Palace of Versailles architects: Louis LeVau and Jules Hardouin

The exterior is classical,  borrowing from the ancient Greeks and Romans. This style of gabled roofs columnar stone facades was originally used by the Greeks with the Romans adding the archway to span passageways and windows. These concepts were updated and re-presented to the world by Palladio with his Venice homes.

 The really unusual nature of the Palace of Versailles shows itself in its grand scale, the foremost landscaping and the Baroque architecture used in the interiors. The main thing that strikes modern visitors is the extravagant, over the top nature of all the furnishings.

The place is one of the most famous architectural buildings noted around the world, this is definitely one of the many places I hope to visit. 

Expansion

Expansion by Paige Bradley

This Expansion sculpture opens the imagination and calls into question what we would be if we could break our worldly bounds to manifest our internal self in the world. It's the work of artist Paige Bradley, whose art combines the best elements of classical design, technical expertise and contemporary themes.  Her representative figurative bronzes reveal the beauty of the human form as well as the complex, often contradictory, yearnings of the human spirit

Bradley says of the Expansion sculpture design, “From the moment we are born, the world tends to have a container already built for us to fit inside: A social security number, a gender, a race, a profession or an I.Q. I ponder if we are more defined by the container we are in, rather than what we are inside. Would we recognize ourselves if we could expand beyond our bodies? Would we still be able to exist if we were authentically 'un-contained'?“

Her sculpture demonstrates the ability human emotion and spirituality into an immediately appealing form of communication. The sculpture speaks a universal language that powerfully evokes the elements of the human experience.

moment of impact

Photograph by Spencer Platt, Getty Images

It is a day that forever changed our nation. I can remember exactly where I was thirteen years ago when I learned why the sky was starting to fill with smoke.  I think the images from 9/11 will always convey the rawness and brutality of the attack that will forever place an impact on generations to follow. In November 2001 President George W. Bush quoted "Time is passing. Yet, for the United States of America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children."  

 This picture is very emotional because it is a remembrance of those that were taken from us, and to thank those whose memory kept us from falling down. It’s been a long, hard road since 9/11, and it will continue for many years.