Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Green grasses in Noguchi's garden

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While at the Israel Museum for yesterday's Purim celebrations, I took some time to get away from it all, walking down to the quiet lower slopes of the art garden.
For the first time I took a close look at Negev, a row of limestone discs, each 2.8 meters in diameter.
Polish artist Magdalena Abakanowicz created this installation in 1987.


 But soon I found myself immersed more in Mother Nature's winter artwork.
An almond tree was shedding its white gentle petals at the foot of the giant round stones.


The natural boulders and flowers were just like on the ancient terraces of the Jerusalem Hills.

Under the olive and pine trees, cyclamens were all over the place.
Even the rosemary bushes were blooming.


Back home I see that my WizeGuide book explains the "sculpted garden" thus:
For the five-acre (16-dunam) "sculpture" that he created for the Israel Museum, Isamu Noguchi used dramatic contrasts, which are known as harmonic combinations in Japanese culture . . .
He used concrete, which is artificial stone, and natural Jerusalem stone; simple local vegetation and paths made of delicate gravel imported from Japan. 

All I know is that, alone in the garden, I felt peaceful solitude, happy to be in nature yet in holy Jerusalem at the same time. 
And grateful for this winter's generous rains that enable us to see green for a few months of the year, before the spring and summer sun bake it into a dry brown.
Hmm . . . perhaps it was those harmonic combinations that both excited and calmed me.
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(The post "Green grasses in Noguchi's garden" is for ABC Wednesday  G-Day.)
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18 comments:

  1. Beautiful, Spring is on it's way, enjoy.

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  2. Oh, this is great! God`s beautiful nature and Holy Land.
    Limestone and green gras, winter in my dreams:-)
    I really like this red flower very much. We can only buy them in pots here, as far as I know.

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  3. I cherish the idea of those combinations in the garden help promote a peaceful feeling.

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  4. What a beautiful, peaceful place!

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  5. I love Purim; a great story
    ROG, ABC Wednesday team

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  6. you well describe an uncanny time



    ALOHA from Honolulu
    Comfort Spiral
    ~ > < } } ( ° > <3

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  7. lovely images. spring is definitely coming soon.

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  8. They remind me of the bales of hay that dot the farmlands of the US.

    The water has been quite a gift as the landscape is breathtaking. I want to walk among the almond petals. Do they appear is religious scripture? Hmmm.....

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  9. Jan in Greensboro, just a few posts ago reader Dr. M taught me this:

    "the play on words in Jeremiah 1:11-12, "I see an almond branch [shaked]"....."I am watching [shoked] to see my word fulfilled." When the almonds blossom, the land is reminded that God is watching over it."

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  10. The stones in the first picture look like something from a Monty Python's movie...

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  11. Cool installation but Mother Nature beats any human artist. :-)

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  12. Wow! Everything looks so beautiful, especially the almond trees and the wild looking cyclamen. What are those red flowers. They are very dramatic. The sculpture is quite spectacular.

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  13. i'm trying to think, what do big disks have to do with Purim?

    my g post for this week:
    gripping girdle limerick

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  14. Kay, the red flowers were either anemones or poppies.

    Zongrik, no connection. Just there were Purim festivities at the Israel Museum so I was there.

    VP, you might be right. I have a vague memory of some scene like that.

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  15. Great art, but mother nature's artwork is the best!!

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  16. I love those round discs - cool! It's so green and lush there! Over here in MN, it's c-c-cold and snowy! Everything is covered in a blanket of snow!

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