Category: art

Maria Martins

This is Maria Martins’s *The Impossible, III* (1946), a bronze in MoMA’s collection, currently on view on the fifth floor in gallery 500. It is about 31½ by 32½ by 21 inches.
Martins (born Maria de Lourdes Alves, 1894–1973) was a Brazilian sculptor. She grew up in Campanha, studied music, then took up sculpture while living abroad with her husband, the diplomat Carlos Martins Pereira e Sousa. In New York in the 1940s she learned bronze casting from Jacques Lipchitz, showed with the Surrealists, and was taken up by André Breton, who linked her writhing, plantlike forms to Amazonian myth. She bought Mondrian’s *Broadway Boogie Woogie* and later gave it to MoMA.
She made several versions of this sculpture between 1944 and 1949, in different sizes and materials. MoMA’s label quotes her directly: “It is nearly impossible to make people understand each other.” The fuller remark she used for the work was “The world is complicated and sad—it is nearly impossible to make people understand each other.”
The two figures are usually read as male and female. Their bodies touch and lean into one another, but the spikes that erupt from their heads stop short of meeting. MoMA describes that as an embrace that is both opposition and attraction — desire and refusal at once. A *Time* reviewer, seeing a plaster version in 1946, said it looked like “a disagreement between two anthropomorphic snowstorms.”
Later writers have also tied the title to her affair with Marcel Duchamp, which began around the year she made this piece. She was married to the Brazilian ambassador and had no intention of divorcing; Duchamp later used her as the model for the nude in *Étant donnés*. That reading is interpretive. What she herself said the sculpture was about is the near-impossibility of two people actually understanding each other.–Grok

I heard from Anuj Agarwal, the Creators Account Manager and Founder of FeedSpot letting me know that the Black and White blog was selected by FeedSpot as one of the Top 10 Black and White Photography Blogs on the web (2026 Edition).
The Internet has evolved since B&W was started in 1996. I am not a fan of social media where we are all the product. I deeply appreciate Feedspot’s recognition and encourage all to view websites maintained by people who don’t collect and sell your information. Thanks Anuj!

 

False Report

Gutzon Borglum, best known for sculpting Mount Rushmore, was the artist of ”The Aviator,”

Law enforcement vehicles on McCormick Road

Chief Longo

False report of active shooter placed U.Va. on lockdown Monday

Editor’s Note: This article was continually updated over the course of the afternoon of Monday, Nov. 3 to reflect the most recent information.
The University Police Department said there was no evidence of an active shooter on Grounds at 4:43 p.m. Monday after the University previously shared a “RUN, HIDE, FIGHT” alert with community members at 3:05 p.m. The alert had stated that there was an active attacker with a gun in the area of Shannon Library, but an extensive search by police later confirmed no attack had taken place.

The final alert said that the University is conducting an investigation into the false report of an active attacker. The University joins a list of over a dozen other universities which have had false reports of active shooters on campus this fall alone. Most of those false reports came during a short period in August, however.
Tim Longo, associate vice president for safety and security and chief of police, told The Cavalier Daily that police had searched the entirety of Shannon and confirmed through video and eyewitnesses that there was no evidence of an attacker before issuing the all clear. Moving forward, he said University Police will work with state and federal partners to determine where the false report originated. 

“The objective is to find out who made the call, who was the source of information that tried to bring chaos to our university,” Longo said. “This [was] an unfounded call. There’s no basis of fact to believe we had an attacker here, or that there were shots fired.”–Cavalier Daily (read more)

giants

Statue of Mr. Nelson Mandela is at 3051 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
at the Embassy of South Africa
Statue of Mr. Winston Churchill is at 3100 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
British Embassy, across the street from President Mandela.

I enjoy the interaction.

Malcolm Holcombe

singing to the universe, listen in.

https://www.malcolmholcombe.com/

“Malcolm’s music was a reflection of his own journey, a testament to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of adversity. His songs bore witness to the beauty and complexity of life, offering glimpses of hope and redemption amidst the darkness. As a fellow singer-songwriter, Malcolm touched the lives of countless musicians and fans alike, leaving an indelible mark on the music industry. His influence extended far beyond the confines of the stage, inspiring generations of artists to embrace their authenticity and embrace the power of storytelling through song.”– excerpted from a beautiful piece by Jet Sly

doin’ his job
up on a roof down in a ditch
workin’ in a plant it dont matter what shift
jesus is there and i just cant quit
doin’ my job
layin’ rock drivin’ a nail
drivin’ a truck deliverin’ mail
jesus is there and he never fails
when i’m doin’ my job
chorus
thankyou lord for my job
praise your name in the mornin’ light
gonna keep on prayin’ mornin’ noon and night
thankyou lord sweet lord for my job
a doctor and a nurse a deacon and a preacher
a waitress in a cafe and a school teacher
jesus is there now i’m a new creature
tryin’ to do my job
the grace of the Good Lord givin’ us life
a mother and a baby husband and a wife
jesus on calvary willin’ to die
he was doin’ his job doin’ his job
copyright universal music ascap
malcolm holcombe
steven n heller
listen