The Clyfford Still Museum

I was complaining about the boring architecture in Denver's central business district. A short distance away is an area that contains The Denver Art Museum, the main public library and the Clyfford Still Museum. There the architecture is wild with utterly different buildings piled up on one another, sometimes creating a chaotic effect.

The most unusual institution is the museum devoted exclusively to the art of the American abstract expressionist master, Clyfford Still. Why just the one painter and why in Denver? If you are interested, find out here.                 

Some Denver Snaps

So I sort of went to school for a while yesterday and got out to see the city a bit. Above, a downtown shot from the 16th Street Mall. Mies van der Rohe, that blessed and accursed architect, would be pleased. Second, the state capitol building, with a dome covered in gold leaf. Last, drive-through voting outside the city-county office building. There are local elections finishing next Tuesday. One of the staff told us it is totally mail voting but if you want to drive downtown and drop it off they are waiting for you. That's enlightened.              

Look At Me

No pictures of Denver yet. From what I've seen so far, downtown is bigger and more modern than The Lou and full of really boring architecture.

So I dug this up from an event at Union Station a few weeks ago. The entertainers are on something of a bridge at the far end of the old train hall, looking down at the audience. The singer really wanted to attract attention and he succeeded.

The guitar player's hat say BRONX on the front. He don't know from The Bronx, as we used to say. I went to high school in The Bronx. I could tell him something.                

50th Anniversary

Today is the fiftieth anniversary of the completion of the Gateway Arch. It is an engineering marvel, formed in the shape of a catenary arch, the curve you get when you dangle a chain by its ends. Only flipped upside down. Stainless steel, 630 feet / 192 meters high, symbol of our city and source of endless fascination for me. Long may it shine. You can see an interesting illustration of the construction here.

There is a detailed special report in today's St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Mrs. C and I are flying to Denver this morning, where I have a professional conference. We've driven from the airport into the mountains a few times but we don't know the city at all. It will be very busy and I will probably be light on visits to my friends' blogs but I promise some pix. Rocky Mountain high and all that.                    

The Best Trees In Forest Park

Fall color is hit and miss here. We need the right amount of rain and a little bit of cold weather. This year it's been dry as a bone for a few weeks and we haven't had a freeze. Most of the trees are dull brown.

But there is a small area in Forest Park that holds a grove that always blazes red and yellow in October. What could it be, the species or the soil? These are a couple of shots taken on Sunday.

Tomorrow is the 50th anniversary of the completion of the Arch. It will not go unmarked.                   

Madeleine Monday

Since the Arch anniversary party turned out to be no fun, the family walked a block west to Citygarden. Madeleine thinks it's a hoot. It has pools to float leaves in, unpredictable water jets and giant bunnies to sit and slide on. I notice how her face subtly changes as she grows older, showing a more individual personality.

The actual anniversary of the Arch's completion is Wednesday. There is sure to be something here to mark the occasion.               

Orange and Pink

The Arch 50th anniversary celebration was a bust. There was a stage with rotating entertainment, some better than others. A bit of low-end children's activities and a number of food booths lacking for business with the modest turnout. And that's it. There were fireworks later but after Madeleine's bedtime.

So the family went down the street to Citygarden, which everyone enjoys. The long wall is always lined with pumpkins at this time  of year. Quite a contrast with the pink in Big Suit. Madeleine had some fun with the autumn leaves, more about which tomorrow.

Some Concert Pix

I don't know of anyone on CDP who does concert photography as well as my friend Olivier in Evry, France. (An example here.) I don't get to many performances where you can take pictures (the St. Louis Symphony, where we usually hang out, doesn't permit it). But Grovefest had a stage at one end of Manchester Avenue, happily facing southwest, where I stopped at the end of the afternoon. I don't remember the name of the group but they were terrific.

And hey, this week is the Gateway Arch's 50th anniversary! There's a party today in Kiener Plaza. Mrs. C, Emily, Madeleine and I will be attending.                      

Bubbles and Bull

They had a mechanical bull at Grovefest. An operator ran the thing with a joystick, making it gyrate wildly. I think you got a prize if you lasted a couple of minutes. No one did.

Note the broken left horn on this contraption. Someone who slid forward could be seriously injured. The lawyer side of me wonders how much insurance the owner has.                  

Paint By Numbers

It is a bit surprising but I'm seeing adult coloring books around these days. Hard to see the reason. Maybe people who never learned to draw want to make their own graphic novel.

The idea was extended at Grovefest. There are lots of wall paintings around the neighborhood. Someone put up the lines for a new one and filled in the spaces with color coded numbers. The public was invited to fill in the tones. Not very creative work but fun in its way and the result was pleasing.                

DWI Lawyer?

This person got my attention at Grovefest. Was he promoting a lawyer who does drunk driving cases? The sweatshirt was hard to parse. But look closely and notice the walkie talkie clipped to the back of his jeans. The white stripe near the bottom is a label - I can read it when I zoom in - that says that he's a very plain clothes security guard.

His disguise might be more credible if he cracked open the can in the second picture.                       

Atomic Cowboy

Back on Manchester Avenue in The Grove, visiting the locally renowned Atomic Cowboy bar. I think the name is just meant to be goofy. The top photo has the eyeball trademark of local artist Peat Woellanger.

Some sad news: we learned that our friend and colleague Birdman in Portland, Maine, died suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday. I was one of the few members of the CDP community to meet him and see him without a bag over his head. He liked his privacy so I edited a picture of him accordingly. He was okay with it. 

You can see my post of July 30, 2012, about our meeting here. We will sorely miss his wit, his enthusiasm and his stories. The text on his posts were like Garrison Keillor miniatures. I am so fortunate that I was able to have brunch with him at one of his down-east hangouts.                

Madeleine Monday

I'm still backed up with material from recent weeks' events in The Lou. However, on Saturday we took Madeleine for her first visit to the ineffable City Museum. There was some concern that she might not have been ready for it at 26 months of age. We needn't have worried.

The ball pit was her favorite. There were two, one for the big kids and the other for 6 and under. It might have been the most fun thing she's ever done. Such a look of pure joy.

The child is just full of joie de vivre. We stopped for carry-outs on our way back and spread it out on a low table at daughter Emily's house. Some of the food was garnished with little lemon wedges. Madeleine, of course, popped one in her mouth and decided it wasn't so bad. Then she took it out, hid it between her chin and neck while bending her head forward, marched around a bit like that and then let it drop out, throwing her head back with a squeal. And then repeated it a time or two for good measure. The kid knows how to have a good time.              

Roller Derby

Always lots to see at Grovefest out of the mainstream. There is an active roller derby scene here with both women's and men's teams.  Never been to one of their matches but they show up at lots of events.          

I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles

You have to be of a certain age to understand the reference in the title.

So there was this van at Grovefest that I suppose you could hire for your kid's birthday; someone's graduation, confirmation or bar mitzvah; or maybe the end of a Federal Reserve meeting. It had machines that blew huge volumes of bubbles over the street. The kids loved it. So did I. It would be hilarious to sneak this in backstage at the next Republican debate.
              

Some Street Portraits

Found at Grovefest.                   

Human Foosball

Back in STL with some photos from the oddball Grovefest in the (who would have guessed?) Grove neighborhood. Never seen human foosball before but it looks organized, with rules and officials and all that. These were just pickup games with anyone in the crowd who wanted to have a try. I can't play regular foosball to save my live so I stayed on the back side of the lens.