Blue Skies ahead


Yesterday was full of activity. We met Russell Cobb, an inspiring, sketch 'n notebook illustrator who is a prolific artist conscious of his image and promotion. He has done a wonderful series of self promotion pieces that have gotten me off my seat...and inspired me to get going. He often works in several notebooks at once--drawing and painting with india ink (again, get going!!) and then working with the art on the computer. He is the president of the AOI (Association of Illustrators) a group of international (mainly British) illustrators who have been around since 1976. They are much like the Illustration Partnership (CF Payne is part of that group)--essentially advocacy, legal aid, lobbying etc. The whole bundle of rights and ownership and pricing. They produce a book annually and a wonderful new magazine call Vroom--def. worth subscribing. His work has kicked me in the booty as is his global/european perspective. Illustration is primordial here--with a focus on childrens books, editorial. The basics. No character design. No graphic novels. No self pubishing. Same sucky pay scale. He told us that the art schools here produce around 3,00 illustration students a year...and only about 3 percent "make it".

We visited the AOI with Russell--a small shared studio space with a group of designers/illustrators/product designers called "Big Orange". Will need to investigate later.

We got tangled up in the underground but inevitably found the Tate Britain. Quickly saw a ton of art with my heart leaping from my chest over the British School work (this is a 16c. group of painters a la Nicholas Hilliard (one of Queen Elizabeth the firsts painters). Some heart stopping John Singer Sargents. But you can keep all the fusty landscapes and Turner. Torture. Saw a huge show on Hogarth. His paintings you can keep, but the engravings with the funny poetry, the morality stories and the comedy he rendered is really fresh and new. Plus, as I looked at the work, the black and while illustrations and books of Maurice Sendak came to mind...I don't know why, but they align nicely. They are theatrical (foreground/background, staged and posed people, humor and funny details, similar use of line and tone). Another interesting thing about the Tate. The curatorial is wierd...and the lighting is non existant. We are so spoiled to have the Met doing a spectacular lighting, curating and staging job with their blockbusters. Hogarth, the work was wonderful, the stories good but the overall WOW of the show was lost.

Dinner and sleep after that.

Sunday, we had a big breakfast in the neighborhood--and we walked down Oxford Street to find the British Museum. What a place!! The siting of the building, the wonderful old pavers and narrow street, the park and seating enclosed within the gates are perfect and perfectly proportioned. Then, to go inside and experience the excellent entry space with the galleries, shops, cafes all nestled and tucked into this expansive, light area that just makes you happy to breathe. We saw the Egyptian stuff and the assyrians just to get our bearings and will come back Friday to see the rest. Their shops are wonderful and before I forget, Rob...the Portland vase is one of their treasures they merchandise. They have ceramic mugs and coasters (all very nicely done and proportioned), a swatch style watch with the figures on the strap, teeshirts (with graphics that bleed...very stylish), and a few books. They take areas of their collections and blow them out accordingly. As an example, they are opening a show on the perception of the British of the New World this week that I hope to see. Again, the tasteful mug, coasters, teeshirt, scarf thing along with these great neckaces and bracelets of drilled beans and corn tied with thin waxed cord. The necklaces are massive (some of just corn, just pinto beans etc) and they are asking 95£ (double it for New World money)--. The British Museum reminds me of the Getty Villa as they are hellbent to do it right...seems less commonplace there.
It is interesting that they open each gallery with their Icon or Blockbuster artifact. For instance, first thing in the Egyptian galleries is the surprisingly enormous Rosetta Stone. Upfront...no question...there it is. Centered above it in the background is a huge egyptian head...Bing Bam Boom.

We then wandered over to Russell Square, and these terrific playing fields nearby--taking in the neighborhood and trying to get situated for yesterday as we had to be prompt. Got our loadable Oyster cards at the Underground station--which was good as it takes some time to get that squared away. Found a store that sold the complete gear for barristers from the wig to the neckerchief to the gown for about £500. I am planning to ebay watch for that....Lots of fabulous hand lettering everywhere.

We see Angela Barrett, a children's book illustrator today. Maybe more museums as our afternoon speaker has bagged as he has had to go to the hospital.

So, I am alive and sleeping. We have had blueskies...and real spring weather. Def worth doing with the kids next spring...so much to do and all closeby.

More later>>

Here I am!

Well. USAirways didnt really tell anyone (no duh given the scrambling dear JetBlue had been suffering with with their snow/scheduling fiasco)--but they were rolling a brand spanking new computer system in place this week with many many mishaps. And they are so damned humorless and self important in all of this it is painful. To start at the beginning....I got into Philadelphia with good time though the flying cigar was packed to the gills and somehow I got stuck with a lunking Ithaca College student who had an enormous electonic thing that he kicked and shoved under the seat...So there was no room to budge. The good part was it was short. The stinky part was that we landed at the East Jesus gates (F and the furthest out) so I had to walk the length of the pavillion and take the suffering BUS to the international terminal (London flight not listed on their boards and it took forever to find a face that might know how to get the information). More mean spiritedness from the staff. Seems the customers are a gigantic pain in the butt.

We loaded for London on time after the hustle to get there (they were calling the flight as I got to the gate). I traded in frequent flier points and rode First Class. Def worth it. Adjustable seats with footrests. TVs built into the seat rests. Nice food (I had an elegant salad with cheese and grapes as I wanted to try for sleep versus the wine and roses, or as Rob called it--the dancing girls etc.)--comfy seats. Most of my fellow spoiled passengers were related to Tony Soprano or were somehow involved in professional sports. And their dollies were...memorable. Lotsa hair. Lotsa extentions. Lace shirts, skin tight pants. Lots of fussiness and fussing. One of the thugs made a big show of taking his wife's zippered high heeled boots off...a la the wedding reception ridiculousness of the garter thing. He and his buddy had lots of yucks over that. They drank a lot.

We left an hour late (credited to the computer issues) but arrived on time due to the amazing winds we had. I took an ambien, thanks to my traveling brother--and really did sleep. It was wonderful. I felt as good as someone does with four hours of sleep...but significantly better than not. So much so--I was able to handle everything else from then on with humor and more happiness. Gatwick is small and nice. The wait for customs was well over an hour in a snaky line rivalling Disneyland (without the distractions Disney provides)but once I got there-- no problem. But no real lighting--greenish and still. Creepy. Waited in line and bought tickets for the Gatwick Express (train to Victoria Station). Note: you can buy the tickets on the train without a penalty.

Figured out the luggage thing and unfortunately, my bags were left in Philly (there were quite a few of us)--so I got the paperwork done with a very accomodating person. Found a banking machine. Got a brewed coffee from Starbucks and got on the train. Nice train. There was a little snack cart a la Harry Potter which the home team would have loved, down to the central casting of the proprietor except it was packaged goods, tea, coffee and plenty of alcoholic drinks. No chocolate frogs.

The countryside was beautiful...with all sorts of horses at the city limits with coats on. People were in these large communal gardens--doing spring stuff. Little patches chock a block--nested above apartment buildings. Very green and at the same time, very brown. Funny, but seeing all the brick and many, simple, nondiscript houses reminded me of Pittsburgh of all things. Everything is very clean, polite and ordinary. I was also shocked at the clear class structure from trains and planes to stores and behaviors.It all trends towards the middle...with no real low (as one sees in NYC, LA) and not a lot of swanky folks either.

Half an hour later, we were in Victoria Station. It was easy to get a cab--and he drove me to our hotel, 10 Manchester Street, which he praised me for such a find. Daffodils galore in the parks. And the clouds cleared. Is there a message here? Will I get my luggage? Checked in and they gave me the room early. Was waiting for my friend, but I think her 9:30 Saturday probably means p.m.... Hotel is nice, small and modest. Bathrooms are nice. Windows open.Very functional, but not unpleasant...and the proximity to everything is great. Quiet side street.

So, I figured I would walk around the neighborhood. Easy. Nice neighborhood. Lots of little restaurants, lots of studenty stuff. There is an accupuncture studio. The Wallace Collection is a block away as is the Courtauld. The Bond Street Station is a hop and a skip. I walked a large part of Oxford Street taking in some sites, getting some underwear and a paperback and getting my bearings. I got a big dose of air and havent yet eaten anything...though this is coming. I saw this internet cafe and bought some time to put this blog entry up to let you know I am still here...This cafe thing is very interesting. Its in the basement of a popular pizza by the slice counter. One buys time (read gittone) and go to the basement with orange signs filled with admonitions about "Watch out for Pickpockets" and "We can't help you". Orange and white signs? Is this Home Depot? Same flavor. Different place. So, you end up in the basement with long rows of computers mounted to a vertical surface and keyboards directly below. There are lots of people here placing phonecalls via Skype so it is the tower of babel with all the languages. There is a couple directly behind me accessing hotwire to find a room. Pretty functional place. Just talk and the clatter of keyboards.

Lots of hotpink and orange. Pashminas on the street are two for 5 pounds. They will put a damned Union Jack on anything and try to sell it...Bras, underwear, wallets, shirts etc. The bras were the best. The scene at H &M was nuts. That is the store where England shops. Tons of thuggy boyfriends standing by the wall chatting into cellphones as they watched their girlfriends pose and pivot in front of all the mirrors in the place. H&M is a pretty good deal too. The money thing is frightful. If I do the math and double it everytime, I won't eat or do anything. So, I am taking it as it comes--being modest but with the dollar's weakness, even a dumb sandwich is about $15/ Only thing that is right is the Starbucks...but hey....they don't count.Thank goodness the art galleries are free.

I am going to log off. Its looking at six and I need to eat. I may try to stay up until around 8 and then have a snooze cruise. Tomorrow I hope to do more walking...maybe up to the park...or even down to Russell Square (where the SU program is) to get the lay of the land. Galleries are open from 10 until around 5--so I will see something. It's just a question of what?!

Will try and give you a holler tomorrow.

Sketches of Queen Victoria




Prissy Queen Victoria with her squinty eyes, tiny crown and huge space between her nose and mouth is everywhere in London. I figured I should get into the swing of things by doing some sketches to warm up and look at her. In the pix, she has tons of jewels and ribbons,bows and lace. But really, she still looks like a bulldog, albeit a well dressed bulldog.

Off tonight with SU to see the sights. No other changes in the schedule. Four illustrators and one painter. I am trying to stay open, get the thesis work confirmed, see some art, go to the Tate Modern and see the slides by the amusement park guy from Mass MOCA, and eat some stilton and drink a ton of tea. I know there will be more, but I am working on the "don't anticipate" model which will always yield something good. Hopefully, I will have a chance to say hi via the blog. If not, I will see you all a week from Saturday.

more anticipating....


grrrrrr. Trying to keep up with the details prior to departing for the United Kingdom.
Am thinking about bulldogs, Queen Victoria and Virginia Woolfe. So, you will see sketches in the next few days. Sorry for my silence. I am multitasking and the blog falls out of the mix. More later.

The more is that the Tburg Pourhouse belated celebrated their first anniversary tonight to great singing and playing of all the local, terrific talent. We were treated to the air raid siren, ducet crooning of Jim Reidy with the pick up version of the Chicken Chokers with funny Chad Crum wearing a wild fur hat that looked like an Andy Warhol extension of what normally grows atop his skull...with great fiddling and howling along with the music. Bill Chaisson was the impressario of the evening, wearing a spangly top hat (a la New Years eve) stuffed with raffle tickets poking out of the bottom. His deep voice faded and boomed with his wonderful ability to put words (particularly big and important words) together in a very terse and descriptive way. It was fun with all the best hits of the locals coming in to wish Liz and her team the best of luck in the coming year.

Here's to the Pourhouse! One Year Old!!

Brrrrrrr.

I am crazy to get an auto rickshaw. I think they are way cool and perfect for tooling around this small town and for jaunts into the countryside. What do you think? Then, to take it further, the indians have auto rickshaw races>>. Dinesh Kini has written a nice synopsis of the wonders of the auto rickshaw. Maybe we could attach a snow plow to the front of it? Just kidding.

School excused today due to windchill. So "hail, hail, the gang's all here"! Am trying to get all the stuff on my desktop to a level I can leave it with Erich for a week--so, am a bit frantic. A surprise project was literally popped on me at 6 p.m. on Friday with the wrong direction from one person (to find out after 6 hours of work) and then the re-do that took until mid Sunday. I was not totally happy. That's done, so we can move on.

Am researching transporation modes, prices etc in London.Feel like I am getting a handle on all of this. The best site is Britain Express that plugs all sorts of deals, and travel opportunities that are not so evident. I have discovered this too late, but for the next time...However, the big "ah ha!" was that most museums do not charge admission. Yay!!

More later.

March


March comes in like a lion and out....

Maybe all of these stock market high jinx are the "coming in like a Lion" thing. But, we will need to wait and see with the weather!

28


Thirty day hath September,

April, June and November.

All the rest have 31....

Except for February,

which has 28!

Celebrating 28 Days!

Steam coming out of my ears


Work continues apace. Setting em up and knocking em down. Hopefully, I will have a stretch of time to start on a 16 pp. pub. I do for the Museum of Glass. Lots of copy, lots of pictures and the whole jigsaw puzzle of fitting them together without it looking like anyone did anything. Now, what is it that you do?

London trip announced--We, the students of Syracuse University ISDP Program (to close in 2008) are going to London 3/12--for our contact period. These contact periods expose us to a range of illustrators and illustration related folks--generally 4 folks a day for 5 days. We also get critiques from the assignments we do, and catch up on the status of our thesis. So, we get this note....4 illustrators and 1 painter. That is all there is lined up. Essentially a days worth of exposure for the cost of a big plane ticket, hotel and food and a weak dollar. Although my plans were to see some museums, I think that has expanded to seeing a lot of museums. Not my plan, and to be honest, not worth the time right now. How can SU think that pulling people out of jobs, billing and paying jobs, for a totally inadequately planned contact period is acceptable. Maybe there is no thinking. Just kind of doing--not real doing...I mean, the V & A have a spectacular collection of childrens books and illustrations--why isnt that planned in? Couldnt we get a meeting with the curator there etc? There isnt anything happening that one couldnt do on their own. The SU connection could open doors that might not open to individuals and it is not being leveraged. There is absolutely nothing special going on here. It reeks of someone wanting and delivering on a family vacation, forgetting the real purpose of the trip to fall by the way side. I could lead a tour of western Massachusetts starting with the Rockwell, the Clark, Mass Moca, the Carle Museum, the Yale Museum and cover more in a week than this is planned. Unacceptable. Absolutely unacceptable. Can you gather, I am pissed?

I just hope there is no trouble with the thesis. I do not want to continue with the burkas--and to be honest, I did them to be game, but not to make this my hook. I could take them further--but I am bored with them...and that isn't something that will get you up in the morning, and grab your entire weekend. Plus, marketing them???
The birds have my attention and interest. I can market them, and they can be leveraged into a bigger world. Carol told me about the Duck Stamp competition. And there are a bunch of wildlife, naturalism galleries that might be interested in this stuff. Plus, the individual reception I have gotten is positive. As Erich says, flowers and/ or birds are classics. Who doesn't love birds? My thoughts exactly.

Richard and I commiserated. He told me all about High Fructose, a new publication in the Juxtapoz mode that is less about graffitti and more about painting. I am good with another entry in that world and am going to seek it out and get back to you.

Am listening to a great audio book (Audible), The Hummingbird's Daughter--an inspired, layered story on a ranch in Mexico. It is very dense--and verbally has similar clues to Pan's Labyrinth and the third Harry Potter. I am only an hour into it--and it is around 15 hrs.--but its great so far.

More later>>

Politicians and actors playing politicians


another work in progress>>
Last night's Oscars featured actors playing queens and dictators and at the same time, a presidential candidate won for his salient movie on the state of the environment and world. It was good to see this venue focus the spotlight on things and people that are important. It almost seemed that the messaging transcended the glamourpusses in satin dresses, the movie folk in diamonds and rhinestones. Considering the absolute chaos the world is with the world leader, a "Gentleman's C+", the random shooter and perfect Condi is making. It was good to see the class geeks and freaks having their moment. Bravo!

I know I owe you a little more on the Chinese Xiamen Dadaist, but today is not the day. Am a little pressed for time. Have 2.5 hrs. doing volunteer stuff at the school--and some rush stuff on the desktop. Maybe later tonight?

IF: Communication


The burka is in essence a shield between the woman on the inside and the world that surrounds her. The burka communicates that she is a woman -- and no more. It communicates privacy, conservatism, and her distance from the broad community of people. Only when she is within the confines of her family, the burka is lifted, and she can communicate as the individual that she is.

Mass Moca Delivers as Promised!


Lincoln Number Three
Greta Pratt
Love. Mass Moca rocks! We got there when the doors opened (which was tremendous as they are closed on Tuesdays--but as it was school break week in Mass, they stayedopen this particular Tuesday). All the exhibitions we saw were unbelievable, inspiring and smart.

The work in the Ahistorical show included a ballet inpired piece from Yinka Shonibare, some interesting work from Allison Smith, and a great series of giclees from Greta Pratt.

Still from Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) 2004
Commissioned for the Moderna Museet, Stockholm. Produced by Moderna Museet and Sveriges Television. Courtesy Stephen Friedman Gallery, London
Back to artist page

Shonibare's Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) was a piece that was a blend of african and colonial styling and stereotyping--combining a dramatic ballet film telling a story combined with dance--taking the tight conventions of american dance of the 1700s and blending with those of tribal african dance. The actual costumes ala formal costume of american colonists were created out of kente cloth--with bright colors, strong patterns and bold presentation all the way down to the shoes covered in fabric. The lace was orange, and the tights were purple, orange, green and red. It was beautiful and thought provoking--causing us to question what would have happened if the people at the time had blended versus been so separated in class, money, position, education and place. You can see some films of his work here>>
The Tate page says this about the Masked Ball piece:

Un Ballo in Maschera (a Masked Ball) 2004 is Shonibare's first film. It presents the assassination of King Gustav III of Sweden in 1792 through the medium of dance. Costume highlights ambiguities of identity and gender, while the lack of dialogue and repetition of the action ask us to consider the conventions of narrative and the structure of film.

From the Tate on Shonibare:
Yinka Shonibare was born in London in 1962 and moved to the Nigerian capital of Lagos when he was just three years old. He studied at the Byam Shaw School of Art, London in 1984-9 and completed a BA at Goldsmiths College, London in 1991. Shonibare considers himself ‘truly bi-cultural’ and strives to open up debate about the social, cultural and political issues that shape our histories and construct identity. His works challenge assumptions about representation by playfully blurring the boundaries between stereotypically Western ideas about ‘high’ art and traditional categorisations of ‘African art.’

Victory Hall
Allison Smith
10'x 18'
wood and metal, 2005

Allison Smith, using many different craft types from embroidery, sewing, woodworking, calligraphy, pottery and costuming created a diversity of piece speaking of america. Her calligraphic piece which resembled the Declaration of Independance spoke to gay rights,gay parades and the position of gay people within the society. She created this extrodinary wall of wooden guns, swords and knives--hanging them as they are in the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg--in a series of circles and patterns essentially showing the power of the state in a decorative manner. She created this wonderful mannikin--dressing it as a peddler woman with an enormous basket filled with embroidery, pottery, knit objects, woven straw objects to question aspects of american history (ie. a sampler of a teapot that said "Remember the Boston (teapot)" etc. Well done, well thought out. Simple and strong ideas.

Notion Nanny
Allison Smith
Notion Nanny Project 2005-2005
from the Muster:
ABOUT THE ARTIST.
ALLISON SMITH, a Brooklyn-based artist, is interested in the notion of “authentic reproductions” – a common if oxymoronic phrase describing contemporary objects or tableaux that conjure historical aesthetics and episodes. In her sculptures and mixed-media installations, Smith investigates the ways in which a simple prop, bridging past and present, can come to signify more than its appearance suggests. She creates colonial handcrafts, Civil War memorabilia, and 19th-century weapons, often arranged to transform the exhibition space into that of a historic home or period room.
For the past ten years, Smith has conducted an investigation of the cultural phenomenon of Civil War reenactment, or Living History, founded on the belief that historical events gain meaning and relevance when performed live in an open-air, interactive setting. Smith has appropriated the reenactor’s aesthetic palette to produce sculptural installations that examine the role craft plays in the construction of national identity. Over the summer of 2004, Smith organized a weekend encampment on the Catskills property of Mark Dion and J. Morgan Puett in which artists came together to create their own unique historical event. Emerging from that experience, the Muster on Governors Island is the most complex project she has undertaken thus far, broadening the Civil War metaphor to reflect on current events, and involving potentially hundreds of participants.
Smith was born in Manassas, Virginia in 1972. She received a BA in psychology from the New School for Social Research (1995), a BFA from Parsons School of Design (1995), and an MFA from Yale University School of Art (1999). She participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art Independent Study Program (1999-2000). She has had solo exhibitions at Bellwether gallery (2002) and the Eldridge Street Project (2001); her next show at Bellwether opens May 26, 2005.

Greta Pratt took photographs of men (19 to be exact) who looked like Lincoln and she dressed like Lincoln. There was a solid wall of framed giclees of these men that have likenesses--some closer than others, posed with the other worldly lighting...quite beautiful and believable. It poses the question of really, what did Lincoln look like given the Lincoln mythology and images that are out there. She also took a group shot of all the Lincolns together which was more amusing than serious which was a cherry on top for me.

We loved the Ahistorical show with the few examples I have cited as just a taste of the intelligence and ideas floating around in this presentation. However, the Retrospective show of Huang Yong Ping was heart stopping and the "Rice Show" were even more noteworthy than this group. It is always amazing to me that this sort of work is continually challenging the viewer to think, compare, and sometimes laugh at things we may not address in our day to day existence. This work holds our interest and always invites you back for more. Mass Moca provides such a wonderful place for work and thought--we all need to support them in their efforts which are done so honestly, earnestly and cleanly to bring work like this to all of us and to be a singular economic driver for North Adams, Massachusetts.
Huang Yong Ping for tomorrow.

nice to know you arent the only one.

Well, bless his little ole heart! David Byrne did a great review of the Dia:Beacon and Mass Moca experiences with a little history and vision behind what is positive about their existence and missions in his journal>> and pretty much nails it. He is much kinder and more balanced than I am wont to be. The only part he missed was the severity and coldness of the staff at Dia. Nasty sort. They have the air of being put upon and much much better than the rest of us morons who don't aspire to being museum guards at Dia. They are pointed and unkind when an unsuspecting guest (read imposition) points a camera with the flash turned off and berates them for their ignorance in wanting to memorialize something visually. No pens in the gallery. And in the lunch room, art DocTrine...that smacks of Chairman Mao.

Dia: Beacon

Visited Dia: Beacon with the team today. Icy folks work there. Work was cool as usual. We particularly adored the Richard Serra ginormous corten steel structures and how we all related to these battleship scaled sculptures. Additionally, we loved the Sol Lewitt installations (mindbending in it's precision and focus) and the new Bruce Nauman fish fountain. The Fish fountain were dozens of scale bronze fish, suspended from a structure over a larger room shaped fountain, with high tech hoses attached to the fish that would regularly sprout water. Beautiful. Of course, there were the artificial glass sculptures with string defining spaces--like leaning piece of glass--It still makes us slightly afraid being around thse pieces. Alex turned me on to this installation of 75 Warhol pieces in once space celebrating shadows. Very cool. Very variation on a theme. And enough to keep us interested--and looking.

Our friend Isabel summed up the gift shop succinctly by relating that there were actual art books on the shelves that were just WORDS. No pictures. 'Nuf said. It was the purgatory that Clement Greenburg promises.

The Catskills were glorious and purple. And Route 2 from Troy to North Adams was stunning. We saw the special moon with "earth shine" with Venus directly beneath as promised on Earth and Sky this morning.

Swimming and Mass Moca tomorrow.

Cheers>>

69 Love Songs

I was listening to Fausto and Marc Felion on Feast of Fools interview LD Beightol, a musician, artist, author and designer the other day. LD was fascinating --talking about Stephin Merritt, Magnetic Fields, anti-naturalism and the 3 volume set of songs (love songs to be exact) called "69 Love Songs". He spoke personally of Merritt, his skill as an artist, musician, composer and director--using his skills and the voices of others to create this opus of songs and lyrics written by Merritt. Stephin Merritt is a true talent, someone with a wonderful range and a distinct style in his work. He also is a very distinct personality who surrounds himself with interesting people--the most curious being the curious Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler) who participates in the album with clapping and accordian playing.

After hearing this engaging and personal interview, I immediately rushed to iTunes and listened to the free snippets of music. I was raving to Erich and he magically presented me with the 69 Love Songs--all as MP3 files. He discovered thisWho would have guessed! So, I am listening to this tome--back and forth and forth and back and am enjoying the whole experience. In a way, kind of like Smile from Brian Wilson.
A stream of music, of thought and ideas.

I somehow think this work links with the Jurassic Museum of Technology, with Lemony Snicket and the works from McSweeneys (McSweeneys books, The Believer, Wholphin)>> there is a common spirit to these endevors which I would like to better understand.

Take a listen to Merritt's work. Its worth it.

Roadtrip!


Off to western Massachusetts for the favorite gallery tour and swimming in the snow. R has work--so we are piling on--and doing the Q. tour of the galleries while he has to do the serious looking, comparing and notetaking. Going to galleries with me is more like going to the park--we laugh, joke and talk loudly about all around us. Sometimes we even learn something. We drink coffee and tea. We buy stuff at the gift shop (often more than the requisite tee).

So, the plan is--first thing Monday to drive to Beacon, New York to see Dia Beacon. Very serious. Very grown up. Very blue cheese. My contingency needs a little push to get started with this stuff...but how to resist humongous sculpture, repetitious art and stuff made from single strands of colored string. There is a Warhol show. What is not to love? Pittsburgh's honored son, graduate of the same institution as their parents? Lots of color? They have gotten into it--and will. Then, back in the wonderbus, and we drive north with a break in Williamstown at the wonderful Clark (albeit it sounds like they have a pretty insipid selection of shows: Claude Lorraine, and a photography show on Ruins in Photography). The photography could be a player with the younger set. And their general collection is great. I think italian renaissance and some gory saints might keep them amused. Then, to finalize the day at MassMoca with two overnights at Porches.

We will frolic in the pool and hot tub (out in the snow), eat breakfast and loiter amusingly until Moca opens at 11. R will be hard at work. Then, we will do Moca for the afternoon with lunch. There are a good grouping of shows (and lets not forget the shows in the kid's area which can be fabulous). More swimming outside, more saunas inside...its kind of continual.

Then home via the Norman Rockwell Museum, one of the world's centers for illustration. They have a show on health related illustration and 323 Saturday Evening Post Covers on show. That should be worth the detour. My hope was to visit the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art...but I think this will happen another day.

Photo is from the Luckystone Lodge yesterday. Great drifts of snow with blue purple shadows. More geese and swans. Great blue sky.