I like this shot of Aberystwyth framed by one of the structures on the beach – not the pier but another walkway that extends out into the waves. The variation of scale or perception of it is one of the most interesting things to me, with the heavy concrete pillars in the foreground and the buildings appearing almost like toys or models in front of the massive scale of the hill directly behind.Continue reading
The seafront architecture of Victorian times in Welsh or British towns is very different to that enjoyed(?) by visitors to seaside resorts on the mediterranean coast and many other places these days. The repeating patterns of what once were hotels and B & Bs, many of which are now student accommodation, is still attractive to visitors and to my mind somewhat less vulgar than the repeated tower blocks lining a modern seafront. But the point of this accommodation in both current and bygone eras was to be affordable for the masses and the relative price of package holidays to beaches around the world reflects this.Continue reading
Looking through the entrance archway of Cardiff City Hall towards the end of my walk this week and the National Museum of Wales, I have completed my circuit of the rectangle of classical, brutalist and functional architecture that makes up this cultural and educational sector at the approach to the city centre.
Completing the walk in the museum itself and the Artes Mundi exhibition (already visited three times), I can only recommend a visit to the show before it ends on 26th February.
My walk this week featured a range of mixed media. From the natural mossy trees in perspective and their shadows on buildings to a classical architectural foreground with a more modernist tower in the background; the intricacy of sculptures and the simplicity of the structures within walls along with urban pedestrian functionality. It makes for quite a mixed bag and all to be seen within a hundred yards or so in the centre of Cardiff City.
My walk around Cardiff this week encompassed not only the classical cultural architecture of the National Museum and adjacent municipal buildings – it also included the brutalist concrete architecture of the University of Wales buildings situated in the same block. The area is interspersed with beautiful formal gardens but it is not this that I was focusing on during this walk – I also get great enjoyment from looking at the various patterns, textures and perspectives created by the architects.
My walk this week takes a tour around the classical and concrete block of cultural, educational and municipal buildings in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. Amgueddfa in Welsh or museum in English, this first image shows a segment of the display block alongside the National Museum of Wales which currently shows the banner for the Arts Mundi 7 exhibition. This is a biannual international art exhibition which we have seen since it started 14 years ago. The exhibition has one of the largest prizes in the art world (£40,000).
Started in Cardiff, it is a an event of which Wales can be justly proud. It ends in cardiff on 26th February and I will be trying to get to see it for a fourth time before that. John Akomfrah is the justifiable winner on this occasion but the whole exhibition, while being largely video based, is well worth giving the time to tour fully.
The columns in front of the family courts building in the centre of Carmarthen where I have been walking this week, have texture and colour I particularly like. It looks to me as though the texture may not be from the stone that is used but from a surface addition of some sort. It doesn’t really matter to me, I just like it and took several photos. I selected two to post here and debated with myself whether or not to leave the blue of the shop behind the columns in the frame. I found that keeping it in helps both the perspective overall and also the focus on the texture and pattern of the second column.
Monochrome Madness – A monochrome version of this image can be seen on Leanne Cole’s Photography blog post MM 3-40
My walk this week around the lakeside in York University campus proved, to me at least, that it has a wonderful environment for learning. The fading light would suggest it was pretty late in the day by this stage of my walk but it had just turned 4pm!
