!!!
I thought I'd enjoy italy because of its sculptures, but I discovered that I prefer contemporary sculptures more than the classical tak pakai baju nampak kote kinds.
fortunately they had a cool display in boboli gardens when we were there. nanti i email gambar.
Yeah, I'm not particularly fond of marble/plaster sculptures. I prefer cast bronze, things made out of metal -harder materials made to look fluid and smooth. Still, Rodin's marble pieces are nothing to be sneezed at.
For Italy, I would think the architecture would be enough to marvel at. You didn't go to the Sistine Chapel ke? Or anything related to Da Vinci while in Florence?
I was in Italy the other day. Just sitting down at Ponte Vecchio was enough.
We didnt go into any chapels/churches except for the pantheon. We wanted to go into an exhibition on Da Vinci's flying machines but we didnt have time.
I regret buying my kids all those glatos coz they take such a long time to finish them and you can't go anywhere with a dripping gelato in hand.
But yes, looking at the architecture was enough.
and bj, we walked on Ponte Vecchio every. single. day. when we were in Florence. Truly breath taking, ya? (Every time I looked at it, I imagine a woman in a white wig and a pouffy dress running on the second floor of the bridge)
And then the kids would drag us to the Ferragamo building to play with them round brass thingies on the outside of the building.
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