WedNiPhoPo! Let The Photoposting Resume: New Camera = New Adventures

WedNiPhoPo = Wednesday Night Photo Post

As long as the cat or kid doesn't get their paws/hands on the new camera, I'll be a happy and productive blogger. The weekend had me visiting the Rice U. Art Gallery (yes, that place again), the outdoor art gallery that is the grounds of Texas Pipe & Supply Company, and Joystix arcade game sales.

Stealth Fighter 4 - Texas Pipe & Supply - Houston, TX, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.

Henrique Oliveira, "Tapumes" (Detail) @ Rice University Art Gallery 6, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.

Joystix - Houston, TX 9, originally uploaded by Mr. Kimberly.

Flickr Sets and Pix:

Texas Pipe & Supply Outdoor Sculptures - Houston, TX 2009

Henrique Oliveira, "Tapumes" @ Rice University Art Gallery - Houston, TX 2009

My Photos tagged with "Joystix"

Rice Art Gallery: Video from Now and Then

I've written much about the Rice U. Art Gallery. But pictures = 1000 words, and video = duration x (pictures x 24 per second). The Rice U. Art Gallery Channel on YouTube has added new videos recently including the ones below. Also on YouTube, nice amateur videos of David Ellis's 2006 show, "Conversation" and Kirsten Hassenfeld's "Dans la Lune" from 2007. I particularly enjoy the time -lapse of the Henrique Oliveira and the "holy-crap-this-is-cool" narration on the David Ellis "green show" video.

Sunday Driving: Seeing the Sights Otherwise Not Seen

A Sunday drive around the Houston we never visit had me missing our camera. Fortunately, Google's all-seeing eye will eventually eliminate the need for cameras, eyes and and, eventually, memory. Included in our adventures were unexpected sculptures, roads less taken and a four-lane path to salvation. I'll start with the roadside art.

Near the 610 and 288 interchange, a collection of steel sculptures; a standing figure, flying planes, a roadrunner, a spider and more all live along the Frontage Road. Geocentric website Platial ("What and Who's Nearby") has a local user (ShootHouston) who attributes the works to the Texas Pipe & Supply Company. So... it must be true. Google Earth does seem to back it up, with a collection of industrial buildings and stacks of pipes neighboring the art.

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After that, it was a visit to the Buddha Light Monastery, which we read about on Swamplot. The for-sale property had a big, unkempt lot, a cute house, a large garage/shed building, the temple structure and separate bathroom facilities. For a working artist with a desire to be removed from the Houston inner loop, this would be a great place to create far (but not too far) from the city and its distractions. Live in the house, make art in the garage, display it in yard or covert the temple to a gallery (easy!). When we stopped by, it looked like a black church congregation was looking at the property. It would be perfect for that too.

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Lastly, the large statue off Synott Rd. is part of the Sri Ashtalakshmi Temple Houston JET Vedic Learning Center.. This stretch of road is chock-full of churches, temples and houses of worship, making it a place that I hope to revisit once a camera is purchased.

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Port of Houston Photos: Artist = A-Okay, You = Terrorist

Splitting my days between work and small, adorable child has been kicking my ass. Both are rewarding, and small, adorable child even accompanied me to work this week. Time was running out, so Z watched while I finished the installation of Houston Center for Photography's new, great shows...

"Human Nature: Photography by Benjamin Drummond & Sara Joy Steele, Lucas Foglia, Mary Daniel Hobson, Pablo Lopez, Paula McCartney, Travis Roozee, Larry Schwarm, Jay Tyrrell, Lou Vest, and Robert Voit"

&

"Human Nature - Collaborations VI: Food"

One of the pieces was a video of digital images taken on a ship navigating the Port of Houston. It shows the night-time navigation of the port, sharing the channel with other ships and detailing the activity around it. Which made me smile, for this kind of photography could only be the action of a terrorist. Which explains the policy of Sam Houston Boat Tours, which makes their website both menacing and welcoming...

"...Security regulations also prohibit the carrying of any camera equipment aboard the M/V Sam Houston and the taking of photographs from aboard the ship is strictly prohibited...

...Get ready for an unforgettably spectacular waterborne tour of one of the busiest ports in the world aboard the Port of Houston Authority's free public tour boat!...

...Embarking from the port's Sam Houston Pavilion, visiting sightseers can enjoy passing views of international cargo vessels, and operations at the port's Turning Basin Terminal. Measuring 95 feet in length and 24 feet in width, the boat carries a maximum capacity of 100 passengers with air-conditioned lounge seating and additional standing room on the boat's rear deck...."

So, have a great time on our free tour (which is pretty cool), but we will be wiping your mind clean. Because if you have fond memories of this experience, the terrorists win!