When I was an undergraduate student, I took a few courses on Shakespeare's plays. I remember I had this beautiful copy of The Tempest that had on its cover an illustration of Miranda in which her hair was a colourful garden, like an explosion of life and vibrancy. This affected the way I approached the play (perhaps you should judge a book by its cover). I pictured the tempest in the play as an abstract thing: as a type of falling garden. So when I saw the art installation, "Falling Garden", by the artists, Gerda Steiner and Jörg Lenzlinger, I literally gasped. This is exactly how I pictured The Tempest; it was as if someone had crawled into my mind and made visual imagery from the thoughts within. To see more of their absolutely mind-blowing art, visit their official site.
I've submitted a little excerpt to Sparkapolooza, from a short story I'm working on. I'd love some (constructive) feedback. You can have a read here. And of course, that should read "challenge", not "challagene". I shouldn't type fast. Thanks Jo and Laura!
And the lovely Anabela from Fieldguided has written some very kind words about my blog and I here. I don't know what to say to such kindness, other than a very big thank you, with sprinkles on top. Although I promise Anabela, I'm not at all intimidating.
Lastly, I'm sure those of you who have been keeping up with the news have heard about the floods in Queensland. There are no words for such tragedy. There are people missing, some have died, and many who have lost their homes. While we feel a bit helpless in the rest of Australia, we can help by donating money to the Queensland Flood Appeal. Hang in there Queensland, we're thinking of you!
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wow - these are absolutely gorgeous!!! i am in absolute awe. i'm one of your newest followers - thanks to fieldguided - i'm so happy that she listed your blog because i love it!
xx
grace
stripesandsequins.com
I don't really know the epithet I could use to describe this beauty! really stunning, magic, taking my mind away , Guess I could spend hours admiring it!
First of all, I love the Falling Garden pictures. They are so lovely. Although it's not my favorite Shakespeare play (which is "As You Like It"), "The Tempest" is amazing. I love Ariel. He's just so cool.
I read your story and thought it was beautiful. I liked how you pieced images together - you were able to maintain a theme and storyline throughout, which is what makes this type of writing successful and not confusing.
My favorite line: "A camera is not simply a mechanical object, but a memory box filled with locks of hair, lost buttons, mildew and paper cuts."
Just wonderful. Makes me want to appreciate my camera a little more (or open it up to look for buttons, haha).
I just can't stop looking! Thank you for posting this :)
this is so so so incredible.
Hello Hila, I found your blog via Anabela and I can see what she means by being "intimidated" :)
Art is an intimidating field in itself. In my teenage years I was very much taken by it: poetry and plays and books and paintings (not dance, I admit, I could never relate to dance).
I had a very good teacher who opened my eyes a=to see these things as necessities of life. I think being a teenager who love Art was easier because I didn't care what people think of me and the poetry I wrote. Things are a bit different now being a grown-up...but I still ache to be someone who allows herself to immerse in the arts.
Thank you for writing this blog and making the language so easy to relate to. I'll be coming back! :)
Wow! Just wow!
wow this is breathtaking. i would love to see this in person <3
i know what you mean, it's frustrating to just sit back and watch the horror on tv and not be able to do anything for the people suffering from the floods
xo
found you via fieldguided's kind words! your story is lovely...and the falling gardens are stunning, jeez.
O my, those are SO beautiful. I think I actually gasped when I opened up your site and saw them....
This is awesome! I can not stop looking at this divine garden. Wonderful!
These are too beautiful! And my prayers go out to all of you there in Australia. I felt the same way you do when the same thing happened to us here in the Philippines. I wish the best for you all. xx
that's what happens when you put an idea out into the universe. beautiful art!
how brilliant! i'm so smitten with these images.
xo Alison
This is stunning. Really. I wish I could go see it in real life…. Right now.
Beautiful story so far! I love these photos too. Yes, I have friends with family in that part of Australia--my heart goes out to them.
incredible! no words to express this beauty!
Hila, the excerpt is already a short story itself, I love to read it out loud :) Beautiful away to play with words.
This photos always make me swoon because of its beauty and of its profusion of everything... poetic above all.
When I heard on the news about the flood I thought of you, happy to know it's not on your side of the country but praying that it all comes back to normal really fast.
I love this instalation...it's just magical..I'd like to live in the world like that..dreamy..floating..
Wow - I would love to lie under that dreaming all day long. Today would be good actually!
xx
this made me so happy! thank you!
This is so unbelievably beautiful. I would love to be in this space right now!
i just found your blog and it is so wonderfully beautiful! i love it.
the falling garden is absolutely amazing, how good it would be to lie underneath!
that installation is truly magnificent. i'm glad it's so vast and not confined to a more managable size.
this art installation is just breath taking!! p.s. we fixed the typo, woopsie! hahaha... sorry about that! thanks again for submitting sparkapolooza and spread the words, hugs x
I would love to be one of those people lying beneath it. Sooo beautiful.
What a terrific installation, they are amazing artists aren't they. I'm off to read your short story no, I'm sure it's quite wonderful. xolj
So beautiful. I want one.
I'd try to make one myself, but I have a cactus garden. Hanging cacti over people's heads could be construed as a bit threatening...
Oh my! Those pictures are pure magic ... how wonderful it would be to lie beneath such a sight and gaze upwards at all that floral loveliness.
It does very much bring to mind the chaos and beauty of 'The Tempest' ... it has been far too long since I have read those words though. That's yet another reason why I love visiting you here Hila, you offer a lovely reminder of things I should take time for ... :)
I shall shortly head over to Sparkapolooza and read your story excerpt. I will leave a little comment there! :D
upon seeing this post i urged my friend (over txt) who is in Italy to see this. hope she got the memo, this installment is so beautiful I could stare up at it all day long:)
The falling garden is simply beautiful.
The flood does nothing but saddens my heart. I pray for all the people affected.
Have a lovely day, dear.
LOVE!
Magnifique installation ! Merci ! A bientôt !
this is such a beautiful concept! the aesthetic is wonderful! if only my room could be like this :(
This installation blows my mind! Simply stunning and it's always good to read your posts because I discover so many great things. The Tempest is one of my favourite plays but I'd never imagined it as a falling garden and really like the idea. The last time I saw it, the story was set in South Africa with Prospero as the oppessor of the rightful owners of the island like under Apartheid. It worked really brilliantly.
Absolutely gorgeous place! This installation is so beautiful I could stare up at it all day long.
This is sooo cool! I would love to see this in person. And great submission for Sparkapalooza!
Completely beautiful. It's always amazing when you come across something that feels like it is straight out of your own imagination.
I like the people lying on the benches and looking up at the ceiling. I'd like to see what they can see.
Alice in Wonderland - eat your heart out! This is breath-takingly beautiful and ethereal. I can only imagine how spell-binding it would be in real life to walk under and around this beauty.
Thanks everyone! wow, this isntallation sure is popular! Although I can't blame anyone for getting excited, it is pretty spectacular. I agree with all your comments and would love to lie underneath it too.
And hello to everyone who has visited from fieldguided, nice to meet you :)
cloudykim, Sofia, lizzie, louise, tracey, sundari: thanks for reading my little excerpt and for your kind words.
katie: I really hope I'm not intimidating though, I'd hate to distance myself from people. Thank you so much for your kind words, you're so sweet.
denise: yes, I heard about that - and in Brazil too. It's just terrible.
christine: my heart goes out to everybody.
Sofia: yes, we're all hoping for that! I'm not affected by the floods, so I'm safe and dry, thanks for your concern :)
Laura: my pleasure! I hope to do it again :)
gwyneth: ha, yes, just a teeny bit threatening ;)
tywo: thank you, we're all keeping our fingers crossed.
vanessa: the story would work really well in such a setting, I would have loved to have seen it.
skeletaldreams: yes I know, it is all quite horrific - and I wish it would end!
this feels so alive... i would bring in a tent and camp out and not leave.
this is stunning. i would love to go there xx
I agree Tanya and Lavelle!
Nice pictures.
I would see this in a fairy tale movie or on the site of One Fairy Earing that is all about creating your own fairy tale.
http://onefairyearing.wordpress.com
it's my own personal fairy tale :)
its interesting that you mentioned flood in Queensland, the same artist just made this art exhibition about flood in Germany recently.
http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_new+44789&int_sec=2
in case if the link doesn't work,at google site type their name and flood, you will see their work.
K
oh that's a rather sad, but beautiful, coincidence. I can't even look at flood imagery these days without getting teary.
Thanks for the link!
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