Click image to enlarge
Glass chandelier by Dale Chihuly
The Victoria and Albert Museum, London; © David Weeks, 2009
26 April 2009
12 April 2009
Resurrection
St Martin's in the Fields, London; © Brian Sibley, 2009
The new East Window, designed by Turner Prize nominee Shirazeh Houshiary in collaboration with architect Pip Horne.
10 April 2009
28 March 2009
18 March 2009
19 February 2009
12 February 2009
Cockerel
Today's window (from Snowy Monday) is by guest Window-gazer Polkadots & Moonbeams...
Clapham, London; © Sophie Walpole, 2009
Clapham, London; © Sophie Walpole, 2009
02 February 2009
28 January 2009
22 January 2009
Skylines
Click on images to enlargeA reflection of various buildings including, far left, the Empire State Building
New York, America; © Brian Sibley, 2009
15 January 2009
01 January 2009
25 December 2008
21 December 2008
Hanukkah
Another of John K Clark's stained glass windows the Giffnock Synagogue in Glasgow photographed for Window Gazing by Sharon Mail.SHARON MAIL.
This window symbolizes the Festival of Lights...
The Festival of Lights commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over Syrian Greek rule in 175 BCE. The Greeks had defiled the Temple and the Maccabean victory led to the dedication of the Temple and the kindling of the menorah, the Temple Candelabrum. Only a single small jar of undefiled oil could be found, but that miraculously burned for eight days until more could be produced. To commemorate this miracle one more candle is lit in the Chanukah menorah each day, and the window alludes to this by depicting each flame in a different shade.
Palm branches represent the victory over Hellenism, a laurel wreath in the darkness at the base of the window indicates the end of Greek rule and golden vine leaves provide a reminder of the Temple. The window also shows a dreidel, a small spinning top used in a traditional Chanukah game.
© Sharon Mail 2008
08 December 2008
Frosty Windows
These windows are part of this year's Christmas display at Fortnum & Mason's emporium in Piccadilly, London...
What I particularly love about photographing these windows during the day - when winter sunlight is falling on the facade of The Royal Academy opposite - is the way in which the fantasy images in the windows merge with the real London (and its windows) on the opposite side of the road reflected on the windows...
Fortnum & Mason's Christmas windows, Piccadilly, London © Brian Sibley 2008
In the archive of my companion blog, you can view last year's F&M windows that were devoted to the seasonal song, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'.
Click on any image to enlarge
What I particularly love about photographing these windows during the day - when winter sunlight is falling on the facade of The Royal Academy opposite - is the way in which the fantasy images in the windows merge with the real London (and its windows) on the opposite side of the road reflected on the windows...
Fortnum & Mason's Christmas windows, Piccadilly, London © Brian Sibley 2008
In the archive of my companion blog, you can view last year's F&M windows that were devoted to the seasonal song, 'The Twelve Days of Christmas'.
30 November 2008
09 November 2008
03 November 2008
16 October 2008
Tabernacles
These two stained-glass windows were photographed for Window Gazing by SHARON MAIL and are part of one of the most significant works of art commissioned by the Jewish community in Scotland.
They are the work of one of Scotland’s best contemporary artists, John K Clark, and were originally commissioned, in 1987, for the Queens Park Synagogue but subsequently moved to the Giffnock Synagogue in Glasgow.
The windows are part of the Sukkot (Tabernacles) Series and their symbolism is explained below:
The top window represents the ingathering of Crops: ‘on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days’ (Leviticus 23.39). The arched area of this panel shows another interpretation of the Sukkah, as the Clouds of Glory, cloud by day and fire by night, that accompanied the Children of Israel in the desert and gave them continual Divine protection. The window also includes a reminder of the Exodus in the form of the parting of the sea. Seven types of produce appear, harvested and put in storage.
The bottom window is dominated by one of the main symbols of Sukkot, the Arba Minim, the four species – willow, palm, etrog (citron) and myrtle – that are taken together and shaken in all directions during prayers in the first seven days of the Festival. This window also represents Hoshannah Rabah, the seventh day of Sukkot, when the Temple ritual reached a climax with prayers for water, and a libation ceremony on the altar, accompanied by music on trumpets and harps, flutes and cymbals.
© Sharon Mail 2008
06 October 2008
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