Beethoven on Deck

Where are we on transporter technology? Because not only would I live elsewhere (like near a beach/water) and not have to worry about my commute, and be closer to the nieces and nephews, I would be able to attend the activities my extended circle of "honorary" nieces and nephews.

Today in St. Chuck, Kari's Krew is performing Beethoven on the Deck as the Catalpa Trio of chamber musicians.

I am BUMMED I can't be there. Those girlies are so lucky -- for a variety of reasons.

I came to chamber music at the end of my formal training. Things were different when I taking lessons. It was more about solo tracks, and not what is now known formally as "Collaborative Piano" - chamber music, training on how to be a equal chamber music partner, and even training on how to be a 'real' chorus, ballet, or rehearsal pianist for theatricals. I picked up a lot on the "job" at church and high schoo chorus/pitl, but there was a lot I didn't know. I know for a fact that some orchestral directors had negative things to say about my playing when I worked with instrumentalists, but they didn't know that *I* didn't know what to do. I was working with what I knew - and the fact that I was highly uncomfortable? (Well, that's another story.) When I played for vocal auditions at UCONN for some regional competitions or auditions, some of those adjudicators and coaches were kind enough to give me some feedback, in the middle of the singers' auditions. (Sorry!) It wasn't until I got to college when I REALLY got chamber instructions - and I have to thank my fellow TRIO NON SACRA* cohorts, Jane and Kristin, for putting up with me -- and Dr. B, Dr. C, and Dr. LaM.

TRIO NON SACRA 4EVAH!

Thanks to social media, I can get glimpses of what the girlies are up to as part of their youth symphony orchestra and in rehearsal. (Not to mention have actual SM interactions with them and now play I spy with parental units. (BECAUSE I MISS THEM. NOT IN A CREEPER WAY!)

My parents are like a @timbuk2 ad! #swag pic.twitter.com/ePSgWYm9Gl

— Stella (@StellaChilds) July 3, 2015

Representing #EYSO last day of Swedish Days! #stringworks http://t.co/HEk60MGPl4 thanks for hosting The Catalpa Trio. pic.twitter.com/EQZfa889sQ

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) June 28, 2015

@EYSO Fall Camp volunteers. pic.twitter.com/otseFzGx5P

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) August 29, 2015

@kristins4kids last week @gpmf so grown up! pic.twitter.com/LzOvo2I55k

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) July 13, 2015

Thanks to WQXR's swag from Opening Night -- Beethoven's Ode to Joy - I sent along my love and a semi-permanent reminder that I am there in spirit, if not body.

Break a leg, girlies! Have FUN!

Beethoven on the deck with the #catalpatrio pic.twitter.com/WzMF3DIEPI

— Kari Childs (@karimamasaywhat) August 22, 2015

Catalpa Trio play Beethoven on the deck at 3pm #obeythoven pic.twitter.com/vJ91LxNUHH

— noel childs (@noelchilds) August 22, 2015

*Unholy Trio

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Unique Urban Oasis

Having grown up in a very distinctly-named Connecticut town, full of urban myths about frogs, TWO bowling alleys, a drive-in and a flea market, an AM radio station and a local paper, a "boom-box" parade, a Cupid contest, and other quaint bits that would seem odd to outsiders, I like to visit other towns and ferret out the little bits that make their areas unique.

While I didn't really get a chance to explore Kari's Kommunity while visiting in January, I did start to glimpse a few things that made me smile ... and that's no bull.

Despite the glaringly obvious sign that I was in Chicago Bulls country, I did feel welcomed to the neighborhood.

There were one or two things that did make me wonder though. Like, how much DOES it snow, if the town has to rig the Christmas tree that far up a light-pole?

 What EXACTLY is happening at the lake that needs to stay at the lake? (Which lake?)

How many local residents have sniggered when Wile E. Coyote tries to head into the gazebo area at Smitty's?

What do I do for clothing if I'm not looking for jeans and a cute top? Where do I shop?

 

I know how much wood it takes a wood chuck to chuck, since he can chuck wood. He chucks it into neatly stacked cord circles.  Personal note: These are so much more attractive than the cords and cords of wood that were dumped into my driveway as a kid, that then we had to stack floor to rafters in the garage, and then schlep into the house.

Given the recent "inclement" weather in New York, I've decided I need to start saving money to convert a concrete silo into a bunker. What? Why so specific on my type of real estate? Because although I dream of a beach adjacent cottage, recent events have shown me that one of these, in the heartland, is MUCH more of a solid investment.

I was looking like a dork when I took pictures of these at the local community college, but who's laughing now East Coast? Oh yeah -- the mid-West.

And, well, then there was this guy who made me miss my New England roots - don't tread on my antique furniture and all that.

Welcome to the neighborhood. Don't trespass, shoplift, do a U-turn in my lot, ask me to bargain, and stay off my lawn, you damn tourist you. But welcome!

Maybe I won't move to Illinois after all.

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Roaming Reunion

After talking late into the evening, it was up and about the streets of Chicago, exploring the Loop, the shops, seeing the "El" in action, heading over the Millennium Park to see the Bean.

Wandering around in the daytime revealed more public art, and made this cynical New Yorker really appreciated how grimy her City is, and enjoy the large streets and clearly marked signage of Chicago. Now, I know it took a horrific fire for some urban renewal and planning to make this particular part of the City so ... spacious, but ... if it wasn't for the usual cold and wind ... it was almost tempting to thing about moving West. ALMOST. There is flip side that this part of Chicago, despite being the "theater district," it seemed oddly empty and too quiet -- after 7 p.m.!

But, back to the art ... aside from a giant Picasso, there's a giant Calder ...


Info from this website:


The Flamingo..
Sculptor: Alexander Calder
53' high X 29' wide X 60' length..
Location: Chicago Federal Plaza
Installed: 1974..
This sculpture titled "Flamingo" is made by Alexander Calder, one of the most eminent sculptors of the 20th century American art... It's brilliant color and graceful curves are a great contrast to the three black and blocky buildings surrounding it ... All the three Federal buildings are designed by Mies Van Der Rohe ... "The sculpture was received in a public ceremony never before nor since equaled in scale nor in fanfare".

Then there was this installation, which sadly, I cannot find any information about this many months later. It was right near the Institute, and I don't know it was a temporary or permanent exhibit, but it was lovely ... and I don't always "get" modern sculpture -- i.e. the Picasso and "Flamingo."

Let that be a lesson to me. Blog faster, but also remember to snap a picture of any/all identifying plaques.

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Reunion Roaming

It's been a year of incredible warp speed and I just haven't been able to keep up. I'm resorting to retroblogging about the events of January 2012, for goodness sake.

2012 started off on a wonderful note - re"k"onnecting with my friend Kari in Chicago. As I mentioned way back during the 40 Diamonds for 40 run in February, Kari is one of the first of the gang to hit the milestone and I colluded with her husband to surprise her with a visit in Chicago and then in her next of the woods. A present for both of our birthdays .. and turns out for Noel too. (Sorry Noel - thanks for letting me celebrate with you!)

It hadn't felt like 16 years. ... or didn't until January 2012 ... when down the dark, windy streets of Chicago walked my still-miraculously blond friend into a very long, overdue hug and tears. We just kept grinning like Cheshire Cats the whole first night.

We hit the streets to wander around and find dinner and it was the one evening on my trip when Chicago decided to show me what her winds were all about. It was windy and chilly, but not nearly as bad as it could have been. Or so I was told. It was still cold having coming from Southern Utah when it was 65 and I was kayaking not the day or two before.

See, they even have "warming" bells to alert you to the weather. The whole week was "warmer;" no snow, no ice, weather in the high 30s, low 40s - it was downright balmy for Chicago.

I got a hotel in the "theater" district and so got to see some of their famous lights, "corncob" landmarks, and modern art.

You never know what you're going to find along the way to sushi. You know, just a random giant Picasso sculpture.

Oh, framing up a giant Christmas tree. The Art Institute had a little version of what became this installation.

It was fun to wander and to use Mother Nature to keep me awake. That 3:00 a.m. wake up call for the airplane shuttle was too dang early.

One other observation - I thought New York pigeons were savvy - using the subway and MetroNorth to commute, but Chicago pigeons, they don't mess around.



Here's the Eternal Flame in Daley Plaza.

Location:
118 N. Clark St, Daley Plaza
Chicago, IL 60602

According to Explore Chicago:





"This is the heart of Chicago and I know the heart of Chicago is with us today."

With those words, Mayor Richard J. Daley dedicated an eternal flame in what was then called the Civic Center Plaza. At the time of its dedication on August 22, 1972, the eternal flame was Chicago's first memorial to honor the dead from four wars, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.

The Eternal Flame Memorial at Daley Plaza is a granite slab bearing a bronze circular disk containing a natural gas flame that burns perpetually. An inscription reads: "Eternal flame in memory of the men and women who have served in our armed forces." City officials created the Eternal Flame in response to veterans organization leaders' pleas for a memorial that would serve as a monument to deceased service personnel.

The flame was lit by Mrs. Albina Nance, the president of the Illinois Gold Star Mothers in 1972. The Eternal Flame is enclosed by a wrought iron fence near the Picasso sculpture on Daley Plaza.

Such a wonderful way to kick off that portion of the trip. Art, walking, talking ... which is what we did the next day when we also hit the aforementioned Art Institute.

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Art Institute

This should wrap up our brief tour of the Art Institute of Chicago. I didn't cover nearly all of it's collections, installations, or exhibitions, but it did whet my appetite for a return visit. Not to toot my own horn, or anyone else's,

but it's a great place to see art from many vantage points. You never know who might mosey on by while you are taking a rest to take everything in.

 

Vater Staat..
By Thomas Schutte [German, born 1954]
2010/ patinated bronze..
Vater Staat, which translates to “Father State", Schuttë’s ongoing interest in the effect of totalitarian regimes on the human condition.

The marker read..
The sculpture of Thomas Schutte mines both his own earlier work and the art of previous eras - particularly monumnetal and memorial genres - to address the burden of traumatic history. He is primarily concerned with human condition and the effect that contemporary political structure have on the lives of individulas. In Vater Staat [which translates as "Father State"] an imposing bronze statue towers over the viewer, immediately establishing a power dynamics within the space. The Patriarchal figure, representative of a totalitarian regime or state, is shrouded in a cloak that binds his arms, rendeing him helpless and immobile. Schutte selection of material, in this case, patinated bronze, allowed him to address the historical use of the figure as a staple of public art. Here, is in other works, the artist engaged in the tendency toward monumentality in order to subvert it - this figure is actually an antihero.


The Gift Shop is also stocked with lots of fun trinkets and souvenirs. Sadly, my favorite pieces, and the ones I really wanted to take home, were not available. If I could only use these various accessories to warn people of my mood, maybe they wouldn't bug me when I wasn't in the mood.

<====  <======
This is the "leave me the hell alone" accessory.







The one below means you might approach.

Henry Wilson
English, 1864-1934

"Diana" Diadem, c. 1908
Enameled gold, rock crystal, moonstones, sapphires
6.4 x 16.5 cm (2 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.)
Restricted gift of Quinn E. Delaney and Kathryn and John Gilbertson, 2002.16

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Art Institute

Marc Chagall French, born Vitebsk, Russia (present-day Belarus), 1887–1985

America Windows, 1977 
Stained glass 96 x 385 in. (244 x 978 cm) (overall)
Signed, each pair, l.r.: "MArc ChAgAll/Reims/1977"
A gift of Marc Chagall, the City of Chicago, and the Auxiliary Board of The Art Institute of Chicago, commemorating the American Bicentennial in memory of Mayor Richard J. Daley, 1977.938

© 2012 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris

I love blue glass. I love New York. I love liberty.

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Art Institute

 

Georgia O'Keeffe
American, 1887-1986

Sky Above Clouds IV, 1965

Oil on canvas
243.8 x 731.5 cm (96 x 288 in.)
Restricted gift of the Paul and Gabriella Rosenbaum Foundation; gift of Georgia O'Keeffe, 1983.821
© The Art Institute of Chicago

Retroblogging: Chicago Trip 2012, Art Institute

 And you thought YOUR family was funny looking!

These characters just cracked me up.

William Bonnell was ahead of the anime crazy, but they totally would be adopted by some Japanese fans now.

William Bonham, March 4, 1825
Oil on panel
30.5 x 24.9 cm (12 x 9 13/16 in.)
Inscribed on reverse: "William Bonnell/Pin/March 4th/1825/Portrait of Wm Bonham/ Painted at the age of 38 years"

(Note: there may be an "x" after "Pin" but it is hard to see.)
Estate of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1980.739



 


Mrs. William Bonham (Ann Warford), March 6, 1825
Oil on panel
30.5 x 24.9 cm (12 x 9 13/16 in.)
Inscribed on reverse: "William Bonnell/Pinxt/March 6th 1825"
Estate of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1980.740
 

J. Ellis Bonham, March 5, 1825
Oil on panel
30.5 x 24.9 cm (12 x 9 13/16 in.)
Inscribed on reverse: "William Bonnell/Pinxt/March 5th 1825"

Also on back is a pencil sketch of the work painted on front.
Estate of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1980.741