Blog #208   5/30/17

The ceiling of Grand Central Terminal, New York, NY

Not long ago, I wrote a blog about looking down, from airliner windows (Blog: “Bird’s Eve View”). But in a time when many constantly look down (e.g. at their smart phones), I am often happily surprised by what I see when I look up.

An overhead point of view serves as a sort of a metaphor for living a life fully by seeing all we can see and deriving as much out of every moment of the finite time we’re given.

The ceiling of The Pantheon, Rome, Italy

The ceiling of The Cirque du Soleil Theater, Bellagio Hotel, Las Vegas, NV

The ceiling of The Guggenheim Museum of Art, New York, NY

The ceiling of the Brookfield Place foyer, World Trade Center, New York, NY

The ceiling of the Devon Energy Center, the tallest building in Oklahoma City, OK

The central opened space and skylight of The Palazzo Sciarra, Rome Italy.
To make this image and some of the others, I had to lay down, supine, on the floor to capture the entire image.

The images here came about from looking up, the result of surprise. Generally, most everyday architecture ignores what’s overhead, unlike, say, Renaissance architects and painters. But many public spaces vividly revive the idea that the space above us should inspire. These are some of the unexpected overhead visions that I have captured, results of looking up.

Above: Six ceilings from The (fabulous) Morgan Library, on Madison Ave, New York, NY

Looking up, as one did as a kid, seeing imaginary creatures in the clouds, is a way to be an adventurer.

The ceiling of a restaurant in Western PA.

The ceiling of The David H. Koch, New York State Theater, New York, NY (at a performance of the magnificent New York City Ballet performing a modern work by Justin Peck).

A ceiling at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

A ceiling at The Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, and tail of the dinosaur in the foyer.

So I say “look up,” i.e. try things, engage, explore, examine, scrutinize and analyze. One life, many opportunities. And therefore to search, seek, try, test and probe is to enhance one’s life with so many infinite possibilities.

New York, NY, Looking straight up!

These images are the result of open-ended exploration and living that way.

The ceiling of the Uniqlo Store, Fifth Avenue, New York, NY

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