Boo Hoo

Tom Otterness' Crying Giant  in front of the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City. I love this for its absurdity and genuine sorrow. A viewer doesn't know whether to laugh or mourn. 

Off to the farm shortly.    

I'm So Glad I'm Outta Here

Two days off the blog. How rare.

Work has been a bite. I really want to retire but when you own a small business, particularly a professional practice, it's not that easy. But we are headed for Kansas City today and then on to the rolling Kansas prairie where Mrs. C grew up. Real time off.

The whole point is summarized by this photo from the archives: Tom Otterness' Crying Giant, which sits on the lawn of the Kansas City Museum of Contemporary Art (which, IMHO, is way better than ours). May the headaches be cured by the smell of soybeans in the earth.    

Faces Of Statues In The Rain: Geppetto

Might as well show the other half of the Kindly Geppetto today. Both faces are so impassive. This character is holding a big hammer or mallet in its left hand, apparently about to whack that circular knob of Pinocchio's head. Kindly indeed.

Blogger stats indicate that this blog has just reached one million total views. It's been up a lot in recent months. No idea why. Maybe after 3,534 posts, many of them with multiple pictures, there are enough images to be picked up by searches more often.                  

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.                

Three Views Of Geppetto

In Citygarden, two blocks from yesterday's location, Tom Otterness' Kindly Geppetto stands at a quiet intersection, ever ready to blast Pinocchio's cranium. He never unleashes that left-handed swing, though. The puppet may yet grow up to be a real boy.

I saw the smooth, chocolaty bronze of the statue against the sunset-orange brick of the Wainwright Building and knew there some good shots to be had. My regret is that I didn't think to walk around to the front and shoot the puppet maker's face against the azure twilight sky. Another day.                 

This Post Is So Short It Hardly Counts

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Geppetto sweats, too. (See yesterday's post.)

I think I have a picture in the hole I can use for the Thursday Arch Series tomorrow.

Afternoon Note: I have reluctantly turned on word verification for comments because I've been getting a lot of spam lately.

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