“Les Voyageurs” by Bruno Catalano

Photos by Misia Delgado

Walking along Park Avenue in Manhattan, you may notice people are missing parts of themselves. Fortunately, you have not taken a turn into the Twilight Zone but have come across “Les Voyageurs”, or The Travelers, an installation by Bruno Catalano.

The artist, who settled in Marseille after leaving his homeland of Morocco at the age of ten, was a sea traveler who worked on boats. His first torso-less statue was the result of a casting accident, but now the gaps in these bronze statues are a signature of the sculptor.

Drawing from his own immigration journey when creating “Les Voyageurs”, Catalano’s statues depict the bodies of weary travelers, clutching onto a piece of luggage with a gap in their torso. Despite losing a part of themselves, these travelers move forward, luggage in hand.

Carolyn's Trip to Japan

Our trip to Japan was magical. From seeing the stunning Kinkakuji (Golden Pavilion) in Kyoto to eating oysters at the old Tsukiji Market in Tokyo to getting bit by the adorable deer at Nara Park, we had a wonderful time. While our trip coincided with the Rugby World Cup, and we were able to attend a few matches, the trip didn’t just consist of scrums and penalty kicks (yes, I know all the rugby terminology). We had an incredible time eating food and seeing architecture and admiring the peaceful and natural beauty of the countryside (and also made friends with the monkeys at Iwatayama Monkey Park). And yes, there was sake involved.

Jacki's Greetings from Los Angeles

Hi DLG Blog Readers – Jacki here…long time no blog! For those of you who don’t know me, I used to be an attorney with the firm and a frequent blogger. A few years ago, I made the genius decision to throw away my snow boots and move to sunny Los Angeles. I was thinking about the blog since I just had a fun (and informative!) visit with Protima and Carolyn in Los Angeles when we all attended a conference to discuss visas in the arts and entertainment field. Long story, short – I begged Protima for a guest blog because I had the perfect Friday photo!

While walking along Melrose Avenue, I came across the famous Cisco Home wall, normally displaying the “Made in LA” mural, painted over with new details to reflect the importance that immigration has had on shaping the culture of this city and beyond. Rumor has it that the artist behind the Cisco Home wall takeover is “HiJack,” an anonymous street artist who is active in Los Angeles. In a caption to an Instagram post he made about this wall, “HiJack” comments, “We need to remind ourselves of what we are composed of as a city and more broadly as a nation.”

Carolyn's Trip to Hungary

This week’s edition of Friday Photo(s) comes from Carolyn’s trip to Hungary. Carolyn visited historic landmarks in Budapest such as Heroes’ Square, known for its statues commemorating figures from Hungarian history. She also checked out the Hungarian Parliament Building, a World Heritage Site and functional government office, and the Holocaust Tree of Life Memorial, which has the family names of Holocaust victims inscribed in the metal tree, at the Dohány Street Synagogue, the largest synagogue in Europe.

Carolyn and her husband ventured beyond Hungary’s capital to scenic places like Lake Balaton, a popular summer destination that happens to be the largest lake in Central Europe. Near the Balaton and in the many small towns that they drove through, there were tons of sunflower fields as pictured above. Thank you to Carolyn for sharing her beautiful pictures with the blog!

Trevi Fountain

The Trevi Fountain (Fontana di Trevi) is one of the most iconic sights in Rome. This fountain, a late Baroque masterpiece, was designed by Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762. The fountain stands about eighty-five feet high and is approximately 160 feet wide. At the center is Pietro Bracci’s statue of Oceanus standing on a chariot pulled by sea horses and accompanied by tritons, similar to how I get around Rome (okay, I wish). While apparently splashing around in the fountain like Anita Ekberg and Marcello Mastroianni in La Dolce Vita is frowned upon, visitors are allowed to toss coins in, since according to legend, those who toss coins into its waters will return to Rome. But don’t worry, at the end of each day the coins are collected and donated to charity.