Betty

Posted on January 26, 2009 by RegenAxe

betty

Betty is the title of this Gerhard Richter painting in oil on canvas. Created in 1988, Betty is based upon a photograph he took of his eleven-year-old daughter. Looking away, the girl turns towards what maybe another of Richter’s paintings. Richter mixes the softness of the girl’s features with the precise rendering of her flowered jacket in a work that blurs the distinctions between painting and photography.

Betty is part of the Saint Louis Art Museum’s (SLAM) permanent collection. Betty is also the name of a dear in-law of mine and aunt to Anne. I also have an Aunt Betsy, my father’s sister and there are also other Betties in our family.

Yesterday afternoon, after Anne’s and my bike-capades, Anne went wool gathering with Joanie and I went to the SLAMmer. Chris of Chris and Alice fame first coined that name for me. He should know, because he spent a few years in the SLAMmer. Chris told stories as only Chris can of what went on behind art’s bars. Chris’ job was art restoration. I can recall one of his projects, a large, very old, wooden chest, infested with insects. I’m thinking that a large portion of the job was to extract just recently fumigated insect carcasses from their ancient wood bored holes.

My intent for visiting the SLAMmer was to gather blog fodder, as the pictures for this blog and today’s header are examples. There was a concert ongoing when I arrived, a string quartet that was finishing up their concert with the final Allegro from Brahms’s Quartet in C minor, Opus 51 No 1. I selectively photographed art throughout the museum. After photographing each piece, I also photographed its nameplate. Hence this blog’s way too descriptive, at least for my talents anyway, descriptions of the SLAMmer’s object d’art.

The header for today is a picture of Ellsworth Kelly’s Spectrum II. This painting is a 1966 oil on canvas, or more correctly canvases. Thirteen canvases have been joined to create a chromatic spectrum nearly 23 feet long. I offer my apologies to the artist for having to clip his work in order to fit it into the confines of this blog’s header.

Placed together, these panels of deeply saturated hues create color harmonies and dissonances that shift for the viewer. The visual experience of this 2D object expanding into its surroundings brings the painting almost into the realm of sculpture. The scale of the work further strengthens its presence.

One thing I noticed while wandering the SLAMmer’s many galleries was that quite a few of them are either empty or closed. The visiting show gallery was closed in preparation for next month’s opening of the Treasures of the Ming Dynasty, but also closed or empty were the main floor galleries on the east and south east side of the museum’s building. I asked about it and was told that these galleries were emptied in preparation for the construction of the SLAMmer’s new wing. Construction is expected to begin this spring. It was delayed from last fall due to the credit markets meltdown. The new wing will be built where the existing east parking lot is now.

Also Anne has calculated that it has been 37 years to the day since our first date, a concert with Bob Seager and the MC5.

I’m Just One of the Girls

Posted on January 25, 2009 by RegenAxe

anne-biking-in-the-snow

This morning Anne’s all vegan bird feeding restaurant toyed with the idea of adding a meat course or two. At least the Cooper’s hawk that we saw in the backyard seemed to be suggesting that. I tried to get a decent photo of it, but was unsuccessful. Either my gyrations in the window or the by then paucity of winged breakfast caused the hawk to move on.

Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a rather dangerous lifestyle. A recent study found that a quarter of all Cooper’s Hawks examined had healed fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the wishbone. A Cooper’s hawk captures birds with its feet, and will squeeze it repeatedly to kill it. It does not bite the prey to kill it in the fashion of falcons, but holds it away from its body until it dies. It has been known to drown its prey, holding a bird under water until it stops moving. Hmmm, fun facts!

This weekend was the third weekend of Anne’s all women FrostBike series of bike rides. I helped her launch this morning and maybe helped her a bit too much for her taste (Whoops!). It was fourteen degrees out then. I had packed my bike in the back of the car with plans of first going to the annual bike swap meet and then going biking, all over in Illinois. As I detoured around the Park what had been just flurries started to become accumulation. I decided that discretion was the better part of valor and parked at the history museum. I unloaded the bike and put on the rest of my biking accoutrements, just in time to catch Anne as she rode by on her way to VeloCity.

Kubie was already at VeloCity when we arrived. She facilitated my special dispensation to be able to ride with the women, hence this post’s title, but when she started to call me Marcia, I almost backed out. Anne had brought one of her knitting projects along for a fitting with Kubie.

Today’s header shows the FrostBike peleton in snow storm action and this post’s picture shows intrepid Anne peddling along, “Are we brave or just stupid?” There were fourteen women on today’s ride. There were several captain crashes, but no injuries and after a half turn of the Park, the ladies decided to bag it. I tried to extend my ride, but in the end I only got six miles. To add insult to injury, Anne got seven miles (insert your favorite Bronx cheer here).

I joined Anne and her compatriots and really enjoyed VeloCity’s Sunday brunch. Anne decided to leave her bike at VeloCity, the cyclery not the café, for service. So we drove home together. One more FrostBike series weekend ride to go …

I Should Have Stayed in Florida

Posted on January 24, 2009 by RegenAxe

beach

It was cold when we left Saint Louis for Florida on Wednesday, but it was scheduled to warm up in town while we were gone. It was cold in Florida, at least by their standards. Actually, there was some isolated frost there Thursday morning. We relative northerners would scoff and joke about the amount of agitation about their cold snap. Anyway it continued to warm as the rest of the week progressed and was in the seventies by takeoff time.

By the time I landed in Saint Louis the temperature here had fallen to 31 from Friday’s high of 44. This morning’s low was only 10 and we are expecting a high on only 25. I should have stayed in Florida. You know, I seriously considered it, at least for this weekend.

I went biking today and got 15 miles. It only got up to 19 today, at least by my sight. I did make my sanity quotient, i.e. six other cyclists. One of the bicyclists was a girl, about eight years old. I saw Kubie out jogging. I also saw an octogenarian out jogging. It is not expected to be any warmer tomorrow then it was today and Anne and Kubie plan on riding the third weekend of Frost-Bike.

Now some may think that all my whining about cold weather is being just a bit too wimpy. I’m thinking in particular of my more northern friends. I can read a weather map as well as anyone. To paraphrase Bike Snob NYC:

Now, when I complain about the weather, some responses are just going to happen:

People in Upstate New York, Michigan and other obscure states feel compelled to point out how much worse their own weather is and proceed to tell apocryphal tales of being forced to scrape the ice off their frozen bike chains with their beards;

People in Florida, California, and other fantasy states feel compelled to point out how much more pleasant their weather is, which goes without saying because snowstorms cannot occur in a cultural vacuum;

I defer to the Upstate New Yorkers’ and Michiganders’ ability to withstand both severe cold and crushing boredom; and rest assured I am also duly jealous of the Californians (though less so of the Floridians). Believe me, I’d move to California if I could. Sadly, I’m hopelessly mired in mundanities here. Also, I would hate to contaminate their fragile ecosystem with my toxicity.

The sand on the beach was just a little coarser than what I’m use to. Mainly the sand seemed more loamy. It was in the sixties when we were on the beach. Too cold for most Flordinian. The beach was really quite vacant.

Today’s header is a picture of one of the osprey we saw yesterday. There was a pair circling the mangrove lined cove, where we saw them. They would hover at a height of from 50 to 200 feet; then plunge after their fish prey feet first. There was also a plaintive call from the mangroves, which we thought might be the circling pair’s chick.

Back Home Again

Posted on January 23, 2009 by RegenAxe

palm-trees

I had crab cakes for dinner tonight. We had landed in Charlotte in order to make our connection to Saint Louis. On the outbound trip we had connected in Charlotte with only thirty-five minutes. Today we had an hour and a half. After finding the gate we noticed a Phillips Seafood right next to the gate. It was touting Chesapeake crab cakes. We figured that we had time for dinner. Before leaving the gate, I asked the attendant when they would begin boarding, she said 5:10.

We ordered the crab cakes. Our drinks came and after some time, I asked the time. 5:10 was the answer. About this time I saw through the window everyone at the gate, our gate get up. We changed our orders to go, got them and then paid the bill. Well it really didn’t happen that quickly, but it happened in time. We were the last ones on the plane.

The food smelled great and the four of us each carrying a fresh aromatic dinner did not go unnoticed. The gate ticket takers tongue in cheeked claimed that we couldn’t take them on board and would have to surrender the dinners to them. The flight attendants also expressed some avarice. We took our seats which were loosely grouped, pity our poor fellow passengers. Afterwards the flight attendant asked me if she liked the dinner. I said that she did.

To yesterday’s list of wildlife I can add osprey, wood storks (they were actually standing in a vacant lot in the middle of town), a ray, a sea turtle, starfish (in a nature center at the beach) and terns. We had an hour to kill before we had to go to the airport so we briefly went to the beach. We also saw a mangrove swamp.

It was a long day today. I’m glad to be home again and I’m glad tomorrow is not a work day. I think Anne concurs; she was horizontal on the couch when I got home. She mentioned something about last night’s naughty knitting night girls and now the refrigerator is full of chocolate. Hmmm!?!

Oh I almost forgot to mention this, I flew the blue goose, or what passes for it these days. Remember North Central Airlines, the blue goose? In 1979, North Central bought Southern Airways and the two airlines formed Republic Airlines, which in 1986 became part of Northwest Airlines. Last year, Northwest was purchased by Delta Air Lines. This airline genealogy is further complicated by the fact that I was flying US Airways. Or more correctly, USAir Express and Republic nee North Central Airlines was providing the flights.

I should have asked the flight attendant that showed avarice towards my crab cakes, if she had worked for the blue goose. She looked old enough to have been working in 1979. Thinking about it though, her southern accent would have her favoring the Southern Airways half. I especially appreciated the way she over emphasized Saint Louis, whenever she spoke it.

Eco Agent

Posted on January 22, 2009 by RegenAxe

More bicycling propaganda … via EcoVelo

I’m in Florida and it is cold down here. Well at least it is cold by Florida standards, low in the thirties and highs only in the sixties. I stupidly left my jacket in the car. I may regret that decision.

I flew down here last night. The guys I’m traveling with and I went out for seafood last night. It was very good. Off to work now, …

Back from work now, we saw many gators in the swamps by the side of the roads. Also many, many egrets and herons too. We also saw a herd, (or maybe a pack?) of wild pigs and a single deer. To finish today’s wildlife adventure we saw a pair of hunting dogs, hounds that both had radio tracking collars on, who had gotten lost in the swamp. One of the other guys had a pickup and was able to coach them into the back. He then turned them over to the authorities.