Pendle Witches and Panopticons

The Ringing, Singing Tree

One of four sculptures commissioned in the Panopticon project (see below).  The Ringing Singing Tree makes a strange low hum when the wind blows, which is often heard on the moorland overlooking Burnley, England. Seen in the background is Pendle Hill, famous for the Pendle Witches. 



Philippe Handford 2012- Commissioned 400 years after the Pendle witch trials  

Reconnected 1, Reconnected 2

Located in Pendle, England. 

The trials of the Pendle witches in 1612 are among the most famous witch trials in English history.

These sculptures are meant to show what trees look like just as they're about to fall.

Luis Ricardo Falero

Sophia Smallhor -  Colourfields -  2007

Colourfields, is a dramatic transformation of an cannon battery that once housed two Russian cannons captured during the Crimean War. The cannons where captured during the siege of Sevastopol (1854-55) on the southern tip of Crimea which is now part of the Ukraine. After the siege two cannons were sent to several important cities throughout the UK empire. 

The casebels, the large ball at the rear of old muzzle-loaded guns, were captured and have since been used to make the British Victoria Cross, the highest award for gallantry in the British Armed Forces. The metal from these cascabels will soon be exhausted, and there is some uncertainty as to what metal will be used once this occurs.

The Crimean War 

With the advent of the steamship and telegraph, the Crimean War is similar to America's Vietnam war where the publication of events and  public opinion played a large role in the outcome. The Crimean war was fought over influence in regions bordering the Russian and Ottoman empires.Russia fought an alliance of French, British, and Ottoman forces, which proved unfavorable to the British public and led to the "snowball riot" in Trafalgar Square in January 1855. This  caused the government of Lord Aberdeen to fall, and to be  replaced by that of Palmerston. The overall toll of the war and the diseases it brought reached 137,000 for the alliance vs 347,000 Russians and resulted in a treaty in 1856. 

In Britain, the war triggered reforms to the army, including the abolition of the sale of commissions. In Russia, it pointed out the inadequacy of the irregular serf based army, encouraging the emancipation of the serfs in 1861. It also demonstrated the lack of industrial progress Russia had made (this was the first industrialized war in Europe) thus leading to the urbanization and industrialization of the country.

Movie - Fear and Loathing

"that sense of inevitable victory over the forces of old and evil. Not in any mean or military sense; we didn't need that. Our energy would simply prevail. We had all the momentum; we were riding the crest of a high and beautiful wave. So now, less than five years later, you can go up on a steep hill in Las Vegas and look west, and with the right kind of eyes you can almost see the high-water mark - that place where the wave finally broke and rolled back"

Jasonzuckerman

  

Top 4 Pieces of Unrecovered Stolen Art

#4
Caravaggio's Adoration
Painted in 1609 stolen in 1969
Valued at 20 Million Dollars

During a storm and at night a group of thieves used a razor blade to cut the painting out of its frame after breaking into the The Oratory of San Lorenzo. Later it was reported by a mafia informant that the painting was eaten by pigs. 

#3

Vermeer's Concert

painted 1664 stolen in 1990

Estimated Value 200 Million Dollars 

In 1990 thieves disguised as policemen stole 13 paintings out of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston, MA including The Concert. 

In the background is a rendition of Baburen's - The Procuress 

The Procuress - Baburen

#2

Vincent Van Gogh - The Portrait of Dr Gachet

Sold at action in 1990 to a man named Saito for 79 million

Siato went broke and was arrested for trying to bribe officials while trying to build a golf course called Vincent. The painting has not been seen since and Saito's misfortune and it's unclear whether it was stolen or sold illegally. 

"I've done the portrait of M. Gachet with a melancholy expression, which might well seem like a grimace to those who see it"". "Sad but gentle, yet clear and intelligent, that is how many portraits ought to be done." (Vincent in a letter to his brother Theo)

#1

Rembrandt - Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee
Painted in 1633 stolen in 1990 along with Vermeer's Concert by men dressed as police officers

   Rembrandt staring back