Capturing Light

As you admire the projected light of the Kennedy Center's Northern Lights exhibition on the trees surrounding the venue, contemplate today's thought courtesy of poet Maya Angelou:

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it."

Bright Lights, Bright Shirts

Thought of the day courtesy of the great British statesman and Prime Minister Winston Churchill:

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."

Our nation's leaders should take to heart Churchill's wise words. If we did more listening and less talking, we might be able to resolve more issues faster and keep policy moving forward instead of remaining in this stalemate.

The Other Shirt Ship Hull

Like I shared in yesterday's post, the ship made of men's dress shirts at the Kennedy Center was presented in two parts. Visitors could actually walk between the two parts of the ship's hull and see the interior.

When I photographed the opposite hull from yesterday's photo, I loved how this spotlight behind the art exhibition was diffused by the shirts in front of it. The material of the shirts seemed to dull the intensity of the spotlight, making it broader and an interesting addition to today's image.

A Ship of Shirts

Yes, you read the blog post title correctly. I did say: A Ship of Shirts. At least that's what Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen created at the Kennedy Center as part of the Nordic Cool exhibition.

Entitled Are We Still Afloat?, Kaikkonen constructed the hanging sculpture as ship broken in two using a thousand men's shirts. Taking up most of the walkway in the Hall of States inside the Kennedy Center is an art installation that appears as a large ship constructed with dress shirts donated by the men of Washington, DC.

The artist is known for creating large scale, site-specific environmental installations made from simple recycled materials and domestic items, such as clothing and paper.

Check out the Kennedy Center's video interview with Kaikkonen below to watch how she built such an interesting ship.

Stretching Branches

Today's thought of the day comes from one of my favorite singers, Adele. In an interview, she said:

"I'm ballsy. I have guts. I'm not afraid of anyone. I think that makes me feel powerful. The only person I'm afraid of is myself."

After a long day, this is a good mantra to repeat to oneself. Be more ballsy tomorrow. Fear no one. Feel powerful. Ignore the cowardly lion of self-doubt in us all.

Tomorrow, we should stretch ourselves beyond our "boundaries" and comfort zones into the limitless sky like these leafless tree branches in winter.

As we stretch, we may connect with others moving in complementary -- and at times, contrary -- directions. Perhaps this intersection will result in collaboration or conflict. Either way, growth can always be by-product if we allow it.

Whatever the outcome, we must still be fearless, bold, and ballsy. And always reach, reach, reach.

Dancing Lights

The Northern Lights exhibition -- created by Danish lighting designer Jesper Kongshaug -- begins projecting on the facade of the Kennedy Center around 5:30 pm, which is still a little before sunset here in DC right now.

For a brief time, the remaining sunlight and artificial Northern Lights share the same space and seem to dance across the walls of the Center.

Northern Lights

As Neil Diamond likes to sing, "Hello again. Hello."

I've been on a blog (and photography) sabbatical for a few months, but I believe it's come to an end now. So if it's alright with you, I'd like to pick up where we left off and start sharing photos, thoughts and stories again here on Via My Viewfinder.

This past weekend, I went to the Kennedy Center to check out their "Nordic Cool" events and exhibits. Each year, the Kennedy Center spends several weeks at the beginning of the year on a different culture.

For 2013, they focused on the Nordic culture and exhibited art, music, dance and other types of artistic performances from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden as well as the territories of Greenland, the Faroe Islands, and Áland Islands.

As part of the Nordic Cool festivities, each night the exterior of the Kennedy Center is lit blue and a simulation of the Northern Lights is displayed on its walls. It is a pretty spectacular view from Roosevelt Bridge, which runs alongside the Center, when driving to and from the District. Even up close, as you can see in today's photograph, it is still beautiful.