3xploring unseen urban spaces: St. Stephen's Church

STICK TO THE CODE: “TAKE NOTHING BUT PHOTOS AND LEAVE NOTHING BUT FOOTPRINTS”

… and that’s exactly what I did.

The Virtual Travel Hop: From NYC to Sardegna and Beyond

When my family visited Florence’s Uffizi Gallery, we missed Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. It was a hot summer afternoon, and we chose to wander the gallery ourselves. We had a map, and we spent hours marveling at the gallery’s statues and frescos.

But, I’ll admit that I’ve never liked tours. Like my parents, I’ve always preferred to explore on my own. As such, it wasn’t until we entered the museum’s gift shop that we realized we’d missed Botticelli’s work. We laughed. We hadn’t intended to miss viewing one of the most famous paintings in the world, but we’d nonetheless had a great afternoon. And so we left the museum, and trekked back to our hotel.

A few years later, I found myself wanting to know more about art, from a formal perspective. And so when I ranked my 2020 Spring Quarter classes, I listed 19th Century French Art in the Art Institute of Chicago first. Of course, this class isn’t about Italian Renaissance art. But, I’ve spent years dragging my family to art galleries, and I wanted to learn to think better about the works that I’m often so aesthetically drawn to. More than that, I wanted an excuse to take the “L” to the AIC twice a week. I figured I’d write my MODA articles from a bench in the European Painting and Sculpture Galleries.

The Art Institute of Chicago

The Art Institute of Chicago

I now find myself enrolled in the art history course I’d so wanted. However, while we plan to someday travel to the AIC in person, the class is nonetheless taught over Zoom. We often talk in class about the day we’ll all gather in person - and view the works with our own eyes. But, for the meantime, my art travels (and travels in general) have been suspended.

However, while it’s not nearly equivalent to wandering an art gallery or walking off the tarmac in a new city, I’ve been increasingly studying the instagram feeds of some of my favorite content creators. And I’ve found myself enjoying these “virtual travels.” The photos are a reminder of all the places I someday hope to visit. And while instagram photos are obviously quite different from Botticelli’s paintwork, they nonetheless represent their own genre of artistry. There is something captivating about a single photo, so expertly framed and edited, that it can stand alone as its own story. And I find myself increasingly enjoying these photo stories. They allow me to temporarily travel beyond Columbus, Ohio. And they act as a reminder of the impact that both art and travel can have on individual lives - even from afar.

As such, what follows is a virtual itinerary - from NYC to Sardegna - of some of my favorite Instagram feeds.

  • NYC and Beyond, from the lens of Chloe Chung: @chloejg

From French onion soup cravings to brunch spots, lots of coffee, and walking in the rain, Chloe is a proud New Yorker who documents her explorations around the Big Apple. One of my favorite aspects of her feed is that she captures the city’s grit, without losing a sense of its simultaneous warmth. And studying her feed always makes me want to pull on my boots and head to a local coffee shop.

  • Lisbon and Beyond, from the lens of AI Scientist and Fine Art Photographer Sejkko: @sejkko

This has been one of my favorite feeds for years. Simultaneously whimsical and haunting, Sejkko’s portrayals of lonely houses always make me want to write. I find myself wondering about the possible inhabitants of these fictitious, yet all-too-real, creations. More than that, the colors of Sejkko’s photos make me want taffy.

As Sejkko writes himself, these “lonely houses were a way to keep the child in me, and the weird side of myself at peace…” And while Sejkko just recently decided that it is time to move on from these house portraits, he plans to continue his feed. The first photo in the gallery (below, top left), is representative of Sejkko’s transition to new subjects: “This image represents a bit of a transition. I am inside one of those [lonely] houses looking beyond the sun, wondering about worlds that could exist.” Needless to say, I’m excited to see where Sejkko’s future endeavors lead.

  • The English Countryside and Beyond, from the Lens of Photographer and Book Connoisseur Carolyn: @theslowtraveler

With her dog Lenny by her side, Carolyn explores everything from old bookstores, to castles and the Lake District. And while her photos are themselves beautiful, I also enjoy her captions. She’s a careful and honest observer, who finds joy in observing her everyday life. From watching ducks in an English garden, to enjoying her own garden and laughing about Lenny’s exploits, she consistently provides little vignettes of life in the English countryside. (She also dresses Lenny stylishly, for the holidays.) And she just started a monthly women’s book club, @theslowtravelerbookclub, to discuss novels with her community of fans.

As Ally writes in her bio, she’s “probably waiting in line for tacos.” And her feed is an homage to all things retro and summery. From photographing old road signs and haciendas, to Mexican food, midcentury homes, and hiking trails, her feed makes me want to travel to somewhere warm (ideally with tacos).

  • Morocco, Egypt, and Beyond, from the Lens of Emilie: @emilielula

Emilie’s captions are short and mysterious, and her photos are equally sparse. But they don’t need explanation. Her photos often include camels, books, and lots of sand. And the mysteriousness of her feed only makes me more excited to someday explore far flung regions of the globe.

  • Italy and Beyond, from the Lens of Creative Director and Photographer Simone Bramante: @brahmino

Simone is a prolific photographer, with well over one thousand images in his feed. And it’s clear from studying his brightly-colored photographs that each image is a finalized project and story. As Simone writes in his bio, he’s all about aesthetics, story, and message. And during these uncertain times, he’s focusing upon his own surroundings in Italy. Rather than engage in mass tourism, Simone “invite[s] everyone to get to know their territory, their valleys, preferably by helping the economy of small businesses, because they often know how to stay in balance with their own environment.” And while his photos feature regions from all over the globe, he has increasingly begun to depict the Italian countryside.

Click here, for thumbnail image source. The image was taken by @brahmino and features Sardegna, Capo Comino.