I was happy to go to Washington for the first time after fifteen years that I regularly visit the US, not that much because of Washington, maybe just because it was a new place and I am a curious guy. And then perhaps because I didn't know how expensive the hotels are in Washington and how crazy is traffic at peak hours - everybody goes to work and then back home at the same time in Washington, they all obey the official government time and sit with sad faces in their mainly Japanese cars and if you go to Washington take my advise: don't find yourself in a cab for any reason between 7:30 and 9:00 a.m. or 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. or you too will have a sad face. So at the end my first night in Washington was actually a night in Oxon Hill, Maryland which was, exactly like Washington, a new place - just slightly less expensive. But they too have a lot of flags there and they are patriotic nevertheless I suppose they (or most of them) too now understand that they elected and even re-elected the worst President in American History. I don't know what else to say about Oxon Hill now, but if I have a second thought I'll update the blog.
What to say about Washington instead? I had interesting business meetings with interesting people but this is completely uninteresting for anybody else. So here is the good thing about Washington: the third floor of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, in particular the Lincoln Gallery. First, it's free. Then there is an impressive collection of modern art, not too big - which is maybe a plus - and you can even take pictures so I took some:
Nam June Park, Electronic Superhighway: Continental US, Alaska, Haway (1995).
Alexander Calder, Nenuphar (1968).
Harry Bertoia, Sculpture Group Symbolizing World's Communication In the Atomic Age (1959)
Joan Brown, Nude, Dog, Clouds (1963). This one would make a fantastic cover page for my book of short stories.
Adolph Gottlieb, Blues (1962)
George Segal, The Curtain (1974)
And finally this one:
Robert Rauschenberg, Reservoir (1961). Reservoir is one of his most famous "Combines", pieces of art he made combining different materials and objects, most of them picked from the trash on the New York City streets. At that time Rauschenberg was so poor he didn't have money to buy materials from art shops so he used what he found, and went so far as to paint his own bed sheets as he didn't have white canvas. Three years after making Reservoir he won the Grand Prize at the Venice Biennale and I believe from them on he could afford to buy canvas. He died last Monday in Florida at 82. Let's put here one of his sentences, which I believe is stimulating even if you are not an artist: " People ask me: don't you ever run out of ideas? In the first place, I don't use ideas. Every time I have an idea it's too limiting, and usually turns out to be a disappointment. But I haven't run out of curiosity". May all of us be able to follow his example.
Visiting the museum was so interesting that I forgot I had to go at the airport and almost missed my flight. I found myself sitting in a taxi at 5:00 p.m. with a sad face, which is another prove that we all give good suggestions and bad personal examples.
And then ok, I didn't want to say it but yes, I confess: I went to see the White House. The tenant wasn't home, which doesn't help me not to feel that I did something bad. So here I am, next to the main center of power in this planet. I hope I got some vibration from it. I would't really want to have that much power. I'd be content already with having enough power to follow my heart and be true to myself.
No comments:
Post a Comment