I write this post after learning that the great architect Zaha Hadid died today only 65 years old. I have only visited two of her buildings, MAXXI in Rome and the Riverside Museum in Glasgow. The images are from the last one, as it was both the first one I had the chance to experience and also the one that made the strongest impression. Both as architecture and as museum.

Glasgow has an industrial history, with shipbuilding as one of the main industries by the river Clyde alongside shipping companies. After many decades of decline leaving the area desolated it is now completely reconstructed, or gentrified if you like, making Clyde more accessible for the citizens. A part of this process was getting a beloved museum new facilities. The Glasgow Museum of Transport (opened in 1964) is one of the most visited museums in the UK and it opened its third building, designed as a wave by Hadid, in June 2011. 

It is a fantastic building! Not just as an architectural fantasy, but as a house for the collection. All items are exposed with both wit and knowledge and create active visitors. I thought only the building would interest me, but it (together with the work of the museum curators) made the history of bikes, cars and trams exciting.

Thank you Zaha Hadid for your work. Rest in peace.

My mother passed away recently and my family had to do all the things you have to do when a loved one dies - like choosing a symbol for the public announcement of my mothers death. There was 61 pages of images to choose from! As an art historian I just had to go through the whole material, especially since I already have an unnatural fascination of images chosen for these kinds of announcements. It can be quite curious and mysterious at times, but it is also revealing of our society's understanding of death and grief. 

Traditionally only the latin cross were used like in this example taken from http://www.rsob.se/dodsannonser_aspliden_.html  But the Church and Christianity is not as hegemonic in Swedish rituals as before, and I guess people wants to remember family members and friends in a more personal way. You can use symbols reflecting interest, hobbies, professions and relations. Flowers, especially roses, are popular (my mother eventually got a red rose), then there are hearts, doves, tools, vehicles, pets, instruments, crests from your favourite teams, and symbols from other religions. At first I thought that masons were especially proud of their profession until I realised that the trowel was a sign of the Freemasons. Another favourite tool seems to be the pipe wrench - can someone explain that?

Finally there are the combinations, like the cross and cat at the top. Often they are logical in a symbolic reading like a dove and a cross, or the crown of thorns together with the cross. But cat and cross? Perhaps the deceased  was a devout cat lover and Christian, or maybe the family could not agree due to a generation gap? I am not sure what symbol I would like to go with my funeral announcement, maybe a heart of some kind.  How would you like to be remembered?