To the Brink of WAR. A sound and light exhibit at the Maritime Museum of San Diego based on a true Cold War event during the Cuban Missile Crisis.
A fantastic exhibit recently opened at the Maritime Museum of San Diego. You’ll find it aboard their B-39 Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine. The exhibit, using videos, a light show and other exciting effects, tells the story of how one man likely saved the world.
At the height of the Cold War, during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962, a Soviet commander on the B-59, another Foxtrot-class submarine, spoke a few cautious words. Those words might have averted World War III and worldwide nuclear destruction.
The B-59 was one of four Soviet submarines that were sent to the Caribbean Sea to support ships delivering arms to Cuba. In October of 1962 the B-59 was detected by the United States, and Navy destroyers began dropping the sort of depth charges that are used for training–practice depth charges with very little explosive impact. It was the US Navy’s intention to have the sub surface in order to gain positive identification.
Aboard the B-59, however, batteries were running critically low, the air-conditioning had ceased working, and if the submarine didn’t surface eventually the crew would perish. They hadn’t had radio communication with Moscow for several days. The captain of the submarine, Valentin Grigorievitch Savitsky, believed that war had probably begun. He wanted to launch their T-5 nuclear torpedo at the USS Randolph aircraft carrier.
The exhibit inside the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine allows visitors to relive those tense moments. They’ll hear how sub-flotilla commander Vasili Arkhipov, also on the B-59, reasoned that a conflict might not have started, and that firing their “Special Weapon” nuclear torpedo would certainly result in World War III. His calm words of council prevailed, the sub surfaced peacefully, and today visitors to the museum can appreciate his level-headed wisdom, and the extreme pressure that the crew of the B-59 felt on that fateful day.
Anyone visiting the exhibit should be prepared for very close quarters. Ducking and engaging in a variety of pretzel-like contortions while moving along the length of the submarine, one can appreciate how life must have been as a crewmember, even under normal circumstances. It’s definitely not a place for those who have claustrophobia!
Here are a few photos that give you a taste of what you’ll experience. Of course, enjoying the exhibit in person is a thousand times more interesting!
This man might have literally saved the world. Vasili Arkhipov argued against the B-59 captain’s determination to fire a nuclear torpedo against the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Randolph.Today, the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s B-39 Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine allows visitors to see what sub warfare was like during the Cold War, and to relive the crisis.Many signs containing interesting info can be read before boarding the B-39.Sign provides some details about the B-39. It could cruise 20,000 miles on diesel-electric power. It was built in Leningrad. It’s design was generally based on late World War II German u-boats.Life aboard a Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine is briefly described. Duty aboard a Foxtrot was not considered bad, but was often quite boring.Sign shows main parts of the museum’s current Cuban Missile Crisis exhibit. Inside the sub, one must nimbly climb through rather small circular openings!I’ve ascended the gangway and I’m standing forward of the submarine’s sail (or fin). I’ll enter the forward torpedo room via some steps behind me.Enter Here! And prepare to relive a tense moment in history, when the future of humankind teetered on the brink.Just inside the old Soviet sub. There’s a video explaining the Cold War and beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and many signs nearby. The B-59 was armed with a Special Weapon: one nuclear torpedo.This museum torpedo represents what the B-59 Foxtrot carried back in 1962. A purple tip meant a particular torpedo had a nuclear warhead.You might note this torpedo has a purple tip! To fire a nuclear weapon during the Cuban Missile Crisis would have certainly resulted in World War III.A Hair’s Breadth from Nuclear War. President John F. Kennedy dealt with an extremely difficult crisis. Common sense, decisive action–and possibly some luck–helped the world avoid catastrophe.It’s no easy feat going from one section of the sub to another! A visitor is about to head into a narrow corridor en route to the Control Room.Heading through the Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine. Tiny rooms on either side include the Captain’s Cabin, the Officer’s Wardroom, and Medical Exam Room.A look into the Electronic Officer Cabin.The sonar room was critical to the safety of the submarine. Without sonar, the underwater vessel had no eyes.A photo of equipment in one corner of the sonar room.Into the Main Control Room we go, the scene of a sound and light show reenacting those tense minutes before the B-59 chose to surface peacefully without firing their nuclear torpedo.Signs throughout the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s Cuban Missile Crisis exhibit help visitors understand their position in the Foxtrot submarine.Photo includes the Foxtrot’s helm, where a Soviet sailor steered the submarine by moving a lever left and right.Visitor inside the Maritime Museum of San Diego’s B-39 submarine looks through the periscope. Red lights come on as depth charges are heard. A fateful decision must be quickly made.Voices from nearby speakers reenact tense discussions, then orders to the crew. The submarine captain wished to fire a nuclear torpedo; the level-headed flotilla commander convinced him not to.We’ve left the Control Room and are continuing along the center of the submarine. Here’s part of the galley. The crew ate well by Soviet standards–better than most ordinary citizens.More knobs, switches, levers, buttons, dials, gauges and whatnot on the way to the Engine Room.The engine room contains three turbo diesel engines that each put out 2000 horsepower. They drove three shafts connected to six-blade propellers.Another photo inside the museum’s B-39 engine room. During the 1962 events, the B-59’s batteries were low and the air conditioning had failed. Their hot engine room must have been intolerable.Now we’re heading to the Motor Control Room.Bunks for Enlisted Ratings line the corridor. These were shared by the crew and in constant use. No room to spare!A very tight squeeze!And finally we’ve made our way into the After Torpedo Room, where visitors can watch a concluding video documentary. After surfacing peacefully, the B-59 eventually re-submerged and vanished.School students left notes. It seems most really liked the tour! It’s not every day one can see the interior of a Cold War Soviet submarine!Climbing back out of the B-39 Foxtrot-class Soviet submarine, one of many historic vessels that are part of the Maritime Museum of San Diego.
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A new FOX television show, Son of Zorn, advertised on a San Diego trolley. Comic-Con graphics are slowly beginning to appear in San Diego.
Today I spotted the first cool trolley wrap for the fast-approaching 2016 San Diego Comic-Con!
Check out these photos. I had to time my shots strategically, because the trolleys don’t wait at a station for very long!
Each side of this San Diego trolley car advertises a separate television show; both will debut this coming Fall season on FOX. First up you see graphics for Son of Zorn, which involves an animated warrior character among live-action family members. It’s a unique comedy idea that sounds weird but fun! The second side of the trolley wrap advertises The Exorcist, which is already a cultural phenomenon.
I’m positive more 2016 San Diego Comic-Con trolley wraps are on the way, so stay tuned!
Animated warrior Zorn will be coping with live-action family members (including his son) in an unusual hybrid television comedy on FOX this Fall. Taking a stab at the real world.The first 2016 San Diego Comic-Con trolley wrap has debuted in June! Both sides of this trolley advertise upcoming television shows on FOX.And here comes the other side of the exact same trolley car. Another brand new FOX television offering, The Exorcist, is being promoted with eerie blood red graphics.The Exorcist appears on one side of a San Diego trolley. This enormous moving ad for the new FOX show will be seen by thousands of pop culture fans attending Comic-Con next month. Today it’s operating on the Green Line, which goes right past the convention center!Starting July 20, which is Preview Night, San Diego Comic-Con will become the international center of entertainment and popular culture. I expect to see more trolley wraps in the weeks ahead!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! In addition to other San Diego places and events (like the MLB All-Star Game–also in July), I’ll be checking out Comic-Con and taking tons of photos this year!
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Doctor Strange street lamp banners have appeared along the Embarcadero more than a month before the start of 2016 San Diego Comic-Con.
A sign that 2016 San Diego Comic-Con is near has appeared along the Embarcadero. Many street lamps are hung with cool Doctor Strange banners! Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme and his upcoming movie will definitely be a big source of excitement at this year’s Comic-Con. A little more than a month to go!
Want to see lots more Comic-Con stuff? Then stay tuned to this blog, Cool San Diego Sights! As some of you may know, I live in downtown San Diego and have compiled quite a few Comic-Con photos over the past couple years. This year I should be able to take a ton more! Every single day during the incredible event, I’m going to walk everywhere (and I mean everywhere) outside the San Diego Convention Center and all around the Gaslamp and downtown San Diego to see what I can see. I’m going to snap literally thousands of photos and share the best ones with you! There’s a chance I might go inside, too! I sure hope so!
Meanwhile, if you’re hungry for photos from the past couple years, check out these fun pics from old blog posts! (And if you want to share any of this stuff on social media, that’s cool with me!)
If the gray sky is an omen of impending mystical evil . . . fear not! Marvel’s Sorcerer Supreme will make a big appearance at San Diego Comic-Con in July!
This year’s Comic-Con will be bigger and probably crazier than ever! Follow along for all the fun!
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Even though I have many posts concerning Comic-Con, my blog concerns a whole variety of stuff about San Diego! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Beautiful ceramic mosaic artwork at Fletcher Cove Park in Solana Beach. The orange Garibaldi. By artist Betsy Schulz.
During my walk last weekend I headed from the Solana Beach Coaster station west a couple of blocks to Fletcher Cove Park. It was my intention to walk north along the ocean, then back east to Pacific Coast Highway. What I discovered as I neared the beach was incredibly cool.
The ceramic sea-themed mosaics you see in my photos were created by artist Betsy Schulz. I’ve documented another installation of her public art near the Santa Fe Depot. To see that, click here.
From the bluff at Overlook Park there’s a good view of Fletcher Cove and the blue Pacific Ocean. There are also four tables with more cool tile artwork by Betsy Schulz. The beautiful mosaics below in Fletcher Cove Park are found along the walkway that leads down to the beach.
Picnic tables along a path leading up through Overlook Park in Solana Beach feature more beautiful, sea-themed tile mosaics.A spiny lobster embedded in a picnic table at Overlook Park.Two beautiful fish are part of some sea-themed art in Solana Beach, created by artist Betsy Schulz.A crab is featured in this colorful mosaic of small ceramic tiles.Sculpture of a seagull near entrance to Fletcher Cove Park. According to one article I read, the sculpture was created in the 1940s, and the artist doesn’t seem to be known.Fletcher Cove Park, dedicated this day, June 16, 2007.An octopus on a low wall embraces citizens and businesses in Solana Beach who are part of this coastal community.Wonderful tile artwork includes shells, stones and a school of small silvery fish.Barred Surfperch.More ceramic fish along the public walkway that heads down through Fletcher Cove Park to the small beach.Red Octopus.A work of art depicting a few of nature’s wonders and human creativity.This oval seat is right next to the beach. We know a mermaid who lives here in the sea…And here is the mermaid. The stunning mosaic artwork has been worn by sand, wind and time.In a tide pool one might discover a Brittle Star.Upon the rocky ocean bottom, one might find Green Abalone.Brown Tube Snail and California Spiny Lobster.Shore birds one might see nearby include the Whimbrel and Marbled Godwit.Thousands of shells, waves rush to our shore, Search high and low tides, you’re bound to find more.White Amiantis.Many small sea creatures appear in amazing tile artwork in Solana Beach’s Fletcher Cove Park.This lifelike Cabezon seems to be looking directly at you!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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Unique holographic artwork painted on glass as seen through a downtown San Diego window. Reflections of life on the street are also visible in this photo.
Look what I discovered! These super cool, revolutionary paintings are on display in downtown San Diego. You’ll find them arranged behind the windows of the now closed Gaslamp 15 movie theater, just beneath the old marquee.
When I read the signs near these vibrant paintings, my curiosity was piqued. An inventive gentleman named Liguori has used proprietary holographic paints to create two-dimensional images that seem three-dimensional. The visual appearance changes depending upon the angle from which the artwork is observed!
According to the written description, this method of painting is so unique that it constitutes a completely new art form! My photos through the glass windows don’t really demonstrate the appearance of three dimensions. But my photos do include interesting reflections from the city street! Melded with the colorful art are buildings, people, a bus, cars, and just regular ordinary stuff a person walking down the sidewalk might observe. In a sense, this adds another unusual dimension! Please read the two signs that I photographed. Especially if you are keenly interested in physics and philosophy, and unbounded human creativity.
Do you have questions? Would you like to learn more? Perhaps you’d like to purchase one of these completely revolutionary pieces, which belong to an art movement yet to be named! That’s what the sign says! And all proceeds go to charity! To contact Liguori, use the email that is at the bottom of the signs.
Very cool!
Very cool works of art are on display in downtown San Diego. You can see them in the windows of the now vacant Gaslamp 15 movie theater, beneath the old marquee.Liguori is a successful businessman in his seventies. He took up painting late in life. He developed a totally new art medium. All the proceeds of his work will go to various charities!More examples of Liguori’s dazzling, thought-provoking pieces. Apparently the application of his special holographic paint on glass is an entirely new, revolutionary art form.Bold color stimulates the human mind and imagination. Like the universe (or perhaps multiverse), what is seen depends on the observer’s momentary point of view.Liguori’s work provides a physical manifestation of objective reality. When viewing this holographic art, countless three dimensional images are possible. It depends upon the angle of observation.Abstract art melds with cars, buildings, and bits of everyday experience in one wonderful window.More fantastic artwork. I was unable to take photographs without reflections in the windows. But it makes these images that more interesting!A dim somebody strides through a splash of vibrant color.The cosmos is incomprehensibly enormous and complex. Different wavelengths, angles, points in space and time…different states of mind and a blink of the eye. Objective reality is observed only in tiny slices.
UPDATE!
I’ve decided to walk past these holographic paintings again, and attempt to take some better photos without the street reflections. I’ll post them shortly…
Okay, I somehow got two close-up photos through the windows that are pretty amazing. Here they are…
01 Close-up photo of holographic painting by Liguori.02 Close-up photo of holographic painting by Liguori.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Do you like to read short pieces of thought-provoking fiction? You might enjoy checking out Short Stories by Richard.
Just inside the O’Brien Gate at the 2016 San Diego County Fair. This year’s theme is Alice in Wonderland.
I have photographic proof that Alice has popped back out of the rabbit hole. In fact, she has emerged from Wonderland only to find herself smack dab in the middle of the San Diego County Fair!
Yes, the slogan this year is “Mad About the Fair.” And should you head up to Del Mar and purchase a ticket, you’ll find yourself among thousands of San Diegans enjoying scenes and characters from the classic children’s book Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by the immortal author Lewis Carroll.
The San Diego County Fair is a wonderful place to enjoy a lazy summer’s day no matter what the theme. You can eat deep fried Twinkies, take a ride in the Fun Zone, toss a ring at a bottle, and see all sorts of cool performances, craft exhibits and livestock. But this year it might be better than ever. Alice in Wonderland is just too much fun.
Walking down the good old midway. Once known as the Del Mar Fair, the county fair is a wildly popular summer attraction in Southern California.There’s a White Rabbit walking along! Don’t follow him! You don’t know where he might lead!Alice falls down the rabbit hole. One of many outstanding works of art by high school students displayed at the San Diego County Fair.A high school pencil drawing of an imaginative Wonderland.A first place winner at the San Diego County Fair. This student created a very nice visual composition.More fantastic art. Alice tries to make her way through endless weirdness and absurdity.One of many fun displays outside at the Paul Ecke Jr. Garden Show. I see the grinning Cheshire Cat and all sorts of other Alice in Wonderland stuff.Some steampunk contraptions at the outdoor garden show. I see a cool steampunk washing machine and a weird metal Mad Hatter taking a shower.Another fun entry at the garden show. These gardens seem to contain many teacups and mushrooms.Flowers, butterflies and trees shaped like hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs.The Queen of Hearts wants people to have their photo taken here. Or it’s off with their heads, I suppose.It’s Tweedledum and Tweedledee. They’re from the sequel to Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the equally classic Through the Looking-Glass.Some more fun Alice in Wonderland pottery characters created by The Madd Potter.A long colorful mural above some fair vendors depicts beloved characters created by Lewis Carroll. Their appearance has evolved due to popular culture and now incorporate steampunk elements like goggles.Alice plays flamingo croquet in a fantasy world full of rampant irrationality and nonsense.Even the Cheshire Cat has gone steampunk!Get ready to enter the Mad About the Fair exhibit. It’s dark inside, so many photos didn’t turn out so good.I’ve spotted Alice! She’s passing a huge hat possibly worn by The Hatter. He must have one huge head.One display highlights differently illustrated Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland books over the years. Some are imaginative adaptations or interpretations.A super long table in the exhibit was set for an epic tea party!A whole variety of displays paid homage to the Steampunk genre. Here are some Victorian ladies in cool steampunk top hats.A very cool steampunk mechanical man made of brass gears, with a glass globe for its head.Clocks seem to be a common Wonderland motif. All sorts of fun old clocks were displayed on this wall. I didn’t see the White Rabbit’s pocket watch.The cool artwork of singing legend Grace Slick was on display! You might remember the Jefferson Airplane smash hit White Rabbit.The White Rabbit represents curiosity–always in a hurry and just out of reach. He is a moving mystery.Alice awaits at the 2016 San Diego County Fair. Follow her back down into the rabbit hole, if you dare!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Do you like to read short pieces of very imaginative, thought-provoking fiction? You might enjoy checking out Short Stories by Richard.
Amazing wood art. A hooded figure takes a break at an inn. Just Off The Road, Basswood, Randy Stoner.
Today I moseyed around Del Mar and Solana Beach. My walk included a couple of stimulating hours at the San Diego County Fair. I just wandered about, soaking it all in, and found my feet heading toward my favorite part of the fair, the Design in Wood Exhibition.
Some of the best wood artists in Southern California–the world, for that matter–submitted their incredible pieces this year to be judged. The exhibition, a collaboration with the San Diego Fine Woodworkers Association, is celebrating its 35th year.
Here is some of the wildly creative woodwork that really caught my eye. You’ll notice many pieces have an Alice in Wonderland theme. That’s because this year’s San Diego County Fair is all about that timeless children’s book penned by Lewis Carroll. White Rabbits, March Hares and Mad Hatters abound! Everywhere you turn there’s a tea party or a grinning Cheshire Cat!
The Alice in Wonderland theme intersects with Steampunk, of course, so many fantastic contraptions and quirky bits of wood art are included in the exhibition. Take a look!
Glass table supported by fantastic underwater character carved from wood. Califa’s Realm, Avocado, Lorenzo Foncerrada.A steampunk writer might enjoy creating new worlds while sitting here! Time Machine Desk, Recycled Pine and Plywood, Jeffrey Comulada.Yikes! Get out of the way! This eye-catching contraption is just too cool. Scorpion Wheelchair, Pine, Roger Aceve.A truly amazing fantasy woodcarving. Julia the Dragon Killer, Bass, Antonio Barrios.Ancient warrior and an incredibly elaborate helmet made of wood. Dracon Soldier, Bass, Antonio Barrios.More outstanding artistry. Heron in a scene from a San Diego lagoon. Spirit of San Elijo, Torrey Pine, Lorenzo Foncerrada.Wood grains flow in this crazy organic bench. Ongoing Conversation, Baltic Birch, Alan Johnson.A very cool tangle-tentacled wooden octopus. Denizen of the Deep, Maple, Tom Edwards.Perhaps this is a wood version of Strider from Lord of the Rings. Ranger, Basswood, Randy Stoner.A mountain lion carved from wood keeps guard among other spectacular works of art. Kitty Kitty, Mahogany, Bill Churchill.This skeleton pirate with a brass steampunk telescope is beyond awesome. Mutiny, Bloodwood Fir, Mike Anderson.Two very cool handmade guitars with an Alice in Wonderland theme. I see clocks, the White Rabbit, a mad tea party, even a mustache!I love this example of imaginative wood design. Jack Rabbit, Alder, Ray Camien.Members of the San Diego Scrollsaw Clubs demonstrate their craft to people visiting the Design in Wood Exhibition at the San Diego County Fair.A wonderfully inventive piece of furniture. Birdcage Chair, White Oak, Patrick Atangan.Looks like an animal skull in the desert Southwest. Early, Early American Chair, Poplar, Del Cover.This might be the most intricate model tall ship I ever saw. Sovereign of the Seas, Boxwood, Mahogany, Ebony, Sycamore, William Norris.When a person becomes old, there’s no need to become dull. Two Canes, Various, Tracy Talbott.A fun chest of drawers perfect for a kid’s room. Buddy Bear, Walnut, Ralph Crowther.I wonder if Lewis Carroll imagined there would be steampunk powerboats one day. Looking For Alice, Various, Michael Rumsey.I love the cosmic layered wood sky with Saturn behind buildings. Night Surfing, Hardwood Plywood, Robert Stafford.Gears aplenty. Steampunk Cat, Various, Stephen Knight.Now this work of wood art totally blew my mind. Absolutely beautiful. Stormy, Various, Chuck Collins.Yeah, some days this pensive chimp could easily outwit me. Thinking, Various, Daryoush Ababaf.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
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Peer into the rippling water. You’ll be astonished at what you see.
Do you often think about life?
If you’d like to read a short story that I published on my Short Stories By Richard blog about time and memory, light and reflection–in other words about life–then click here.
A very cool street mural in North Park depicts icons from three decades: the 50s, 60s and 70s.
Check out this super cool street mural in North Park, on the side of a building near the corner of 30th Street and Adams Avenue! It’s titled “Remembering… 50’s 60’s 70’s” and was painted by the artist Kerry A. Moore in 2008. The mural depicts small, iconic scenes from what many might call the good old days! I searched like crazy but could find absolutely nothing about this fun street art on the internet.
How many entertainment legends and famous people from those three decades can you spot? Among others, I recognize Elvis, Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, the I Love Lucy show, the Rat Pack, Martin Luther King, Jr., Neil Armstrong, the Beatles, JFK, Easy Rider, Jimi Hendrix, the original Star Wars, The Godfather, Happy Days, John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, and, of course, Rocky Balboa. I was a kid in the 70’s and remember many good times. Movies I remember fondly include Star Wars, Rocky and Superman. But most of my best old memories are probably from the 80’s, experiencing life and this great big world as a young adult. Wow, the years have gone by quickly.
I have a dream. Make love, not war. Happy Days. Revolutionary music, cool cars, sports heroes, and a space opera that changed entertainment forever. Bits of history and popular culture from America’s past. Now that is one jam-packed mural!
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
Dog Gnawing Bone, Arthur Putnam, 1904. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.
Wow! I enjoyed another awesome visit to the San Diego Museum of Art last weekend, courtesy of my docent friend Catherine! She provided a spellbinding tour of several exhibits! The one I liked most–possibly because I love animals and because the artist has a San Diego connection–concerned the bronze sculptures of Arthur Putnam.
The exhibition, titled Ferocious Bronze, features artwork so utterly amazing that Arthur Putnam has been called the American Rodin. He was such a gifted sculptor that his pieces have sometimes been mistaken for those of Frederic Remington. Most of his bronzes depict animals in the wild: hunting, in mortal combat, at play or at rest.
Arthur Putnam lived from 1873–1930 and was considered one of the greatest sculptors of his era. At the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco he won a coveted Gold Medal. During his lifetime his work was exhibited in major cities, including New York, Chicago, Paris and Rome. Many of his monumental public sculptures still stand in San Francisco, Monterey and San Diego.
Check out these photos! They provide a small taste of what you’ll experience should you visit Ferocious Bronze. You can get an idea of Putnam’s tremendous artistry. The superb realism is partly due to the fact that he personally loved the outdoors, and spent many days observing animals in the wild and at zoos. A mostly self-taught artist, Putnam even worked for a brief time at a slaughterhouse. (Yuck!)
Did I mention Arthur Putnam’s unique San Diego connection? His very first commission was from newspaper magnate E. W. Scripps, which he received at the Scripps Ranch located in Miramar. In addition, two of Putnam’s monumental works stand today near the spot where San Diego was founded–the very place where European civilization took root in California.
(I’ve included my own photos of the two large bronze sculptures that stand on San Diego’s Presidio Hill. I wrote a blog several years ago that concerned an interesting walk past these sculptures.)
Ferocious Bronze, curated by Dr. James Grebl, showcases 28 of Putnam’s amazing animal pieces. They were selected from the over 100 pieces that the San Diego Museum of Art has in their collection. This special exhibit was inspired by another Balboa Park institution: the world famous San Diego Zoo! They are now celebrating their centennial year!
If you happen to be in San Diego, and if you love fine art or have a special place in your heart for wild animals, I recommend that you head over to see Ferocious Bronze at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park! This very cool exhibition runs through October 11, 2016.
Big Combat, Arthur Putnam, undated. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.Ambling Bear, Arthur Putnam, 1910. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.Fighting Buffalo, Arthur Putnam, 1900. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.Lynx Ready to Spring, Arthur Putnam, 1909. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.The Indian, Arthur Putnam, 1905. This amazing sculpture stands on San Diego’s Presidio Hill beneath the Serra Museum.The Padre, Arthur Putnam, 1908. This sculpture stands among some trees on San Diego’s Presidio Hill beneath the Serra Museum.Wild Cat, Arthur Putnam, 1908. Photo courtesy San Diego Museum of Art.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of fun photos for you to enjoy!
Do you like to read short pieces of thought-provoking fiction? You might enjoy checking out Short Stories by Richard.