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Cai Guo-Qiang's "The Spirit of Painting" Opens at the Prado Museum
Posted by Cai Studio in Uncategorized on November 7, 2017
Historic Exhibition Explores the Past and Future of the Medium
(Madrid – October 25, 2017) Cai Guo-Qiang and The Prado Museum are proud to announce the opening of The Spirit of Painting. Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado a solo exhibition by the acclaimed contemporary artist. This exhibition marks the first time an artist has created on-site at the museum, and only the second time the museum has hosted a solo exhibition of a living artist.
The Spirit of Painting arose from the artist's lifelong admiration of El Greco, and is Cai's first solo exhibition focused solely on painting in over 30 years. For the first time, Cai measures himself against the great masters of the Western pictorial tradition through his innovative and unusual artistic technique. The Spirit of Painting will be on view through March 4, 2017.
For The Spirit of Painting, Cai transformed the museum's Hall of Realms into his studio, producing eight works inspired by the memory of the former palace of Philip IV and in dialogue with the Great Masters represented in the museum's collection. The artist's residency, which took place in the weeks leading up to the exhibition's opening, concluded on the 23rd with the creation of The Spirit of Painting, a monumental painting measuring 3 x 18 meters.
In addition to nineteen paintings made in New York, Cai created The Spirit of Painting and seven other works in the Hall of Realms. Also on view are oil and acrylic early works, a selection of sketches, and drawings on matchboxes by the artist's father, Cai Ruiqin.
The Spirit of Painting will allow visitors to explore Cai Guo-Qiang's lifelong dialogue with the Western pictorial tradition, particularly the spirit of El Greco. This dialogue began during Cai's years as a student and has continued to the present day; a continuity evident in the selected early works and documentation of the 2009 journey Cai undertook to retrace El Greco's travels from his native Crete to Venice, Rome, and, finally, Toledo.
The exhibition is an extended defense of the particular characteristics that define the "spirit of painting": the artist's sensibility, craftsman-like skill, and the sense of adventure when starting work on a blank canvas. The exhibited works broaden Cai's own singular spirit of painting and, at the same time, consider a way forward for contemporary painting. They form a rhythmic progression that evokes a compositional structure common in classical and modern Chinese literature and music. This formula, known as Qi cheng zhuan he, is present in the different sections of the exhibition:
Rise (Qi)
The first room illustrates the relationship and dialogue between Cai Guo-Qiang and the spirituality of El Greco. This connection inspired Cai in the early stages of his painting career, and now acts as the beginning of the exhibition.
Day and Night in Toledo was the first work that Cai created in the Salón de Reinos. Cai reimagines what he saw when revisiting Toledo in early 2017 — the city from night to dawn, morning to sunset, and back to the night. The town, cathedral, valleys, and skies in the painting look as they did in El Greco's time, forming a mirage on canvas. "As if, through an El Greco-esque energy, the past and present are overlapping in an undefined time and space," Cai described.
Painting El Greco's Apostolado, No. 8, 9, 6, 3, 10, 7 emanate a sense of ceremony unique to classical painting. For each Apostle, Cai arranged gunpowder between two canvases, laid face-to-face on the ground. Ignited together, two paintings emerge—the lower canvas is more figurative and the upper one more abstract. "As though extracting an imprint of spirituality," Cai explained.
With the group of studies In Search of El Greco, No. 3, 6, 8, 9, Cai experiments with gunpowder and explosion to better understand El Greco's painting technique, including the flow and expression of color, light, and energy.
Development (cheng)
The second room inherits the spirituality of Rise, but is more personal and pure in its artistic expression. The works displayed are dedicated to the artist's loved ones who have passed away in recent years.
In Black Ceremony, Cai explodes on a blank space his desolation and helplessness at losing his hundred-year-old grandmother, his father, and father-in-law in the past few years — it is more abstract, more boundless; in The Distant Clouds, he uses raw black gunpowder and gunpowder fuse from Valencia to express his pining for and remembrance of his loved ones. Three other abstract paintings convey the surging of emotions, and at the same time reveal the artist's painstaking study of the materials and techniques involved in painting with gunpowder.
Shift (Zhuan)
The third room suddenly opens and brightens, bringing a new energy; it erupts with color and passion, unleashing "the spirit of painting."
In Mountain in Heat, layer upon layer of aphrodisiac mushrooms culminate into a mountain that bursts forth with desire. The artist strives to achieve a sense of richness and depth on the canvas, straining between the thinness and simplicity of contemporary art and the profundity and harmony of classical painting, seeking to convey a new aesthetic.
Last Carnival developed from Cai's study of the Prado's collection of Rubens, specifically his ability to capture the dynamic movements of man and beast. At the same time, it resonates with Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights. Different species of animals have succumbed to interbreeding, drawing forth an environmental theme in which living beings continue to frolic even when only one pool of water remains on the planet.
Black Poppy features nine canvases; on each succeeding canvas, Cai decreased the amount of black color gunpowder until the coolly elegant black is lifted to reveal the scarlet repressed beneath. The work captures the passage of changing time. "Painting needs to express energy; here, the energy expresses itself," Cai explains.
The Spirit of Painting was the artist's grand finale in the Salón de Reinos. Following more than two years spent studying painting and immersing himself in the spirit of painting found in the Prado's collection, Cai completes the exhibition with a fearless and cathartic liberation through this work. "I imagined the spirituality bestowed upon me by Titian, El Greco, Velázquez, Rubens, and Goya — through this, I imagined a daytime fireworks event for each of them, and together they constitute five chapters," Cai says. "I envisioned the fireworks effects for each master, and my goal is to capture the grandeur and immense power of outdoor explosions within the 18m-long canvas. I look to unleash my imagination of the masters' spirit of painting through fierce interflowing of abstract colors; employing their iconic symbols and upturning them in one grand explosion…
Unification (He)
The fourth room accumulates energy; echoing Rise, it registers a higher level of spirituality.
Salón de Reinos… was ignited in the exact location captured on the canvases. It seizes the shadows of artists such as Velázquez, who competed in the Salón de Reinos. In addition to expressing his reveries at dusk while creating works in the hall over the past month, the artist also includes a phantasmal black line, subtly suggesting a blurring of time-space dimensions.
Cai explained that prior to creating Palmyra, "I first attempted to use gunpowder to reimagine Goya's The Third of May, in order to understand its energy and tension." This work further acts as "a gesture of empathy from the Prado to a fellow landmark of ancient civilization in the latter's time of misfortune."
Exhibition corridor between Gallery C and D
A selection of works provides further insight into the origins of and stories behind the exhibition. It begins with Cai's father's drawings on matchboxes and two of Cai's early works in oil and acrylic. This is followed by a recounting of his 2009 travels with his elder daughter, retracing El Greco's footsteps from his birthplace in Crete to Italy and to Toledo, his final resting place. Select sketches inform the artist's relationship with the Prado's collection as well as the creative process behind The Spirit of Painting.
On his father's matchboxes: "As a child, I watched my father transform the commonplace scenery of our hometown into formidable mountaintops and waterfalls, using tiny matchboxes as his canvas. Throughout my journey as an artist, these matchboxes helped me to understand that painting is about depicting the heart and mind: a thousand acres can exist between two fingers. The fire of Nature symbolizes my continuation of my Eastern and Western predecessors — it traverses cultural and geographical boundaries and returns us to the origin."
Isabel Coixet, one of Spain's most prolific and internationally minded filmmakers, has produced a 60-minute documentary film to accompany the exhibition, a condensed 20-minute cut of which will also be on view. "Through the film, viewers will witness the two-year creative process behind the exhibited works," Coixet said. "They will be able to holistically experience the dynamic charisma and singular beauty of the artworks, and gain an understanding of the artist's profound pursuit of and reflections on the art of painting."
Filming took place in New York City, where Cai Guo-Qiang lives and works, on Long Island, in Madrid, during the artist's residency in the Hall of Realms, and in Valencia and Toledo. It is produced by Miss Wasabi Films for the Prado, and will be released worldwide in late 2017.
The Spirit of Painting will be open Monday through Saturday from 10am to 8pm, and Sundays and public holidays from 10am to 7pm. Guided tours of the exhibition are also offered on Wednesdays at 11am and 5pm.
Exhibition Information
The Spirit of Painting.Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado
Host: Prado Museum
Location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
On-Site Creation: October 2-23, 2017 at the Salón de Reinos, Madrid, Spain
VIP Opening: October 24, 2017
Exhibition Dates: October 25, 2017 to March 4, 2018
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Fireflies opens to the Public with a performance directed by Cai Guo-Qiang
Philadelphia, PA – On September 14th at 8pm, Cai Guo-Qiang's largest public art project in the United States in the past decade opened on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. In a one-time twenty minute performance directed by Cai Guo-Qiang, local participants steered 27 pedicabs adorned with nearly 1,000 multi colored lanterns of various shapes, hand-crafted in the artist's hometown of Quanzhou. For this occasion, Cai designed a choreography based on the flowing and languorous movements of the lanterns. The "fireflies" followed the variations of a musical composition into the gathering darkness of the Parkway as though spinning and dancing into a late summer carnivalesque dream. At the conclusion of the performance, a crowd of over 1,000 spectators flooded the Parkway to congratulate the drivers and take selfies with their favorite lanterns. Fireflies is a humorous tribute to the centennial of the artery. As the city's cultural axis with profound political meaning; it brings participants and spectators to reflect on the relationship between public art, and the city, its people and society.
"mesmerizing…the event lasted only 20 minutes but generated a feel-good response." — The New York Times
"it was just so charming and it made you laugh," said Lauren Raske, 31, an event planner
"It's a nighttime activity and the mystique of the evening makes it a little romantic," said Nicole Dugan, a physical therapist, "Even on this small scale, it was really spectacular."
"This is not just from Cai's childhood but from everyone's childhood," – Sadigaa Horton, 45, pedicab driver
The opening night preludes a month's duration of the public component of Fireflies: commencing September 15th, members of the public are invited to board the vehicles to take rides up and down the Parkway from Sister Cities Park to Iroquois Park near the Philadelphia Museum Art. The rides will be operated for four weeks, Thursdays through Sundays, between 6-10pm, until October 8, 2017. As of September 15th, all the advance time slots have been reserved, but walk-ins remain available. Fireflies is commissioned and organized by Association for Public Art with curator Lance Fung of San Francisco's Fung Collaboratives.
Cai Guo-Qiang has an unforgettable relationship with the city of Philadelphia—his explosion event Fallen Blossom in 2009 was seen in front of the façade of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, located at the end of the iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway– in homage of the late director Anne d'Harnoncourt. Fireflies was an entirely new and grassroots experience. Responding to an open call, several Philadelphians partook in the performance and project as pedicab operators, while visitors from the city and around the world witnessed the performance and rode the pedicabs. Lanterns in the shapes of cars, submarines, cosmic ships, slippers, sushi, donuts as well as little roosters, extraterrestrials, and emoticons were fabricated in Quanzhou before being shipped thousands of miles away to be installed in Philadelphia. Shuttling back and forth on the Parkway aligned with flags from hundreds of different countries, the fireflies remind people of the countless cultures and peoples that take root in the Unites States. Over the next four weeks, the pedicabs will generate encounters between peoples of various backgrounds.
This summer, Cai Guo-Qiang spent several days in Philadelphia in preparation for the opening performance. During the dress rehearsal, a long procession of "fireflies," generating a trail of bright light, was escorted by the police from the production headquarters in Olde Kensignton, through Ludlow and Poplar to Center City all the way to the Parkway. The neighborhoods became alive with the passing of the fireflies; city dwellers and local residents spontaneously stopped to cheer and take photographs, enjoying the excitement of a chance encounter with public art…
"Small roosters and red stars…a lot of the lanterns you see here resemble those I used to play with as a kid in Quanzhou," said Cai Guo-Qiang, "they are the inextinguishable fireworks of my childhood…For the centennial of the Benjamin Franklin parkway, I didn't wish to create a large scale celebration, but rather a playful and light evening, to return the Parkway to the people and let them participate in the creative process."
The musical composition for Firelfies was edited by Liu Ruomu, an undergraduate student at Emery College, from the original official state song "Pennsylvania" by Eddie Khoury and Ronnie Bonner. A 9-minute documentary sharing the same title was directed by Shanshan Xia.
Cai Guo-Qiang: Fireflies information:
Enjoy FREE one-way Fireflies pedicab rides move along the Benjamin Franklin Parkway from Iroquois Park to Sister Cities Park or vice versa.
September 15 – October 8, 2017
Thursdays through Sundays from 6-10pm
The vehicles can accommodate up to two passengers, and each trip takes approximately 15 minutes. Walk-ups are welcome, but online reservations can be made here.
For more information, please visit
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Cai Guo-Qiang: October opens in Moscow
Moscow – The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts announces the long-anticipated opening of renowned international artist Cai Guo-Qiang's first solo exhibition in Russia: October. On the occasion of the October Revolution's centenary, Cai specifically created for the Pushkin Museum a series of bold new works that reflect on the role of individuals in history and the relationship between individual dreams and collective ideals. The exhibition will be held with the support of Sberbank and will be on view in the main building of the museum from September 13 to November 12, 2017, as a crucial component of the "Pushkin XXI" project.
During the past two weeks prior to the exhibition's opening, local passers-by often gathered outside the Museum to photograph the installation Autumn. Their posts on social media stirred curious discussions about the classical architecture's transformation. A 16m-high mountain constructed out of hundreds of stacked baby cradles, cribs and strollers gradually rose at the entrance of the centuries-old museum, engulfing the front steps and colonnade. Then over three days, a crane planted one to two white birch trees of 3-4m in each cradle and birch saplings in each stroller. The larger trees shelter the small, forming a verdurous birch forest. During the installation process, this forest has already begun to yellow from the oncoming autumn. Over the course of the exhibition, the fallen leaves will blanket the mountainside, revealing the white trunks of the birches and the Constructivist-like structure of the mountain itself.
Literally obstructing the museum entrance, the dominating Autumn marks the beginning of an entirely original visual experience. Inside, the artist continues to manipulate the museum's space. Hovering over the central staircase is The Sound, a 20m-long piece of silk scorched with gunpowder calligraphy that divides the lofty space in half. The two-dimensional art of calligraphy and painting is transformed into a poetic, spatial installation work filled with momentum. As viewers ascend the staircase, hovering overhead on the smooth white silk is a cautionary lyric from The Internationale: "There are no supreme saviors: neither God, nor tsar, nor hero!" By the time the words seem within reach, the visitor will have entered the White Room.
The ceiling is covered by a silver mirror, multiplying the already expansive space. Two 20m-long gunpowder paintings on the facing walls, River and Garden, surrounds the field of Land in the center of the room. With this installation, created from nearly three million stalks of golden reed, Cai hopes to recreate the sense of mystery found in the Soviet films and Russian paintings of his childhood — the sunlight filtering through the clouds and shining on the wheat field, and likewise projecting into an adolescent mind the romantic ideas with regard to the freedom and beauty of life. Only through the reflection in the mirror overhead can viewers discern the symbols hidden within the crop circle. Simultaneously reflected are the countless images of civilians embedded within the black-and-white Riverof turbulent history, the colorful poppies, carnations, and Soviet posters found in the fantastical Garden, as well as the viewers themselves.
This inverse illusion leads viewers to reflect on their own relationships with the works.
As the orchestral arrangement of Tchaikovsky sounds, daytime fireworks launch from Red Square and the Moskva riverbank, painting one image after another in the sky, each filled with somber sensibility. The performance concludes with one hundred seconds of earthshattering, thunderous explosions, leaving behind a blinding white flash……October: Daytime Fireworks on Red Square.The exhibition reaches its climax with the video projection.
Beginning on September 4, Cai worked with local volunteers on-site at VDNKh No.22 to ignite the gunpowder works River, The Sound and Garden. The volunteers laid out a river of history with one hundred photographs depicting the lives of ordinary people; they taught Cai to write Russian calligraphy, and etched out enormous stencils of flowers. After Cai ignited each work, they rushed in to extinguish the sparks remaining on canvas. Together with the artist, they experienced the moments of suspense prior to each explosion and witnessed the birth of each work.
A bilingual catalogue in English and Russian will be available at the end of September. In addition to numerous images detailing the process and outcome of the exhibition, the catalogue will also include Cai's stirring personal essay "A Boy's October" and scholarly contributions by Alexandra Danilova, Alexander Etkins, Boris Groys, Lars Nittve. The catalogue integrates personal, historical, artistic and political perspectives, echoing and responding to the themes and questions raised by the exhibition.
This November, the exhibition will unveil a documentary film of the same name, directed by Shanshan Xia. The film not only details the many stories behind the making of the exhibition, but also presents Cai's search of the Russian painter Konstantin Maksimov. It hopes, through the narrative of these two artists, to candidly address the vacillation and persistence of artists during changing times.
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Cai Guo-Qiang Unveils Large-Scale Installation in Kyoto: A Tongue-in-Cheek Examination of East Asian Relations Today
Posted by Cai Studio in Uncategorized on August 21, 2017
KYOTO, JAPAN—On August 19, artist Cai Guo-Qiang introduces Bonsai Ship, a visually spectacular installation created specifically for the UNESCO World Heritage Site Nijo Castle, as part of the Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition within Culture City of East Asia 2017 Kyoto. The composition of the artwork is founded on a traditional Chinese wooden vessel, which has been reassembled on top of three massive boulders to contain five full-sized pine trees, forming an immense "bonsai" display of over 12m in height.
Towering in the Central Courtyard of Nijo Castle's palace grounds, Bonsai Ship at once harmonizes with and stands distinct from the surrounding 17th-century architecture. The pines and boulders were carefully selected for their resemblance to landscapes in shanshui ink wash painting, an ancient Chinese artistic tradition that later expanded to Japan and Korea. The installation thus utilizes the imagination and formal expression of contemporary art, while at the same time humorously evoking the history and present state of East Asia.
Bonsai Ship can be traced back to Cai's earlier project To Build a Ship, which took part in Culture City of East Asia 2016 Nara. As a work that merged performance and installation art, To Build a Ship brought a team of Chinese shipbuilders to Nara's historic temple Todai-ji, where they constructed a 13m-long traditional junk boat on-site. The building process was open to the public and, upon completion, the fully functional vessel floated on Todai-ji's Mirror Pond for several months.
Not unlike the progression of human history, this same ship has now arrived in Kyoto to become Bonsai Ship. Discussing the two projects, Cai Guo-Qiang states: "To Build a Ship, realized at Nara's Todai-ji, was a project that allowed viewers to transcend the boundaries of space-time; it prompted us to reinterpret the course of history and rethink the time that we live in. It symbolized the mutual inheritance and influence that East Asian cultures have had on one another for centuries. In face of the difficult realities that now exist among these nations, the project raised the question: Can we continue sailing in this ship together?"
"Today, the ship has reached Kyoto, integrating with the environment of Nijo Castle to become the fantastical and miraculous Bonsai Ship. Taking on a humorous tone, it asks: 'The spirit of Eastern philosophy and the ambitions of peace embodied by the Culture City of East Asia — are these simply an immense bonsai display?'"
Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition is hosted by Kyoto City in collaboration with the Japan Agency of Cultural Affairs and the Kyoto Art Center. Its Art Director and renowned curator Tatehata Akira said of Bonsai Ship: "As the title suggests, it is literally a massive 'bonsai boat' that invites laughter with its nonsensical humor … it is an artwork that makes a 'spectacle of civilization' on a large scale that is very characteristic of Cai."
Bonsai Ship will be on view until October 15, 2017.
Culture City of East Asia 2017 Kyoto: Asia Corridor Contemporary Art Exhibition
Venue: Nijo Castle, Kyoto Art Center
Dates: August 19 – October 15, 2017
Hours: Nijo Castle opens every day from 8:45 a.m. – 5 p.m. (Last Admission: 4 p.m.)
Kyoto Art Center opens every day from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
For more information please visit:
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About Culture City of East Asia
Culture City of East Asia is a tri-national collaboration that takes place annually in cities selected by the governments of Japan, China and South Korea as a series of yearlong cultural and arts events and exchange projects. The program aims to further the development of the host cities, as well as promote mutual understanding and solidarity in the region through the power of culture. Alongside fellow 2017 host cities Changsha (China) and Daegu (South Korea), Kyoto will organize a wide range of events, including traditional culture, contemporary art, performing arts, music, manga, and anime. Previous host cities include Quanzhou, Qingdao and Ningbo in China; Yokohama, Niigata and Nara in Japan; and Guangju, Cheongju and Jeju in South Korea.
About Nijo Castle
Nijo-jo, or Nijo Castle, was constructed by the Tokugawa shogunate during the Edo period (1603–1868). Construction first began in 1603 under the first-ever shogun, Ieyasu, and was extended in 1626 by the third shogun, Iemitsu. The castle later served as the Kyoto prefectural government and as a villa for the imperial family. Its grounds, surrounded by a moat stretching approximately 500m east to west and 400m north to south, are a designated National Historic Site and were registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1994. The existing Ninomaru Palace (a National Treasure) comprises six buildings made in the shoinzukuri architectural style that conveys the sophistication of Momoyama-period art through its sculptures and ornaments. It houses 3,600 wall paintings of the Kano school, 1,016 of which have been designated as Important National Treasures. Nijo Castle occupies a unique position in the history of the Edo Era; it hosted both the celebrations of the first shogun's reign as well as the official transfer of power in 1867 from the last shogun to the emperor. 2017 happens to mark the 150th anniversary of the historic event.
About the Artistic Director
Born in 1947 in Kyoto, Tatehata Akira graduated with a degree in French literature from Waseda University in 1972. From 2005–11 he served as director of The National Museum of Art, Osaka, and was president of Kyoto City University of Arts from 2011–15. He has been director of Museum of Modern Art, Saitama since 2011 and president of Tama Art University since 2016. He specializes in modern and contemporary art. He has been involved with numerous Asian modern and contemporary art projects and international exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale, where he was commissioner for the Japan Pavilion in 1990 and 1993, and as artistic director for Yokohama Triennale 2001 and Aichi Triennale 2010.
Announcing "Cai Guo-Qiang: October" at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow
Posted by Cai Studio in Uncategorized on March 30, 2017
Venue: The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts main building (Volkhonka, 12, Moscow, Russia)
Exhibition dates: September 12 – November 12, 2017
In September 2017, the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts will present leading international contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang's first solo exhibition in Russia: Cai Guo-Qiang: October. A reflection on the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, the ambitious body of work originally created for the exhibition will transform the main exhibition areas of the museum.
The exhibition is a comprehensive introduction of the artist's diverse yet distinctive practice to the Russian art world and local audiences. Artworks include large-scale outdoor and indoor installations, gunpowder paintings, a multi-media video installation, and small-scale sculptures and sketches. Upon entering the courtyard, visitors are greeted by a grandiose outdoor installation on the central staircase leading to the entrance of the museum, titled Autumn. A man-made mountain composed of birch trees and hundreds of baby cradles donated by Moscow residents, towers over the visitors and offers an astounding visual impression. For some, it will evoke a famous scene from Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei Eisenstein.
The various artworks trace the artist's personal journey: growing up in Communist China, later moving to Japan and now residing in the US, he has never ceased to expand his artistic activities to various parts of the world by collaborating with local communities, which is an important part of Cai Guo-Qiang's projects. Ordinary people are often involved, and are able to relate to his artworks on a deeply personal level. In Moscow, Cai Guo-Qiang will continue to pursue this artistic methodology, and will create two 20-meter-long gunpowder paintings and one calligraphy on silk, all involving the participation of local residents. With his signature medium of gunpowder, Cai Guo-Qiang continues to transform this ancient Chinese invention, approaching it with modern technology and a contemporary attitude. His creative process comments on the continuity of history, its everlasting quality, which is also a theme evoked in this exhibition.
Marina Loshak, Director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts:
"The exhibition, dedicated to the Centenary of the Revolution, will be created in the form of a dialogue between contemporary art and the architecture of a classical museum, a finished work and the history of its creation, past events and the hopes of today."
Conceived upon the centenary of the October Revolution, the exhibition considers the subjects of history, revolution and utopian dreams. According to Cai Guo-Qiang, "These topics should not stay as grand narratives of ideologies or social systems. Instead, we need to discuss more specifically how 'the people' is composed of many individuals. Whether prosperous or unfortunate, history is created by individuals, who must take responsibility and assume consequences. 'Why do people have ideals?' 'How do we realize them?' These kinds of questions are not only directed at the past, but also at the present. They are not only directed at China and Russia, but at the entire world."
About the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is a museum complex that is currently in possession of the largest world art collections in Moscow, Russia. Today, around 700,000 art works from different epochs are present in the Pushkin museum's collection, ranging from Ancient Egypt and Greece up until the beginning of XXI century. The assemblage of XIX-XX century French art is most exceptional in the museum and one of the most distinguished ones in the world. The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Art attempts to engage modernity and classic art works in a mutual dialogue, as well as offer its original perception on widely recognized art pieces.
The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Press Office
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Elena Antonova
Cai Guo-Qiang Solo Painting Exhibition at the Prado Museum: Exploring the Spirit of Painting
Posted by Cai Studio in Uncategorized on March 15, 2017
The Prado Museum announces a solo exhibition by contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang. Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado: The Spirit of Painting will be open from October 24, 2017 to March 4, 2018. This will be the second solo exhibition by a living artist since the museum's founding in 1819, following an exhibition by the late Cy Twombly organized in 2008. The Spirit of Painting is co-curated by the museum's director Miguel Zugaza and senior curator Alejandro Vergara.
The Prado houses one of the world's greatest painting collections, and holds the most comprehensive and definitive collection of Spanish painting and sculpture. It is especially known for its collection of works by Titian, Bosch, Rubens, El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya.
Inspired by the spirit and glory of painting that resides in this 200-year old museum's collection from the Spanish Golden Age, Cai Guo-Qiang embarks on a journey to discover the spirit of his own painting, and raises questions on the current predicaments of contemporary painting. By engaging in a dialogue with the Prado's expert staff and collection, he strives to establish his roots in the painting tradition. Through the works in this exhibition, he seeks to re-envision the spirit of painting, while remaining true to his methods.
Visitors will learn about Cai Guo-Qiang's enduring dialogue with El Greco, which has inspired him from a young age. This includes Cai's early paintings that were heavily influenced by El Greco, and documentation from his 2009 pilgrimage that retraced El Greco's life from his hometown in Crete, to Venice, Madrid, and finally to his resting place in Toledo.
Cai Guo-Qiang will use his unique artistic method to demonstrate his pursuit of the spirit of painting found in the techniques, subjects, and sensibilities of great masters such as Titian, El Greco, Velazquez, Rubens, and Goya. Through more than twenty gunpowder paintings of varying scale, visitors will witness the artist's experimentation with painting techniques and local gunpowder materials, his sketches, and in depth research that reveal the process behind each paintings on display.
Beginning in late September this year, Cai Guo-Qiang will create the majority of paintings on-site in the historic Salón de Reinos (Hall of Realms). Over 400 years ago, Rey Planeta (King of the Planet) Philip IV received envoys from every realm in this formidable venue. He commissioned the most eminent painters in Spain and Europe, including Velazquez, to create paintings for the Salón de Reinos, engaging these masters in fierce artistic competition. The Hall was later transformed into a military museum. For Cai Guo-Qiang, creating gunpowder paintings in the Salón de Reinos becomes a site-specific event, one that travels through time, revisiting shadows of the distant past and challenging the imagination and creativity of the present day. At dusk on October 23, Cai Guo-Qiang will explode the immense artwork The Spirit of Painting, which will be the centerpiece of the exhibition.
José Pedro Pérez Llorca, President of the Royal Board of Trustees of the Prado Museum, and José Manuel Entrecanales, Executive Chairman of ACCIONA, signed an agreement of collaboration today to offer support for the exhibition. Director Zugaza and the artist would like to extend their sincere gratitude to Mr. Silas Chou and Elena & Alberto Cortina for their special contributions to the exhibition.
Exhibition Information
Cai Guo-Qiang at the Prado: The Spirit of Painting
Curator: Miguel Zugaza, Director of the Prado Museum; Co-Curator: Alejandro Vergara, Senior Curator at the Prado Museum
Organizer: Prado Museum
Location: Prado Museum, Madrid, Spain
On-Site Creation: Late September, 2017 to October 23, 2017 at the Salón de Reinos, Madrid, Spain
VIP Opening: October 24, 2017
Exhibition Dates: October 25, 2017 to March 4, 2018
About the Prado Museum and the Salón de Reinos
The Prado was established in Madrid, Spain in 1819, and is recognized for having the world's greatest collection of paintings; it is also the museum with the most comprehensive and definitive collection of Spanish painting and art. Its collection currently comprises more than 30,000 historically significant pieces, around 8,000 of which compose the highest quality collection of painting in the world. The Prado is especially renowned for its significant collection of Titian, Bosch, and Rubens, as well as its comprehensive collection of the three great painters of Spain: El Greco, Velazquez, and Goya. Since the 20th century, the Prado has continued to expand and renew itself, and is now the singular most important hallmark of Spanish culture and art.
The Salón de Reinos (Hall of Realms) was built between 1630-1635; it is one of the very few structures that remain of the Palacio del Buen Retiro (Buen Retiro Palace) of Philip IV of Spain (1605-1665). The name of the Hall originates from the coat of arms of the 24 kingdoms that composed the Kingdom of Spain under Philip IV. The Salón de Reinos once housed the largest collection of paintings owned by Spanish royalty, all of which have entered the Prado's collection. It was later transformed into a military museum until the early 21st century, when the Spanish Ministry of Culture designated it to become part of the Prado. In 2016, the Prado announced that Pritzker Prize-winner architect Norman Foster would direct the renovation of the Hall, currently set to begin in late 2018. Philip IV once received the envoys of countless "realms" in the very space where Cai Guo-Qiang will create gunpowder paintings; he also commissioned the most eminent European painters at the time to create paintings for the space, including masterpieces such as Velazquez's tour de force The Surrender of Breda.
About the Artist
Cai Guo-Qiang was born in 1957 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province, China. From 1981 to 1985, he trained in stage design at the Shanghai Theater Academy. His artistic expression spans multiple mediums including painting, installation, video, and performance. While living in Japan from 1986 to 1995, he explored the properties of gunpowder in his drawings, an inquiry that eventually led to his experimentation with explosives on a massive scale and to the development of his signature explosion events. Drawing upon Eastern philosophy and contemporary social issues as a conceptual basis, these projects and events aim to establish an exchange between viewers and the larger universe around them, utilizing a site-specific approach to culture and history.
Cai's accolades include the Golden Lion at the 48th Venice Biennale in 1999, the Hiroshima Art Prize in 2007, and the 20th Fukuoka Asian Culture Prize in 2009. In 2012, He was honored as a laureate for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in Painting by the prestigious Praemium Imperiale, an award that recognizes lifetime achievement in the arts in categories not covered by the Nobel Prize. In the same year, he was selected as one of the five artists who received the first U.S. Department of State Medal of Arts award for his outstanding commitment to international cultural exchange. His more recent honors include: the Barnett and Annalee Newman Foundation Award in 2015, the Bonnefanten Award for Contemporary Art (BACA) 2016, the Japan Foundation Award in 2016, and the Asia Art Award in 2016. Cai also served as Director of Visual and Special Effects for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
For the past three decades, his art has been featured in almost all major international exhibitions, and he has held solo exhibitions in numerous world-famous art institutions, among them Cai Guo-Qiang on the Roof: Transparent Monument at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2006 and his retrospective I Want to Believe, which opened at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York in 2008 and later travelled to the National Art Museum of China and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao, among others. In October 2013, Cai created One Night Stand (Aventure d'un Soir), an explosion event for Nuit Blanche, a citywide art and culture festival organized by the city of Paris. Also in 2013, his solo exhibitionDa Vincis do Povo, went on a three-city tour around the country in 2013. Traveling from Brasilia to São Paulo before reaching its final destination in Rio de Janeiro, it was the most visited exhibition by a living artist worldwide that year with over one million visitors.
On June 15, 2015, Cai realized his most recent explosion event Sky Ladder off of Huiyu Island, Quanzhou, China. His latest solo exhibition, Cai Guo-Qiang: My Stories of Painting opened in September 2016 at the Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht in the Netherlands.
He currently lives and works in New York.
For more information, please follow:
Cai Studio
- www.caiguoqiang.com
- www.facebook.com/cgqstudio/
- Instagram: caistudio
- Wechat:蔡国强工作室
Prado Museum
- https://www.museodelprado.es/en
- www.facebook.com/museonacionaldelprado/
- Instagram: museoprado
Cai Guo-Qiang Honored At The 2016 Japan Foundation Awards
Posted by Cai Studio in Uncategorized on October 21, 2016
On October 18, Cai Guo-Qiang received the 2016 Japan Foundation Award in Tokyo, becoming the second artist after Ikuo Hirayama (1930 – 2009) to be honored with this award. Hundreds of distinguished guests attended the ceremony, including diplomats from 60 countries and 25 members of the Japanese House of Councilors. This year the Japan Foundation Award was also presented to Professor Susan J. Pharr (Edwin O. Reischauer Professor of Japanese Politics and Director, Program on U.S.—Japan Relations, Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University) and to the institution Centro Brasileiro de Língua Japonesa (CBLJ) in Brazil.
The annual Japan Foundation Awards were created in 1973 by the Japan Foundation, an independent administrative institution under the supervision of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. With a 44-year history, the Awards comprise of a grant of 3 million yen. Over the years, they have been given to individuals as well as organizations that cultivate a mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and the world through academic, artistic, and other cultural endeavors. Previous notable Japanese recipients include Akira Kurosawa (1982), Seiji Ozawa (1988), Hayao Miyazaki (2005), and Haruki Murakami (2012).
The Japan Foundation devotes its attention to artists who contribute to promoting cultural exchange between Japan and other countries. On this occasion, the Foundation is recognizing Cai's artistic practice around the globe, through which he creates works that integrate Eastern worldviews in dialogue with various regions including the Middle East and South America. Cai has always had a prominent presence in Japan. Since the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he has sponsored the Iwaki Manbon Sakura Project. In 2015, his large-scale solo exhibition There and Back Again opened at the Yokohama Museum of Art, and more recently in March 2016, he initiated an collaborative project in which he invited craftsmen to build a wooden boat in the pond in front of Todaiji Temple in Nara, alluding to the possibility of Japan and China "sailing" with each other's support. The Japan Foundation not only recognizes the artist's efforts in connecting different regions and civilizations, but also honors his contribution to consolidating a global culture that transcends national boundaries and artistic practices.
The President of the Japan Foundation Hiroyasu Ando presented the Awards and the Chinese Ambassador to Japan Cheng Yonghua attended the ceremony. In his reception speech, Cai stated:
"Every visit to Japan is a chance for me to think about the East, about Asia. In particular, the philosophical and artistic methodologies I've created with friends in Japan—methodologies that are multifaceted, harmonious, and coexist with nature in an East Asian context—have allowed me to move freely within different cultures, and create art in collaboration with different people.
I remember phoning Japanese costume designer Eiko Ishioka, inviting her to act as the director of costume design for the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony…To reassure her, I arranged for her office to be next to mine, so she only had to knock on the wall and I would be right over. I also asked my daughter, who speaks Japanese, to be her assistant, helping her out with her stay in China. The collaboration between Eiko Ishioka and the Chinese artists created the tremendous success of the Olympic opening ceremony.
A few years later, she passed away from an illness. Her husband told me that, in her final days, she had a picture of the ceremony director Zhang Yimou and myself up on the wall next to her bed.
Stories like the one I shared with Eiko Ishioka, as well as my experiences in Japan and throughout the world, all serve to prove how exchanges between individuals and cultures can transcend history, overcome political strife, and build a little bit of hope for the future."
For More Information
Or subscribe to the Cai Studio WeChat "Cai Guo-Qiang Studio"


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Thursday, January 8, 2009
5 pretty purplexing comments:
I feel your pain I try and give up Diet Coke so many times, oncfor 8 weeks and I thought I would notice a difference and I did not so I started right up again. It is really expensive here and its Coke Cola Light which taste different but again still drinking it. I always say to myself if I have so much water then I can have my DC. I love the Crystal Lite mix ins have really help me to move past sodas. Good Luck! Also heard something about taking magnisium to help with caffine withdrawl google it to check or sure.ReplyDelete
My mom was a addicted to Pepsi too. She would even drink one during her shower before going to bed. I guess it is all in what you are use to. I only drink diet drinks, the real stuff taste so sweet to me and I don't like the aftertaste. I love Diet Coke so, I really can't help you with the Pepsi addiction because I have one too.ReplyDelete
you are better off to drink the real thing...without the chemicals ....even if you gave up 50% of what you are drinking now that would be huge....hang in there girl!ReplyDelete
Thanks for all the support. Yesterday I tried Diet Lipton White Tea. It's just okay. I don't mind diet Snapple Tea. I do worry about the "fake" sugar in diet drinks. I cannot imagine that they are healthy for you. Good news though! I am taking a nutrition course beginning the end of January. I am hoping that will kick my butt in gear!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJanuary 10, 2009 at 7:25 AM
Go to water. Use bottled water and you get the effect of drinking out of a bottle like with soda. It will take a while but always keep a bottle of water within arms length. GET OFF THE SODA!ReplyDelete
Uncle Kent

subset: commoncrawl


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Ahead of the Curve ™
Trump Presidency in Historical ContextAug 16 2017
Report by Chris Krueger.
10 data sets, 4 time-stamps, 6 Presidencies = historical context for current environment. Historical framework for investing in a Trump Administration outside hyper-partisan news cycle, crisis de jour, and Fall fiscal cliffs. Do not lose sight of policy forest for "failed" legislative trees; mosaic shows bigly change with skeleton crew and Judiciary component longest of policy tails.
Historical Benchmarks To Find Signals In The Noise
Four Key Takeaways from Data Sets:
- Regulation Rollback is Real. Federal Register data show an ~80% drop in economically significant regulations (defined as impact of over $100M) between 2016 and 2017 and an ~60% drop in the number of pages published in the Federal Register, which supports the "Animal Spirits" thesis. "Animal Spirits" was popularized by Keynes and is used in this post-election context to explain the consumer confidence boost from a new, pro-business, pro-growth, de-regulatory White House. The fact that the regulatory rollback has been done with a skeleton crew (down 56% from previous three Administrations' average as of August Recess) suggests that this could continue to drop in meaningful fashion.
- Not Repeal-And-Replace, But More Legislation Than Perception. Expanding the Pew Research Index differential between substantive and ceremonial legislation in the first year of a Congressional session, the current Congress is behind schedule – but not as much as one might think given the hourly focus on the failures of ObamaCare repeal-and-replace. The data show that 44 "substantive" pieces of legislation have passed, which is 55% off of the yearly average since 1995 (98 substantive bills). That is obviously not strong, but it also does not account for September and all of Q4. If you compare the Obama Years, the yearly average was 73, which is achievable (40% decrease – not including remainder of year).
- Political Dysfunction Literally Off The Charts. Philadelphia Federal Reserve Partisan Conflict Index (PCI) data suggest PCI super spike this October and next fall around midterms. PCI has shown increased levels corresponding with uncertainty among households, slower economic activity, delayed business investment and consumer spending – which could well be triggered this October and next. Obama entered office (height of Hope and Change) at near-record low of 78.77 only to top-tick at 252 during October 2013 shutdown. Trump entered office at 239.87 – three times the Obama Inauguration PCI.
- Trump's Judicial Vacancies Also Off The Charts. The judicial appointment vacancies inherited by Trump are remarkable. Keep in mind that Trump will be the first modern President to start office without a 60-vote threshold for judges – who have a lifetime appointment. Trump has been President for less than 250 days and already has the opportunity to nominate nearly as many judges as George H.W. Bush had in four years. This is a multi-generational legacy with judges who will decide the fate of many regulations and actions.
Three Conclusions:
- Lots of Noise, But Clear Signals. Fitting with the current political environment, contradictions in the data abound. There are some signals in the noise and the key guideposts include Presidential Job Approval and the PCI. Since nothing points in one direction and the signals are crossing, we have laid out what to watch within a historical context.
- 36% Could Be New 56%. We found the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's PCI data – and very existence – fascinating. It says a lot that an institution responsible for analyzing quantitative data to set monetary policy is mining media and news sources for societal inputs. Their entire job is to figure out who much money should be in the system and they track political disagreement as reported in the media as a benchmark. Given the near-record low Trump approval and PCI data, the new ceilings could be the old floors: we are in a political Brave New World. Recall that Trump won the Presidency with a greater than 60% disapproval.
- Trump Approval Real Threat To House GOP Majority. The Presidential Job Approval data going back to Harry Truman is an extremely negative, flashing warning sign for the House GOP majority in midterms. What is particularly striking is that economic indicators (S&P, Unemployment, Treasury 10-Year) are in rarefied air, which suggests Trump Job Approval could take another leg down with any negative economic impact/news. IF the House flips, dust off the impeachment playbook (included) and say goodbye to any pro-growth legislation for 2019 and the duration of the impeachment process
The Signals
Ten data sets with four benchmark dates on overlay for six Administrations: Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.
Benchmark Dates: 1) Election Day; 2) Inauguration Day; 3) August 1, and; 4) Midterm Election.
Data sets: 1) Partisan Conflict Index (Philadelphia Federal Reserve); 2) Presidential Approval Number; 3) Midterm Election Outcome; 4) Substantive Legislation Passed (Pew Research Index Expansion); 5) Regulation Enacted/Rollback; 6) Cabinet & Agency Approval/Confirmation; 7) S&P 500 Index; 8) Unemployment Number; 9) Treasury 10-Year Yield, and; 10) Special Prosecutor Time Frame.
Legislation: Focus Has Been on Failures, But More Getting Done Than Perceived
The calendar is not the Administration's friend in September and October and a shutdown seems probable – though numerous "must pass" bills will eventually clear this year that will only increase these productivity numbers. The expectations game was lost long ago, though the data shows meaningful legislation has passed.
November Rain: Trump Job Approval & Midterm Effect
As the saying went in the GOP Primaries and the 2016 general election relative to approval ratings, Donald Trump had the highest floor and the lowest ceiling. If the 2017 PCI par is two-times – or even three-times – the "normal", maybe a 36% presidential job approval is the new 55%. The House GOP better hope that 36% is at least the new 47%, because the the correlation of a Presidential approval number below 47% and the House flipping control is strong, to quite strong. The political question for the next 15 months is whether the Democrats can net at least 24 seats in the midterms and take control of the House of Representatives. Every historic metric from our data sets suggests that the House GOP majority is nearing a political dumpster fire next November given Trump's approval rating. The Democrats need to net 24 House seats; there are 80 House Republicans in districts Trump received less than 55% – and 23 of those 80 are in districts Clinton won. So the Democrats have to figure out a way to win in Trump country to have any shot in a House that could well be too-gerrymandered-to-fail. Of the 435 districts, only 35 voted for a Congressman and President of different parties (~8% of the Congressional districts).
The Senate is the decided under-card as the Democrats have arguably the worst map since the direct elections of Senators over one-hundred years ago. A 52-48 GOP Senate with 10 Democrats running in states won by Trump with only two Republican Senators running for re-election in any electoral jeopardy – so the likely worst-case scenario for the GOP is a 50-50 majority with VP Mike Pence breaking the tie.
The Presidential Job Approval data strongly suggests a GOP House blowout next November, but the GOP has not lost a contested House race in the Trump era. Full stop.
The midterms are just shy of 450 days away.
Hard Market Data Points Hovering Below Prosecutorial Sword of Damocles
The market data sets over the past thirty years were not nearly the midterm, political predictor, or proof point we anticipated, though do serve as a historical goal post.
The opposite of hard market data is the prosecutorial sword of Damocles, which has impacted four of the past five Administrations.
Two things stand out when looking at the history of Special Prosecutors in our index: 1) time, and; 2) mission creep. Neither of these would seem to be positive for the Trump Administration.
Once a Special Prosecutor unsheathes the investigative sword it has never been placed back in the scabbard without blood. They also never seem to end anywhere near their starting point.
"Twice a day since the beginning of the Trump administration, a special folder is prepared for the president. The first document is prepared around 9:30 a.m. and the follow-up, around 4:30 p.m. Former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and former Press Secretary Sean Spicer both wanted the privilege of delivering the 20-to-25-page packet to President Trump personally, White House sources say. These sensitive papers, described to VICE News by three current and former White House officials, don't contain top-secret intelligence or updates on legislative initiatives. Instead, the folders are filled with screenshots of positive cable news chyrons (those lower-third headlines and crawls), admiring tweets, transcripts of fawning TV interviews, praise-filled news stories, and sometimes just pictures of Trump on TV looking powerful."
–VICE article "Trump Gets A Folder Full Of Positive News About Himself Twice a Day: It's Known as the 'Propaganda Document'" from August 8, 2017
"These are the new leads. These are the Glengarry leads. And to you they're gold, and you don't get them. Why? Because to give them to you is just throwing them away. They're for closers. I'd wish you good luck but you wouldn't know what to do with it if you got it. And to answer your question, pal, why am I here? I came here because Mitch and Murray asked me to. They asked me for a favor. I said the real favor, follow my advice and fire you…because a loser is a loser."
–Blake, as played by Alec Baldwin, in Glengarry Glen Ross


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Please enter a genuine postcode.
Your nearest pickup points will display below. Choose up to 2. Note that the nearest one to you will be treated as the primary departure point.
Seating will be chosen at the booking stage
National Holidays are the UK's leading specialist in short breaks and holidays by coach.
With a sensational selection of holidays right across the UK, Ireland and Europe, you are sure to find a holiday to suit you!
From Showtime and Special Events breaks through to European Adventures, we literally have 1000's of holidays and short breaks for you to choose from.
- Weekend and City Breaks
- Showtime breaks - West End Shows, Legends of Music, Comedians and more!
- Special Events breaks - from Flower Shows to Air Shows… and everything in between!
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Literally 1000s of holidays & short breaks!!!
All including one thing- unbelievable value for money!
Financial Security
For your protection and peace of mind, National Holidays is a member of the Bonded Coach Holiday Group of the Confederation of Passenger Transport Limited.
This is a government-approved consumer protection scheme and ensures that monies paid for any holiday described in this brochure are protected by a financial bond. Please see www.bch-uk.org for further details.
Inclusive Itineraries
Virtually all featured holidays include a detailed programme of exciting excursions and days out, all carefully planned to add to your holiday enjoyment. With National Holidays all excursions shown are included in the holiday price – no unpleasant charges hidden away!
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Careful, thoughtful planning from National Holidays every time. We're dedicated to ensuring the best in service always – from the very moment you book your holiday. And in the unusual event of any problems we promise a prompt, professional response.
Enjoy the total holiday experience… with total peace of mind!
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Every holiday features travel in style and comfort, with all coaches featuring reclining seats and individual seat belts for your safety. Plus the assurance of reserved seating (on most holidays), selected by you at the time of booking and reserved throughout your holiday.
Select Quality Accommodation
Every featured weekend, short break and holiday comes with the assurance of quality accommodation, always carefully chosen and promising high standards of service and hospitality.
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Many holidays also feature a programme of colourful evening entertainment for your pleasure. And many holidays also include a full programme of sparkling, nightly cabaret entertainment for your enjoyment.
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In order to ensure the total enjoyment of your holiday, our staff will be most pleased to advise and assist with any special requests, however large or small. From special dietary needs to matching the suitability of any holiday with individual circumstances, our reservations systems are specifically designed to ensure that all requests made at the time of booking are forwarded to our hotels and honoured, whenever possible and practical.
If in doubt please don't hesitate to ask - we'll do our utmost to help!
Our Gift Vouchers are an excellent way to take a National Holidays' short break or holiday. They make excellent presents for Christmas, Birthdays or a special Anniversary. You can order Gift Vouchers online now.


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Like all Porsche owners, the FVR members love to drive their Porsches. Whether it is a day trip or a weekend getaway the FVR would love to have you join us on one of our driving tours. You can find upcoming tours on our calendar of events.
Come and see why we say "It's not just the cars, it's the people".


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Bubble Machine
Scroll to product details, material & care and sizing
Click image to enlarge
13.4"L x 6.7"W x 6.8"H
Power Requirements:
1-110 volt dedicated line
Who doesn't like bubbles! Add that something extra to your party, grand opening or any other function. This bubble machine has a steady high output stream of bubbles. Includes (1) gallon of bubbles. It is sure to make any celebration a memorable one.
The Bubble Machine is an excellent choice for your next party or event.


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Marketing with Aerial Photos & Videos
Aerial Photography Enhance your marketing projects and sales presentations with stunning images captured from a bird's eye view.
Capture exciting live-action footage of your activities and events. Expert aerial coordination will help you get those special shots for your commercials, TV, and movie productions.
Real Estate Sales Showcase your properties with high-impact marketing pieces using aerial photographs and dramatic videography.
Get a Free Quote
Tell us about your project and we'll create a mission plan to capture and produce your aerial imagery and data.


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- Selections By Susan Store/Floor2atBreck
- >
- Glass Collectibles
- >
- Cobalt Blue Set of Two Vintage Art Glass Nappy's
Cobalt Blue Set of Two Vintage Art Glass Nappy's
per item
.Cobalt Blue Set of Two Vintage Art Glass Nappy's
Beautiful pair of nappy dishes in rich cobalt blue. A striking pair with many uses, each a little different, hand crafted.
This art glass set has applied handles with a curved shape to form a pour spout, with pontil on the bottom. The glass has bubbles throughout the dish. These dishes measure about 7" handle to tip, 2 3/4" high, and a 5" diameter. Small straw mark in one dish close to edge. Unmarked, and in very good condition, and from about the 1970's.
Please contact me with any questions. I include insurance with all items from my Floor 2 at Breck Lounges.
1 available


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The Concept
The Opportunity
The Results
Delta Outsource Group, Inc. wants to hear from you. If you are interested in our professional services or have a general inquiry about Delta Outsource Group please complete the form below and a member of our team will review the information and respond to you in a timely manner. If you are a consumer and would like to get in contact with us click here
Phone: (800) 364-1895
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Please note: By providing the information in this contact form, you are authorizing Delta Outsource Group, Inc. to contact you in regards to your account, question, or concern via the provided contact information which includes manual and automated dialing phone calls, Email, and mail.
Mission Statement
Senior Leadership
Employee Development
Tools of our Trade
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Contact Info
P.O. Box 1210
O'Fallon, MO 63366


text:
Project maintainers can spend a lot of time understanding the details of an issue and reproducing reported bugs. By confirming that a bug can be reproduced and improving/writing issue summaries, you help maintainers more efficiently diagnose and respond to bug reports.
This exercise provides practice with
This exercise will help you gain Drupal sitebuilding/coding experience. Working on core issues introduces you to things such as the user interface, file structure, feature sets, etc. It offers a great learning experience while providing a significant service to the community. In this exercise we will start by creating a very basic issue, which is sufficient, but not ideal. Then we will test the issue, and follow up and improve the issue to make it more complete.
For more background on the issue queue, and how to correctly fill out an issue form, please read the Drupal.org documentation, Making an issue report.
There is also a short video, Getting started in the issue queue, which walks through this lesson and includes some background information on the issue queue.
Post a sample issue
Rewrite description for URL alias on node/add/*
Note: This issue is being posted here as an exercise by a participant in the http://drupalladder.org ladder for contributing to core. Please don't do anything with this post. The real issue has already been resolved in Drupal 8. If you would like to try this exercise yourself, visit http://drupalladder.org and click on Drupal Ladder
Optionally specify an alternative URL by which this content can be accessed. For example, type "about" when writing an about page. Use a relative path and don't add a trailing slash or the URL alias won't work.
The alternative URL for this content. For example, type "about" when creating an about page. Use a relative path without a trailing slash
Confirm a reported bug and improve the issue
git clone --branch 8.x https://git.drupal.org/sandbox/bhirsch/1388780.git drupal_8_sandbox_for_drupal_ladder
Update the issue summary
Contributors are strongly encouraged to use the drupal.org issue summary template, especially for posts with lots and lots of comments. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the template and use it to re-write the issue post you just created. Under sections that are not applicable, like API Changes, just say "none." If you don't know, just say "I'm not sure." (See an exemplary issue post.)
Sun, 06/09/2013 - 11:05
For someone walking through this ladder and relying only on the information provided so far, Step 2 under "Confirm a reported bug and improve the issue" might need a bit of clarification. While it is fairly simple to do, someone using dev desktop and git for the first time might not understand that they need to create a new folder, navigate to it the copy and paste the "git clone" command on the "View" tab of the referenced page, then Import the site through the dev desktop.
Fri, 12/13/2013 - 04:14
Hello, It felt like I had difficulty with the expectations of the 'instructor' here.
suggested clarifications:
Link back to Step One in the ladder to emphasis the need to completely repeat this step with the Sandbox version.
Link to the real issue ought to be emphasized as this was the key to understanding the task.
The tip on how to navigate to the problem ...
(e.g. "create a new piece of content, scroll down and click the URL settings tab to locate the help text")
ought to be removed from parentheses as I naturally skimmed it...
Tue, 09/02/2014 - 16:37
I found sockeye's comment here from 6/9/2013 very helpful and would change it only slightly to include in this lesson:
Additionally, I suggest adding a step to "Confirm a reported bug and improve the issue" to return to the Issue Queue and assign the issue to yourself. Contributors should be in the habit of assigning/unassigning issues to oneself so other contributors can identify those that are not actively being worked.
Sat, 03/08/2014 - 21:37
In Confirm a reported bug and improve the issue section after step #4 we can add few steps more which will help student to execrise writing a patch.
The steps that can be added are:
5. Now find the file that cointans this help text. In this case the file can be found at "core/modules/path/path.module". Locate the line which makes description for URL. (You can find that line inside function path_form_node_form_alter(&$form, $form_state) ). Edit the description for the same with the proposed one and generate the patch. If you are new to creating a patch you may like to refer to Creating a patch.
6. Now go to update the summary option. Change status to need review. Add a good comment as to what changes you made in your patch. Upload your .patch file.
7. Click on Save.You will now see that status has been changed to "Needs Review" and your patch will be tested according to Drupal Standards.


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"The special election process in New York State, like Gerrymandering, is yet another example of our corrupt and boss-driven system. We need to support strong young candidates like Gonzalez to finally bring real reforms to our state electoral process," says Bill Samuels, founder New Roosevelt
New York, NY – Today Bill Samuels, founder of the Albany reform organization, New Roosevelt, endorsed progressive candidate Jesus Gonzalez, who is running in the hotly contested special election for the 54th Assembly District in Brooklyn, NY. Gonzalez, a Democrat, is running as the Working Families Party candidate and is the only true reform candidate in the primary. Samuels slammed the special election process as badly flawed and patently undemocratic, and one more reason is it difficult for candidates who are not favored by party bosses to run for office.
"Thanks to our flawed state constitution and archaic political process, local party bosses generally get to choose who the Democratic candidate and presumptive Assemblyperson will be," Samuels said. "Bosses love elections without opponents, but they're bad for democracy and bad for New York. Residents of the 54th are lucky that a bright, dedicated reformer like Jesus Gonzalez, a Democrat who is running on the Working Families Party (WFP) line has stepped forward to challenge this autocracy. The system is broken, disgraceful and must be changed. I applaud the valiant efforts of Gonzalez and WFP in their continued efforts to reform Brooklyn politics by letting voters have a real choice and that is why I fully support Gonzalez's candidacy."
Gonzalez thanked Samuels and New Roosevelt for their primary endorsement. "I am excited and honored to receive the endorsement from Bill and his reform Albany organization, New Roosevelt," Gonzalez said. "I appreciate the support and recognition from an organization that both shares my views on reforming Albany and was an early supporter of another reformer Gustavo Rivera, who handily defeated Pedro Espada."
Samuels echoed that he sees many similarities between Gonzalez and another young reform-minded progressive candidate New Roosevelt successfully supported last year for State Senate, Gustavo Rivera. Rivera ended up defeating corrupt Democratic incumbent Pedro Espada for a Bronx State Senate seat, despite having the full benefits of Albany's notorious incumbency protection system.
"Like Rivera, Jesus Gonzales, is a fresh new progressive face in New York politics who is battling an entrenched and corrupt political party boss system that puts personal power and preservation ahead of the people," Samuels said. "Compare that with Gonzalez's support for non-partisan redistricting which could easily create unforeseen challenges once he is elected. He would rather do what is right for the long-term than put short-term political expediency first."
"Gonzalez is also reflective of the changing nature of Brooklyn, which is becoming more and more a hotbed of creativity and small business entrepreneurship in the city. The voters of the 54th Assembly district deserve a candidate who reflects those values and that is Gonzalez."
"Last and possibly most important, a vote for Gonzalez is a vote in favor of change and reform in Brooklyn and beyond. If we can mobilize voters on behalf of candidates such as Gonzalez, it will mark an encouraging sign for young reformers throughout this city, who want to take on the entrenched and corrupt political system and change it for the better."
According to a recent report by Citizens Union, the State Assembly, 31 percent of State Assembly members, or 46 of 150 were first elected in a special election. Under state election law, had the Governor had not opted to call a Special Election, there would have been a September primary in which all three candidate could have run, leading to a November election (due to the fact that the seat was vacant during the regular June petitioning process).
For more information about the New Roosevelt, go to www.newrooseveltinitiative.com.


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Byrt, John
February 18, 2011 § Leave a comment
John Byrt, D.Phil, FRCO is a free-lance conductor, scholar, and composer. In his youth he directed the Schola Cantorum of Oxford and was conductor of Musica Reservata. He made the first recording of Taverner's Missa Corona Spinea and over the years has broadcast Gesualdo madrigals, Byrd propers and West Gallery Carols for the BBC. He writes and lectures on baroque music. As a composer he is mainly known for his choral music, folk song arrangements, solo songs and duets. John is also a singing/voice tutor and piano/organ accompanist.
Contact: John Byrt
Telephone: 01884 256806
Location: Tiverton


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I have to admit I am scared of mazes (hello, Harry Potter anyone?), but when I read that McKee's Cedar Creek Farm has one of the largest corn mazes in NC, I was intrigued. Then I also read that they have a "mini maze" for kids, and I knew we would be going.
McKee's is located about 10 miles outside of Hillsborough, and is a gorgeous drive through North Carolina countryside. The fall colors make this so scenic right now. This is a private farm, but every fall Vicki McKee takes her love of art and channels it into a massive 14-acre corn maze. 12-acres is an adult maze, 2-acres a kids' maze. The design changes every year.
At the start of the maze a farm hand gives you some tips and pointers for navigating. They also up the ante by sticking "check points" in each of the mazes. These are stops (at dead ends, forcing you into areas of the maze you might not otherwise hit) throughout the maze that have hole punches on them, and you punch your card. Each hole punch is a different shape, too, so you can't cheat.
The kids' maze has a lot of funny items in addition to the checkpoints. There are letter cards, fun facts, and pictures of animals sprinkled about.
It was a bad year for corn (as we mentioned in our Green Level Gourd Farm post). And it is getting late in the season. So it isn't a green, lush cornfield, but the corn is as high as an elephant's eye. The kids' maze was pretty easy (thankfully), but we got turned around in the big maze. Make sure you are committed to walking and spending some time here.
There are other activities at McKee's. There are two playgyms (one for older kids, one for younger kids). There is a very large sandbox as well as a rope swing that was a huge hit with the tweens and adults. A lot of very nice picnic benches, too.
As this is a farm, there are some animals on site. There are goats, bunnies, hens, and a donkey. The animals are in cages in one select area. So it was hard to get up close to them, although one farmhand was taking some older kids into the donkey's stall to feed it.
There are port-a-johns on site. Plus, it turns out that the maze trails are well-groomed enough for strollers! Added plus!
It costs $8 for adults to get in, kids 0-2 are free; the haunted maze is $10 (and they don't recommend bringing the kiddos). DH and I thought this was a little pricey, especially since with little kids you can't spend too terribly long here. We did have a great time though. There are concessions available to buy as well as pumpkins and mums.
We went on a beautiful weekend day and while there were a lot of families here, it didn't feel crowded or oversold.
McKee's Cedar Creek Farm Corn Maze
5011 Kiger Road Rougemont
Opens end of September, ends October 31st.
Fridays 3 am – 8 pm, Saturdays 10 am – 8 pm, Sundays 1 pm – 7 pm (note that closing hours can change dependent on the Haunted Maze schedule, so call ahead).
Haunted Maze open some Friday and Saturday nights, see website for schedule.


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1. Red Door Spa - The Red Door Spa is a great day spa with a beautiful atmosphere. When the bachelorette party arrived at the spa, we got to change into nice comfy robes and then started out with a delicious spa lunch (catered from Fig & Olive!mmm) . We all got 3 services included in our package. I started out with the 25-minute massage; one of the best massages I've ever had (not that I've had too many), I just wish it was much longer. The second service was a manicure where all the girls got to site together and chat while we were having our nails done. Since we had some extra time before our next activity we got to spend plenty of time making use of some of the relaxation areas and sipping lemon water or tea. Finally, changed, did our hair and got ready for a night out before getting a "makeup refresher" which really was a full on makeup application. Frankly a little more makeup than I ever wear or really want to, but fun for a night out.
|What colorful nails!
|Before and After makeup application
3. Drag Show - Per the bride's request, we did something most of the bridesmaids had never done before. We went to a drag show dinner - Lips NYC. Although it provided some entertainment and the bride enjoyed herself, it's probably not something I would do again. Most of us felt that it was grossly overpriced and we were required to order a mediocre meal. The Drag Queen's did a few numbers, some of which were better than others. They also called everyone celebrating birthday's and weddings on stage to give the element of "embarrassment" that is always fun to get into a bachelorette party.
4. Local Bar - Our final stop of the night was a local bar where we had a chance to wind down, play some cards and just hang out with each other.
Overall, it was a great day/night and if you are looking to plan a bachelorette party itinerary this Shariously proved to be a good option for a night in the city. Another tip - for this party we arranged for all the events to have set prices so that we could have everyone pre-pay (including all tips and tax) and therefore don't have to be figuring out the bill every step of the way. Good luck and let me know if you have any other Bachelorette party planning or tips.