Continuing with Becky’s Spiky Squares themed photo challenge, here are a few sculptures and plants that were just a bit on the pointy side at the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
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In my experience, most statues of people seem to portray them in a standing position, as if showing a person worthy of a statue in a sitting posture would be to give the impression that they were somehow guilty of slacking. However, in my travels I have come across one or two inanimate posteriors that have been allowed to sink to a supporting chair or plinth. The first three images are of an art installation call ‘Borders’ in Grant Park in downtown Chicago back in 2013.
It would seem that Abraham Lincoln wasn’t above sitting down occasionally for a quiet think or to read a good book, as seen here in Chicago’s Grant Park, Freeport in Illinois and Louisville, Kentucky.
Children can sometimes be seen sitting down but mostly only in statues. In real life you’re lucky if you can get them to keep still for more than two minutes! These shots were taken at the Green Bay Botanical Garden, Wisconsin and Spring Valley Nature Center in Schaumburg, Illinois.
While some artist’s models are lucky enough to score a comfortable chair whilst sitting for a sculptor, others find themselves perched on a cold, hard slab or a nubby rock as shown here at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Garden in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
And the more classical element only rate a less-than-comfy tree stump to prop up their rear ends, as these pictures, taken at the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, show.
If anyone asks me to sit for a statue, I’ll be sure to specify that I want, at the very least, to be parked on a bench, seat or preferably a well-cushioned armchair. Images captured in Elk Grove, Illinois, Sioux Falls in South Dakota and Green Bay Botanic Garden, Wisconsin.
For more on the Pull Up A Seat Photo Challenge go to Photo Challenge of places we sit…or might sit…or art about sitting.
This week, Nancy Merrill’s topic for the Photo A Week Challenge is bridges. My daughter always had a horror of crossing bridges, especially in a car, and would close her eyes tightly if we were going over an especially long one. I don’t know how she manages, now that she’s a mom who has to do all the driving. I imagine it’s still a white-knuckle experience but hopefully she keeps her eyes open. It isn’t always easy to plan a trip without crossing some kind of bridge or other. Rather like life, you cross that bridge when you come to it.
The Serpentine and Zigzag bridges at the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Crossing the Mississippi River in Cairo, Illinois.
A bridge across the train tracks in Milwaukee, part of the Hank Aaron State Trail in Wisconsin.
Crossing the mighty Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.
For more on Nancy’s Photo A Week Challenge go to Bridges.
This week, Cee is looking for places people live for her Fun Foto Challenge and, browsing through the photo files, I’ve opted to go with some shots that I took on Mackinac Island a few years ago. The island, located on Lake Huron in Michigan, is primarily a resort area and relies heavily on its picturesque houses and hotels to draw tourists to its shores. While I’m sure many of the residents take off for warmer climes during the winter months, there are still a good few people who live here year-round.
For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Places People Live.
This week, Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge calls for fountains. There are plenty of these in the photo files but here are just three, captured at the Biltmore Estate, in Asheville, the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis and a park in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
For more on Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge go to Fountains
Until I saw the subject for this week’s Photo Challenge, I never realized how frequently the word line is used in describing different situations, actions or things. For instance; toeing the line, dropping someone a line, the thin blue line, crossing the line, behind enemy lines, fall into line, hook line & sinker, forgetting your lines, along party lines and so many more, but for now this is where I draw the line.
Lines on the great Mackinac Bridge in Michigan.
An interesting use of lines in this modern art sculpture in Galena, Illinois.
Quite a sight! Lines of airplane trails in the sky over our hotel in Marion, Illinois.
Part of a ceiling at the State Capitol Building in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Lines of trees in winter at the Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois.
A pergola in the Rose Garden at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois.
For more on The Weekly Photo Challenge go to Lines
This week, Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge requires a word with two m’s and here I have two for the price of one; monuments and memorials. Go to just about any place and you will see a memorial of some kind, whether it’s in a big city or small town. You only have to go to the local cemetery to see some remarkable examples of ornate memorials such as this one in Bluff City Cemetery in Elgin, Illinois.
And you don’t necessarily have to visit a cemetery to see an impressive memorial or monument. There are some that demand a place with much more prominence such as the 284ft-tall Indiana State Soldiers and Sailors Monument built on Monument Circle in the heart of downtown Indianapolis, Indiana.
Some memorials are smaller but no less poignant, such as this one in Port Huron, Michigan. The anchor was recovered from the “John S Martin,” a 225ft schooner loaded with iron ore, that sank on August 4, 1900 while trying to avoid the wreckage of the “Fontana” that had sunk several weeks before. The “Martin” collided with another ship, the “Yuma” and four crewmen from the “Martin” died as a result.
Many memorials are dedicated to those who have given their lives in the service of others, such as this one in Lexington, Kentucky.
And some are dedicated to those who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but are no less worthy of recognition, such as the tornado memorial in downtown Marion, Illinois.
The 630ft Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, is the tallest man-made arch in the USA. It was built as a monument to westward expansion, cost $13 million to construct and was completed in 1965. Let me tell you, the view from the top is astounding!
Easily recognizable is Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. These iconic sculptures of four US Presidents, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are as much a testament to all those who were involved in its creation as it is to the people that it depicts.
Also in South Dakota, The Crazy Horse Memorial is a giant sculpture of the Oglala Lakota warrior Crazy Horse. Begun in 1948 this monument is under construction on private land and is still far from completion. If it is ever finished, it could possibly be the world’s largest sculpture.
From man-made memorials to a natural phenomenon, Devil’s Tower in Wyoming became the first declared United States National Monument, on September 24, 1906 by President Theodore Roosevelt.
For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Letter M – Needs to have 2 M’s anywhere in the word
Cee’s Alphabet Challenge, the subject for this week’s Fun Foto Challenge, asks us to show a color beginning with B. My choice for this one was bronze if for no other reason than that I have a ton of images of bronze artwork that were captured at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan and I thought this would be a good opportunity to share them. Despite the fact that all these sculptures are made of bronze, they are slightly different in hue and texture and the subjects themselves certainly give one food for thought.
Two Bears by Marshall Fredericks.
Mad Mom by Tom Otterness.
Sleepwalker by Kiki Smith.
Light of the Moon by Igor Mitoraj.
Espaliered Girl by Laura Ford.
Disc in the Form of a Desert Rose by Arnaldo Pomodoro.
Listening to History by Bill Woodrow.
#25, one of a pair of figures by Hanneke Beaumont.
For more on Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge go to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Colors that start with the Letter B
Jennifer’s subject for this week’s One Word Photo Challenge is horse, and there are plenty of images of real horses in the photo files but I decided on something a little more spectacular for this particular challenge.
This equine colossus is on display at the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The American Horse was created by sculptor Nina Akamu and was inspired by a much earlier work by Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci.
The 24ft bronze sculpture was cast in 52 pieces, welded together into 7 main sections and assembled onsite around a stainless steel armature that goes well below ground level. To give you some idea of the scale of this giant horse, my husband, who is 6ft 3ins tall, only just reaches its knee.
For more on Jennifer Nichole Wells’ OWPC go to This Week’s Challenges: August 6 – 12 (OWPC & WW)
This week, Cee has us on the move with wheels for her Black & White Photo Challenge. Here are a few wheels that we’ve seen during our travels, starting with a tractor at Willow Springs Garden in Wausau, Wisconsin.
Wheels on a canon at the Fort on Mackinac Island, Michigan.
Wooden wheels on display at the Wade House historic site in Greenbush, Wisconsin.
The water wheel at Graue Mill in Oak Brook, Illinois.
A couple of vintage wheels at Bluesmobile Cruise Night in Mount Prospect, Illinois.
And finally some snappy wheels for the bride and groom to make a quick getaway from their reception in Indianapolis, Indiana.
For more on Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge go to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: Wheels
Getting the Picture 