Abstract Art - Untitled - National Art Gallery (*)
We’re back from a week’s vacation and have so much to catch up! You guessed it: after debating whether to take a laptop with us or not, we finally opted to leave the laptop at home. We knew that we would otherwise be glued to the screen 24×7 and sabotage our own vacation. As it is, we were able to relax and leave work behind.
At the National Art Gallery (yes, in Ottawa, Canada), I was surprised [shouldn’t have been] at the number of photographs on display that were — to be brunt about it — blurred. These pictures were simply out of focus, whether purposefully or because of camera shake and/or subject movement, but the NAG nevertheless deems them to be ART and worthy of a special place in their collection. Interestingly, one group of photos that were on display had a description that admitted their enormous size alone made them suitable for gallery display. Umm, not sure what to think about this. There were certainly many photos that I liked very much; others, I struggled to find anything that evoked any emotion in me, and couldn’t find any. It’s not a judgment, but to let you know that if you have a photographic vision, then pursue it. There is always someone — and perhaps a world famous gallery — that will also see your vision, appreciate it and celebrate it.
MosAika at Parliament Hill
Compared to Toronto, Ottawa is the suburbs where there is no traffic jam worth writing home about. There is also no subway, now why is that? So we walked a lot. What a beautiful city! Of course, the Rideau Canal is one of our favorites. MosAika is a must see! And I called Blue Line Taxis to pick us up one night at the resplendent Grand Fournier Hotel, which prompted a puzzled “What? Which hotel, Sir?” Turns out, it’s the “Grand Laurier.” In case, you’re wondering, no, we didn’t stay there.
Taxi drivers were friendly, pointing out landmarks to visit. We also hopped over the bridge to visit the Museum of Civilization in Quebec. Of course, we sailed the Ottawa River (or, La Rivière Outaouais, depending on which side of the invisible line the ship strayed to), paid a visit to the Governor’s residence, waved as we drove past the PM’s residence, and paid our respect at the Museum of War.
Abstract Art - Untitled - National Art Gallery (*)
At the Museum of War, we were reading the different commemorative plaques printed with pictures and words that explained the various events when we heard a little boy pipe up: “Dad, this map doesn’t work!” Turns out he was trying to move the map, flip the “page” and otherwise gesture-touch the picture printed on the plaque. We were astounded to witness perhaps one of the first generation of kids to grow up with the iPad and who have no notion that some pictures just do not move!
Now, it’s back to work! So, forgive us if we now play catch up with all the news and reviews. It’s good to be back.
(*) Of course, these two pictures were not taken at the National Art Gallery, but are my own abstract photos taken in the train en route to Ottawa. All pictures taken on my trusty Fujifilm FinePix F30.