POTD: Kerepesi Cemetery #6

POTD: Kerepesi Cemetery #6Kerepesi Cemetery #6 Budapest, Hungary 2011

This is a burial monument to the communists of Hungary, not the most popular part of the cemetery for the many who suffered under communist rule and were glad to see them finally leave in 1989. There is an interesting description of Kerepesi Cemetery here. I’ve excerpted what they have to say about the monument in this image and the interesting issue of the timing of burials of the communists lackeys in the Hungarian AVO (secret police) vs those who opposed them during the 1956 uprising.

Situated in a corner, away from the statesmen and nobility is the workers’ pantheon, designed by József Körner in 1958, and fast becoming a museum piece. It is one of the few places in Budapest where you can see the word “Communism” written out in bold letters.

The slogan “A KOMMUNIZMUSÉRT A NÉPÉRT ÉLTEK” (They lived for Communism and for the people”) dominates the spacious white stone piazza. Giant statues of two young men and a woman holding hands in Socialist Realist style gaze out boldly into the future. Six massive white blocks of stone bear reliefs of workers in the field or at war, and remembrance plaques testify to the bravery of socialist workers.

The cavernous two-level crypt underneath can be visited if the unpredictable attendants are on duty. Here, the ashes of politicians and artists find eternal peace. Leo Frankel, Gyula Derkovits and Ferenc Rózsa are just some of many names, recognizable from Budapest street names.

Black ceramic urns stand on shelves carved from Austrian red limestone. One of the urns contains the ashes of a certain Éva Braun. Sinka says, “It was often pointed out to visiting officials to test if they were paying attention. She really lived and, ironically, was a young Jewish member of the partisans. The name and dates, 1917-1945 are identical to Hitler’s mistress.”

Behind the Worker’s Pantheon is a plot for the heroes of the 1956 uprising. The plot for the “upholders of the system” in 1956 – the secret police or ÁVO – is also in Kerepesi, but Sinka explains, “The two groups were buried on opposite sides because if there was a memorial service for both groups on the same day, there would be fights.”

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POTD: Cinderella Story

POTD: Cinderella StoryCinderella Story Budapest, Hungary 2011

Caught this sight in a courtyard when I was walking around downtown Budapest one evening. I’m not sure why it reminded me so much of the Cinderella story as there are lots of settings in which you might see such a gown. But I couldn’t help but think a horse drawn pumpkin carriage was about to drive up.]]>

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POTD: Lectio #45

POTD: Lectio #45Lectio #45 Washington, DC 2008

If I remember correctly, this theater is next door to Ben’s Chili Bowl, where “only Barack Obama and Bill Cosby” eat for free. I don’t know about Cosby but Obama was in fact at Ben’s during his 2008 campaign.]]>

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POTD: The Geography of Survival #10

POTD: The Geography of Survival #10The Geography of Survival #10 Bozeman, Montana 2013

What to know how to make a digital photographer panic? Mess with their software. My Photoshop program crapped out on me the other day and Adobe has no idea why. They’re working on the problem but said it would be 24-48 hours before they got back to me. (It’s been about 58 hours now, but who’s counting.) I thought I was dead in the water as far as editing new photos go (hence the feeling of panic, or at least helplessness) so I dug up some older images that I had kind of held in reserve when the POTD at the time took off on a different tangent before I got them posted. I actually found a workaround to the Photoshop problem yesterday, using an older version, but since I’m in the mood, I’ll go ahead with the older photos for a while anyway. This shot was from earlier this year, another in my series featuring the growing pains of aspen and related trees.]]>

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POTD: Color Field #4 Revisited

discussion about the effects of the drip and the blog on the composition of the image Color Field #4 from two days ago peaked my interest enough I sat down and tried all the suggestions. The results are shown below. The voting lines are now open, i.e., let me know what you think. Original image: POTD: Color Field #4 Image without the drip: J7280 no drip Image with the shadows removed: J7280 shadow removed Image with angled drip: J7280 angled Cropped image: J7280 cropped]]>

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