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            

Spring Is Here! Maybe.

It was awfully quiet at my office yesterday so I left at mid-afternoon. (Note to self: issue press release.) The  sun finally came out and the temperature was mild. I drove home, picked up Ellie and Emily and went back downtown. Citygarden had plastic Easter eggs stashed all over for the kids. Ellie was delighted to rearrange them and climb on the sculptures. She and Jim Dine's Pinocchio celebrated the season.

But it is supposed to be chilly and wet today. There is a chance of snow on Easter Sunday. Things will eventually warm up.   

Faces Of Statues In The Rain: Pinocchio

There are two representations of Pinocchio in Citygarden. This one is part of Tom Otterness' Kindly Geppetto. The wet puppetmaker himself may make it into this series in time. The other one is Jim Dine's Big White Glove, which has been on these pages before.

Even in Otterness' very spare geometry, the little marionette looks like he's sweating bullets. He ought to be, as you can see in this wider view of the statue.                

Sun Salute

I didn't know Pinocchio was a yoga practitioner. Looks like he greets the orb with the Sun Salute from his platform in Citygarden every morning, rain  or shine. It's not like he moves much.

Yoga and I are not a good combination. Yeah yeah yeah it has all kinds of benefits but I am one of the least physically flexible and coordinated people you are likely to meet. A few years ago a friend dragged me to a yoga class. The only pose I was able to successfully perform was the Corpse. It's one that comes naturally to everyone.                                       

Merry Christmas From St. Lou

Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate it from St. Louis. Christmas Eve here was cold and wet, and certainly not white. Mrs. C and I are in the air today (first time ever flying on Christmas Day), heading to New York by an annoyingly indirect route. More about that later, perhaps. Easy drive from LaGuardia to my sister's home in the New Jersey suburbs. This of one of those rare nights when there will not be a traffic jam on or around the George Washington Bridge.

I'm sure we'll get into the city in the next day or two.                            

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.                    

Pinocchio Needs A Scarf Today

Winter has arrived in St. Louis in earnest. Someone always puts a scarf around Pinocchio's neck in Citygarden at this time of year. It's not enough. Look at those sleeves and pant legs. At least he has gloves.

I think my attempt at humor in yesterday's post was a bit over the top. That is not a tanker full of coffee headed for an emergency delivery in Seattle. If you look closely, the back of the truck says "the best coffee on the Interstate." It belongs to a chain of gas stations, convenience stores and truck stops along the main highways. The truck is actually full of gasoline.          

Thwack Pinocchio

Low on material so I took my camera out at lunchtime yesterday. I walked through Citygarden to one many of our many food trucks, wandering through the sculptures on the way back. All of them have appeared here before. This one is Tom Otterness' Kindly Geppetto, showing the creation, or maybe the destruction, of Pinocchio. Who knows.           

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.

Mahem At 8th And Chestnut

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Citygarden has two versions of the Pinocchio story. Jim Dine's, seen yesterday, is modeled on the Disney character and then, um, embellished. Tom Otterness' view focuses on Gepetto, the puppet maker who gives life to the toy. But that which giveth also taketh away. I've never been able to figure whether this work depicts creation or destruction. Maybe that's where the art lies.

It's supposed to be 92 F. / 33 C. today. To put it in context, here's a picture of the same statue I took right at a year ago:

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.

Geppetto's Hammer, Again

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I hope it doesn't seem like I'm just recycling material but the more I look at it the more fascinated I become with Kindly Geppetto in Citygarden. It's made to look like the simplest toy or cartoon but there is something terribly malevolent about it. The wood carver is actually about to whack the hell out of his creation. Pinocchio aspired to become a real boy. He ain't gonna make it in this version of the tale.

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?

Citygarden - Tom Otterness' Kindly Geppetto

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A puppet and its creator: many of us know the story of the carpenter Geppetto and Pinocchio, the puppet who wanted to be a real boy. But first he had to prove that he was truthful and knew the difference between right and wrong. Geppetto doesn't look at all kindly with his frowny face; Pinocchio, not yet alive, has a neutral expression. The carpenter is about to whap his creation with a big hammer. Is this an act of creation or destruction? Can we take the violence seriously when the image is constructed of cartoonish spheres, cylinders and a cube, and the figures have only four digits, like Mickey Mouse? Tell us how you interpret this.

Up to Chicago today for the weekend to celebrate Mrs. C's birthday with our son, Chicago daily photoblogger U "R" Us. He's got a very cool post up today. Always lots to shoot in Chicago.

TOMORROW: All Star fever