I am the Audience

Lines That Link Humanity – El Anatsui – NCMA

January 19, 2024

art

This is one of my favorite pieces at our art museum. (FTR, I consider it “ours” because I pay taxes here and it belongs to the state where I live.) It is freakin’ huge.

The museum had an exhibition of Anatsui’s work a few years ago and there was a video showing his workshop. He goes through recycling to find bottle tops and cans and stuff which he brings back to his studio. He employs a bunch of people who flatten and shape his finds and he directs them to put together sections of same colors or same shapes. Then, he decides how they all go together.

One of the pieces had driven the curators nuts. It was around 20 “blankets” of gold pieces. The curatos were supposed to pick them up in the middle and let them settle into the shapes of peaks. The curator I talked to said “We don’t ‘create’ art! We hang it or set it up. This felt far too participatory.” And he thought that was Anatsui’s point, for them to be part of it. Which was complementary but a little unnerving.

I neglected to take a note about the creator of the video gadget that is next to it. It was fun to see me made of Anatsui quilt pieces.
Femme assise, fond rouge et jaune – Pablo Picasso – NCMA

January 18, 2024

art

New acquistion at the North Carolina Museum of Art. Today was the first time I’d seen it.
Oak leaves

January 15, 2024

Southern culture
One of the pages I follow on FaceBook is Southern Piedmont Natural History. It is maintained byt USC-Spartanburg. Today, they posted this picture:
- A – Swamp White Oak (Quercus bicolor)
- B – Southern Red Oak or Spanish Oak (Quercus falcata)
- C – Chinquapin or Yellow Chestnut Oak (Quercus muehlenbergii)
- D – Sawtooth (Quercus acutissima) is a non-native oak introduced from Asia in 1862.
- E – Northern Red Oak (Quercus rubra)
- F – Swamp Chestnut or Basket Oak (Quercus michauxii)
- G – Cherrybark or Swamp Spanish Oak (Quercus pagoda)
- H – Post Oak (Quercus stellata)
- I – Water or Paddle Oak (Quercus nigra)
- J – Eastern White Oak (Quercus alba)
- K – Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrata)
- L – Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)
- M – Pin or Swamp Oak (Quercus palustris)
- N – Rock Chestnut Oak (Quercus montana)
This is very interesting to me. I have never been able to identify the different varieties and I love having this reference.

They pointed to this website as a place to learn what insects are supported by the oak trees in your area. https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/About

I have made a separate page with the article from FB because it’s long. But, also more informative.
Call me Al

January 9, 2024

Laughing, wine

Do you remember this?

My local wine bar has a club that you pay $40 a month to be a member. With the membership, you get a free tasting once a week (tastes of 4 wines usually goes for $5, enough in the tastes to be equivalent to a glass). And 2 bottles from the tasting the first week of the month priced $20 or less. If you go in every week, it saves you $40 a month. Except you end up spending more than that on the snacks you buy to go with the additional wine you drink while you’re there.

The glasses are Riedel and you can call yourself whatever you want. I saw one for She Who Must Be Obeyed. Helps the staff to learn the regulars and is a little something to make members feel special.

We went in a month ago and they had a bunch of them out on tables for sale for $10. Nice general purpose wine glasses with random names on them. People who had not been in the building for 2 years or longer. On sale to clear out the space.

Mine says “Al”.
Cute red head

January 8, 2024

a day in this life, birdwatching