Hartford Daily Photo

Movies Made in Connecticut

2012-02-20T05:30:00.000-05:00

OK. We're not Hollywood. I get that.

From the "Made in Connecticut" exhibition in the Old State House.

Mary

2012-02-19T05:30:00.000-05:00

This statue of Mary is near the entrance to St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield.

Classy Smart and Manly

2012-02-18T05:30:00.000-05:00

Posters on an abandoned building in the Asylum Hill neighborhood of Hartford.

No, I have no idea what the posters mean.

Sunburst

2012-02-17T05:30:00.000-05:00

I never find the right time to show this simple photo of the Travelers Tower and a sunburst. If it is cloudy and snowing today where you are, maybe the nice blue sky will be welcome.

Please click here to see more reflection photos.

Time Machine Hobby

2012-02-16T05:30:00.000-05:00

A surprising number of train fans commented yesterday.

The train installations at Time Machine Hobby in Manchester are huge and -- if you get low enough to block out the other stuff in the rooms and if you ignore the layers of dust -- quite lifelike.

Downtown in the '50s

2012-02-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

Time Machine Hobby is a huge toy store in Manchester, Connecticut. It is the kind of place where adult men drag their kids along, to provide an excuse for the dad to play with toy trains and cars and other reminders of lost youth. In addition to multiple train layouts, there is also at least one layout for model cars and buildings.

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

All the best to you and yours.

Pigs

2012-02-13T05:30:00.000-05:00

Recently I came across this great quote. (Did I steal it from one of you?)

"I am fond of pigs.

Dogs look up to us.

Cats look down on us.

Pigs treat us as equals." - Winston Churchill

I didn't have any pig photos from Hartford, so here is one from Florence, Italy, taken in 2010. It is in the Loggia del Mercato Nuovo. There was a line of pretty girls and their boy friends waiting to take pictures of the girl rubbing the pig's snout. If this is an Italian mating custom, I can't explain it.

Abraham Lincoln

2012-02-12T05:30:00.000-05:00

Hartford Public Library exhibits books about President Abraham Lincoln. Today is Lincoln's 202nd birthday.

Artsy?

2012-02-11T05:30:00.000-05:00

You don't see many "artsy" pictures here. I am much too literal-minded . . . it is just the way my mind works. But I liked the way these chairs were lined up for a talk at Hartford Public Library the last time I visited.

OK. They aren't really very artsy. Sorry. I'll go back to taking pictures of things and scenes and people.

For Rent

2012-02-10T05:30:00.000-05:00

No, I am sorry, I can't explain it.

Seen on the second floor of a building on Allyn Street in Hartford.

More reflections? Click here.

SMASH

2012-02-09T05:30:00.001-05:00

Time for a change of pace.

Night club on Allyn Street In Hartford.

Amistad Collection

2012-02-08T05:30:00.000-05:00

The Wadsworth Atheneum houses a special center for African American art. This is a sculpture hallway in the Amistad Center for Art and Culture.

The Negro Looks Ahead is a 1944 bronze by Richmond Barthe, a prominent member of the artists, writers and other intellectuals who gave rise to the Harlem Renaissance in the 1920s.

Prudence Crandall

2012-02-07T05:30:00.000-05:00

Today's post recognizes Black History Month (also called African American History Month).

Prudence Crandall operated a school for girls in Canterbury, Connecticut. In 1832, a young black girl asked Ms. Crandall to educate her. Ms. Crandall admitted her to the school, creating a controversy.
The parents of all the white girls removed them from the school, so Ms. Crandall had to close the school. When it reopened, it became a school for black girls. Soon 20 African American girls from up and down the East Coast attended the school.

Controversy continued. The State of Connecticut enacted The Black Law, prohibiting a school from admitting African American students without permission from the town. A lawsuit was filed. The school eventually won in the Connecticut Supreme Court, but the situation was still dangerous. In 1834 Prudence Crandall closed her school and moved away. The Black Law was repealed in 1838. Many years later the Connecticut legislature attempted to compensate Ms. Crandall by granting her a small pension. The school is now a museum.

The statute is near the entrance to the Connecticut Capitol. It was created by New York Sculptor Gabriel Koren. The statue is bronze but looks like clay.

Tough Loss

2012-02-06T05:30:00.000-05:00

Giants 21, Patriots 17.
This sad dog is from the Volkswagen ad. Image taken by photographing the TV. Credit to NBC.

Go Patriots!

2012-02-05T05:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight is the Super Bowl. The New England Patriots play the New York Giants. Hartford is midway between Boston and New York City, so Hartford-area National Football League football fans will be split pretty evenly.

I grew up a dozen miles north of Boston, so my loyalties are obvious. My lucky Patriots shirt is washed. My Patriots banner is hanging outside. My big-screen television is working great. The cupboard and frig are full. Bring it on!! Go Patriots!!!

Stalls and Walls and Tiles

2012-02-04T05:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I showed the ceiling of Hartford Public Library and observed that the ceiling is reflective. How about this well polished floor?

The walls at the end of this scene are supersized photos of Hartford cultural sites. My 2011 Photo of the Year used a different part of this wall.

This shot was taken in the fall, while the trees still had green leaves.

Welcome

2012-02-03T05:30:00.001-05:00

The first floor ceiling of the Hartford Public Library is reflective. I could produce a year's worth of reflections here, but that would be too easy.

Like reflection photos? Click here to visit James' Weekend Reflections blog.

Stairwell

2012-02-02T05:30:00.000-05:00

OK, I will admit that this is a favorite photo. Maybe because I liked geometry in high school. And because I like the bold colors in the wall beyond the stairwell. They remind me of Frank Stella's minimalist paintings.

This is my last post about the Capitol's interior for now. I will return later to show some of the important rooms and some statues and exhibitions.

Hart

2012-02-01T05:30:00.000-05:00

The stag is seen often in Hartford symbols, including this seal in the Connecticut State Capitol. The name Hartford (honoring Hertford, England, the home of a Hartford founder) is based on hart, or male deer.

The theme for City DailyPhoto bloggers in February is "animals." Click here to view thumbnails for all participants.

It wasn't easy continuing my tour of the Capitol's interior architecture and still participating in Theme Day.

East Wing of the Capitol

2012-01-31T05:30:00.000-05:00

Here, I went upstairs and widened the view, to show fewer details but more of big picture.

Corinthian Columns

2012-01-30T05:30:00.000-05:00

On this first visit inside the Capitol, we will focus on the interior architecture. On a later visit we can see some of the exhibitions and rooms.

The Capitol was last completely renovated over a decade, from 1979 to 1989. It still looks good.

I thought about straightening this photo, but I thought the slant gave some energy to a quiet picture.

Entering the Capitol

2012-01-29T05:30:00.000-05:00

To go inside the Capitol, we have to open the doors. Not too quickly, of course, because the heavy oak doors have stately doorknobs and escutcheons, and we want to linger for a moment to enjoy them.

Did you notice that the knob on the left isn't straight? (They show the seal of the State of Connecticut.)

The Capitol's Dome

2012-01-28T05:30:00.000-05:00

You have seen the Connecticut State Capitol from the outside many times before, like in this blog's banner photo and here and here and here.

It is time for me to go inside and show you some things. But not before showing you the beautiful gold-leafed dome and the classical statues that ring it.

Golden Gate Bridge

2012-01-27T05:30:00.000-05:00

Last October I was in San Francisco for ten days. While there, we rented bicycles and took a bike ride across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito, returning by ferry.

I paused along the way to take some pictures -- surprise!!! -- but I haven't been able to find a good time to post this reflection. So, today, here it is.

To see other photos of reflections, please visit James' blog, Weekend Reflections.

Mr. Twain Again

2012-01-26T05:30:00.000-05:00

Samuel Clemens a/k/a Mark Twain was Hartford's most famous 19th century resident. We feel his presence all around the city. This statue by Kansas sculptor Jim Brothers is in front of the Hartford Public Library.

The library underwent a major expansion in the 1990s. This sculpture was put in storage for safekeeping, and the library forgot to save a place for it in front of the building,. When someone finally remembered the statue, it was placed around back, next to the trash cans.

Finally, in 2010 the library's director was able to make arrangements with a private donor to pay to relocate Mark Twain back to a place of honor in front of the library.

Hartford City Hall

2012-01-25T05:54:00.000-05:00

Hartford City Hall has a stately three-story hall. The art changes from time to time to time. I don't remember who did the works on the left. They look like a Rorschach test to me.

Holocaust Memorial

2012-01-24T05:30:00.001-05:00

This is the Holocaust Memorial, a 1981 sculpture by Elbert Weinberg. It depicts two strong arms holding a shofar (horn) aloft. It stands outside the Jewish Community Center on the West Hartford-Bloomfield line.

I have taken more photos of this sculpture than I care to admit. In the morning, in the afternoon. In the summer, in the fall. Cloudy days and sunny days. From one side, from the other. I have never got an image that I like enough to put on this blog.

Do you have something that just won't let you get a decent photograph?

How Much Should a State Pay to Create a Job?

2012-01-23T05:30:00.000-05:00

The State of Connecticut is going to give Jackson Laboratory $291 million to construct a genetics laboratory next to the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington (shown above). As I understand it, the laboratory will do cancer research by studying mouse genetics.

The Governor of Connecticut brags that this will produce 850 construction jobs. (You could create 850 construction jobs cheaper by hiring 425 workers to dig holes and 425 to fill them in.) The State and Jackson project that it will produce 660 research-related jobs over 15 - 20 years. (Yes, that was years, not months . . . how good are you predicting what will happen next week, much less what will happen in 2027 - 2032?) Of those, 320 jobs are projected for the first ten years. But, the $291 million the state is paying will be ~~wasted~~ paid up front.

Jackson says they will kick in $809 million to the total $1.1 billion cost of the project. Jackson will get its share from federal grants (i.e., from us), philanthropy (i.e., rich and dumb us) and service income (I'll believe it when I see it).

I have houses in Connecticut and Southwest Florida. Last year Florida told Jackson Laboratory to take a hike and I cheered. This year they showed up in Connecticut but, unfortunately, the Governor bought the ~~fairy tale~~ story.

Don't get me started on the 9.4 mile busway from Hartford to New Britain for $567 million . . .

Monochrome

2012-01-22T05:30:00.001-05:00

These are from Florida. Bonita Springs has an excellent outdoor art show. There was loads of color, of course, but sometimes the absence of color caught my attention.

NBMAA Week: Lips

2012-01-21T05:30:00.000-05:00

The last post this week from the New Britain Museum of American Art is a detail of an over-sized (30" x 40"), digitally manipulated photograph on metal by the Israel-born artist, Drew Tal.

"Porcelain Promises" (2008) is a pair of photographs of a Chinese man and woman, executed in the style of old ancestral paintings. They are a recent acquisition of the museum.

NBMAA Week: Pan of Rohallion

2012-01-20T05:30:00.000-05:00

Frederick MacMonnies apprenticed with the American sculptor, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, in the early 1880s. Saint-Gaudens urged MacMonnies to study in Paris, so he went there in 1884. MacMonnies was very successful in France for decades, winning many prizes and commissions. His figures were often nudes, designed for outdoor placements.

MacMonnies returned to America shortly after World War I broke out. His nudes were more controversial in the United States.

This is a replica. The statue was commissioned by a wealthy banker who permitted MacMonnies to make replicas so long as they were smaller than his original. The Library of Congress also has a replica.

NBMAA Week: Solon Borglum

2012-01-19T05:30:00.001-05:00

Solon Borglum was a noted sculptor of frontier life, primarily cowboys and native Americans. This statue is Sioux Indian Buffalo Dance, from 1902. It stands at the approach to the New Britain Museum of American Art's first floor hallway gallery. On the wall behind it are Currier & Ives prints from a current exhibition.

NBMAA Week: 20,000 Cups

2012-01-18T05:30:00.000-05:00

"The Gravity of Color" is a 2008 installation by Lisa Hoke, a conceptual artist. There are 20,000 colored plastic cups in this mural. Hoke was selected from 100 artists who submitted proposals for an installation in this stairwell. Funding support was provided by the Edwin Austin Abbey Fund of the National Academy of Design in New York.

Don't overlook the spectacular blue Chihuly chandelier that hangs in the Lewitt Staircase.

The mural will be replaced in the next couple of years. This stairway is named for Sol Lewitt, who was a major American conceptual and minimalist artist. Lewitt grew up in New Britain. He believed the idea of art is important, not necessarily the physical art, so he often required galleries and museums to paint over his work when a show was over. Replacing this mural after a run of five years or so reflects Lewitt's here-today-gone-tomorrow artistic philosophy.

NBMAA Week: Grizzly Bear Bench

2012-01-17T05:30:00.000-05:00

The benches at the New Britain Museum of Art are fascinating. There are a couple dozen artist-designed benches at the museum. This one is called Grizzly Bear Bench. It was designed by Judy Kensley McKie (2002). I showed another creative bench from the museum last year.

If anyone is shopping for Christmas or birthday presents for me, I like bears . . .

NBMAA Week: Art of the West

2012-01-16T05:30:00.001-05:00

A collection of Western art from 1830 to 1920 is currently being shown at the New Britain Museum of American Art. These two statues are Frederic Remington bronzes.

The show has about 100 sculptures, paintings, prints, photographs and rare objects and artifacts. It is divided into four themes: Settlement, Landscape, Native Americans and Urbanization and Industrialization. The exhibition is sponsored by Bank of America and runs until early March.

NBMAA Week: Douglas Hyland

2012-01-15T05:30:00.000-05:00

Douglas Hyland is the director of the New Britain Museum of American Art, a jewel of a museum. I am going to show a week's worth of photographs from the museum.

Hyland was in a gallery when I visited recently, and he agreed to be photographed. I asked him which painting he wanted behind him. He picked "Portrait of Madame T." I showed and explained it last year, too. This painting was on a long-term loan to NBMAA. Five months ago the museum bought it.

Elizabeth Park Update

2012-01-14T05:30:00.000-05:00

Elizabeth Park lost a lot of trees in the October snow storm. By now, most of them have been cleared. (This photo was made at the end of December.)

The rose arbors also had a lot of damage. Since they are about 100 years old, you can't just go to the local plant nursery to get replacements. The Friends of Elizabeth Park have launched a fundraiser to pay for the repairs. I made a contribution.