Sunday 17 March 2013

Bliss Valley Daze

A couple of weeks ago, I was up in Sheffield and visited their Millennium Gallery. The gallery is currently showing a landscape exhibition and one of the works on display which particularly captured my fancy was a continuous animation by Julian Opie. I thought I'd share it on my blog as those of us in the northern hemisphere begin to anticipate spring. 


You can indulge a little here, although it's only part of the full animation. Granted, nothing much more happens in the full version, but the plane does make it across the sky and another crosses in the opposite direction, making for an even more soothing and hypnotic experience...

It particularly spoke to me as it conjured up memories of one particularly idyllic mid-summer's day in 2009 when I took the picture below, as I lay in a meadow with my mum and The Cat, taking a wee break from a drive through Oxfordshire.


The reason we'd initially stopped was because I'd spotted this amazing building and wanted to see if we could get a proper look at it:


When I did my research upon getting home, I discovered it is called the Bliss Valley Tweed Mill... Perfect, no?

Here's to art, photographs and treasured memories that keep summertime bliss alive all year round.

8 comments:

  1. ahhh, lovely, lovely, lovely Lis! Bliss valley etc perfect all round xx

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    1. Thanks, Sally. This weekend's snow has made it especially useful to be able to retreat into art and memories for some warmth. When, oh when, will spring arrive again!

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  2. Wow! I can see how Julian Opie's work could even have been inspired by your perfectly lovely photos (especially the first one, of course)! I have photos of me walking beside his walking people in Dublin across from the Post Office. The walking girl is Susan. I can't remember the boy's name. Hmmm... Having just read your Clerkenwell Fire Station Blog, I'm reminded that the fabulous Tweed Mill is now flats...

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    1. I know! I was so pleased when I looked out the old photo and it looked almost as though the animation had come directly from it! I do like Julian Opie anyway. I didn't know about his people in Dublin but I probably would have done the same thing as you and taken a picture - although it's even better for you as the character shared your name! And you're absolutely right about the mill now being flats... hmmm...

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  3. I just looked at the link to Julian Opie's animation. Lovely, mesmerising! And the bees :) Of course, I started to investigate further. The "Evening Star" animation is beautiful, especially as it has a flock of birds in formation such as I love when we see wave upon wave of them here. They fascinate me. Thank you, Miss Marie. I'm going back to look at more in his "book".

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    1. Glad you were encouraged to have a look at his work - and have been enjoying it. I wonder if you could find a photo of birds to match the Evening Star as I found a photo to match Jetstream?!

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  4. Now there's a challenge - and I think I can answer it with one of your own photos!

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    1. And I think I know what you're talking about but I'll have to look them out!

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