space for space

At the MOMA in New York City, my attention was divided.

There was art, sure. It stares right back at you. But more than what hangs on the walls, it was the building -- and watching people and light move through it -- that was masterpiece.

"Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience, and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern." ~ Alfred North Whitehead (1861 - 1947), Dialogues (1954)

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Today, share with us some unexpected art. Lines found in nature, pleasing shape, abstracts, spaces, or the literal -- a capture of something created. Tell us about your own experience in absorbing the world as art -- intended, or not.

Comments

[Kelly]

I was transfixed by my swimming pool the other day as the water burbled to the top. The evening sun hit behind it and it made for its own little piece of art.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kellysoji/4880349799/

[Tara R.]

I love walking the beach look for interesting shells. This shard was just above the tide line, still wet from the waves. Cropping in tight brought not just the colors in the shells, but the lack of hue in the sand.

There are so many magnificent colors in nature, colors that can never truly be duplicated.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ifmomsaysok/4356233236/

[spread your wings]

the structure under bridges fascinates me
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4837074439/in/set-72157624601833310/
and of course ferris wheels are always cool
http://www.flickr.com/photos/autumnsun/4897324005/

[Jennifer]

Playdates seem to be where I notice little treasures like these lately:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardsea/4882092539/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cardboardsea/4888519320/

[Sherralee]

I love that quote about pattern. I love the pattern made by these bales of hay.

http://flic.kr/p/8skTB4

[Sarah]

I was doing a photography shoot of the juggling team from my children's school. This gal was in front of an art gallery and I just liked the way it turned out..kinda abstract.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cottagegardenstudios/4639063700/

I was a a gem and bead show and loved how this one turned out... http://www.flickr.com/photos/cottagegardenstudios/4786602705/

[elk]

aahh just lovely ... like all the s p a c e in the shot...

I find myself creating just that in many of my daily shots... more lately because i am feeling tired of the year long project and am trying not to quit in month 8...

http://redorgrayblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2010/08/r-e-p-e-t-i-t-i-o-n.html

[jag]

Oh, you've tapped into one of my faves here... I'm always drawn to lines & patterns & intentional spaces!

The National Gallery in Ottawa is an architectural treasure:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2769632754/in/set-72157606772577757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/2769633732/in/set-72157606772577757/

Just this past July, I fell in LOVE with the Central Library in San Antonio (exterior only - it was closed the day we were there). I was so excited, Hubby thought I was having a wee orgasm! (Maybe I was... :-))
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/4791561769/in/set-72157606772577757/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/4792258820/in/set-72157606772577757/

Oh heck, here's my "geometry" set!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagspace/sets/72157606772577757/with/4791726713/

xox

[Michel]

oh I love that building. what wonderful lines and light. a piece of art in itself.
I was scouting pretty places to take clients for shoots and instead ended up shooting grungy concrete and dirty over passes.

http://michelfeist.squarespace.com/wishful-thinking/2010/8/5/light-and-lines.html

[iluska.ikeda]

One of my favorite places, full of pattern and lines.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/iluskaikeda/4832548153/

[Brooke]

The subject of the week was "toilet". Different enough to try to capture and when I look at it, I still see a toilet. But I've sold three prints - as bathroom art.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/shutterboo502/4268045522/in/set-72157622010642425/

[mosey]

Didn't have time to make it to MOMA this time around. But I can't tell you how many photos I took of the rooflines at the Met last week, and buildings buildings buildings everywhere. But I love the simplicity of this one - lines of reflection on the floor at Ellis Island. How many thousands of people walked across it on their way to a new life.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/a-la-mosey/4883845734/

[Kat]

I love architecture as art, I'm always finding interesting things to photograph! Here's unexpected art in the design of a subway station in Barcelona:
http://www.kateyeview.com/2010/06/radiating-lines.html

[Bettina]

First i want to say i LOVE that pic!!! Next, i want to thank shutter sisters for giving me a place to learn. I am just a mom, that bought a camera and i take it along with me when i walk the dogs... but you have taught me that pic i would think were "throw away" have beauty!

I liked the way the cables towards the back are dark
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4884688462/

This was a pleasant surprise
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4883980081/

simple
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bettina2/4713528280/

[Marcie]

It's the negative space here that most compels me:
http://marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=1262

[WorthIt!]

I had a similar experience on a recent trip to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. The light was pouring in the glass roof and creating fascinating shapes in the atrium. It was hard to focus on the art in the building and I found myself shooting shadows and trying to capture the blocks of color lining the marble walls.

Here is one I'd like to share from that series of shots.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52055227@N07/4897649121/

[Stephanie]

I had a similar experience at the MoMA in San Francisco. I loved the art but I was enamored with the architecture of the building and the way the light worked through the lines. Even details like the gold beaded curtain before entering the Warhol exhibit were just gorgeous to me.

http://bigmariolife.blogspot.com/2010/08/sf-moma.html

[maggie l.]

Love the details in all these shots! I've been finding little insignificant things interesting lately, especially if they have strong color. http://www.flickr.com/photos/54587610@N00/4778576540/

[katie]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smohrs/4898064235/ A visit to the Missouri Botanical Gardens, an unexpected space!

[cigi]

Love your photo! Architecture, especially vintage architecture, is one of my favorite art forms:
http://instamaticgratification.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/42365/

[Jeanne]

I love lines and space, and the places where they meet. I've always been fascinated by them. I've shared a few images today that capture that fascination for me.

http://bostongirlontheverge.blogspot.com/2010/08/shutter-sisters-lines-patterns-spaces.html

[camerashymomma ~ meredith winn]

this is a beautiful photo kate! i can feel it.

[AnnGeeDee]

Great shot, and I'm jealous of your trip to NYC. Everytime we travel to see my inlaws, we travel over this industrial steel bridge and I say - "Wow. Sometime, I'd like to take pictures of this." So last month, I did - even though we were going 65 mph, I still managed to get a shot or two that I liked. (And for the record, I was in the passenger seat.) http://www.flickr.com/photos/40070449@N08/4836015521/ I find that the more time I take observing, the more I see in the world that is art-worthy, bridges included.

[xanthe]

stunning photo kate.

a fantastic art space can be breathtaking and i too, find it sometimes more interesting than the art itself.

we were in a gallery in london yesterday.... a huge spinning mirror door in the red box, changed the view, giving reflections and colours. http://www.flickr.com/photos/xantheberkeley/4899133670/

x.

[Jessica]

Really enjoying this post topic and the pictures! Would really like to go to the MoMA as well.

I love finding little unexpected surprises when I'm out and about. This picture is an underpass I was walking under on my way home from work. What struck me was the intersection of lines of the bridge with the line of cars waiting at the stoplight.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oeimah/4880447437/

[Julie Alvarez]

Found art in my own place and town:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4899035353/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4855333135/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4855246243/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4844610786/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4839740190/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/juliealvarez/4828352874/

[georgia]

moma is definitely a spot i hope to make it to some day. it took me a second to figure out what this photo was of. then i finally noticed the people, and it all began to make sense.

every once in a while, i will notice these types of lines, too. in fact, though not a great picture, there is something i just love about this photo:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28567264@N05/4279129421/in/set-72157623163953728/

i think it is the lines in the ceiling. i had intended on taking a shot of the hubby, but then he bent down just as i went to take the picture, and i got the ceiling instead. i almost discarded the photo, but then i realized how much i like it.

[lucy]

i love the powerful light and shadows and abstract form of this bridge:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lucyloomis/4879017040/

[Kylie]

what a beautiful shot!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madelynsmum/4895828806/

[agrippinamaior]

I too love photographing in spaces where there is art (or artefacts) but capturing the wider space including the art and the people. As a museum professional I find the interaction of people with gallery space as fascinating as the pieces that they house. As a photographer I've tried to explore that fascination. At the Pompidou & Musee d'Orsay the Christmas before last I spent a lot of time looking at the art ... but more time looking at the people looking at the art.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/agrippinamaior/3191493278/in/set-72157607898979475/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/agrippinamaior/3187728123/in/set-72157612256858734/

[Diane]

Even though no one else is likely reading this (I don't get time every day to stop by), I'm still going to leave a link to something that caught my eye because of its shape and how it caught the last light of the day:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27458974@N00/4867981398/