A Museum with a view that divides > II July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Architecture, Arts Museums.add a comment
Conservation is not always the answer > The history of any trend toward conserving urban architecture is very recent in Greece, beginning in 1932 when a law on antiquities was passed. The law was amended in 1950 to provide for the conservation, in special cases, of buildings.
In 2002, a new law (No. 3028) “on the protection of antiquities and cultural heritage in general” was brought into line with the Constitution, since Greece had in the meantime signed many international treaties which the previous legislation did not include.
Popular acceptance of the concept of listing buildings began to be cultivated after the end of the 1967-74 dictatorship, due to a great extent to the efforts of late Culture Minister Melina Mercouri.
Around 1974-75, society was ready to accept a change in the mentality that had led to the transformation of Greek cities within about a decade, 1957-67 in Athens, and during the dictatorship in the provinces. After the dictatorship ended, the psychological climate changed and small elite pressure groups formed, and many issues were now open to debate.
Today, despite its hundreds of listed buildings, Athens is still a deeply problematic city, where issues are left pending if it means avoiding decisions. The quality of the urban environment is not judged by the number of listed buildings it has but by what is done, how and why.
Visibility, interaction * > The Museum is about movement, it is about movement in space and time. You see objects but you also experience history. The way we conceived of the design for the Acropolis Museum was as a building that would function as an architectural promenade, as an extension of the existing landscape. The idea was that even before someone entered the Museum, as they walked along the road, they would begin to be aware of the existence of the antiquities within the building.
Once inside the Museum and walking through it, visitors would trod up a glass ramp that would partly enable observation of the findings from the excavations below, as well as the sculptures above. Everything would turn around the question of visibility and interaction. There are places where sculptures play the main role but interact with visitors… We decided to remove the glass walls as we realized that the interaction between the sculptures and visitors would be better without them. Naturally, one reaches the top of the building where the stoa to the Parthenon is situated, and where the metopes and other sculptures are hoped to be exhibited. From there is a view of the Parthenon. The New Acropolis Museum is not to be compared with any other Museum. Most Museums are designed to display their contents or to be impressive themselves. The New Acropolis Museum is the only Museum designed for interaction. The Acropolis and the Parthenon are visible in an unexpected way. The Museum is there to show what is both within and outside it. It is the first Museum that plays such a role.
* Excerpt from a speech by Bernard Tschumi delivered at the Culture Ministry on July 11.
A Museum with a view that divides July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Architecture, Arts Museums.add a comment
Dilemma arises over proposed demolition of the listed buildings that block view of Acropolis from its new Museum
At the moment, the rear of the two listed buildings is what one sees from the premises of the new Museum. The art-deco and neoclassical structures face the Dionysiou Areopagitou pedestrian walkway and have a view of the Parthenon that can be seen behind the building on the left.
The 17 Dionysiou Areopagitou Street building was designed by Vassilis Kouremenos and built in 1930. It was first listed in 1978.
Next door, No. 19, which belongs to the composer Vangelis Papathanassiou, is in the neoclassical style. Both have been declassified and are destined for demolition following a decree issued on July 3 this year.
A dilemma has arisen as the New Acropolis Museum nears completion at the foot of the country’s most famous landmark. Its view of the Sacred Rock is obstructed by two listed buildings on Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, at Nos. 17 and 19, and a proposal has been made to demolish them.
The two buildings are the first structures one sees upon entering the main archaeological promenade, that is, at the intersection of Makriyianni and Dionysiou Areopagitou Streets. The building that once stood at No. 15, which had been listed, was demolished in 2003 for the same purpose.
Naturally, strong opposition to the demolitions has come from the buildings’ owners, but also from a large number of architects and a significant segment of the public. Apart from the sentimental and aesthetic value of the buildings, the opponents of the move cite the state’s lack of consistency, since until recently the two buildings had been exempted from demolition precisely because of their intrinsic significance.
Looking toward the Parthenon from the new Museum, the sight of the rear walls of the two buildings strikes a jarring note, in stark contrast with the facades that face the street and the Acropolis, as with many listed buildings, even though No.17 has recently been restored.
Those who want to save the buildings propose some form of aesthetic renovation or the planting of tall trees to lessen their impact. The other side claims the two buildings should go in order to free the space between the Acropolis and its Museum, to create a visual association between the two.
The Museum’s architect Bernard Tschumi is investing a great deal in precisely that kind of added value for the building which is expected to be the most visited site in Athens next summer.
Athens is providing not only its own citizens but the entire world with an example of state-of-the-art modern architecture of immense symbolic value and therefore it should be done under the very best conditions, even at the cost of sacrificing two important for Athens buildings. The goal is a long-term one and a city has a duty to break with its past when necessary. All cities have been built and have grown at the cost of some sacrifices.
Scale model showing the historical center of Athens, with the New Acropolis Museum in the foreground and the Acropolis behind, on display at the Onassis Cultural Center in New York, in 2003. The two listed buildings interrupt any direct view of the Sacred Rock from the Museum.
However, defenders of these two buildings cite the guarantees given by the authorities that these edifices would be saved. From the outset, the design for the new Museum should have taken into consideration these structures, which have been protected by the state for decades.
Dionysiou Areopagitou Street, they say, comprises one of the most aesthetically unified groups of buildings in Athens. Number 17, the work of architect Vassilis Kouremenos, is a prime example of art-deco architecture. Number 19 is an example of early neoclassical architecture dating from the early 20th century. The Kouremenos building is causing more concern because it is seen as unique in Greece.
Lifting the protected status of these two buildings by the relevant Culture Ministry services is seen as an unacceptable precedent that harms the state’s credibility. According to legal precedents established by the Council of State, a listed building cannot be declassified “unless good reason is given that it had been classified as such without there being any legal grounds for doing so, or if it can be shown that deception was involved.”
Although the owners of the buildings and the architects who want to save them appear to have a long struggle ahead of them, the issue has given rise to a lively debate. Irrespective of which side one takes, the issue has many facets. However, there is no doubt that the New Acropolis Museum, as a new attraction, will be of long-term benefit to the city.
Turn on the sun and smile again, Nana July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in MusicLife, MusicLife Greek.add a comment
Turn on the sun,
Light up the world, tell everyone,
Good times are in, bad times are out
Turn on the sun and smile again
The singer of “Turn on”, Nana Mouskouri is a musician who energizes the hearts of seekers for the greatest lyrics and lines of this millenia. But who is Nana Mouskouri?
Nana Nouskouri, is a world famous singer from Greece, who captivated the hearts of listeners from Athens to Arabia, Milan to Washington and Paris to Sydney. Soaring high on a voice of clarity, compassion and complete artistry, Nana, embraces the hearts and souls of her worldwide fans.
Nana is a native of Greece. She was born in Chania, Crete. She recorded many of her songs in many different languages, including Greek, French, English, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese. She is noted for her trademark squarish black-rimmed eyeglasses and straight black hair parted in the middle, and her songs of melancholy, longing, and sentimental musings upon love, for which the emotion of her voice is exceptionally suited. Mouskouri has recorded from the 1960s into the new millennium and has tailored releases to specific international requests.
Living the code of a compassionate person, Nana reaches out to everyone in need. Mouskouri was appointed a UN International Children’s Educational Fund, UNICEF, Goodwill Ambassador in October 1993. She took over from the previous ambassador, American actress Audrey Hepburn. Mouskouri’s first UN mission took her to Bosnia to draw attention to the plight of children affected by Bosnian war. She was deeply moved by her experience in Bosnia and went on to give a series of fund-raising concerts in Sweden and Belgium. She was elected a Member of the European Parliament from 1994 until 1999.
In 1993, Nana recorded a new album, Hollywood, produced by Michel Legrand. Hollywood was a collection of famous film songs. It was not only a tribute to the world of cinema, but also as a personal reference to childhood memories of sitting with her father in his projection room in Crete.
From December 11 to 14, 1997, Mouskouri gave four triumphant performances at the Olympia in Paris to celebrate the 40th anniversary of her singing career. Also in 1997, Mouskouri resigned from her position as a European MP. She explained that a fervent pacifist, she refused to back wars.
Mouskouri currently lives in Switzerland with her second husband, André Chapelle whom she married on January 13, 2003. She still performs about 100 concerts each year. In 2004, her French record company released an unprecedented 34-CD box set of more than 600 of Mouskouri’s mostly French songs.
For 2005 and 2008, she plans a farewell concert tour of Europe, Australia, Asia, South America, the United States, and Canada. During an interview with The Australian newspaper, when asked why this would be her final concert series, Mouskouri said she wanted to retire on a high note. “I never thought that I would grow that old. It is better really to stop while you are standing well on your feet. I just want to be proud and in very good form and thank the audience for all this love,” she said.
In May 2006 she made a guest appearance at that year’s Eurovision Song Contest which was held, for the first time ever, in her native homeland of Greece. Appearing in front of an estimated television audience of 160 million she congratulated the participants on their performances and started the televoting sequence. Mouskouri has sold more than 300 million records internationally, recording about 1,500 songs in 15 languages on 450 albums. She has more than 300 gold and platinum albums worldwide, making her the best-selling female recording artist of all time.
Cyprus Veterans’ Association launches website July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Cyprus News, Internet.add a comment
Cyprus Veterans’ Association of World War II has launched its own website, www.cyprusveterans.com.cy, at which data concerning Cyprus’ contribution to the two world wars and the names of Cypriots who have been honoured or have died at the war fronts have been filed.
Speaking during a press conference President of the Association Loizos Demetriou welcomed the decision of the Cyprus government to give the Veterans of World War II an honorary pension amounting to 50 Cyprus pound per month since April this year, noting that the Cypriot Veterans have also asked the government of Britain to approve a pension of honour for the volunteers who served during World War II.
Cyprus was a British colony during World War II and the volunteers joined the British army. Demetriou said that the number of Cypriot volunteers reached, according to official data of the British Ministry of Defence, 19,821, of which 12 thousand are volunteers in the Cypriot Regiment, 4 thousand in Cyprus Volunteering Force, 690 volunteers were recruited in Egypt and 778 women volunteers, who served at women’s Auxiliary Territorial Service and Auxiliary Air Force. Seventy eight per cent of the volunteers were Greek Cypriots, 21% Turkish Cypriots and 1% came from other minorities on the island.
As regards Cyprus’ contribution to World War I, Demetrious said that according to the data which the Association has collected, Cyprus had offered 16 thousand volunteers during the years 1916-1918. Eighty nine per cent of them were Greek Cypriots and 11% Turkish Cypriots, while according to some information Turkish Cypriot volunteers jointed the alliance forces in Thessaloniki where Cypriot volunteers served.
The website will also include in the future the list of Cypriot captives and prisoners, a membership application, a list of publications, a list of commemorations events and links with other relevant international associations.
In his message at the website, former President of the Republic of Cyprus Glafkos Clerides, a veteran of World War II, said he was proud “because my small in numbers country contributed 20.000 brave men in the defence of Freedom and Democracy”.
Underwater study provides evidence of much older city July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Archaeology, Hellenic Light Africa.add a comment
Large community predated Alexandria
Two Egyptian fishermen try their luck in the calm sea of Alexandria harbor on October 2, 2001, as the Alexandria Library appears shining in the background.
The Bibliotheca Alexandrina, a $200 million project, sponsored by the UN cultural body UNESCO, is an imposing cylindrical structure that stands like a huge shining beacon on the shores of Alexandria’s coastline.
Alexander the Great founded Alexandria to immortalize his name on his way to conquer the world, but this may not have been the first city on the famed site of Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. A Smithsonian team has now uncovered the first underwater evidence pointing to an urban settlement dating back seven centuries before Alexander showed up in 331 BC.
The city he founded, Alexandria, has long been a source of intrigue and wonder, renowned for its library, once the largest in the world, and the 396-foot (119-meter) lighthouse on the island of Pharos, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. But little was known about the site in pre-Alexander times, other than that a fishing village by the name of Rhakotis was located there.
Coastal geoarchaeologist Jean-Daniel Stanley of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History said the work by him and his colleagues suggested there had been a much larger community than had previously been believed. The discoveries, reported in the August issue of GSA Today, the journal of the Geological Society of America, came by accident when his team drilled underwater in Alexandria’s harbor, Stanley said.
Their project was part of a 2007 Smithsonian-funded study of the subsiding Nile Delta and involved extracting 3-inch-wide sticks of core sediment some 18 feet long (5.5 meters), from up to 20 feet (6.5 meters) under the seabed. Egypt’s antiquities department and a French offshore group were involved in the project.
The goal was to understand what happened to cause later structures, from the Greek and Roman eras, to become submerged. “One of the ways you do this is by taking sediment cores and examining core structures,” he told The Associated Press by phone from Washington. “This often happens in science. We were not searching for an ancient city,” said Stanley, who has been working in the Delta region for 20 years. When his team opened the cores, what they saw were “little ceramic fragments that were indicative of human activity.”
But there was no immediate cause for excitement. Then, more and more rock fragments, ceramic shards from Middle and Upper Egypt, a lot of organic matter plant matter and heavy minerals were found. All the materials were found by radiocarbon dating to be from around 1000 BC. The scientists then analyzed concentration of lead isotopes found in the cores and saw that they too matched the dates of around 3,000 years ago.
“This was proof that there was significant metallurgy and human activity going on back 1,000 years BC,” Stanley said. “Alexandria did not just grow out from a barren desert, but was built atop an active town. We had five well-defined components that fit, and we had the story. And the story was that Alexander the Great did not come first to set up Alexandria, there was already something there.” Stanley could not say how big the community was, only that it appeared more developed than the small fishing village long believed to be at the site.
Mohamed Abdel-Maqsud, an Alexandria expert from Egypt’s Council of Antiquities, was cautious and said the work on uncovering Rhakotis was only in the early stages. “We can’t give a wealth of information out now, we are still working,” Maqsud said. “There are signs of a flourishing settlement, going back to Pharaonic times, but it’s too early to say anything about it.”
Stanley hopes that a study of Rhakotis may one day prove as inspiring as other recent offshore discoveries, such as finds by marine archaeologists of the 2,500-year-old ruins of the cities of Herakleion, Canopus and Menouthis, Pharaonic cities built on different parts of the coast near present-day Alexandria. “There is an awful lot more of history to know,” Stanley said, adding that geologists would have to drill more intensely on land, around the shores, and in Alexandria itself to shed more light on the ancient world. “I’m sure they will find artifacts of Rhakotis someday,” he said. “And we will know more about the people who lived there.”
Gold Byzantine coins found in royal graves July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Archaeology, Hellenic Light Asia.add a comment
The findings strengthen Greek-Chinese friendship, cooperation
A substantial find of 6th-8th century gold Byzantine coins in China has naturally sparked great interest both in China and Greece.
They are an addition to the growing friendship and cooperation between Beijing and Athens in view of the 2008 Olympic Games and cultural events connected with Greek Cultural Year in China.
The gold Byzantine coins and their numerous Chinese copies were found in royal tombs and had been placed over the mouth of the deceased or near the head. The copies raise questions, since the counterfeiting of coins was strictly prohibited throughout China on pain of death. In the Middle Ages, the Chinese saw Byzantium as a place of prosperity, and there is evidence of this in many old Chinese ceramics and illustrations that employ Byzantine elements.
Archaeologist Lin Ying of Sun Yat-Sen University in Hong Kong will study the Byzantine items found in China for a new book, she said on a visit with Liang Yequiang, the Athens correspondent for the Xinhua News Agency. China’s Ambassador to Athens, Tian Xuejun, and his wife have shown great interest in Lin’s research and are assisting her.
The discovery of the coins has also inspired writer and historian Katerina Agrafioti, biographer of Herod Atticus and Dora Stratou, to collect details linking Byzantium and China via the Silk Road. Professor Lin is a regular visitor to Athens. Visiting the Numismatic Museum to inspect the coins, she was given a guided tour by Museum Director Despina Evgenidou, who noted that the discovery of the coins opened «interesting prospects in relations between Byzantium and China which must be examined in depth.»
And Dimitra Tsangari, curator of Alpha Bank’s coin collection, told Vorres Museum Director Ion Vorres, «We Greek archaeologists will do everything we can to help the research of our Chinese colleagues.»
Greece’s prehistoric mastodon July 28, 2007
Posted by grhomeboy in Archaeology.add a comment
In this photo released by the University of Thessaloniki, Evangelia Tsoukala, Assistant Professor of Geology at the University of Thessaloniki, right, sits with fellow researchers beside two large tusks and bone remains from a mastodon are seen in this time delay hand out picture picture in an excavated sandpit, at the village of Milia Greece on Sunday, July 22, 2007.
Greek and Dutch researchers at the site said the remains are 2.5 millions years old and could provide insight into how the primitive elephant became extinct. The largest tusk is 5 meters long.
Paleontologists have discovered the remains of a prehistoric mastadon in northern Greece, including its perfectly preserved tusks. Measuring 5meters, they are the longest ever found on a prehistoric animal of this kind. Scientists believe the discovery could help identify the reasons for the extinction of mastodons in Europe, two to three million years ago.
Photo Credits > Evangelia Tsoukala.
grhomeboy
