WHITE GHOST IN TINTYPE

 

Yoshitomo Nara”s White Ghost, https://citygardenstl.org/art/yoshitomo-nara/, needs a background note, which I think is a problem with some contemporary art. Your experience when confronting the piece is essential, of course, but there may be layers of meaning that require more information. Nara’s work often represents children or dogs, or, as here, something of a blend. The note on the Citygarden website linked above, if it is accurate, expects too much from the viewer.

Hope to get much more color and excitement in the next few days. This weekend is the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, https://greatforestparkballoonrace.com/. Tonight is the balloon glow. At dusk, the balloons stay tethered but periodically blast up with flame. creating an otherworldly experience. It’s going to be packed but my granddaughter and I will give it a shot.                 

BUSINESS CASUAL IN TINTYPE

 

Just the thing for a St. Louis man to wear to a late summer social event. But it makes me think of the words of a certain native St. Louis writer: We are the hollow men/ We are the hollow men/ We are the stuffed men/ Leaning together/ Headpiece filled with straw. 

Austrian sculptor Erwin Wurm’s Big Suit, https://citygardenstl.org/art/erwin-wurm/#, asks a lot of questions. I like art that pokes. Many people walk past something like this and think it looks weird/cool/stupid/baffling, then keep on movng. I’d rather stop and wonder about what’s going on.                         

SAINT LOUIS SCULPTURE IN TINTYPE - PINOCCHIO

 

These images seem like they come from another time, which I guess is the point. Still in Citygarden, Jim Dine’s Big White Gloves shows Pinocchio exultant, although I’m not sure why. He seems to be some way from his goal of becoming a real boy.

There was an article in the local newspaper yesterday about prominent public sculpture in our town. I know some but not all. Lots of ideas.                    

HEY, MISTER, TAKE OUR PICTURE!

 

An old guy walking around with a big camera can get people’s attention. Passers-by sometimes engage me. The most common question is “get any good ones today?” Most common answer, said in a pleasant tone: "Ï’ll know when I download them.”  Rarer but much more fun question is “hey, mister, wanna take our picture?” The answer is always yes. I offer to send them a copy and give them my card. Hardly anyone contacts me.

I met these young people in Citygarden, our wonderful downtown sculpture park. The picture was originally in color, of course, but the light was hazy-bright-harsh and my Photoshop skills were not up to fixing it. Still, you can often get a good monochrome conversion.              

MOONRISE?

That’s the name (not including the question mark) of one of the new sculptures in Citygarden. It was made by the Swiss sculptor Ugo Rondinone. It strikes me as strange and disconcerting, a happy child’s face emerging from a monster’s mouth. You may see something different.            

WHAT'S NEW AT CITYGARDEN

Downtown St. Louis' Citygarden, https://citygardenstl.org/, has been seen often in these pages. It is two square blocks of sculpture and plantings that reflect the ecosystems of the region. Although it opened in 2009, the city street between the two blocks remained, although it was blocked to traffic. With additional funding, the park space is now continuous and new artwork has been added.

This is one of the new additions, White Ghost,  by Yoshitomo Nara. It has an anime feeling in the style of Spirited Away, https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0245429/.            

SPLISH SPLASH

There were lots of other children playing in Citygarden's splash fountains while Ellie was there. The water jets go some distance back from the focal distance of this photo. They dance, they are choreographed, their rise and fall follow unpredictable patterns. Mrs. C and I wondered how someone gets the job of water choreographer or fluid engineer. If you have ever been to Las Vegas and seen the fountains in front of The Bellagio, you know what I mean.                 

MADELEINE MONDAY

 

Travel over for a while, we're back to local themes. Citygarden, our two-block downtown sculpture park, had a "reopening" on Saturday, featuring new sculptures and street arrangements. There are fountains and splash pools for kids, and Ellie couldn't get enough. With our Memorial Day weekend, summer season is officially here.            

CRITIQUE OF PURE REASON

As intellectually arid as it gets: sculpture in Citygarden called 2 Arcs x 4, 1999-2000, 162″ x 162″ x 29″, 230.5 Degree Arc x 5, 1999, Steel, 162″ x 162″ x 36″ by Bernar Venet. The description on the garden's website says that he "creates works based on mathematical graphs and formulas. In mathematics, Venet discovered a language of symbols that satisfied his desire to create an art that is non-expressive and not subject to personal interpretation." I think I have broad tastes in art but this is beyond what I can appreciate.

        

BENEFICIAL PHOTOBOMBING

Those of us who shoot on the street have had it happen: you get everything framed, set your exposure and someone jumps into the photo, waving or making a face. Usually it is a minor annoyance from juvenile behavior. Once in a while, though,  you may like what turns out. I was about to take a dull picture in Citygarden when this young man rode through. He made the snap a keeper.              

HOLLOW EYES

I'm not usually big on photographing other people's artwork, but then, say, how many times have I taken pictures of the Winged Victory of Samothrace at the Louvre? Or, for that matter, our Arch? There are lots of different ways to see and interpret. This is a detail of Igor Mitoraj's Eros Bendato, or Eros Bound, in Citygarden. This section is taller than I am, hollow and open at the base of the neck. Kids crawl around inside.           

ARCS AND CURVES

More squiggles: Ju Ming's Tai Chi Singlewhip in Citygarden. It's easier to photograph the artwork in winter. Everything isn't obstructed by leaves but you can still get some nice frames among the plantings.            

SUN SALUTE

There is a lot to take in in our town's Citygarden. It comprises two blocks of complex plantings that reflect the region's environmental zones and a remarkable collection of modern sculpture. Jim Dine's take on Pinocchio does face generally east toward the sunrise, which is why the title seems appropriate. Otherwise, I know zip about yoga. I am one of the least (physically) flexible people you are likely to meet. Only been dragged to a yoga class once in my life (by you, Jessie) and couldn't make it past corpse pose.         

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

Referring to a potential viewer or the object of vision? STL DPB dips into philosophy when encountering Erwin Wurm's Big Suit in Citygarden downtown. So who wears pink suits? We can see that.              

THE HEAT

Citygarden, downtown St. Louis. The forecast for today, Saturday, is for a high of 104 F / 40 C. It's the kind of day when I want to take climate science deniers or the-economy-is-more-important types by the shoulders and just throttle them. Unlike many of our European friends, most of us have air conditioning and can hide indoors. But then there are the people who work outdoors and our neighbors who can't afford the electricity to run AC.        

SUMMER

Still hot here, although some rain today may give us a break. It seems like I'm out on the streets with a camera less since I retired and don't go downtown every day. For now, an old picture of summer in The Lou, chilling out in Citygarden.            

ALIEN RETINA

A little exercise you sometimes see in books about the nature of consciousness poses the question "what is it like to be a bat?" Your vision is weak and you navigate through space with a version of sonar, using systems alien to humans. There are lots of animals that see and hear wavelengths we cannot. Infrared photography offers a peek behind the curtain and teaches us about the limits of our perception.           

EFFLUENT PIPE

Okay, not really, but that's the visual association I got from the scene. You see metal plaques around street drains here that say "Caution. Sewer drains to river," with a picture of a fish. This looked to me like some giant, rough pipe that thrust out of the levee next to the Mississippi.

But of course it isn't. It's in Citygarden, one side of the large sculpture Eros Bendato that's been seen here before (e.g., https://saintlouismodailyphoto.blogspot.com/2013/08/all-you-need-is-love.html). You can crawl right in there, and lots of children do. I just don't want to see that worker washed away by slime.              

A WELL PLACED BARRIER

I often mention Citygarden, downtown STL's two square block sculpture park. For some reason, when it was built the designers left the street open between the blocks but then immediately barricaded it. During the summer they roll in an ice cream truck and it's been a venue for small performances pre-COVID. Maybe that was the intention.                                

HE SHOULD HAVE HAD A CABINET JOB IN THE LAST ADMINISTRATION

I love Jim Dine's statue of Pinocchio in Citygarden. The puppet who wanted to be a real boy had a problem: every time he told a lie his nose grew longer. This image suggests there have been a couple of whoppers. But look at the posture, the gesture, the body language. Whatever he has said, he's proud of it and seeking adulation. What person, recently off the national stage, does this remind us of?