Both Steve and I have been to Vienna before but we could go again and again! We truly love this vibrant city, especially the Hundertwasser Haus. This crazy genius' contribution to architecture was my inspiration behind my In Box Series. At the bottom of this very long blog post, I'm including a blurb I recently wrote to provide customers with the my In Box story ... but for now ...
... this unique building will always bring a smile to my face and will continue to inspire me. I've often said that it looks like Dr. Seuss' characters might live here! For more information, please visit the Wikipedia page!
Steve, however, had never been to the nearby museum ... with its appropriately undulating tiled floors and dozens of paintings by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. We had a wonderful time looking at the happy compositions, vivid palette, and unique motifs.
I will never tire of Hundertwasser's work. His concept of individualism truly resonates with me.
Of course, we went to several other tourist destinations, especially the many churches in Vienna. Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral) now has separate ticketing to the nave, the tower, the museum, and the catacombs. We'd been there before too ... but the catacombs weren't open then. So, we bought tickets to only this underground area. I think the last time I peered into the pits of bones was in 1976 ... but the skulls still look the same! LOL! Photography wasn't permitted out of respect to the dead.
I took pictures of every soaring cupola we saw ... until I no longer know which church is depicted in this shot! It was, however, the best one of the bunch.
This was the best interior shot too. Every church seemed to be hosting a classical music concert. We could have listened to Handel, Mendelssohn, Vivaldi and ... of course ... Strauss and Mozart but we had other ideas!
We'd already bought online seats to the opera! We sat in a cushy, red velvet box for Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. The performance was updated to a more contemporary setting with fun characters and great costumes. The singing was spectacular. The orchestra was so good that it sounded as if a perfect recording. Yet, this wasn't the only thing we saw in the opera house. We stood in line for a standing room ticket to John Neumeier's ballet, Nijinski. Little did we know that standing room tickets were individual spots assigned in rows. Because we were the sixth and seventh people in line, we were right in front. Frankly, our view was better than many sitting in the orchestra! The performance was absolutely stellar.
It's been at least twenty years since either of us toured the Hofburg, the royal palace. Honestly, neither of us remembered much of anything about it. So, we went again.
Every room was gorgeous. I took loads of pictures of chandeliers, fabric wall coverings, curtains, and other furnishings. The dinner table was spectacular ... and all the utensils were lined up to the right of the plates! Each place setting included about seven different glasses for the wine that went with each course!
Recent mini-series featuring the Hapsburgs has once again heightened interest in this dynasty, especially regarding the beautiful and tragic Sisi. There's even a Sisi Museum but it was closed for renovations.
Why not be interested in a lady who lived in this room!
On another day, we went to the Kunsthistorische Museum, a place I've been several times but Steve had never visited. We went to see the Bruegels ... painting I've loved even long before studying them in college. (Click here for a Wikipedia page.) As a kid, my family had an intricate puzzle ... Bruegel's Children's Games. We also had a book of "masterpieces" that included The Hunters in Snow. This piece was one of six seasonal paintings depicting peasants in various seasons. One five still exist. Four are in Vienna. At the time we visited them, we didn't know that we'd see the fifth one in Prague!
I didn't take a single photo of the Bruegel's. They are LARGE and behind museum glass. Instead, I snapped all sorts of details images of other beautiful works, some in ivory like this mythological scene.
I also took photos of fancy textiles ... like this lady's sleeve in a painting by Cranach ...
and this lace sleeve in another, later painting.
We went to one other museum, a place neither of us had ever been. The Albertina! We wandered through an excellent collection of mid-19th century photography, through Victorian styled rooms that were being transformed for a fancy evening event, through uncomfortable (and often truly grotesque) paintings comparing Picasso to Francis Bacon, and into Shara Hughes' colorful world in her solo show Sink In. The diversity between these exhibits was stunning. What a wonderful place.
Of course, we had weinerschnitzel one night but our favorite meal was at a Sicilian pizza parlor called Il Forno Pizzeria! It was definitely a local's place. Only about sixteen seats were available in the small space. We were seated just inside the door and literally beside the place were pizzas were made. Bicycle deliver drivers showed up every fifteen or so minutes in addition to those who picked up their online orders. I asked our waiter how many pizzas were made on an average night: 500. Yes, it was delicious!
Hopefully, I'll blog about Prague tomorrow! We went by train from Vienna to Prague.
Now ... here's the blurb about how Hundertwasser inspired me:
In 1964, my parents started a study abroad program to Salzburg, Austria. Every summer students would attend German classes and other courses related to the location for college credit. My younger sisters and I went every year. On weekends there were extra trips to places like Venice, Mad Ludwig's castles, Switzerland, and ... of course ... Vienna. But for some unknown reason, my parents stopped taking me after I got married! LOL! Steve and I were living in Columbus, Ohio and had a subscription to the Smithsonian Magazine. In the April 1986 issue was an article called "The Straight Line is Godless, Immoral and Uncreative". It was written by Harry Rand and coincided with the grand opening and international media coverage of the newly completed Hundertwasserhaus public housing complex in Vienna. I was in awe. I told my family all about this amazing architecture and this incredible artist who designed the structure. For several years afterwards, I received postcards and souvenirs from family members who went then there. To this day, there’s a gift shop.
Finally, Steve and I were able to travel to Vienna and see it. By this time, I knew all about Friedensreich Hundertwasser ... how he hated straight lines, saw no reason why all corners in buildings had to be ninety degrees or why floors had to be perfectly leveled ... and how he lectured about individuality and eco-friendly ways to live. He thought people ought to decorate outside their own windows as far as their arms could reach in order to let those outside know just how special the people who lived "in that box" really were. In his 2D artwork, he used all the colors all the time. He thought balconies should all have a potted tree and that roofs should be covered in grass to lessen the impact cities have on nature. He thought that the only way man would ever live in harmony with nature was to first learn to live in harmony with one another.
After returning from Vienna, I started my In Box Series as a reflection of Hundertwasser and the housing complex I still absolutely love. My work is designed as if an aerial view to an imaginary Hundertwasser city. The layout is NOT like Manhattan or Washington DC. Hundertwasser would have hated that! My palette is his: all the colors all the time. The free-motion stitched motifs are to represent the unique individuals living in each box. The thread connections represent the way the community is living in harmony. The fringe is the hope that more people will join this lifestyle.
Over time, I started using white felt instead of the recycled black synthetic felt that my friend donated to me. The black felt was once the packaging material that protected a kayak or canoe being shipped from a manufacturer to my friend’s outdoor shop. I also started hand-stitching the boxes. There’s still other ideas for me to explore. The future will probably see some of them unfold.
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