St. Petersburg to welcome Europe’s tallest tower

by Anna Brones on

Although seen more as a historic location — the center of town is a UNESCO Heritage Site — St. Petersburg will soon assume a more modern face. Russian gas company Gazprom has hired UK-based architectural firm RMJM to build its new headquarters, the Okhta Tower.

Not only will the tower be Europe’s tallest, but it is planned to be one of the most “environmentally sustainable in the world.” Coming from an energy company, maybe it’s all part of Gazprom’s plan to be environmentally responsible.

No matter what the reason behind the building, one of Russia’s most famous cities will soon feature a new architectural feature to compete with the city’s more traditional Baroque and neoclassical styles.

Via Inhabit

A visit with Aminah Robinson, artist and MacArthur Fellowship winner

by Jamie Rhein on

The first time I saw Aminah Brenda Lynn Robinson’s work at the Columbus Museum of Art, I was astounded. When you see a Monet, you know it’s Monet. Same with Picasso, Van Gogh, Cassatt, Renoir, Dali, Matisse. Seeing one of these artists’ works is an “I know you experience” that is grounding. At least, it grounds me.

The first time I saw Aminah’s work was also an “I know you” happening. Perhaps it’s because her subjects capture the essence of people and community–a pairing of the African American experience with the African by connecting the present with the past, and then connecting those ideas to the notion of what makes us universal. The ideas about what makes us human with spiritual connections–with soul, is also what I gather from Aminah’s work. It’s one of the threads of my own life. It’s what I kept looking for when I was in the Peace Corps. I think the search for connection is what calls people to world travel.

Aminah’s work pairs fabric arts of rag paintings, and RagGonNon (her own creation) with storytelling. She also creates fantastical sculptures and music boxes using a method she calls Hogmawg which incorporates found objects and roughly carved wood. Each piece chronicles an aspect of history and culture.

This past Sunday, Aminah, a Columbus native, made an in-person visit to the Columbus Museum of Art as part of the closing to the exhibit of her latest endeavor, “Along Water Street.” For the closing, she gathered the audience’s children around her while she read the book, To Be a Drum, one she illustrated. A young drummer beat time to her voice in the right spots and the children leaned in with their ears to the floor when Aminah leaned down, listening for the drum’s heart beat. This was one of those rare magical moments of spontaneous connection pulled together by her energy.

Now Aminah’s work and story are on the Web. Aminah’s World provides an opportunity to visit her studio, find out about her life, create Aminah style work, and find out where her artwork is on exhibit. Here’s the link that tells where. There’s a video of her studio and one of her talking about her influences. Also, you’ll see why she was given the MacArthur Fellowship. The fellowship is for “talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.”

For more about Aminah talking about her work, check out this page of the Columbus Dispatch where there is an audio interview.

Oscar nominated shorts: A world tour

by Jamie Rhein on

Every year as a member of the Columbus Academy Motion Picture Pickers (CAMPP) I embark on a movie going frenzy to see all the movies nominated in every major category. Not on the list of my obligatory must-sees were the films nominated for Short Features and Short Animation, but I saw them anyway and highly recommend them as a way to enjoy the scope of humanity and art.

For the past three years I’ve seen the nominated movies in both categories all in a row, one after another–10 in all. This is one way to travel from country to country, from sensibility to sensibility in a few hours. What strikes me is that, although there are often cultural influences and differences particular to each country from which the movies hail, there are many thematic similarities among them. What this shows to me is through the diversity, we can always relate. Terrific stories are terrific in any language.

These movies are making the rounds. Check out film festivals or independent cinemas to see if you can catch them. Here’s the list of the films and which country they are from:

Short Film (Live Action)

Short Film (Animated)

For clips of the animated shorts, head to BuzzSugar.

Disneyland, a place to see stars

by Jamie Rhein on

Last week, somewhere, I saw a picture of Harrison Ford with his daughter on a ride at Disneyland. Turns out, according to Marla Matzer Rose who details in an article where to see stars in Los Angeles, Disneyland is a place to keep your eyes open. Here’s a shot of Diane Keaton taken two years ago. Interestingly, the only celebrity I’ve seen in Los Angeles when I’ve gone there over the years is Diane Keaton.

From what Matzer Rose says, look closely at anyone with baggy sweats and sunglasses. I’d throw in a baseball hat as well. In order to see Disneyland like a star, she suggests the “A Walk in Walt’s Footsteps Tour.” This is a way to get the behind the scenes look at Disneyland’s beginnings which includes seeing Walt Disney’s apartment and a peek at Club 33, the members-only restaurant that Neil wrote about.

Even if you can’t afford the $400 a room price-tag for a night in the Grand Californian, the Disney resort hotel where stars frequent, you can go on a tour of it. Matzer Rose suggests calling ahead to find out when the tours are and to make a reservation.

My thinking is that if you don’t see a star, pretend that you are one. It might be kind of fun to wear dark sunglasses, baggy clothes and a baseball hat just to see if anyone might wonder who you are. My problem is, every time I go to Disneyland or Disney World it rains. Instead of looking mysterious, I end up in one of those plastic ponchos with Mickey Mouse on the back–not star material at all.

The other places Matzer Rose suggests for LA star sightings are: studio tours, coffee shops, upscale grocery stores, and independent movies. I saw Diane Keaton going to a movie. See? [via Columbus Dispatch] Here’s more about star spotting at Disneyland.

Czech Republic celebrates an Academy Award. Beer flows for Once

by Iva Skoch on

I was getting teary-eyed last night when Marketa Irglova and Glen Hansard received an Academy Award for their song “Falling Slowly,” which they performed in the indie hit “Once.”

Irglova is a 19-year old Czech girl from Valasske Mezirici in Moravia. Needless to say, that town is about ready to call today a national holiday, because the odds of someone from there–and someone so young–receiving an Oscar are slim to none.

I really liked the film, which is set in Dublin and featured a story of him (a struggling guitar player) and her (a struggling immigrant and a piano player). It just happens that they fall in love, which is exactly what happened to Glen and Marketa in real life.

It looks like they are having the time of their lives in LA, as reported by the NY Times today. I couldn’t be happier for them. (Toasting with a glass of Pilsner Urquell, of course)