Thursday Arch Series

One of the stranger and more amusing things to see at last weekend's Grand Centre block party was a nine hole mini golf course in the art galleries at The Sheldon. Each hole was designed by a different group, all whimsical, all unique. 

The eighth hole was based on the renovated Gateway Arch grounds.  You had to putt your ball through or around the Old Courthouse and then plunk it into a cup modeled on the new entrance to the Arch museum. The ball then ran through a tunnel to a lower level, resembling the street and promenade in front of the Mississippi. The player had to drop the ball into one more hole in the street. If you did that the red warning light on the top of the Arch lit up. Ellie got it done with what I think soccer would call a hand ball.
    

Salman Rushdie In St. Louis

The first of Salman Rushdie's novels to get attention, Midnight's Children, didn't catch me. When it was published in 1981 to enormous acclaim, I had one and five year old children and a growing law practice. When The Satanic Verses was published seven years later, everyone heard about the fatwā calling for Rushdie's death issued by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, then Supreme Leader of Iran. I bought a copy of the book and was completely sucked in.

By that time I had only a passing acquaintance with magical realism through the work of Gabriel García Márquez. As I started reading The Satanic Verses I was astonished by the victim of a high-altitude airliner bombing floating safely to earth, arriving without a bruise in Ellowen Deeowen. It  took me the longest time to understand that. Sound it out, slowly.

I became a Rushdie fan for life and have read almost all his books. On June 11, our glorious Opera Theatre of St. Louis will present the world premier of a work based on Rushdie's Shalimar the Clown, a tale of love, betrayal and revenge. We've been subscribers for at least 35 years. As an out-of-town newspaper review said a couple of years ago, if you want to see the future of opera, go to St. Louis. Rushdie, the composer Jack Pirla and Opera Theatre's general director Timothy O'Leary discussed the work yesterday at The Sheldon Concert Hall. What an afternoon. Rushdie has gotten older, balder and broader of beam but you couldn't miss the discussion about whether 50 shades of something could be turned into an opera.  

Mrs. C and I will be at opening night.

Larry Fink

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I had the privilege of meeting one of America's great photographers, Larry Fink, yesterday. A retrospective of his work opened Friday night at the art gallery attached to The Sheldon Concert Hall, STL's gem of a performance venue. Fink gave a talk in the theater with a slide show of his photos, mixed with insights on craft, style and inspiration. He's funny, down-to-earth, a great story teller and, to the audience's delight, a vehement opponent of the Tea Party (yaaay!). Above all, he is an artist of breathtaking vision.

The program included an open discussion with the audience. It ran so long that the house manager kicked us out of the auditorium for the next event. (I think it was a meeting of the Red Hat Ladies.) We all went into the gallery, where Fink talked photography for as long as we wanted. He was kind enough to let me take these pictures.

I was blown away. Seek out his photos if you have a chance. He also has a blog. It was an afternoon of inspiration.

There is a little memorial to the death of a casino today on Downtown St. Louis 365.