The Cube

 I posted a photo of this sculpture once before but it was a very long time ago.  I was reminded of it last week and I was curious to see if it was still on display.  I made a trip downtown to the main library where it resides just inside the entrance.  

This is a sculpture by Arnaldo Pomodoro, the famous Italian sculptor.  I've seen many of his sculptures on my travels.  There is one in front of the Vatican Museum, one in a park in Milan and another on the grounds of the United Nations in New York City.

I was happy to see that ours was still there.  I wonder how many people stop to look at it.

From the Garden to the Library

 

I made it to Sherman Library and Gardens yesterday and had another fabulous lunch.  Dahlia, the restaurant there serves outstanding meals and yesterday was no exception.  

The garden itself was just as beautiful as ever. I just love that tree with the purple flowers.  

As many times as I've been to the garden and enjoyed the flowers and the food, I had never gone into the library.  I'm glad I did this time.  It was full of old reference materials like phone books and court records.  It seemed to cover all of California and a few other western states including Arizona.  

The book above caught my eye.  It's called "How to Retire To California". I pulled it off the shelf to take a look.  

The open page above lists some cities and their populations in 1948.  

The library was a fascinating place.  I'll have to do another post about it after I return home.  I could have stayed in there for hours.

Cosanti Bells

 

There is a collection of Cosanti wind bells on display at the Phoenix Public Library.  These are very elaborate bells that would cost hundreds of dollars.  

The bells are the design of the late architect, Paolo Solari.  I've posted photos of his work in the past. You can see photos of his studio and other bells here. 

Gifts of Art

When I was at the Phoenix Public Library last February, I wandered around admiring the various art works that are scattered about the building.  This one is called "Ranch in the Hills" and it was painted by Howard Post, a well known Arizona artist.  Mr. Post was born and raised on a ranch near Tucson.  He graduated from the University of Arizona and taught art there for two years before becoming a commercial artist.  In 1980, he decided to start painting what he knew best, Arizona ranching life.  You can find his paintings in museums and galleries all over the country.

Not far away I found this wool tapestry called "Phoenix Bird" by Ronald Cruickshank.  Mr. Cruickshank was a Scottish weaver who combined modern designs with his medieval style of weaving. (This one was framed behind glass, sorry about the glare.)

Both of these art works were gifts to the Phoenix Public Library from patrons who contributed them so they would become part of the permanent collection.

Radiant Grove

I mentioned yesterday that I went to the Phoenix Public Library last February to see a special Student Art Exhibit.  While I was there, I was able to view several other art exhibits that the library was featuring.  These colorful "trees" caught my eye.  It's a piece called Radiant Grove.

The artist is Daniel Funkhouser and this piece is created from laser cut acrylic.  The colors were amazing but I was kind of wishing they had been placed against a plain wall. I think all the different pieces of colorful plastic that make up the trees would pop out more against a solid background.

This was part of an organization called In Flux which is a collaboration between six valley cities, Phoenix, Chandler, Glendale, Peoria, Scottsdale and Tempe.  The six cities selected 10 artists to create temporary public art works that could be displayed in locations around the valley.  I'm glad I caught this one and learned about this art project.

Student Art Exhibit

Back in February when life was going along at a normal pace, I read somewhere that there was an exhibit of student art work on display at the the main branch of the Phoenix Public Library.  It was work by students at Phoenix College, the school I used to live near.  I decided to take a look.  It turned out to be a very small exhibit with only five artists represented.  I only took photos of two of the pieces.  The one above was created in hand-dyed fabric by Brenda Mason.  It's called "Path to Forgiveness".  One of the members of my Art Challenge group does work with fabric so I could appreciate this one very much.

The second one I photographed is by artist Curtis Owens.  It is called "Scarred Fragments" and it's constructed of ceramic pieces on panels.  They made me think of a type of body shield.

Finding these photos made me sigh and wish I could go museums and libraries once again.

Tomorrow I'll show you another interesting piece of art I found at the Library that wasn't a part of this particular exhibit.

Little Free Libraries

I'm seeing more and more of the little free libraries popping up all over the city.  It's a wonderful thing to see.  It's good to know that so many people have embraced the need to encourage reading.

They come in all shapes and sizes.  Some even have a little solar powered light to shine on it after dark.



The one to the left has to be a favorite.  It's one that has been built to look like Dr. Who's tardis!  You can't beat that!

Library Sculpture

I have one last photo to show you from the Phoenix Public Library.  I actually posted a photo of this sculpture before but it was way back in 2008.  I really do like this sculpture and it's by a world renowned artist Amaldo Pomodoro.  Pomodoro's sculptures are influenced by emerging technology.

When I went to Italy a few years ago, I got to see another of his sculptures that is located on the grounds of the Vatican.  It's also a very interesting piece.  You can see it here.

I have a new post on Sharon's Sojourns today.  Appropriately, I'm visiting another place located at the Vatican.

More Inside the Library

There is a special room inside the Phoenix Main Library that can be scheduled for meetings or for educational purposes.  I'm not sure what books are in there but I do recognize that old printing press through the glass wall that surrounds the room.

Another area that is sectioned off is The Arizona Room with books all about Arizona and the state's history.  Notice that collection of Soleri bells hanging outside the room.  Those are big ones.

I took this shot of the stairs standing just outside that room in the top photo.  In addition to these stairs, there are also three elevators with glass walls that go to all four floors of the library.  It is an interesting place.

Library Views

As promised, here is the view from the top floor of the library looking north over the parking lot.  We are looking toward the mid-town business district with it's high-rise buildings.  Now you can see those solar panels over the parking structures.

Walking toward the south of the building I pass one of the reading rooms with the stacks off to the side.

Looking toward the south, we see right into downtown Phoenix with all of it's tall buildings.  On this side of the building are the louvres I mentioned yesterday so I had to shoot between them to get the shot.  That's what you see sort of framing this shot.

Theme Day: Library

It's the first of September, where has this year gone?  As most of you know, the first of the month is always "Theme Day" for City Daily Photo bloggers and the September theme is Library.  I took a drive downtown to catch a photo of our main public library.  The sign above points toward the library parking lot.

The building itself is a modern structure with glass walls on both ends.  On the north (in this photo) there are sail-like extensions to shade the windows.  On the south side are louvers that open and close.  And, you might be able to tell that the parking lot is covered and the shade structures have solar panels on top.  Tomorrow I'll show the views from inside.

If you would like to see libraries in other cities around the globe, click here.

Kids in Focus

On Friday evening I attended an exhibit of photos all taken by kids between 11 and 14 years old.  The show was the culmination of a series of creative sessions with children who have a background of some type of trauma such as poverty, homelessness, neglect and/or abuse.  The children are given a digital camera and then they work with professional photographers who volunteer their time to teach the children how to see the world in a whole new light.

I have to say I was very impressed.  These two photos were by a young man named Angel.  The top one was taken at floor level inside the lobby of an office building.

The second photo is a shadow centered on the new zen garden at the Desert Botanical Garden.

Excellent work!

This young lady is Angeline.  I wanted to ask her how she got that curled up flag photo but she was so busy talking to guests and signing her name in the book version of the show that I missed my chance.

Very creative work.

There was a pretty good sized crowd of people at the event.  A much bigger turnout than I had expected.  What a great program that teaches creativity and gives so much positive reenforcement.

Grand Opening

Saturday was a day for Grand Openings.  After attending the ribbon cutting for a brand new dog park at the Steel Indian School Park, I headed to south Phoenix to see the grand opening of a brand new Library facility located next door to South Mountain Community College.  There was a large gathering of people waiting for the doors to open to this new facility.

This view shows a little more of the crowd listening to officials give their thanks for the hard work and collaborative support that made the new library possible.  I like the look of this building.  I'll have to visit again and gather some artistic shots of the unique architecture.

Magic Doors

While I was at the Glendale Foothills Library, I wandered around and spotted these wonderful doors leading to the children's reading room.  They were created by artist Kathy Bradford of Lyons Colorado.  She is an award winning artist who works in glass doing mostly etching, fusing and sandblasting.  She was commissioned by the city of Glendale to create The Magic Doors.  She says in her artist's statement that she wanted to "give the feeling of exploration, encourage a sense of discovery, and nurture a delight in reading and learning".  The glass panels are sand carved with circular glass discs fused to the panels.  One circle contains an image of the Earth.  Some of the discs create color shifts while others turn an image upside down.  The doors give an approaching child the feeling of stepping into another world.  The same feeling one gets reading a book!

The Sun and The Moon

I recently checked the web site of artist Dale Chihuly and noticed that he had an installation in Arizona at the Glendale Foothills Library.  So, Saturday afternoon, I drove out to the library to see if I could find it.  Hanging in the entrance is this wonderful chandelier called "The Sun and The Moon".  The helpful woman at the information desk gave me an information sheet about the piece.  It is made of 1,123 individually hand blown pieces of glass and it took a three man crew from the Chihuly studio three days to install.  It weighs 2000 pounds.  It was commissioned by the city of Glendale for $200,000.  It is a wonderful piece!

“Resistance is futile”

Only readers who are fans of Star Trek will understand the reference of my title. This sculpture is located inside the main entrance to the Burton Barr Central Library and I have to admit the first thing I thought of when I saw it was “The Borg”. This sculpture is actually by the very well know Italian artist Arnaldo Pomodoro and there is a reason it has a science fiction look. At the start of the age of space exploration, Pomodoro became preoccupied with the advance of technology. Of this sculpture and others like it he says “in these sculptures I sense the discovery and the drama of technological exploration and its powers. I interpret my surface erosions and irregularities as symbols of the destructive impulse.” His sculptures can be seen all over the world including the Vatican Museums, which somehow seems out of place to me.

Burton Barr Central Library Part 3

The inside of the library is very modern covering 280,000 square feet of space accommodating over a million volumes of books. As you can see from the photo, the book topics in each section are displayed in neon lights at the end of the row of shelves. The fifth floor of the library is the Great Reading Room which is the largest reading room in North America even bigger than the New York Public Library (not as charming, though) or the Library of Congress.

Tomorrow: one more picture from the Library.

Burton Barr Central Library Part 2

Continuing with the tour of the Burton Barr Central Library, a center atrium of the building called The Crystal Canyon is open the full 5 floors and topped with nine skylights that track the sun and focusing it's light into the center where it moves throughout the interior during the day. Glass enclosed elevators transport readers to the various floors. In the forefront of this photo you can see a collection of Paolo Solari wind bells displayed against the Crystal Canyon glass wall in one of the reading rooms. Paulo Solari is an Italian born architect who came to the United States in 1947 where he spent a fellowship with Frank Lloyd Wright at Taliesin West here in Arizona. He settled in Scottsdale in 1956. His famous Cosanti Bells have been sold all over the world.

In the small picture you see a photo of the crystal canyon and the elevators that travel to the 5 floors. Each glass elevator has a different color theater light giving the feeling of sudden streaks of lightning as the elevators race up and down.

Tomorrow I'll show another inside view of the library.

Burton Barr Central Library

The Burton Barr Central Library was opened in 1995 and named to honor a well-known political leader in Arizona. Burton Barr served in the Arizona Legislature as House Majority Leader for 20 years and after retirement devoted several years to raising funds to benefit the Phoenix Central Library.
The design of this library was inspired by Monument Valley (on the Arizona-Utah border) with its curving copper mesa split by a stainless steel canyon and an undulating sandstone wall along it’s west side. I like the building, but I have to admit it doesn’t make me think of Monument Valley. It’s modern exterior (as well as the ultra-modern interior) doesn’t seem to fit with an area of the United States dominated by ancient sandstone monoliths. Still, it is an appealing design. The building has design features that harness the sun, with shade sails that were fashioned by sail makers in Maine. They deflect the heat and glare during the hot season while still letting in light and allowing views of the cityscape and mountains beyond.

The library is another Phoenix Point of Pride.
Interesting fact: About 100,000 pounds of copper cover the exterior walls. That’s equivalent to 17,500,000 pennies! Now there is something to contemplate.

Tomorrow, I’ll show you a view on the inside.