Glass and Ceramics

 Baker Museum is hosting an exhibition of glass and ceramics that were donated to the museum by longtime local supporters of the museum.  Over 30 years this couple collected hundreds of museum worthy pieces; the current show presents 74 works by 60 different artists.  I saw this two weeks ago with a docent and went back to see the individual pieces more slowly.

This is one of my favorites, 21st Century Guernica by glass artist Tim Tate.  It has images of boats in the center, with two-way mirrors and LED lighting, and figures from Picasso's Guernica around the edges.  The mirrors let a viewer peer inward, seemingly to infinity.

These are two beautifully executed ceramic figures by Kirsten Stingle.

This is The Boxer, a 2017 cast glass work by Dean Allison.  She looks totally exhausted.

This is just part of a very big 2013 stained glass work by Judith Schaechter.  A Play About Snakes.

This is Ring R1931, White, Black, Red, a 2018 work of fused kiln-formed glass by Colin Reid.

Another favorite work is Robert Mickelsen's 2008 piece, Shake, made from difficult to execute flame-worked borosilicate glass, set in sandblasted assembled steel.  Here, five clear human hands reach out toward a group of sandblasted hands, preparing for a handshake.  Mikelsen writes in part, "Look beyond differences and see what we have in common. Rejoice in our shared experience instead of fighting over small differences.  What do you say? Let's shake on it."

  Mandalino, a 2015 work in blown and sculpted glass, is by Italian glassworker Davide Salvadore.

And here is Serpente, a 2012 work in hot-formed, sculpted, carved and blown glass.  It is the product of a collaboration between Davide Salvatore (the Italian artist who created Mandolino, above) and Canadian artist Shelly Muzylowski Allen.

Finally, here are two of the walls where the glass and ceramic works are displayed.

Ansel Adams

The University of Arizona'a Center for Creative Photography holds a large collection of photographs and other memorabilia of the famous Western photographer, Ansel Adams.  Some pieces are displayed at Artis Naples' Baker Museum through August 2.

 

I toured the exhibition quickly with a docent two weeks ago, soon after the exhibition opened. This week I went back alone to look at the pieces more carefully by myself.

Both of these images of vertically aligned trees are crisp and clean and invite attention.

Jeffrey Pine, Sentinel Dome, Yosemite National Park (1945).  I would have liked to see this in a larger format.

I especially liked Adams' portrait Man of Taos.  The man is a friend of Adams, but Adams named it more generically to give the portrait symbolism and timeliness.

The large Grand Canyon photograph makes a bigger impression than the small images of the Grand Canyon to the right.

In this portrait of Adams' friend, the artist Georgia O'Keefe, with a mutual friend, O'Keefe has a wonderfully mischievous expression. 

This image of ferns in Hawaii National Park (1949) is a favorite.

No Kings!

 Even in ordinarily red Southwest Florida, the turnout for Saturday's No Kings rally was impressive.

At the previous No Kings rallies, protestors were concentrated near the Collier County Courthouse.  Yesterday they stretched far down the street in both directions.

Iran and the Epstein Files seemed to bring out even more protestors than before.

ICE came in for its share of criticism.  Alligator Alcatraz is halfway between Naples and Miami, on land that is sacred to a Native American tribe.  This Administration is tone deaf, if you didn't notice.

Even in this red county, it felt like the favorable honks, thumbs up and resistance fists outnumbered the middle fingers by ten to one.

I was just one of several who wanted to photograph this gentleman.

Louise Nevelson

 

Fifteen years ago Artis-Naples acquired a massive installation by American sculptor Louise Nevelson.  

Dawn Forest, Nevelson's large and complex 1985-1986 work, is in the entry hall and a side gallery.

Dawn Forest was originally in the lobby of Georgia Pacific and MetLife’s headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.  During a renovation the work was donated to the Baker Museum.

Bicycle Tricks

 I stopped at a skate park where some young men were doing tricks on their bicycles.

I took photographs through a chain link fence.  Sometimes hints of the links show up in the images.  

I kind of like the ghost images. 

I might be jealous of the physique of the redhead.

Naples Zoo

 Recently I went past the Naples Zoo, but I didn't have the time to go inside.

In the past few years, the zoo has upgraded its entrances.

A colorful pink entrance honors longtime board member and philanthropist Jeanne Guglielmi.

Visitors like to pose with a colorful toucan.  I photographed it with families who were posing for group photos there.  Then I decided that using one of those might be seen as invading their privacy. 

Circle of Friends

 

Circle of Friends is a 2005 sculpture by Gary Lee Price at Naples Botanical Garden.  It has animals from each of the seven continents.  At a recent event at the garden, the animals were dressed for a party.

(This is a less celebratory version of Circle of Friends from 2021.)