YOU COULD BE AN OCARINA PLAYER GOING FROM DOOR TO DOOR

Okay, I may be going off the deep end here. While I edit this picture and write this post I've been watching a lecture, if you can call it that, on Zoom by my artistic hero, Laurie Anderson ( https://laurieanderson.com/). I won't try to describe the program. It's impossible. The photo is another from the performance of songbirdsongs with members of the St. Louis Symphony playing ocarinas to imitate owls. It made me think of Anderson's song Monkey's Paw, which contains the a line with the words in the caption. You can listen to it at https://youtu.be/4S8rtxPmHTA.                  

JUST GETTING BY

With trash? Probably a lot, one way or the other. Another enigmatic sign from the exhibit in Park-Like.               

I BELIEVE

Besides the performance of songbirdsongs, there is another art installation in Park-Like. It is described as a group of sculptures by Chloë Bass, "inspired by public wayfinding signage posing question[s] that explore human emotions ranging from compassion and desire to anxiety and loss." It's sometimes visually arresting but the concept isn't new. I prefer the pioneering work in this genre by Jenny Holzer, https://projects.jennyholzer.com/, and Barbara Kruger, http://www.artnet.com/artists/barbara-kruger/.                 

MADELEINE MONDAY

Haven't had the kid on for a while, although I wish it were under better circumstances. Except for baseball, I have little interest in sports. It was a childhood pleasure. We rarely go to games because it's so damn expensive but I took the family Saturday night for the next-to-last game of the season. A major drawback for all of us is the sound technology. The owners whip up the crowd with ear-splitting, thumping pop music we often don't recognize. (I prefer unpopular music.) It's past the point of painful and about drove Ellie mad.

When I was a boy I could get a general admission ticket at Yankee Stadium for what was in a kid's pocket. Hard to believe now, but there were once cheap tickets at Yankee Stadium. The only sounds were cheering and an organ. Seems blissful by today's standards.        

SURE, A PICCOLO CAN SOUND LIKE A BIRD

Another scene from the performance of John Luther Adams' songbirdsongs at Park-Like, across from the Pulitzer Arts Foundation. A piccolo is a likely candidate to imitate small birds. Part of the effect, though was the musicians were scattered around the garden, moving from place to place. It resembled the changing soundscape of a forest.                  

MARIMBA IN THE WEEDS

Back home again, although I'll be posting more pictures from the Northwest on Flickr (link to come).  STL has some little gems like the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, https://pulitzerarts.org/, named for the late art collector and publisher of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Across the street is a relatively new garden landscaped to resemble wild prairie called Park-Like (draw your own inferences). On a recent night members of the St. Louis Symphony performed John Luther Adams' songbirdsongs, which has a bit of a back story. https://www.allmusic.com/album/john-luther-adams-songbirdsongs-mw0002304061 Not a typical urban experience.             

CITY DAILY PHOTO OCTOBER THEME DAY - WINNERS

It's the first of the month and time for City Daily Photo's monthly theme day. This time the topic is Winners. Since I've been away for a while I went back into the archives and found this picture from St. Louis' Busch Stadium. Our local heroes, the baseball Cardinals, have a tradition of winning and have captured more championships than any team except the New York Yankees. They have also won 20 of their last 22 games as they head into the playoffs.