Inside the Sculptors Studios

I told you yesterday that last Sunday I passed by the sculptors studios of the Academy of Fine Arts, but actually I was curious and also took a short tour inside. I have to admit that I didn't really "understand" the works on display...

The Home of Future Sculptors

Last weekend the Academy of Fine Arts opened its collections, departments and studios to the public. I happened to pass by the building that houses the sculptors studios. The neon letters say "haunted castle" - I don't know if the sign is art or if it refers to the edifice which, in my opinion, doesn't seem like a haunted castle.

Sledding Hill

Don't get fooled by this photo: there's no more snow in Vienna. When it's cold enough this hill gets covered with artificial snow. It looks a little strange when this is the only white spot but I guess the city kids are lucky to be able to sled down this hill.

Partnerlook

I'm so sick of the cloudy winter days! During yesterday's afternoon walk in Prater this mother and her child with their red jackets and the matching bicycle were a more than welcome eyecatcher.

Getting Ready for a Swim

When I saw the first people who took a swim in the Old Danube during the winter season, I couldn't believe my eyes. Now I'm used to this sight, but I still don't understand them. I can't even take a cold shower (not even in summer)...

Frozen pond

Last Sunday the ponds in Kurpark Oberlaa were partially frozen.

Like in a FairyTale

This part of Kurpark Oberlaa seems to me like an enchanted forest in a fairy tale...

Some Green

Nature in winter is so dreary, so I'm happy about every plant that resists and stays green.

Just a Tree And a Lamp

Last Sunday I took a walk in Kurpark Oberlaa in the 10th district. It was a very cloudy and quite cold day, so the park was rather deserted.  I like the constrast of the "accurate" lamp and the winterly tree. 

Eyecatcher on a Cloudy Day

These balloons were a very welcome eyecatcher and blur of colour on a recent cloudy day.

Reflections #35

Another view of the DC Tower and some reflections in Donaucity. Did you know that these edifices are built on top of panels covering a highway?

Looking Through And Up

The DC Tower, Austria's tallest building, seen through the glass roof of another building in Donaucity. It's still weird for me that, when I moved in my apartment in the surrounding area 25 years ago, none of these buildings existed...

Florido Tower

The office building Florido Tower is located in the 21st district, it was erected in 2001, and with a height of 113m it's one of Vienna's talles buildings.

A New Kind of Painting

The exhibition "Painting with Method. Neoavantgarde Positions from the mumok Collection" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst presents different lines of development in painting from the 1950s to the 1970s. During the 1950s there was a radical shift and break with tradition in the fundamentals of painting in favor of new media-based forms of art. Key impulses came from minimal art and conceptual art. Their sober principles are reflected in abstract and geometrical painting with its formally reduced compositions and its rejection of narrative and illusionist representation. 

Reflections #34

This sculptural object ("Unitled. (To my friend De Wain Valentine),1990) by American artist Dan Flavin is part of the exhibition "Painting With Method. Neoavantgarde Positions from the mumok Collection" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst. I like its reflection on the floor.

Art Lovers

A young couple in front of a snare-picture by Swiss artist Daniel Spoerri in the "55 Dates" exhibition at the MUMOK Museum Modernern Kunst.

55 Dates

Recently I visited the exhibition "55 Dates" at the MUMOK Museum Moderner Kunst. The presented 55 works from the MUMOK collection are a mix of the known and the lesser known, with artists whose names and works have entered art history and others still to be discovered. The selected works do not present a classical perspective on art history but rather a diverse coexistence of ways of thinking, themes, and artistic media.

Karl Marx Hof

The Karl Marx Hof is one of Vienna's best-known public housing complexes. The edifice was designed by Karl Ehn for a population of about 5.000 and built between 1927 and 1929. The complex held not only 1.382 apartments with a size of 30-60m² each, but also laundromats, baths, kindergartens, a library, doctor offices and business offices.

Breakfast at the Café

Here's the breakfast I ate yesterday at the café. Nothing too fancy, but definitely a change to what I normally eat in the morning.

A Morning at the Café

Last week I met a friend in this newly opened café for a late breakfast. The café is located in a former millinery and "Purveyor to the Imperial and Royal Court". 

For Sale

The 19th district hosts some of Vienna's most expensive residential areas. This mansion is currently for sale at the price of € 3.190.000...

St. Charles Church by Night

St. Charles Church was built as a result of a vow taken by Emperor Charles VI during a plague epidemic. It is consecrated to the patron saint of the Habsburg emperor, Saint Charles Borromeo. The church is the last work of the eminent baroque architect Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach. The construction began in 1716 and was finished - after J.B. Fischer von Erlach's death - by his son Joseph Emmanuel in 1737 who sligthly changed the plans of his father.

The End of my Sunday Walk

My Sunday afternoon walk ended in Grinzing, a quarter in the 19th district, that's known for its Heurige (wine taverns where the most recent wine is served). Here you can see the spire of the Grinzing parish church and a wayside shrine.

Slightly Snowy View of the Town

In the vineyards on the slopes of Kahlenberg and Nussberg the snow was still lasting on Sunday... I love this view of the town. How do you like it?

They Have Seen Better Days...

On Friday afternoon it snowed, on Saturday the rain washed away the snow - at least in the inner city. In the outskirts yesterday there was still some snow. In Heiligenstädter Park I discovered this family of snowmen in a rather sorry state...

Skin Deep #4

One of my personal highlights of the exhibition "Skin Deep. Hair dressers, barbers, beauticians" at the Wien Museum was the assemblage of covers of professional journals for hairdressers. The covers in this photo (that shows only a detail of the assemblage) are from 1927 to 1951. The subtitle of one of the journals was "the gate to the world of the hairdo" - I think this sounds great.

Skin Deep #3

Up until World War I a fair skin was among the most important attributes of feminine beauty. This was a status symbol that only members of the upper class could afford as they did not have to work outdoors, unlike the majority of the population. Further, the cult of white skin was strongly associated with the dividing line between white and non-white ethnicities. This sun hat is made of hemp lace and dates from ca. 1910, as does the ceramic figure in rococo style "At her toilet".

Skin Deep #2

Some hairdresser instruments from the 1930s to the 1960s: an electrical hair drying hood, two electrical perming devices, an electrical hair dryer and a wash basin. Two of these instruments look rather scary, don't you think?

Skin Deep #1

Last Sunday I visited the exhibition "Skin Deep. Hair dressers, barbers, beauticians" at the Wien Museum. The exhibition deals with the practices and meanings of modern body care and styling from the 18th century onwards and focuses on shaving, hair care and cosmetics in the Viennese context. The objects in this photo are from the hairdressing salon "Marko's" opened in 1899. The salon was considered a top-class-establishment and counted numerous prominent people, inlcuding high nobility, as clientele. Regular clients' personal razors were kept in the small drawers of the cabinet.

Stormy Day

I ended the old year with a walk along the Old Danube and that's exactly how I started the new year although it was a very cloudy and stormy day.

January Theme Day: Photo of the Year

As I'm obsessed with sunsets and walks along the Old Danube , I obviously had to choose a photo that combines these two "things" as my favourite photo of 2018. I published this photo last March when we had a cold spell and the Old Danube was frozen over - whereas I was already impatiently waiting for spring...
Click here to view the photos of all participants in the theme day.