Everything you ever need to know /  by mirena

   

 

Earth rising over the Moon taken by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (nasa.gov)

 

I wanted to be an astronaut when I grow up and thanks to the internet I guess I am. From the little comfort of my bed and my mac I watch little people take spacewalks on NASA tv, which should be the only kind of television politicians are allowed to watch. It is apparent there are no divisions out there, no fences, no one else to laugh at us for about at least million light years.

From the Earth, the daily Moonrise and Moonset are always inspiring moments. However, lunar astronauts will see something very different: viewed from the lunar surface, the Earth never rises or sets. Since the Moon is tidally locked, the Earth is always in the same spot above the horizon, varying only a small amount with the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKRtZ89AMts">slight wobble</a> of the Moon. The Earth may not move across the "sky", but the view is not static. Future astronauts will see the continents rotate in and out of view and the ever changing pattern of clouds will always catch one's eye. Well at least on the nearside, but what about the farside? The Earth is never visible from the farside, imagine a sky with no Earth or Moon - what will farside explorers think with no Earth overhead?

This image was taken when LRO was 134 km above the farside crater <a href="http://bit.ly/1ReO7lT">Compton</a> (51.8°N, 124.1°E). Capturing an image of the Earth and Moon with LROC is a complicated task. First the spacecraft must be rolled to the side (in this case 67°), then the spacecraft slews with the direction of travel to maximize the width of the lunar horizon in the NAC image. All this takes place while LRO is traveling over 1600 meters per second (faster than 3580 mph) relative to the lunar surface below the spacecraft! As a result of these three motions and the fact that the Narrow Angle Camera is a <a href="http://lroc.sese.asu.edu/about/specs">line scanner</a> the raw image geometry is distorted. Also, because the Moon and Earth are so far apart, the geometric correction is different for each body. Reconstruction of the Earth-Moon image is not a simple matter – and that is just to get the black and white image!

The Modern Degas You Haven’t Seen /  by mirena

a Degas monotype that looks like an old photograph  

Beautiful never before seen Degas - his monotypes look like old photographs.. He created these while photography was a fledgling medium so it all ties together.. but look so modern for a 1870s work. Also a great room with landscapes.

The Modern Degas You Haven’t Seen

 

a landscape from Degas:

Degas Landscape

 

The Modern Degas You Haven’t Seen article in the NYT goes into depth about the show. Show is until July 24 at the MOMA. Here is the show website.

 

Thanks to Scotto Mycklebust for the tip, it was worth the trip. If you are an artist and wonder what to take on next, if the old ways are no longer working - experiment, just like Degas.

 

 

The magnificent sculpture of the Kamakura period (1185–1333) - now at Asia Society in NYC until May 8 /  by mirena

Thanks to my dear friend Janet for telling me about this show.

Notabe artworks:

http://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions/kamakura-realism-and-spirituality-sculpture-japan#!artworks

Kamakura Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan

More about the show on the Asia Society website: http://asiasociety.org/new-york/exhibitions/kamakura-realism-and-spirituality-sculpture-japan

 

Kamakura Realism and Spirituality in the Sculpture of Japan - the Catalog: The Kamakura period (1185–1333) is considered a pinnacle of Japanese artistic expression, often described as a renaissance in Buddhist art. This catalogue is the first in over two decades to examine the exquisite sculpture of this period, artwork characterized by an intense corporeal presence, naturalistic proportions, a sense of movement, realistic drapery, and lifelike facial expressions animated by eyes made of inlaid crystal. Essays by noted scholars explore the sculptures’ arresting exteriors and powerful interiors, examining the technical and stylistic innovations that made them possible, and offering new context for their ritual and devotional uses. They demonstrate that the physical beauty and technical brilliance of Kamakura statues are profoundly associated with their spiritual dimension and devotional functions.

 

New York Times review:

Spellbinding Treasures From Japan’s Kamakura Period at Asia Society

The magnificent sculpture of the Kamakura period (1185–1333) - now at Asia Society in NYC until May 8

Ancient Rome in HD /  by mirena

Ancient Rome is such a powerful symbol, visually and aesthetically, as well as in terms of ideas, its battles and wars, the powerful personalities that blasted their thoughts across the centuries. Remember I spent hours with ancient Roman marble busts from the Vatican, just like with old friends. Here is Caesar's marble bust ( all photographs in this post I took during a Christmas in Rome ), video by Khan Academy :

Julius Caesar Marble Bust in the Vatican Museum

\Marble bust of Caesar at the Vatican Museum

The walls of this gallery at the Vatican are lined with marble busts:

Marble busts at the Vatican Museum

Visited the Colosseum in the evening on Christmas day and it was absolutely a solitary and beautiful experience, with a bit of drizzle and without a single living soul in sight.

Colosseum in Rome up close

Colosseum in Rome up close

Colosseum in Rome at nightime

Colosseum in Rome at nightime

A second edition of my Japanese Gardens book, entirely re-written with small poems by me /  by mirena

Japanese Gardens: A Journey Into Zen Kindle Edition

Photographs and Small Poems by Mirena Rhee.

Buy on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00YAE520K/#_swftext_Swf

Japanese Gardens, A Journey into Zen, book by Mirena Rhee

 

Here is a poem I wrote on the occasion of this second edition :

 

Tranquil world of rocks, sand, trees, shrubs and moss. Little streams water the grounds. The colors are earthy and bright, no gusty winds dishevel the patterns. The wooden floors are swept clean. The mats lie still.

Landscape with peaceful shapes. It makes nice thoughts and asks deep questions. A design with no intent or angle. Whatever you bring you can take back. We don’t know who made it that way.

You can come back many times and find it just the same. Trees bend this way or that. Twigs flow here or there. Ponds flicker. Rocks ripple the sand a little.