newtown athletic club summer soiree

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There is something miraculous about Newtown, a borough in Eastern PA with population slightly over 2,000. It's home to the nation's oldest movie theater; one of the oldest libraries  in the state works there without interruptions since 1760; George Washington marched his army from Newtown headquarter to defeat the British at Battle of Trenton; the famed primitive painter, Edward Hicks lived and preached there; more recently, aliens visited it, and a popular movie was made about it; the borough even was a scene of an international crime - a billion dollars Russian mafia money laundering was operated from headquarters in Newtown. The list is going on and on. 

So it's no wonder that the borough also became a home to the Newtown Athletic Club (NAC) - the third largest single-site workout facility in the USA with world class outdoor resort style aquatic complex. In the best tradition of the Newtown uniqueness  the NAC is very different from a regular fitness facility - with its state of  the art indoor and outdoor amenities located on 22 acres, bar and restaurant it can best be described as a lifestyle club - a 'golf club without golf'.  Among other things the NAC is famed for its hospitable crowded evening parties thrown at its exquisite pool complex. Take a glimpse at the latest party for NAC Advocates that celebrated the opening of the resort pool complex for the 2015 season.

The party is about to begin

 At the “Breaking Boundaries” display; Jim Worthington (right), the co-owner and president of NAC - the man behind the project

Pre party workout

Warming up

Great seeing you here, coach Leyla Ghazzouli with students

Selfie

It's not Caribbean - it's Newtown! 

 Campfire at the pool

Warm and cozy

Wine or beer? Both are good for your health according to the Harvard School of Public Health

Amazing blue night

We'll be back - NAC Advocates

Ready for tomorrow

day at the grounds for sculpture - part 2

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the commoners

After numerous visits to the garden it seems to me that garden dwellers fall into one of three categories: "photo-opportunists", "molbertists", and "french-foodies".

The most common type, photo-opportunists, are ladies and gentlemen armed with all kind of cameras from smart phones to professional monsters. You can come across them practically anywhere.

Molbertists, artistically inclined ladies accompanied by their easels, are shy species that mostly meditate near scenic reflecting surfaces of water, one can observe them if approaches very cautiously.

French-foodies personify human beings attracted by French cuisine. They are abundant in the vicinity of the Zagat-rated Rat's restaurant featuring country French cuisine. 

A lot of times strategically placed life-size people-look-alike sculptures confuse the Grounds for Sculpture visitors. The following images I posted here as a public service will allow you to identify at least most of the real persons you will meet in the garden and to avoid the confusion.

A young molbertist unaware of the time travelers presence

Is she real? A khaki-hatted molbertist observing a sculpture, a red-hatted molbertist is hiding behind trees

A red-hatted molbertist

A molbertist in her natural habitat

French-foodies feeding ground

Lunching the French way

Prepared for any opportunity

The best camera is the one you use

There should be the giant lady somewhere around

day at the grounds for sculpture - part 1

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the mighty men

'...Those were the mighty men who were of old, men of renown.' 
Genesis 6:4

 

Grounds For Sculpture is a public garden  of contemporary outdoor sculptures  situated on the forty two exquisitely landscaped acres. It was founded in 1992 by a widely recognized American sculptor, John Seward Johnson. At the time of my visit the garden featured a lifetime collection of Johnson's works - 'Seward Johnson: The Retrospective'.

Johnson is best known for his painted bronze statues some of them of monumental proportions. In many cases the statues look like 3-dimensional imitations of the iconic 2-dimensional images.  Johnson's implementation of this postmodern style is highly artistic. However, it moves classically trained viewers out of their comfort zone; it was labeled an "Americana kitsch" by art purists but was a success with audiences. 

The funny thing is that the Western sculpting tradition was strongly  influenced by Greek Classical and Hellenistic statues and their Roman copies. These statues unearthed during Renaissance period showed the bare surface of the material of which they were made. Since then the bare surface was considered the hallmark of artistic sculptures. Ironically, it was discovered recently that original Greek statues were brightly painted, but after thousands of years, those paints have worn away. In light of this discovery, the Johnson's works look purely traditionalistic in the true sense of the word. 

 

"A Turn of the Century" (Inspired by Renoir's "Dance at Bougival")

"King Lear"

"Unconditional Surrender" (Inspired by two iconic photographs  'V–J day in Times Square' )

"Confrontational Vulnerability" (Inspired by Manet's 'Olympia')

 "Forever Marilyn" (Inspired by a scene from the movie 'The Seven Year Itch')

day at the penn museum

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It so happened that I had to visit the UPENN campus a lot in the past year and every visit the path led me past the very intriguing cluster of buildings - an eclectic mixture of architectural styles of several centuries. This landmark is a natural match to its content - the collections of University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology aka Free Museum of Science & Art. One gloomy January day I could not resist my curiosity any more and stopped by to explore the museum. Actually I spent there a good part of the day and put in half of this time outside shooting the icy Koi-pool. Some things that caught my eye are posted here. Observations will follow in another post.