August 31, 2007
Lisbon Lemon
Lisbon lemon is one of the most widely-grown lemons in California and is planted extensively throughout the citrus-growing regions of the world. It is believed to be a Gallego seedling selection of Portuguese origin.
Lisbon is of Portuguese origin, although it is not known there by that name. It is believed to be a selection of the Gallego seedling clonal group, which in Portugal is somewhat comparable to the common sweet orange groups of Spain, Italy, and numerous other countries. A selection known as Portugal in Morocco and Algeria is said to be indistinguishable from the Lisbon introduced from California.
--from a page of the University of California Riverside
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April 16, 2007
Alfama, Lisboa
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October 26, 2006
Rigo is in Lisboa! How funny, the artist I "found" in San Francisco last July is suddenly paining murals here - for the first time I think.
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September 26, 2006
Luz de Luna
Lune by Bruno Peinado, an installation for Luzboa - the Lisboa's Art of Light International Biennale.
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September 28, 2005
15
Two magic squares found in Lisboa in one week. How odd.
Grafitti, Sra. do Monte, Lisboa
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September 26, 2005
Parque
Parque Subway station, Lisboa
My favourite subway station in Lisboa is an enigmatic cave of walls filled with maps, mathematical and astronomical references, symbols, philosophical and literary quotations...the main theme being the Portuguese seafaring explorations.
(Mare Incognitum - The Unknown Sea)
(Ptolemy's Theory)
"Ptolemy formulated a geocentric model of the solar system which remained the generally accepted model in the Western and Arab worlds until it was superseded by the heliocentric solar system of Copernicus." more on Wikipedia
("I don't evolve, I travel" - Fernando Pessoa)
(Dürer's magical square)
"The order-4 magic square in Albrecht Dürer's engraving Melancholia I is believed to be the first seen in European art. It is very similar to Yang Hui's square, which was created in China about 250 years before Dürer's times. The sum 34 can be found in the rows, columns, diagonals, each of the quadrants, the center four squares, the corner squares, the four outer numbers clockwise from the corners (3+8+14+9) and likewise the four counter-clockwise (the locations of four queens in the two solutions of the 4 queens puzzle), the two sets of four symmetrical numbers (2+8+9+15 and 3+5+12+14) and the sum of the middle two entries of the two outer columns and rows (e.g. 5+9+8+12), as well as several kite-shaped quartets, e.g. 3+5+11+15; the two numbers in the middle of the bottom row give the date of the engraving: 1514." - from Wikipedia
(Segredo - Secret)
"The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a snake or dragon swallowing its tail, constantly creating itself and forming a circle. It is associated with alchemy, Gnosticism, and Hermeticism. It represents the cyclical nature of things, eternal return, and other things perceived as cycles that begin anew as soon as they end.
In alchemy, the ouroboros symbolises the circular nature of the alchemist's opus which unites the opposites: the conscious and unconscious mind.
Christians adopted the Ouroboros as a symbol of the limited confines of this world (that there is an "outside" being implied by the demarcation of an inside), and the self-consuming transitory nature of a mere this-worldly existence" - more on Wikipedia.
(Zacuto's astronomical tables)
"Abraham Zacuto perfected the Astrolabe, which only then became an instrument of precision, and he was the author of the highly accurate astronomical tables that were used by ship captains to determine the position of their portuguese caravel in high seas, through calculations on data acquired with an Astrolabe. His contributions were undoubtedly valuable in saving the lives of portuguese seamen, and allowing them to reach Brazil and India."- more on the Wikipedia
(L'éthique est être à la hauteur de la situation/ Ethics is to be up to the situation - Gilles Deleuze)
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(a Françoise Schein project: "It was through working on the physical mapping of cities that I discovered how human rights principles were a geological bed on which societies had transformed into permanent, physical democracies: that is, the conception, expression and recognition of human rights was an integral component in defining the physical form that cities, societies, and communities ultimately took. From that moment on, I was determined to incorporate written expressions of fundamental human rights, such as the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, into my projects; thus emerged the urban inscription project that is the backbone work of Inscrire today. By inscribing this and other fundamental expressions of the rights of man in artworks throughout the world, we leave behind indelible reminders to all who see them.")
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September 05, 2005
The Flower
Lisboa's sidewalks are covered with white cobblestones, making it the brightest of cities. On some areas, there are also black cobblestones, forming intricate patterns sometimes geometrical, others just figurative. Here are some examples. Even the symbol of Lisboa (a caravel with two ravens) can be found all around the city's pavements.
I suppose a municipal worker fancied leaving his mark on the park's sidewalk and sculpted this simple, lonely flower there.
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A shadow is a kind of mirror, isn't it?
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