Ascending?

Not a welcoming sight to begin an ascent. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Stairways, Multilevel

Stairways in the West Pavilion at the Getty Center

Yeah, I'm still admiring various staircases around town.

It's been a while since I shared an image of one with you. So, here's a photo of the interior stairs at the Getty Center's West Pavilion, which switches back and forth, elegantly curving along the contour of the wall for three levels, going from the Impressionist paintings at the top to the photography exhibits at the bottom, passing by the decorative arts in the middle. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Make It Magnificent

Enlightenment (2005) by Dale Chihuly, at the Mingei International Museum, San Diego

A new month is upon us and that means we can try anew to make this a better blog. ;-)

As long time readers may recall, I have a weird fascination with stairways. So, I was looking through my vast collection of staircases and I came across this one from the Mingei. Well, the stairs aren't the focus, but the Chihuly glass sculpture is certainly well worth a viewing.

And, while we're on the topic of glass, I'd like to celebrate the birthday of Debbie Harry, born on this date in 1945.

Debbie Harry, from Blondie's video for "Heart of Glass"

So, let's listen to some music.

Elevated Anxieties

Elevator at the South Bay Galleria

Today, I haven't any special topic prepared. However, since I've been sitting on this photo for a while, I figured it could fill the gap, inspiring some appropriate topic for "Terror Tuesday". Then, I realized that, for all my photos taken, it's rare to have an image looking down, from a balcony or cliff or any precipitous elevation.

The reason is obvious; I'm somewhat afraid of heights. The vertiginous sight on a steep incline, a plunging descent below me, makes me uncomfortable, keeping me back from the edge. Therefore, even when I approach a raised platform or high vista, I tend to record the panorama unfolding before me, not the abyss which recedes beneath me.

So, there are many photos here at Paideia that look up at a soaring structure, but extremely few that showcase the opposite vantage point. It's an amusing bias, one that impacts my craft of image-making in a manner that I had not previously considered.

Going down? Escalators at the South Bay Galleria

Yes, I'm a man of many phobias. Maybe, since it constrains my Art, I'll try to overcome this one. Nevertheless, you will not be finding any rock-climbing photos at this blog anytime too soon. And no sky-diving either!!! ;-)

Going Up?

Escalator at the South Bay Galleria, Redondo Beach


Are things looking up? I think so. ;-)

Enjoy!!!

Stairways to Nowhere

"Like floating sheets of white flame, the stairway ascended into the darkness."

Where does my time go?!!

Well, rather than let another day pass without a post, I'll share a few more photos of stairways. Yeah, this is going to be a running theme here at Paideia, but that's cool with me. I've always had a fascination with stairs.

So, let's kick off our second year's collection of blog posts with some ascending and descending architectural structures. ;-)

"The green serpents take you to Hell, but the stairways. . ."

Fun stuff!!!

Stairways

Blue sky at the top of the stairs

It's one of those days where my interest goes from topic to topic, incapable of settling down for a leisurely read or write, but hopping around the conceptual lily pads of my imagination.

And, for some weird reason, I have stairways on my mind.

Well, since I'm not up for writing anything of coherence tonight, I might as well share a couple photos with you all. ;-)

Bookshelves at the bottom of the stairs

I leave it to you clever readers to derive significance from these words and images.