The Nordkette ("north chain") mountains dominate Innsbruck. They loom at the north end of every street, and are used by infrequent visitors as a navigation device: if you can see mountains at the end of the street, then you must be facing north. It must be a pretty sight in winter, though the predominantly grey geology is fairly dreary in summer. Close up, though, the rocks have quite a sparkle -- there seems to be a lot of mica or some similar glassy, crystalline substance within the rock.
For a while I had some fun finding highly-reflective modern buildings in which to play compositional games, making mountains appear, multiply, distort, and disappear. As most of these buildings seemed to be in and around the university, however, I suddenly realised was in the familiar territory of my Elevation series. A strong feeling of repeating myself descended, and I abandoned the idea fairly quickly, perhaps too soon.
2 comments:
Dear Mike,
Having enjoyed Innsbruck in much the same way as you (having also enjoyed an exhibition there by one Mike Chisholm in 2009!!),the lure of the mountains has always been strong.
Travelled through the Rockies this year from our Edmonton (AB!) home and I was struck by the fact that mountains in Austria-Germany-Switzerland-Italy seem so much more "user-friendly", like old companions that one sees maybe two or three times a year.
Thanks for the photos in recent weeks; keeps one sane in the midst of North American overkill!
Thanks, milldave, it's nice to know there are people out there who remember the previous show (which I didn't see myself).
I'm sure you're right, the Rockies are on a different scale of "wilderness" to the Alps, which have been inhabited for thousands of years (the famous "Oetzi" was found in a pass just up the valley from Innsbruck).
I may be wrong, but I don't think any native American tribes took to yodelling and skiing in such a big way...
Mike
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