Today Hubby got a message from the Erie Art Museum that this evening only there would be a display of letters of Georgia O’Keefe that we would be able to actually handle (with gloves). We had been meaning to go there anyway as a friend of ours has had an exhibit of his art there for most of the year which we hadn’t yet seen. So we made an evening of it. One of the delightful surprises was the exhibit of the art of Bill Brady, which you can see above.
More below the fold, with the comments, but first, a word from our sponsor:
Here at Top Comments we strive to nourish community by rounding up some of the site's best, funniest, most mojo'd & most informative commentary, and we depend on your help!! If you see a comment by another Kossack that deserves wider recognition, please send it either to topcomments at gmail or to the Top Comments group mailbox by 9:30pm Eastern. Please please please include a few words about why you sent it in as well as your user name (even if you think we know it already :-)), so we can credit you with the find!
So I took a couple of photos of Georgia O’Keefe’s letters. These were two letters she wrote to James Baldwin in 1956 inviting him to spend Christmas with her in New Mexico. Unfortunately, this photo is a little out of focus, but you can see the letter is indeed addressed to James Baldwin. I also have the signature page below.
For me, the idea of Georgia O’Keefe hosting James Baldwin conjures images of brilliant gatherings of witty dinner guests tossing off bons mots while feasting on fabulous and exotic food. It’s the sort of dinner party I’d like to be invited to, though if I were, I’d never actually say a word—only listen.
Our friend with the exhibit is a sculptor named Gary Spinosa. He is a bit of a recluse, so it’s remarkable that we’ve had the opportunity to get to know him at all. His art is quite mystical, with deep roots in spirituality. He often combines images of animal and human faces in his works. These feel like the attempts of appropriating the aspects of animals by humans performed in some indigenous religions. He also creates sarcophagus-like pieces. The overall effect can be kind of creepy. Indeed, the word “creepy” was a common one in the exhibit book, but you’ll understand when you see his art, shown below, that it’s not necessarily used in a negative sense.
That’s all for tonight. Now, on to the comments!
(Edited 12/1/2018 to provide links and to correct the spelling of Gary Spinosa’s name.)
Top Comments (November 30, 2018):