travel Archives | Page 14 of 15 | Kate's Point of View

Art

On September 27, 2004

To start out with, I have to tell you that I love modern art. In fact, it’s about the only art I really appreciate. When I go to museums, I run through almost the whole thing and then linger on the modern art floor. I think my friend Dave and I toured the entire British Museum, after being told it was the most fabulous art museum in London, in about 15 minutes. We spent nearly an entire day at the Tate. So you have the picture right? I love, and, I think, appreciate modern art.

So this weekend I paid a visit to the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati. They have an exhibit (that they are so proud of they don’t even list online with the other exhibitions) that they referred to as “minimalist.” I should say so! In on very large room there was nothing but a broken bottle of Heineken with the beer dried up on the floor. In another large room there was a bench in a glass case. In still another room there was nothing more than a twig leaning against the wall.

So maybe I don’t appreciate modern art after all… Or at least not “minimalist” art. I do appreciate the irony in watching the poor museum employee whose job it was to guard the twig, covered bench and dried beer with broken glass.

Ducks

By Kate

On September 17, 2004

In travel, work

Submitted by Wonder Boy

Someday we will render ourselves extinct or mysteriously vanish like the Mayans did. I predict that in the future some poor archeologist-like life form will be forced to sift through the remains of our culture and try to make some sense of what they find. This being will be puzzled as there will probably only be a few relics that will survive the ages. The first will be Styrofoam cups and the other … cement ducks. The function of the cups will be easy enough to figure out (they were used in mating rituals right?), but the ducks will baffle all for years to come. They will spend years trying to decide why we collected so many of them and most importantly why we chose to dress them up in outfits.

Every now and then for work I have to travel to Barrington, a small suburb of Chicago, for software training. The town is very affluent and you pretty much can’t touch a home for under $700,000. The lots that houses are built on are flat as can be without any trees. They erect these enormous houses on what used to be a corn field which in turn makes them stick out like Dick Cheney at a Soul Train Convention.

As a rule I think having boat loads of money will not necessarily buy you good taste. Case in point the house: In Barrington there is a house that my work compadres and I like to call, “My Big Fat Greek House”. The modest 5000 square foot house is nestled on a flat lot where you will find the yard adorned with Greek statues, columns, wishing wells, fountains and, yes, ducks. Lots of ducks. Now the owners don’t dress up the ducks, partly because I think they blew their budget on the house and the large Greek statue of Zeus….or was it the fountain?

I think I get the reason why people like statues or Yard Gnomes. They’re fun! They spice up the yard and Gnomes bring good juju to all lawns they inhabit. But I will never understand why someone would take a cement duck and dress it up in lingerie. Neither will archeologists 2000 years from now.

The House

Statues at the House

Ducks at the House

Smoke

By Kate

On August 10, 2004

In travel

Submitted by Wonder Boy and dedicated to Danny:

I took this picture on a weekend trip to Mammoth Cave.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what’s wrong with this store name…

Hope

By Kate

On August 9, 2004

In travel

Submitted by Wonder Boy

I took this picture on a weekend trip to Mammoth Cave. Don’t you think the name of the cemetery is a little obvious? Mean even?

I mean, if you’re in the cemetery, I think perhaps there is No Hope.