Being sequestered in our homes perhaps gives many of us more inclination to catch up on binge-worthy TV series. Last night I watched, for the second time, the latest episode of Homeland. Now, I’m sure when most of us hear the words “iconic photographs”, we might think of Iwo Jima, of Tiananmen Square, sailors kissing girls in Times Square, or perhaps that photograph of Marilyn Monroe. However, in watching TV last night, I was struck that I was watching a constant stream of iconic images, not necessarily world-shattering or important to many, but representing important and pivotal moments in the lives of individuals, both in the present and in the past.
Chairs
The chair has been a frequently used subject in painting and photography and can represent or be symbolic of many things. Its familiarity of shape, fabric or other sensory trigger can draw on emotional memory to provide, for example feelings of warmth, comfort and security from early childhood. In contrast, an empty chair has been used to signify loss, loneliness and death. Vincent van Gogh’s paintings often featured chairs as did another of my favourite artists, David Hockney, who said he liked chairs because they had arms and legs, like humans.
In praise of older hotels
They call it progress and modernization but city centres often clear out some of the beautiful old buildings that have been part of our communities for a long time. Perhaps no buildings embody the loss of history more than the many small hotels that have been part of the landscape of our towns and cities and which have seen countless guests come and go over the years. What stories those rooms could tell.
The dandelion
The dandelion. My lawn is full of them. What use are they? Somewhere up (down?) there with the mosquito you might say. Well at least they are green. And their prolific yellow flowers provide much nourishment for the bees. But in that usual unwelcome and downtrodden place in our esteem, we can overlook the beauty of the rosette of deeply toothed basal leaves.
