ANCIENT SPLENDOR

 

The St. Louis Art Museum recently ended a show called Ancient Splendor - Roman Art In The Time of Trajan. Mrs. C and I made it just in time. It was beautifully displayed, and the degree of elegance and craft was striking.                     

GALLERY WALK

 

That's what it amounted to, in a way. This photo was taken a week ago, on the second day of work at Paint Louis. Lots of spectators, despite the heat. I went back yesterday and took pictures of the finished products.                    

AT THE INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

 

The St. Louis International Institute has a big festival in one of our parks over the last weekend in August. There are performances of music and dance from all over the world, with food to match. Usually lots to photograph but it has gotten so crowded over the years we went early on the first day and left by early afternoon. The weather doesn't help. Not quite as bad as Europe, but about 38 C / 100 F every day this week.                       

SPRAY PAINT

 

Say what you will about the designs themselves, but it takes an awful lot of planning and skill to create all the images that go on the flood wall during Paint Louis. Do these people go to art school or learn as apprentices? They use paint rollers for background color but I've never seen stencils or masks used for the details. But when I'm shooting someone near ground level I have to remember to stay upwind of the spray cans. It could ruin an lens.                

SEPTEMBER 11, 2001

 

Every American who is old enough remembers where they were and what they were doing when they heard the news. It is indelible. A few months after the attack, we were flying into Newark to see my family in New Jersey. The usual approach was north to south, parallel to the Hudson River. Seeing the hole in the Manhattan skyline, once so familiar, was one of the few times in my adult life that brought tears to my eyes.

There is an event on Art Hill in Forest Park this week called Flags of Valor, https://flagsofvalorstl.com/. There are something more than 7,000 flags, all in precise rows, each representing a victim of that day and the military personnel who died in the response. Even crusty old me was deeply moved.