Tuesday, November 30, 2010

An Arcadian Dream Garden

An Arcadian Dream Garden by Ian Hamilton Finlay
“An Arcadian Dream Garden” by Ian Hamilton Finlay
Written on twenty benches in the plaza of
30 St Mary Axe (The Gherkin)
City of London, September 2005

The tomb from Nicolas Poussin's
The Arcadian Shepherds pitted with
bullet holes and scars.

A weather worn oar standing upright
in a field dotted with nettles and thistles.

An ornamental lake, on which floats
a small sailing boat or bark, with a
bark-textured hull.

A large baroque sculpture of
nymphs and satyrs riding on a tank
in the manner of tank marines.

A tree pierced right through
by a bronze arrow.

An orchestral (not a rustic) flute
a strawberry plant growing from it

A small grove composed of young pine trees
and delicate columns. All the needles which
fall from the trees are carefully swept into
heaps around the bases of the columns.

A bronze representation of a guitar
(realistic) leaning on the trunk of a
tree. (A silver birch.)

The word Fragile in roman letters,
on a formal stone placed upright by
the foot of a birch tree.

A tank approaching an
18th century ha-ha.


A heron with the head of the philosopher
Epicurus. The shaft surrounded by wild
flowers and thorns, is inscribed with the
quotation live unknown.

A living tree, on the trunk of which
is a carefully painted representation
of a classical highlight.

A neoclassical tomb in a ruinous
condition. On a piece of stone fallen
among weeds the inscription
Life is Short - The Tomb is Fleeting.

A rose lying on a rock under
a thundercloud.

An exquisitely sculptured marble tank,
inlaid with a copy of the landscape
background of Nicolas Poussin Numa
Pompilius and the Nynph Egeria
.

A small rise, over which the top of
a mast and sail may be glimpsed,
suggesting the sea.

A smooth barked tree (such as a beech)
reflected in the rippled water which makes
the smooth bark seem rough.

Carved on a low broken column in a
clearing the numerals 00 XXX CCXXVI L
(the dialing code for Delphi).

A similar column, but with the
dialing code for Rome (00 CCCXC VI).

A slender stone vase containing
a hyacinth: on the side of the vase
the letters Ai Ai.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Wagon Wheel Bench

Benches at a south Phoenix conference center
Phoenix, Arizona, November 2010
(Photo by Sharon, Phoenix Daily Photo)

Friday, November 26, 2010

Guardians of Petra

Jordanian Armed Forces soldiers
Petra, Jordan, May 1995
(Photo by VP, Daily Photo Stream)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Shakespeare's Benches

Rear garden, Shakespeare's Birthplace
Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire
England, February 2010
(Photo by tapirgal, Astoria Daily Photo)

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Forbidden Bench

Bench with a planter, Viale Einaudi
Rome, September 2010
(Photo by Trillian, Livorno Daily Photo)

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

City Centre

Benches next to the Cathedral, city centre
Stavanger, Norway, November 2010
(Photo by Gunn, Stavanger Daily Photo)

Monday, November 22, 2010

Cour Carrée

Cour Carrée, Musée du Louvre
Paris, July 2010

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Ghost Bench

Ghost town hotel bench, Shaniko
Oregon, September 2010
(Photo by cieldequimper, Versailles Daily Photo)

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Piazza Grande

Bus stop, piazza Grande, Livorno
Waiting a bus, Piazza Grande
Livorno, November 2010
(Photo by VP, Livorno Daily Photo)

Friday, November 19, 2010

Jardim do Ultramar

Tropical Gardens, Lisbon
Jardim Botânico Tropical - Jardim do Ultramar
(Tropical Gardens - Overseas Gardens)
Belém, Lisbon, December 2008
(Photo by Traveling Hawk, Traveling Hawk)

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Under the Tower

Bench under the Eiffel Tower
Bench, Eiffel Tower
Paris, July 2010

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Garden Tomb

Benches, Garden Tomb (Gordon's Calvary)
Jerusalem, October 2010
(Photo by Dina, Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo)

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Egyptian Gate

Egyptian Gate by Luigi Canina, Rome
Egyptian Gate by Luigi Canina
Villa Borghese gardens
Rome, September 2010
(Photo by Trillian, Livorno Daily Photo)

Monday, November 15, 2010

Kogod Courtyard

Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard by Norman Foster
Robert and Arlene Kogod Courtyard by Norman Foster
National Portrait Gallery, Washington
District of Columbia, November 2010
(Photo by Luis Gomez, One Photograph a Day)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Salle du Manège

Salle du Manège, Musée du Louvre, Paris
Salle du Manège, Musée du Louvre
Paris, July 2010

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Fossil Bench

Fossil, Wheeler County, Oregon
Bench in Fossil, Wheeler County
Oregon, September 2010
(Photo by cieldequimper, Versailles Daily Photo)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Aesculapius Bench

Temple of Aesculapius bench, Rome
Temple of Aesculapius, Villa Borghese gardens
Rome, September 2010
(Photo by Trillian, Livorno Daily Photo)

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Dudley Zoo

Dudley Zoo bench, Dudley
Dudley Zoo, Dudley, West Midlands
England, February 2010
(Photo by tapirgal, Astoria Daily Photo)

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Swiss Valley

Jardin de la Vallée Suisse (Swiss Valley Garden)
Place du Canada, 8e arrondissement
Paris, July 2010

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Resting

Bega Riverside, Timisoara
Romania, November 2010
(Photo by Traveling Hawk, Traveling Hawk)

Monday, November 8, 2010

Books

Benches with books, Lana
Bolzano, November 2010
(Photo by Karl, Bolzano Daily Photo)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

The Yards

“The Yards” Park, Southeast Washington
District of Columbia, November 2010
(Photo by Luis Gomez, One Photograph a Day)

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Père-Lachaise

Cimetière du Père-Lachaise
Paris, July 2010

Friday, November 5, 2010

Dragon Bench

Old Court House, Langley, Whidbey Island
Washington, November 2010
(Photo by MB, Small City Scenes)

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Aldobrandini One

Bench by a statue, Villa Aldobrandini
Rome, September 2010
(Photo by Trillian, Livorno Daily Photo)

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Seudat Avelim

Benches for the seudat avelim
(meal for the bereaved after a funeral)
Mount Herzl military cemetery
Jerusalem, September 2010
(Photo by Dina, Jerusalem Hills Daily Photo)

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Salle 14

Musée du Louvre, Paris
Salle 14, Musée du Louvre
Paris, July 2010

Monday, November 1, 2010

Teepee Benches

Teepee benches, Warm Springs Indian Reservation
Oregon, September 2010
(Photo by cieldequimper, Versailles Daily Photo)

aBoB First Anniversary!