Olympia Sisters

The painting of A Woman with a Towel by Edgar Degas is found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here we have a nude image of a woman who stands coyly, facing away form her spectators. The woman’s curvy figure twists in an effort to move. The sudden, sharp brush strokes gives the painting a needed shape and texture. It also creates movement and reveals the layers of color the painter used. The name, A woman with a towel, arose from what I believe the painting was made for; to appeal to the collector, specifically the men. She shows apparent form of contrapposto taken from the classical era.

I found this painting most similar to Edourd Manet’s version of Venus, Olympia. The influence of classical movement and color in both paintings create a small link between the two. The painting of Olympia is a lot more softer and lacks any added texture. It also uses more paler colors focusing on details as compared to A Woman with a Towel. Olympia is also less idealized and appealing to the viewer as opposed to Degas’ artwork. Another fact I found interesting was that Degas used his fingers to smudge and scrape his painting to give the illusion of texture, meanwhile Manet did not.

The difference between Olympia and A Woman with a Towel remind me of what we learned in classics concerning women in Roman history. These women had no position in public, and no written accord in history. They were of no importance than to be a tool in bonding families and to please their husbands. Hence, because names were really important to Romans, all the women in the family had the same name. The idea behind Monet’s painting of Olympia was meant to make the public more aware of the making of art as opposed to drawing attention to the sexuality of the woman. Furthermore, Olympia was made as a representation of the Goddess Venus. The Romans would have found this painting to be a fraud because it was to symbolize the birth of the goddess, Venus. Olympia, on the other hand, is more open with her demeaning gaze. She would seem notorious for the way she looks directly at us as compared to the woman with a towel who shyly averts her gaze. Olympia’s hard gaze would have been thought as atrocious to the Roman men because they would not even have seen a painting of a nude woman.

 

Khilola, Team Juno

Yet Another Post About Art1010 On BC Campus…

This is a painting I found in the staircase of the Brooklyn College Student Center. It perfectly represents the use of the system of linear perspective to create the illusion of a three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Below is a copy of the above image with the orthogonals traced in green and then the main lines extended to demonstrate the vanishing point.

The orthogonals are the lines that would be parallel were you actually to stand in that scene and measure them. Instead, when seen from a certain angle, they seem to converge on a single point. As you can see, this technique is very effective at tricking the eye and mind into thinking there is depth to the image.

The painting was set on the wall against the staircase so that as you descend the stairs, the vanishing point becomes eye level for you. This is how linear perspective works best, like we discussed regarding how Massacio’s painting of the Trinity was set at eye level for maximum effort.

-Chaya Ovits, team Venus

The Spiels Around Us

Gothic architecture was popularized  during the late Renissance around 16th century. The purpose of this architechture was to evolk feeling , which is not to surprising since it was during a period of humanism and focusing on the individual . Today we often see gothic architecture in many churches and buildings around NYC  and the world. But, hidden inside our neighbourhoods there are many houses that exhibit this form of architecture. In fact, as I walked on East 17th street right by our very own Brooklyn College I stumbled across these little gems below. 

 

These both exhibit an important feature , the spiel. It is a common feature used to elongate gothic structures.The spiel is the cone shaped piece on the cylindrical base. This is an iconic feature due to its feeling of excess height that it illuminates.

Samantha, Team Minerva

The Gates of Paradise, Roman Imagery, and A Synagogue: What These Three Things Have In Common Will Shock You!

This picture shows the doors to a synagogue on West End Avenue of Manhattan Beach. It immediately seemed to me like a much simpler version of the baptistery doors called the “Gates of Paradise,” by Ghiberti.

As you can see, the baptistery doors are decorated with scenes from the life of the Biblical figure Isaac, using linear perspective to add depth to the nearly-flat backgrounds cast in bronze.

The doors in my original picture, however, are much plainer and bear only three repeated images: a wolf, an axe with wheat and other grains, and a menorah. Considering their context, these likely represent objects of cultural significance. The wolf is often a symbol of Joseph (Isaac’s grandson), and the menorah is a religious artifact with hundreds of years of history attached. The axe and grains are a little more vague, but they could be standing in for the strength and beauty (respectively) of Israel and/or its inhabitants. There are no backgrounds portrayed at all, yet the overall effect is strikingly familiar to those acquainted with Ghiberti’s gates.

Both pictures show a set of dark doors embellished with a series of lighter metal images that have relevance to Biblical figures or scenes, organized into rows. Each set of decoration serves the basic purpose of making the doors more aesthetically pleasing, although one (Ghiberti’s) looks like it took much more time and effort because it is so much more intricate. Ghiberti’s doors are much taller and more imposing, whereas the synagogue’s doors are the usual height and just enhanced by the pictures. Also, it is unclear whether the first picture’s images are actually made of bronze, but it does not appear to be the same material as Ghiberti’s doors.

The pictures on my doors could easily apply to Roman culture too, although the context of their placement makes this extremely unlikely as its original purpose. The wolf has long been a symbol of Rome, because of the legend of the founders Remus and Romulus being raised by a she-wolf Lupa. When other powers rebelled against Rome (like the slave revolts Rome claimed were the “reconquering” of Sicily), a coin was made depicting a boar (the symbol of the Italic peninsula) trampling a wolf. The axe could be seen as referring to the axe of the fasces, a bundle of rods symbolizing imperial power, and the grain to the latifundia, a system of plantation farming that kept the Roman economy afloat. The menorah is a traditionally Jewish symbol, but the arch of Titus (pictured below) depicts a menorah because it shows the conquering of Jerusalem and the aftermath of the destruction of the second Temple (which stood on the hill that now holds the Dome of the Rock). Therefore even the menorah could in theory be a reminder of Roman triumphs.

The doors I took a picture of are similar to Ghiberti’s Gates of Paradise and reminiscent of Roman imagery and symbolism. Their purpose is a little more simplistic than the works of antiquity, but overall they are made for the same reason: to look nice.

-Chaya Ovits, team Venus

Triumphal Synagogue

This is a picture of the front of a synagogue located on Ave K at the corner of East 29th Street. As you can see, the double doors are framed by arches and there is a column motif between and around them. This reminded me of the Arch of Constantine, with its multiple arches. Constantine’s arch was erected to celebrate victory in battle, and it had three arches for aesthetic reasons (ie., to look impressive and thereby be a better monument representing glory and power). These arches are also decorative, but it’s likely that the multiple doors are because of the separate seating inside. It’s interesting to note that in ancient architecture the arches were always open, while nowadays we fill them with doors for practicality. Certain elements have a similar purpose to the ancient work it resembles, but overall the design is intended for an entirely different function.

It’s difficult to see in the picture, but at the top of the arches (between the doorframe and the arch’s curve) there are also painted friezes like those we studied in art and architecture from the early Christian/late Roman period. Their presence brightens the décor by adding color and filling the space that would otherwise be a blank gap, like the paintings in antiquity were meant to do in the temples, churches, or mosques we looked at. Both these paintings and their ancient counterparts add interest to the architecture, although the modern paintings are much more durable and less likely to fade or chip, because of technological advances (new kinds of paint, etc.) since the ancient paintings were created.

-Chaya Ovits, team Venus

Icons in Jamaica

 

  

 Location: Bethesda Missionary Baptist, Jamaica, NY 11432

The following church holds influences of the architecture of early Christianity that can be seen on the large stain glass windows . This is mostly due to its use of religious icons made into mosaics that can be seen on the windows , this is just like the display of mosaics within the Hagia Sofia . The windows also  cannot be seen out of or into,  a purposeful tactic used in churches after Constantine to ensure that the masses would pay attention to the prayer , rather than the outside distractions. It is also rectangular and share the same proportions like the Roman basilicas. 

Samantha , Team Minerva

Religious Rockefeller Center

The mosaic that I found outside NBC studios at 30 Rockefeller Center reminded me of the mosaics we learned about in the San Vitale. It reminded me of those mosaics because it has one main figure in the middle which is the most important (a figure representing thought) and the other figures on the side (written and spoken words) are what comes from it. Just like the mosaic of Jesus and the angels in the San Vitale. Jesus is in the middle and the angels on the side of him. The NBC mosaic is supposed to represent thought inspiring people to spread spoken and written word. This mosaic has a lot of religious influence it looks like the figures are floating and thought has gold around its head and is in a very Jesus-like position (with his toes pointed and arms extended out). Also outside of the three main figures are small people that look very much like angels of some sort, they are also in the sky. They also used gold mosaics just like they did very commonly in the San Vitale. Both of these mosaics are very similar and are used to send two completely different messages, one is a religious message and the other is the message of spreading media throughout the world.

This is a picture of the fifth avenue facade. The beautiful display of the metal bending with the glass really makes this a beautiful sight to stare at. This relates to works of the past. This building has a history dating before 1911. There are old pictures of what this building was and there is a slight difference. These buildings were inspired by the Catalan architects.

Lower East Side’s Crossroad

On the walls of the Delancey St/Essex St station is an enormous mosaic of a fish in a wave. The mosaic is composed of a vibrant array of blue, green, yellow, red, white, and purple stones. The colors compliment each other to create a depth in shadow and detail to the fish. The bright mosaic brings life into the daily routines of many New Yorkers. Though the fish is 2-dimensional and does not invoke any sense of movement, the waves of water that surround the fish imitates the crashing of waves and the upward movement of spraying water.

Similar to the Byzantine style buildings, such as the Justinian mosaic in St. Vitale, I also noticed how the mosaic is blended into the clean canvas of the white tiles around it. The colors The use of the mosaic and white tiles on the walls dematerialized the concrete material that can be seen at the bottom of the picture. The images are also unproportional and unrealistic as a method to emphasize certain characteristics. Unlike the Dome of the Rock, this mosaic uses figurative images of animals.

When taking account of the location of the station, I inferred that the mosaic must be referring to one of the most iconic and historical building of the neighborhood. The subway station lies beneath the Essex Street Market, the current market continues to house multiple vendors, grocers, butchers, and stores. The market thrived around the 1950s in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and served as a station that sold fresh produce and goods. The Lower East Side is also known for it’s cultural diversity and diffusion due to the prolific amount of immigrants that live in nearby tenements. In fact, the artist Ming Fay used the fish as a way to symbolize the “crossing” of the paths of people. The metaphor is used to compare the immigrants who have traveled across water to reach the city. The fish creates a subtle reminder of the neighborhood’s history, and representation of it’s importance to New York City.

 

Work Cited:

MTA. http://web.mta.info/mta/aft/permanentart/permart.html?agency=nyct&line=J&artist=1&station=18 Accessed 7 November 2017.

 

Vicky Lee, Team Hermes

Hidden Fasces

I walked around the statue of George Washington in front of the Federal Hall National Memorial Building for maybe five minutes before I found the fasces in the statue. Although this was the first one I identified (correctly), I spotted more and more throughout the remainder of my trip. In addition, the amount of classical style columns used outside of buildings in Manhattan is unbelievable! One would almost think that our city was modeled after ancient Rome itself.

Gabriella, Team Hestia

Fasce?

 

This is located in The Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, on the left side of the front door. The eagle was used to represent power, liberty, and freedom of America.

 

Team Zeus, Yao

This last summer, I’d made it my goal to visit some of the museums in the city. So I had visited the Natural History Museum, the Transit Museum, The Museum of Modern Art, and then finally the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The Museum of Modern Art had a lot of beautiful paintings and sculptures. It was my favorite museum I had visited the entire summer. Getting off the train and walking to the museum you wouldn’t be able to miss it. The MET is so visually appealing and is a work of art itself. The architecture used in constructing it really caught my eye. Now that I’m taking Art1010 I can take notice more of the features that looked visually appealing to me. From studying the Parthenon in class im more aware of the features the building of the MET has. It uses the columns like they are used in the Parthenon. The Parthenon columns  also had volutes on the top of them which are scroll like ornaments. Both the Met and The Parthenon are similar in the regard. Both the Parthenon and the MET they are above street level.

 

Semi circle structures

In early September, I was in Brooklyn Heights. As I walked on my way back to the train I found this very interesting building which immediately reminded me of Art class. When observing this building, I could not help but think of the beautiful Colosseum built by the Romans many centuries earlier. The most obvious similarity between the two are the semi circles that uphold the shape of the building as well as the corinthian columns on each side of the semi-circles. Not only does this building include the Roman semi circle architecture but it also makes use of the corinthian columns (bottom row) and the ionic (top row) from Greek architecture. The columns on the bottom row are heavily decorated with different designs while the top row contains smaller, almost life sized columns with a more simpler ionic look.

Some of the most common differences among this building and its historic counterpart, the Colosseum, is that this building is a lot more decorative in its architecture. It also makes use of two different forms of Greek columns styles, rather than sticking to one. Also if you look at these columns, you’ll notice that they are a lot more brighter and colorful compared to any Greek or Roman architecture from the past.

 

Burger King, Roman Architecture?

               

Everyday when I head to school, I take the B35 to Chruch/Nostrand Ave, which from there I take the 2 train to Brooklyn College. I personally wanted to find a building related to Greek/Roman architecture in my neighborhood, but I found it painstaking to find a building that I could really make some connection to. It was as I was going home today though, that I discovered that what I had been looking for was right in front of me this whole time. Every time I both exit and enter the train station at Nostrand, I see this Burger King chain store. When I came out of the train station today, I realized that it was a building that represented Roman Architecture in a number of ways.

The presence of Greco-Roman influences is subtle but there. We know that a common characteristic of Greco- Roman architecture was the use of columns in conjunction with arches. This Burger King  took a page or two from the Greeks and Romans, incorporating arches, and, if one looks very closely, columns around the similarly shaped windows, though to a lesser extent. Rather than being more free standing structures, the arches and columns included are much more a part of the building and could not in any way support said building. Still, if one looks long enough at the building, you can see a callback to the concrete aqueducts of Rome.
To a lesser but but significant extent, we can see in this Burger King, how the temples of the Greeks may have had an influence. It is a well known fact that the Greeks dedicated many temples to their gods. In this case, we see the influence of Aphrodite’s temples showing through. The goddess of love and beauty, which we have come to know much about through both Art and Classics, Aphrodite had many temples built in her honor. One of them, the Temple of Aphrodite in Caria (what is now Anatolia,Turkey), had the Aphrodisias Tetrapylon built in front of it, acting as a gateway. The tetrapylon too possessed and arch, with two columns at either end of it, a trait which we see here. Only instead of it being built for the sake of god, it was built for the sake of a king- Burger King.

Hidden Parthenon in Union Square

I recently ventured around Union Square as I was walking through the city when I saw this building called the Village Presbyterian Church. At first glance it looks like it resembles a sort of federal law building or something that has a large purpose; however, the structure was used as a Presbyterian church which is now repurposed as an apartment building. It heavily resembles the Parthenon that we studied in Art History; what struck out to me to the most were the Doric columns, since Doric columns are simpler in structure than the other orders, that were designed for the building. The columns looked sculpted quite elegantly and the architect went to great lengths to design this structure even though its purpose was to be used as the exterior of a Presbyterian church. The building’s exterior looks very well-designed and reminds onlookers of its Greek revival influences. Though the structure looks very similar to the Parthenon, one of the differences I’ve noticed was the material it looked like it was made of. While the Parthenon was made up of limestone and an early first version of marble, the old church looks like it was developed with a weaker component of marble; the church comes off as looking like a basic white color that comes off as “cheap” looking. Besides this, the structure looks very well-designed and shows off a beautiful recreation of Greek architecture.

My Church and its Pillars

This is a picture of the church in my neighborhood of Glendale.  This is the front door and pillars of St. Pancras Church.  As you can see by these 2 photos, there are obviously pillars that help hold up the arch of the front of the building.  The use of pillars can easily help connect this construction to the Parthenon that we studied.  Also, the church I go to is Roman Catholic, and the Parthenon is Roman as well.  They also have, if you zoom in on the photo, engravings and sculptures of a man and lions head.  There are a few similarities that can be drawn from this.  One similarity is that both the church and the Parthenon were used for religious purposes.  The Parthenon, if anyone remembers, also had served as a Christian church at a certain time.  Another possible similarity that can be seen is what the pillars are made of.  The pillars of the Parthenon are made out of marble, and I believe that the Church and its pillars are made out of marble as well.

Though while both pillar types have that similarity, there are many things in which help make these 2 pillars different.  First and foremost, the shaft of the church pillars here are obviously much more smooth and not that decorative.  The shafts of the parthenon at least have lines in them and bumps to give it more of a decorative feel.  The volute is obviously much more decorative here, possibly to represent St. Pancras, as I have said earlier.  The volute of the Parthenon is much less so detailed.  The final big difference that can be seen between the 2 is in their purpose.  The pillars of the Parthenon are meant to hold up the top of a temple.  At first, if you remember, the Parthenon was meant to house marble statues.  The pillars here at my church can be seen more so to serve a purpose of holding up a barrel vault, or some kind of archway.  Though while the differences may be big between the two, it is obvious that this shows how far and wide ancient architecture has shaped our world.

• Scott Vincent, Team Chronos

We Have Pointy of Things In Common with the Egyptians

  

( The Black Arrow At The Bottom Of the Left Pic Is Pointing At The Building and Is the Picture I took )

The building exhibited above most definitely is influenced by Egyptian architecture due to the fact that it resembles the same structural aspects in those of ancient traditional Egyptian homes. When compared to a historical make up of what historians believe the classic home in Egypt looked like , both structures illuminate the same layering technique where a large square or rectangle would act as the base and smaller ones would be stacked on top. To the average on-goer it screams Egyptian because of the iconic small base to small narrow top. Both structures also share the same color scheme of a neutral tan color.Whomever decided to design this building most likely chose the almost triangular like structure due to the idea that the triangle is one of the most sturdy structures to withstand the elements. Interestingly enough , the building is located on the New York City skyline near the water like many Egyptian pyramids structures.
In relation to the text , Theocritus, the author says ” the Nile in flood soaks and breaks up the soil , and none has so many cities of skilled craftsmen Three hundred cities are built there … no enemy passes over the Nile”. This is similar to the building in that both are located near large rivers , the Nile and the East River. Also , in that civilians can’t easily access the structure without the use of the Brooklyn or Manhattan Bridge or ferry. The only difference compared to the readings is that the Greeks’ see the Egyptians as horrible thieving people not capable of creating such structures on their own without the help of the Greek gods , but the structures say otherwise due to the understanding that man built the structures.
Moreover, the picture of the building I captured has comparable structural qualities to those of the Egyptians.

( This is not the photo I took , however the building I am talking about is the second building from the left and the layering shows up more prominently in this light)

Location : Clark St, Brooklyn, NY  Pier 3

11201 https://www.google.com/maps/place/Clark+St,+Brooklyn,+NY+11201/@40.6979455,-73.9969585,17z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89c25a37e4c6ef2d:0x9172b5ae0af3c2c1!8m2!3d40.697669!4d-73.9938149

Samantha , Team Minerva

Image Citations

Egyptian Home to the top right

“Homework Help.” LionsLair – Homework Help, 2017, lionslair.wikispaces.com/Homework+Help.

Better Picture / Last Photo

“New York City Skyline from Brooklyn – Picture of Manhattan Skyline, New York City.”TripAdvisor, http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g60763-d267031-i163919066-Manhattan_Skyline-New_York_City_New_York.html.

What’s Your Name, Man? Alexander… the Great

I asked three people what they knew of Alexander the Great and where they learned that information. Their responses were as follows.

Zack Ovits (brother, 15, at home): He was great. He was like… a king. He conquered most of the world. I think he built that library place. [Note: he was referring to the Library of Alexandria, a place named after Alexander the Great.] I learned this in school, I don’t know what grade.

Adina Weiss (friend, 18, by text): He had an empire, one of the biggest. That’s all I know from school.

Dasi Chafetz (friend, 17, by phone): He was great. He tried to conquer the world or something? And then he met a Jewish guy in Jerusalem but I forgot his name, and he got off his donkey and bowed to him. I probably learned this at school, maybe some at home from my dad.

All three of these people were vague about what they knew and had all learned the same basic information from school. Two of them made the same bad joke (guys, you’re not funny) and everyone agreed he had a large empire. Even the title of the reading for class contains as much information as that which I gathered from my interviewees: “A History of the Great World Conqueror, Alexander of Macedon.” I must admit I was disappointed in those I asked for not being able to give me more detail.

Yet however lacking, the information I did receive is supported by the class reading. Before Alexander is born, his mother is said to be expecting a

boy child who shall… be your avenger and become world conquering king of the whole civilized universe. (13)

Then, during his delivery, his mother is told that

if you give birth now, o Queen, the one you bear is a world conqueror. (26)

As stated above, Alexander the Great grew up to conquer pretty much everyone at the time. His empire spanned from Egypt to Thrace and all the way to India. Nowadays anyone who’s heard of Alexander of Macedonia knows he was an incredibly powerful emperor intent on conquering as much as possible, even if they know almost nothing else about him. His title of “the Great” was earned solely by expanding his reach to control the entire Mediterranean area and beyond, and everyone knows him by it: there is only one “Alexander the Great,” no matter how many people were named Alexander before or after. (In fact, it was a popular name for young boys during and after his reign, in the hope that the child would live up to the name of the emperor.) His legacy survives as having created one of the greatest empires of all time.

This is a picture of the wall in the lobby of my dentist’s office building. The heads are those of soldiers, men wearing helmets similar to those worn in Alexander’s day. They look almost like statues made of Alexander himself. Alexander, as a famous conqueror, has a strong connection to symbols of war and fighting, like the soldiers on this wall. Beneath the images of people are designs meant to resemble columns. The overall effect is an association with the time period we are learning about.

-Chaya Ovits, team Venus

Greek/Roman Architecture On Campus

Roosevelt

library tower

Ingersoll

library (side)

our very own Ingersoll

Roosevelt

library (side)

library tower

I was walking around campus and thinking about this assignment when I noticed that pretty much every building on Brooklyn College’s campus has elements of Greek and/or Roman architectural design. In the 4 pictures above, you can see an arcade of arches (Ingersoll), arches with column designs between them and a pediment above (Roosevelt), an arch-shaped window and columns setting off the windows (library), and arches supporting a structure topped by a dome (library tower).

Greek temples used columns very often, since they relied on post-lintel architecture. The Romans began using arches (and, by extension, domes) because they allowed more stability and more open indoor space. Modern day architecture doesn’t need to rely on domes or columns to hold up our ceilings, but we still use elements like this in specific contexts.

Classical architecture is very popular for inspiration when it comes to buildings that need to have a certain gravitas. The structure of columns and arches lends that kind of weight, a way of hinting that this too is old and respectable. College campuses and governmental facilities often have similar features to the temples of old because it subtly implies importance. The design elements are no longer strictly functional; we use them because we like how they look and what they mean. By recreating these ideas in brick instead of marble or concrete, we prove that we don’t need them but choose to include them for the aesthetic benefits.

-Chaya Ovits, team Venus

The Greek Goddess

This picture of the Greek goddess Athena was taken on 30th avenue in Athens Square Park in Queens. It was sculpted by Spiro Goggakis, and was dedicated on March 28, 1998. It was a gift from Greece to New York City. The inscription of the statute states, “ ATHENA /—/ A GIFT FROM THE PEOPLE OF / ATHENS, CAPITAL OF GREECE /—/ TO THE PEOPLE OF / THE CITY OF NEW YORK /—/ DIMITRIS L. AVRAMOPOULOS / MAYOR OF  ATHENS /—/ RUDOLPH W. GIULIANI / MAYOR OF NEW YORK / MARCH 1998  This statue of Athena is standing upright on a pedestal with her arm stretched out.  It is naturalistic and proportioned. Also it’s worthy to note that this statue was placed in a Greek American neighborhood.The Greek goddess gives the park a Hellenic ambience. Most notable about this representation of Athena is the absence of her usual armor accompaniments. No spear and shield is present, and the breastplate she usually wears is   replaced by a slimmer metal sash version.  However, imagery of Medusa and the snake is present. It is rather unusual that she is depicted with a helmet in this recreation.

Open your eyes! Its all around us!!!

 

Last Friday, I was getting out of Cortelyou train station thinking for an idea for my first blog for art class. I knew Art was all around us but I couldn’t  find that one perfect thing that spoke to me. Just like everyone else, I don’t pay too much attention around me but last Friday I happened to look up and was amazed to see Rome architecture around me. I been living here for more than five years and I never noticed these windows! I have seen them around but never at the station where I took the train twice a day. I would never have care about them until now. After taking Art class, I am able to connect this with early Christian architecture . After rome became Christian is when the churches were build and these kinds of windows were mad for the light to come in. This architecture can also be connected with Basilica of Santa Sabina and Basilica of Constantine where “The wall of the nave is broken by clerestory windows that provide direct lighting in the nave”( Basilica of Santa Sabina).  These windows are also used in San Vitale and Hagia Sophia. In this train station, they have the same purpose which is to bring the light inside. They copied it beautifully and designed it in modern way by adding little flower art on it and yet it doesn’t catch people attention. This architecture have been used for several churches and mosques. Humans have been repeating the same culture of architecture for years and generations. Its devastating to see how people in our every day lives don’t question or notice these little things around them. It shows how knowledge of the simple things around us can connect us to our roots and past. People should really take the time off from their phones to observe the life around them. They will definitely be surprised to see the things they are blessed with and the beauty of our world. -Fizza Saeed, Team Hermes

This is a picture of an over life-sized standing figure of The Late Abraham Lincoln, with Army and Navy insignia, situated in Prospect Park.

#bcart1010