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Monday, October 1, 2012

An exhibition

Elmer Dumlao, a Filipino parishioner of Sacred Heart church in Amman, presented his artwork at the Zaro Gallergy at the Hyatt Hotel near the Third Circle tonight. I was glad to see his artwork that were multi-media pieces set on wood and assorted materials as wall hangings. His theme for these pieces were Humans and Animals. Each piece had a reflection of the human with animal/nature images. About 15 wall hangings were displayed.

My favorite piece was a silver and red piece called "Breed." It was quite elegant. The top portion was an sensuous, but obscure image of a triumphant woman whiles its mirror piece was a bold mare. The red central square was the place of intermingling.

I also like the piece called "play" as it incorporate music, dice, card games with two acrobatic pieces. It was light-hearted. Another piece had great colors. It was a woman who had taken the feathers of a peacock and made them into her own gown and tiara. Still, a third interesting piece was of a man turned away from the crowd with a tortoise shell on his back. It was like Sisyphus who shouldered a great burden.

The art crowd from Amman gathered to view the pieces and meet the artist. I hope there are lots of opportunities like this because the Amman art scene appears small. While there may be great visual arts, I hope to go to theaters and concerts. We'll see. One thing at a time.

The exhibition was in the hotel that had the major bomb blast a few years ago.

The hotel across the street is the Royal Jordan Hotel. It has great lights flashed on it during the evening hours. It was built by an Iraqi and is said to represent Samaria.

Both hotels seem to have very fine restaurants in them. My parishioners work in them.

The weather is peculiar. The temperatures have reached the high-90's/100 degrees the past few days. A mixture of clouds with dust occurs when the winds come from the south. A few days ago we had some sprinkles; tonight we had more rain. The sky was lit up. I assume it was lightning from the weather front.

Tomorrow, the three Jesuits are off to a place in the north that is said to contain ruins of the earliest Christian community in Jordan. We will go to a village that has 30 churches, but one of the caves we will visit supposedly has a chapel discovered below another chapel. It is rumored that the 70 persecuted Christians took refuge there. I'll understand more of the story tomorrow.

6 comments:

  1. John, it's great to read your news and I hope that the evenings are a more pleasant temperature to allow you to walk about in than the daytime temps.The theatre and music will be interesting to hear about -all in good time. Happy wanderings to thew caves - every corner of this land must be exciting and new to see. How are you getting on with the language ?
    Blessings

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    1. Yes, Phil. The evenings are much more pleasant - around 70 degrees. Today is supposed to be our last day of haze and dust. I think I'll feel more alert tomorrow. The weather certainly does have an effect upon me.

      I'll have an update about the caves a little later in the day. The language is coming along - slow but steady. I can never be sure when I'm hearing an "r" or "l", or an "m" or "no." I never have the sense I know the word that is being used. Oh, what fun.

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  2. The Hyatt! John, that is where I stayed, the site of that story that I shared with you.

    What village are you off to?

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    1. That is so good, Fran. It is quite a good hotel. You were in a good section of town. I love your story. My taste buds wanted to savor the food in the Italian restaurant, the Vietnamese restaurant, the seafood restaurant, and the deli. It all appeared so well presented.

      I've forgotten the name of the place we are visiting today, but I will have an update later.

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    2. John, as the guest of Jordanian friends, I did not choose my own lodgings! That was a very lovely spot and I was most grateful. I did not eat at any of the restaurants, other than for breakfast. I was taken out every evening and treated so royally. The hospitality that I received in that country remains unparalleled in my experience.

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    3. The hospitality is really good here. I have to be careful of it because people seem to want to give what they don't have. They are generous to a fault. It is a balance to know when to say 'yes' and when to politely say 'no.' The gratitude remains. I'm glad you enjoyed your time here.

      We have a very nice hotel next to the Jesuit Center - the Toledo Hotel. He are on Jebel Hussein overlooking the Ab-dali marketplace.

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