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Anglo-Saxon Churches in Britain. 'Until some hundred and fifty years ago, it was widely believed that there were no remains of Anglo-Saxon architecture to be seen in Britain. Despite there being next to no surviving parts of secular buildings, Saxon features were slowly recognised in standing ancient churches and today there seem to be few church guides which do not claim some form of Saxon origin ... '
Many good links at the bottom.
St. Laurence's Church, Bradford-on-Avon.
Odda's Chapel, Deerhurst.
Romsey Abbey, Hampshire.
Monasticism in Britain. 'Monastic communities, both of men and women, have played an important role in the history of Britain. In a society which presented few options or opportunities, this way of life offered many attractions. What the life lacked in glamor, it more than made up for in serenity and stability. The monastic life offered social mobility for some, and a refuge for others. The monasteries provided the opportunity for education, freedom from some of the economic uncertainties of the times, and, often, a career path that could lead to a very high station in life ... '
I like the sound of the Cluniacs.
Ming Dynasty Art. 'In Ming painting, the traditions of both the Southern Song painting academy and the Yuan (1279-1368) scholar-artist were developed further. While the Zhe (Zhejiang Province) school of painters carried on the descriptive, ink-wash style of the Southern Song with great technical virtuosity, the Wu (Suzhou) school explored the expressive calligraphic styles of Yuan scholar-painters emphasizing restraint and self-cultivation. In Ming scholar-painting, as in calligraphy, each form is built up of a recognized set of brushstrokes, yet the execution of these forms is, each time, a unique personal performance. Valuing the presence of personality in a work over mere technical skill, the Ming scholar-painter aimed for mastery of performance rather than laborious craftsmanship ... '
Art of the Kamakura and Nanbokucho Periods. 'The Kamakura period was marked by a gradual shift in power from the nobility to landowning military men in the provinces. This era was a time of dramatic transformation in the politics, society, and culture of Japan. The bakufu, or government by warrior chieftains (shogun) or their regents, controlled the country from their base in Kamakura, near modern Tokyo. Because the emperor remained the titular head of state in his capital in Kyoto, a binary system of government, whereby emperors reigned but shoguns ruled, was established and endured for the next seven centuries ... '
Renaissance Drawings: Material and Function. 'During the late fourteenth century, artists began to use paper more and more to explore their ideas for the design of paintings and sculptures, rather than simply to copy or record finished works of art. This exploratory type of drawing offers a vivid and intimate glimpse of the artist creatively thinking on paper.'
Dutch and Flemish Artists in Rome, 1500-1600.
Fontainebleau. 'Returning to his throne as king of France in 1527 after two years of captivity under the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Francis I (r. 1515-47) launched an aggressive campaign to restore a small, dilapidated hunting lodge in the Forest of Bièvre, forty miles southeast of Paris. Due to the sack of Rome by imperial armies in 1527, Francis was able to lure an unprecedented number of talented artists, architects, and artisans from Italy and collectively they transformed a ruined country château into the king's primary royal residence, a palace of grandeur and great embellishment known today as Fontainebleau. '
The Daily Probe. Online satire zine.
Borowitz Report. Online satire.
Astrophotography by Jerry Lodriguss. 'This is a web site of deep-sky astronomical photographs, tips and techniques for astrophotography, and digital enhancement in Photoshop.'
Jing and Mike. Illustration - political, humorous, children's, etc. I really like this site.
The Unique Flora of Tasmania. Galleries.
John Konno: Japan Photos.
Tibetan Portrait. 'Riveting portraits paired with the words of the Dalai Lama provide a unique understanding of the Tibetan people and the Buddhist teaching of nonviolence.'
'This website (based on the book) is about a deeply spiritual culture's struggle to survive and maintain compassion in the face of tremendous aggression. The invasion by the Chinese communists in 1949 let to massive destruction and repression, and to the occupation of Tibet, which continues to this day.'
'Throughout 1994, photographer Phil Borges traveled to Tibet, as well as parts of Nepal and northern India where thousands of Tibetan refugees now reside, photographing Tibetans in an effort to understand what had happened to them, to their country and their culture. In doing so, he became fascinated by Buddhist philosophy and the Tibetan commitment to nonviolence ... '
America Singing: Nineteenth Century Songsheets. 'For most of the nineteenth century, before the advent of phonograph and radio technologies, Americans learned the latest songs from printed song sheets. Not to be confused with sheet music, song sheets are single printed sheets, usually six by eight inches, with lyrics but no music. These were new songs being sung in music halls or new lyrics to familiar songs, like "Yankee Doodle" or "The Last Rose of Summer." Some of America's most beloved tunes were printed as song sheets, including "The Star Spangled Banner" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic." Song sheets are an early example of a mass medium and today they offer a unique perspective on the political, social, and economic life of the time, especially during the Civil War. Some were dramatic, some were humorous; all of them had America joining together in song. The Rare Book and Special Collections Division of the Library of Congress holds 4291 song sheets. Included among these American songs are ninety-seven British song sheets from Dublin and London. The collection spans the period from the turn of the nineteenth century to the 1880s, although a majority of the song sheets were published during the height of the craze, from the 1850s to the 1870s ... '
The Star-Spangled Banner.
The Last Potato.
Bauhaus in Tel Aviv. 'The city of Tel Aviv is literally an open museum of the International Style in architecture. '
'During the 1930s, while the modernist movement in art reached its apogee in Europe, the city of Tel Aviv was in a stage of intensive development. Most of the architecs working in the new city at that time were of European background and brought with them the ideas of the modernist movement.'
'These architects, influenced by the works of Le Corbusier, Erich Mendelsohn, and the Bauhaus School of Art and Design, constructed a large number of buildings in the central area of Tel Aviv ... '
The Guggenheim Collection: Bauhaus.
Phil Borges: Enduring Spirit: Mexico. 'Sinchi is Dimicia's great-granddaughter. In a few days Sinchi and her parents will leave on a 75-mile pilgrimage to a sacred location in the rugged Sierra Madre mountains to hunt for hikuri, the small peyote cactus. Although Dimicia will stay at home while Sinchi's parents search for hikuri, all three will take peyote and -- using a type of intuitive telepathy -- share in the pilgrimage and ceremonies.'
Enduring Spirit: North America. Photography of indigenous people.
The Living Link: Amazon Basin, Ecuador. Photography. 'Yadira is one of 320 Secoya Indians living along the Aguarico river in Ecuador's northern Amazon. Since oil was discovered in 1972, more oil has been spilled in this area than was spilled by the Exxon Valdez accident in Alaska. The Aguarico river has been covered by over a foot of oil on several occasions. In this time, the Secoya have seen most of the animals in their territory disappear. Today an oil company is again trying to start seismic exploration in Secoya territory. '
The Living Link: Mongolia. 'Ulzusuren lives with her seventy year old grandmother, Namid, who is a well known shaman in northern Mongolia. Ulzusuren helps while her grandmother sees the four to six people that come for shamanic healing each day. One night I watched as Namid chanted and drummed herself into a trance-like-state for the benefit of a patient. At one point Ulzusuren had to jump up and grab her grandmother to keep her from falling into the fire.'
The Living Link: Siberia.
Lilly Antoneavic. Illustrator. Feline art and American icons.
The Guggenheim Collection: Abstract Expressionism.
The Guggenheim Collection: Cubism.
The George Washington Papers. 'The complete George Washington Papers collection from the Manuscript Division at the Library of Congress consists of approximately 65,000 documents. This is the largest collection of original Washington documents in the world. Document types in the collection as a whole include correspondence, letterbooks, commonplace books, diaries, journals, financial account books, military records, reports, and notes accumulated by Washington from 1741 through 1799. The collection is organized into eight Series or groupings. Commonplace books, correspondence, and travel journals, document his youth and early adulthood as a Virginia county surveyor and as colonel of the militia during the French and Indian War. Washington's election as delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses and his command of the American army during the Revolutionary war are well documented as well as his two presidential administrations from 1789 through 1797. Because of the wide range of Washington's interests, activities, and correspondents, which include ordinary citizens as well as celebrated figures, his papers are a rich source for almost every aspect of colonial and early American history. In its online presentation, the George Washington Papers consists of approximately 152,000 images. '
Introduction to the Diaries of George Washington.
Stu Arnett Illustrations. 'Boats and water have always played an integral part of my life. My wife, Tracy and our two daughters Jane and Ruth Ann love spending the summers cruising on the Rideau Canal System and especially on Big Rideau Lake. You will find several pieces of art that reflect this beautiful area of Eastern Ontario ... '
The New York Botanical Garden.
The Bauhaus. 'In Post World War One Germany a new art school formed whose basic ideologies stated that they would move towards the better integration of art and technology for the benefit of the both. They set out to create a "consulting art center for industry and the trades."(Bauhaus 1919-1928 p.12) The school combined the role of artisan and craftsman and applied this to everything from architecture to theater, including typography. The effects and influences of the Bauhaus are widespread and varied and can easily be seen in homes and offices across the United States. Besides their work with lamps and chairs and other such manufactured items, their work spread into other fields like the aforementioned typography and typesetting. This site will discuss the Bauhaus itself, its ideologies, and its accomplishments as well as the ideas of the Bauhaus as they relate to typography and the people behind those ideas. '
Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens. Est. 1818. Virtual tour.
Mars Exploration Rover Mission. Loads of images, news.
Revenge of the Mad Cow. Satirical cartoons.
Bush in Britain. Cartoons.
N. Ishizaki. Emboidery. 'Sitting in a small room with an old Japanese drama on the tv in the background, Ishizaki sits patiently behind his stand, atop a heated carpet that is popular in Japanese homes during the winter. Ishizaki answers our questions carefully, with a deep, round voice that hints of the accumulated wisdom of working as a shishu for over 50 years. '
H. Nakamura. Kimono dyeing. 'As you enter through the sliding door and walk past the large tubs of water, you find yourself in a large hall, quiet except for the soft murmurs of enka from the radio and the swish of firm, swift brush strokes against the bolt of kimono fabric. Unlike other shokunin in the kimono industry, a someya, or kimono dyer, needs a certain amount of space in order to fully stretch the fabric across the room. Nakamura's workplace reaches over 15 meters in length, about the minimum needed for this type of work. '
Rosalba Carriera. 'Italian painter, Venetian school (b. 1675, Venezia, d. 1757, Venezia).' Online gallery.
Francesco Solimena. 'Italian painter, Neapolitan school (b. 1657, Nocera dei Pagani, d. 1743, Barra).'
Indian Myths of South Central California, 1907.
Granny D. 'Doris "Granny D" Haddock, 93, is the chairwoman of the "Our Town Votes" project. She walked across the U.S. in 2000 to support cleaner campaigns with fewer strings attached to special interests.'
Accidents Involving Nukes: Official List from the UK Ministry of Defence. 'It took six years, but the London Guardian has forced the Ministry of Defence to hand over a list of 20 nuclear accidents from 1960 to 1991. Reporter Rob Evans kindly supplied The Memory Hole with the actual document, which is not otherwise online. He wrote the following story based on this hard-won information ... '
First Amendment Bug Removed from Bill of Rights 2.0. 'Federal officials unveiled the newly updated Bill Of Rights 2.0 at last weekend's Govworld Expo '99. The enhanced version of the document is said to be free of the First Amendment bug which had plagued previous releases.'
The Virtual Guide to Belarus. Fine arts, politics, architecture, Chernobyl, embroidered towels... great site.
Life after Tyranny. Travels in eastern Europe, North Korea, Argentina and elsewhere.
'Life After Tyranny is Simon Bone's ongoing project to document places in transition from authoritarian rule to, uh, something else.'
Inuit Fine Arts.
20th Century Art at the Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas.
Early European Art at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Works on Paper at the Spencer Museum of Art.
Stories from Napranum and Thursday Island. Two indigenous Australian communities.
'I learnt to make a spear at the age of seven or eight . I used to sit with my Grandpa and he taught me. The old man had a tremendous patience and with love and care, he would sit with me and pass on these skills. My grandpa said "When I'm gone, you become me at all times." ' - Roy Jingle, Napranum.
Golden Threads. Stories of Chinese-Australians in regional New South Wales, 1850-1950.
Steve Hoffmann's Nature and Scenic Photography.
Yema-po, California. A historic Chinese-American site.
'During 1993-94 the C.E. Smith Museum mounted a major exhibit on the archaeological site of Yema-po. The site, excavated by students and faculty of the Department of Anthropology, represents the remains of a work camp occupied by the overseas Chinese laborers who constructed the San Leandro Reservoir (Lake Chabot) between 1874 and 1875. You can take a tour of the excavation, the artifacts found and the history of the San Leandro Reservoir by exploring the topics below.'
Coins and gambling tokens.
Nature Photography of Wes Skiles.
Nature & Insect Photography of Roger Eritja.
Chinese Numismatics in Hong Kong. 'The aim of this Web page is an attempt to trace the history and developments of the currency in use in China from earliest times to the present day.' In English and Chinese.
Scarlet BBW Art. Amusing, safe for work.
Disgruntled Temps: True Life Tales of Woe. 'Temping is the fastest growth sector in the U.S. labor market, with many temps earning a staggering $6 an hour -- some even pulling a stratospheric $6.75 an hour! '
'Yet even among this jet-setting elite lurk the disgruntled, ready to explode in a blood-drenched cataclysm of workplace violence! '
'That's one of the shocking revelations in Jeff Kelly's Best Of Temp Slave ... '
Inuit Art Source. Inuit art.
Japanese Ex-libris Stamps.
The Wall of I Love Yous, Montmartre.
'In a world marked by violence and dominated by individualism, walls, like frontiers, are usually made to divide and to separate people and to protect them from one another. On the contrary, LE MUR DES JE T'AIME (The Wall of I love Yous) is a link, a place of reconciliation, a mirror which reflects an image of love and peace. '
A Family Chronicle of Soviet and Nazi Terror. Family letters and memoirs.
'Poland's tragic fate during WW II, particularly the Holocaust, is well known, including the fact that 6.5 million Polish citizens perished, of whom close to 3 million were Jews. This web site documents the horrors of Nazism, but as importantly it is a study of a chapter of history long misunderstood and even denied: Poland's suffering under Stalinism and Communism ... ' - more.
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party. Humorous British political party.
Campaign for Real Ale: Historic Pub Interiors in the UK. Interactive map.
Blog for America: Howard Dean's Weblog. US presidential candidate.
Yemar (or Ewang). 'Founded at the beginning of the "Later Diffusion" of Buddhism in Tibet, the modest temple of Yemar has three chapels which were adorned with majestic stucco figures and fine wall paintings. When G. Tucci visited in the 1940s., they were in almost pristine condition, and the Italian scholar made a detailed study of the site (under the name of Ewang), connecting it stylistically with a small group of early monastic foundations in the surrounding region of Nyang ... '
The Story of the Volsungs (Volsunga Saga) with Excerpts from the Poetic Edda, translated by William Morris and Eirikr Magnusson, 1888.
'Originally written in Icelandic (Old Norse) in the thirteenth century A.D., by an unknown hand. However, most of the material is based substantially on previous works, some centuries older. A few of these works have been preserved in the collection of Norse poetry known as the "Poetic Edda". '
Heimskringla, or The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway, by Snorri Sturluson.
'The "Heimskringla" of Snorri Sturlason is a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of Norway, from about A.D. 850 to the year A.D. 1177.'
Politics in the Zeros. Weblog. 'Musings on politics. California, peace movement, and otherwise. '
Four Months of War: Shanghai 1937. 'In July 1937 the 2.Sino-Japanese War broke out. During the first months of the war, the city of Shanghai was brought under the control of the Japanese army. The Swiss Karl Kengelbacher who had emigrated to Shanghai documented the events with a photo camera. The series of 102 pictures with comments are a courtesy of Peter Kengelbacher of St.Gallen.'
Great Kanto Earthquake 1923. '75 years ago, on 1 September 1923, one of the worst earthquakes in world history hit the Kanto plain and destroyed Tokyo, Yokohama and the surroundings. About 140,000 people fell victim to this earthquake and the fires caused by it. '
'The photographs presented in this special online exhibition were taken by August Kengelbacher.They are a courtesy of Peter Kengelbacher. '
Pablo Picasso: The Tragedy. 'Pablo Picasso (1881-1973) often left visual clues on the surfaces of his paintings to suggest a hidden image underneath, as on The Tragedy of 1903. Artists frequently make changes to a painting or reuse a canvas or panel with an image already painted on it. Often the supports are reworked because an artist cannot afford to purchase new materials. An artist also may scrape off an earlier painting and start again or occasionally cover an abandoned image with a uniform coat of ground. Picasso did this very rarely. When he reworked his paintings, he most often did so directly over earlier images, neither using a "clean" side nor obliterating the abandoned attempt. Early in his career, financial constraints were certainly part of his motivation for reusing supports, but Picasso reworked paintings throughout his lifetime. His reworking was not done because he was frugal, but for Picasso the initial subject, the shape or form on the canvas, often revealed itself in a different guise as he worked on or returned to a picture, and it served as a new inspiration ... '
Gil Elvgren. Pin-up artist.
Mel Ramos. Pin-up artist.
Art from Mali. 'Mali's cultural heritage--from its unique vernacular architecture to its metalsmithing, pottery and figurative sculpture--is significant. Works in the museum's collection include important equestrian and warrior figures, dating from the 13th to 15th centuries, from the Inland Niger Delta region and 19th- and 20th-century artworks such as Bamana and Dogon masks and figures and Fulani jewelry. We invite you to search the national collection online and, when in Washington D.C., to visit the museum to discover firsthand the mastery of African art.'
El Greco. 'El Greco was a Greek-born artist whose emotional style vividly expressed the passion of Counter-Reformation Spain. Here at the National Gallery is the most important collection of his work outside that country, which was his adopted home. The haunting intensity of El Greco's paintings -- resulting from their unnaturally long figures and strong contrasts of color and light -- has invited a kind of mythmaking about his life and art. Following his death, El Greco's work fell into obscurity and, after its rediscovery in the last century, was often misunderstood. El Greco has been called a prophet of modern art, a mystic, and even a man whose sight was distorted by astigmatism, all misconceptions that have clouded understanding of his distinctive but deliberate style. '
Spanish Painting in the Seventeenth Century.
Goya. 'Goya was one of Spain's greatest painters and an internationally influential printmaker during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes, after training in Saragossa and traveling in Italy, married the daughter of the Spanish court artist. The next year, 1774, Goya received his first royal commission -- painting decorative scenes of daily life to be woven into tapestries. In 1799 he was appointed first court painter, the highest artistic position attainable.'
Chortens in Amdo, Tibet. Photographic guide. 'Architectural reliquaries housing relics are known in Tibetan as chortens, and in Sanskrit as either stupas or chaityas. In the region of northeast ethnographic Tibet known as Amdo, there are chortens in a variety of sizes, shapes and styles. Some are monumental and have a huge presence in the landscape. Some are confined within the walls of a monastery, and house the relics of famous lamas. Other small ones are within personal shrines, or are painted on walls or ceilings. In the Buddhist culture of Amdo, chortens are particularly prominent. Here is a selection of chortens photographed between January and March 2002 by Rob Linrothe, mainly in and around Rongwo (Chinese: Tongren) in the region of Amdo known as Rebgong (Chinese: Huangnan), with Dr. Linrothe's comments. Click on each photograph to see a large version.'
Masks of the Himalayas.
Mirages in Finland. 'The open sea lies before you, the spring warmth and a light wind have split the sea ice into floes that rock lazily on small waves. Beyond the horizon, on the other side of this body of water, lies Sweden. In between, there is only water — or there ought to be only water. But there are pale columns 'dancing' on the horizon! Looking along the shore, you see distant islands, whose low, thin silhouettes grow into steep rock faces. The entire shoreline takes on the shape of a rock wall where the familiar outlines are impossible to find; a mirage distorts the shores of Finland!'
Dave Stevens. Pin-up artist.
The Pin-up Art of Jennifer Janesko.
Enock Ilunga. Zambian artist. 'The work of Enock Ilunga is an interpretation of his environment, the daily life around him. His work depicts a genuine African scenario mostly treated in a semi-abstract style. Enock's philosophy is "a work of art is never complete. Art is a continuous struggle of creation and imagination. Some people claim that only the African can really appreciate Africa's culture, but I think a rich culture should be the common property of all over the world". '
The Legends of the Jews, 1909. 'This is a massive collation of the Haggada--the traditions which have grown up surrounding the Biblical narrative. These stories and bits of layered detail are scattered throughout the Talmud and the Midrash, and other sources, including oral. In the 19th century Ginzberg undertook the task of arranging the Haggada into chronological order, and this series of volumes was the result.'
December 2002 Planets Gallery. 'Just before dawn on Sunday, Dec. 1st, the planets Venus and Mars converged with the slender crescent Moon.The trio fit within a circle just 1.5 degrees in diameter. Venus was dazzling, about 350 times brighter than nearby red Mars. Sky watchers also saw a ghostly glow across the crescent Moon's dark terrain. Astronomers call that "Earthshine" ... '
Just 4 Fun. Pin-up collection.
Big Bear Solar Observatory: Images of the Sun from Earth.
Child's Eye: Images from the 1998 Zimbabwe International Book Fair. 'On August 4, 6, and 7, children between the ages of 8 and 15, from disadvantaged schools in Harare, were provided with access to computers and a digital camera. We were also pleased to welcome a group of teachers and librarians.'