ST. LOUIS PUBLIC SCULPTURE: MORE FROZEN PINOCCHIO

 

We got a lot of snow over the weekend by our standards, maybe 9 inches / 23 cm. The temperature forecast for Sunday night is -5 F / -20.5 C, frigid to us. Under the circumstances, I thought I'd bring back a chilly picture of Citygarden's other Pinocchio statue (we have two!), Jim Dine's Big White Gloves, Four Big Wheels. I'm not so welcoming of the conditions.                

HE’S GOT GLOVES BUT A SWEATER MIGHT HELP

A little further down in Citygarden, Pinocchio seems impervious to the cold. Jim Dine’s Big White Gloves stands without shivering in short sleeves and pants. Maybe he is showing off, given his desire to become a real boy.              

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.                    

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.         

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?                

TE DEUM LAUDAMUS

Okay, the reference is a little obscure, but bear with me. It's how I roll.

The Latin Catholic mass (my background) has a section referred to as the Te Deum, or, more completely, Te Deum Laudamus: we praise you, God. Not that I'm at all religious but I'm filled with such feelings of gratitude and joy today that it almost rises to such a level. 

I was thinking all afternoon of the finale of Act 1 of Puccini's Tosca. (Sure, melodrama, potboiler, but of unsurpassed beauty.) The bad guy, Baron Scarpia, had the most intense lust for the heroine, Tosca, while wanting the life of her S.O. and his political opponent, Cavaradossi. Scarpia is Trump. Scarpia craves sex and power. Trump craves adulation and power. In the opera, the congregation rings out with the Te Deum while Scarpia bellows that Tosca makes him forget God. Make your own comparison. https://youtu.be/0euYKIMfV4I            

Gun Violence

There was an anti-gun counter demonstration in Citygarden on Saturday. More were on that side, seeded with of people from a regional Amnesty International conference going on nearby. Other demonstrors marked the walkways with body outlines of the kind used by investigators at homicide scenes. They represented unarmed people killed by gunfire from police. 

In the last picture, the statue of Pinocchio raises his arms to the sky and asks the gods why.                    

One With Nature

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I managed to get out of my well-appointed cell at lunchtime yesterday and take a few shots in Citygarden. In this one, Jim Dine's Pinocchio revels in the autumn sun and colorful trees. Peace, happiness and satisfaction. Were it but so easy . . .

Why does Pinocchio wear white gloves? The question just occurred to me.

Winter Night In The Garden

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It gets dark awfully early these days, although I know it's more extreme for those of you farther north. Some things get an entirely new feeling in the dark, like Jim Dine's statue of Pinocchio in Citygarden, Big White Gloves.

By the way, there is an article in the current issue of Forbes, the business magazine, titled St. Louis Doesn't Suck. Finally the press got something right.

Pinocchio's Favorite Baseball Team

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You. can still see the happy glow from the World Series here and there around town. In Citygarden, Jim Dine's Pinocchio wears a huge red and white Cardinals scarf, raising his arms in celebration.

Should be a beautiful day here today and we finally have a bit of fall color in the trees. There is a Veterans Day parade at noon. Time to go out with the big net.

Pinocchio Masked

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We had some snow last night, enough to make the morning commute treacherous. The eastern two-thirds of the US is really in the freezer, with low temperatures in St. Louis for tonight and tomorrow night predicted to be about 0 F. or -18 C. Still, there's a good side to it. This was Citygarden's first complete snow cover since it opened last summer. Pinocchio here exults in it, although with that cold compress on his eyes I wondered if he had a migraine.

For Your Sunday Morning

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I am so out of ideas. After another Saturday session at the office, the lazy St. Louis photoblogger's solution is to walk a block to Citygarden and shoot something or other. The garden is lucky to have two representations of Pinocchio. The puppet in Jim Dine's White Gloves faces the direction of the rising sun, arms outstretched as if in praise and supplication. Or is it triumph? Except he has no eyes - he literally acts blindly - and Pinocchio's growing nose tells us that he's been lying.

Citygarden - Jim Dine's Big White Glove

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A few days ago I had a post about the Citygarden sculpture featuring the carpenter Geppetto and his puppet, Pinocchio. The toy didn't look anything like the Pinocchio of my childhood, which was defined by Walt Disney. Jim Dine's Big White Glove is a near-copy of the Disney cartoon character. Dine created a number of paintings and sculptures on the Pinocchio theme. Indeed, he once said that "the idea of a talking stick becoming a boy [is] like a metaphor for art, and it’s the ultimate alchemical transformation."

I really like this work for its ambiguity. Yes, it looks almost exactly like the cartoon but it has no face. The boy, even the puppet, is still in the process of coming-to-be. The pose could represent so many things: an Olympic athlete on the prize medal platform; a preacher or charismatic worshiper; an entertainer receiving the accolades of the audience. What do you see in it?