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.                         

CITY DAILY PHOTO JUNE THEME DAY - PINK

Your city may have a monumental statue of a politician or general, the figure of Liberty or a battling bull and bear. We have Erwin Wurm's Big Suit in Citygarden. I find it ambiguous, subject to many interpretations. Many years ago, though, I had a pink seersucker suit. No idea what got into me.

It's going to be crazed around here this weekend. The baseball Cardinals' arch-rivals, the Chicago Cubs, are in town. That always draws thousands of out of town fans. The third game of the Stanley Cup finals is Saturday night, with our Blues and the Boston Bruins tied at one game each. Is it coincidental about Cubs and Bruins at the same time or is there deeper mystical significance? I think the authorities should just turn Market Street into a river of beer and the rest of us should stay far away.             

The Long View

When I'm unmotivated and out of ideas Citygarden is always good for a few images. It's four years now since it opened and even has its own iPhone app.

Most of the sculptures challenge the viewer. None are pretty; all require thought. So what's with Erwin Wurm's Big Suit? Headless, ludicrous in pink, standing on a formal pedestal like a hero. Read it as you will but read it closely. Personally, I wonder if it is making fun of all the businessmen and women in the surrounding office towers. Headless, eyeless, pompous, attempting to gaze over downtown with no chance of vision.