St. Louis Riverfront trail good ride and diverse sites

Given that today's high was in the low 80's, I decided to ride my bicycle up and down the 11 mile St. Louis Riverfront Trail this evening. As for things to see, this paved bike path offers a bit of everything, including the Mississippi River (actually quite beautiful in the quietude of the sunset), but also industrial areas, junk yards and several areas under construction. It's a worthy endeavor for anyone in half-decent biking shape. The end point is the Chain of Rocks Bridge, originally part of Route 66, but revamped as a pedestrian walkway and gathering spot, with vistas of downtown St. Louis far in the distance. If you click the title, you can see eight photos I took along the ride this evening. IMG_9694 riverfront chain of rocks IMG_9625 riverfront chain of rocks

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Photography project: convince two strangers to pose as though they are intimate

Check out the images and video here. More images here. Since 2007, photographer Richard Renaldi has worked on a series of photographs for which he asks complete strangers to physically interact while posing together for a portrait. Working on the street with a large-format 8-by-10 view camera, Renaldi encounters his subjects in towns and cities all over the United States. Imagine being Renaldi, trying to recruit for each of these photos. He probably has only a few seconds to garner some semblance of trust. But then he makes it even more difficult by often pairing very different types of folks, and demanding the physical contact that would--for many people--cause the subject to jettison the project. And one more thing -- I'm not sure how this cuts --Renaldi uses a huge old fashioned camera in which he covers his own head. In other words, he has (intentionally, I assume) taken himself outside of the process (except as photographer). He is not longer able to coach with any facial expressions because he is under the cloak. This leaves the strangers to fend for themselves in their intimacy. This project fascinates me. I often think back to those fretful moments when I was trying to decide whether to say something in order to meet a stranger. That first thing out of our mouths is so often trite. "Nice weather." or "You eat healthy food" (peering into someone's shopping cart. But that's how it often starts, and virtually every one of my good friendships started with something saying something that was rather ordinary and even cliche. From there, the friendships often grow slowly, with back and forth bits of encouragement, and often with a step back before there are two steps forward. And only after trust has naturally developed, without either party forcing anything, will there be any spontaneous touching (something other than a handshake). Through his photography, Renaldi has conducted a powerful psychology experiment. I find his results stunning, because there is always a blend of recognition that the other person is a sentient human being, tinged with "but we aren't really supposed to be this intimate. Oh, yeah, we're abiding by the request of that photographer, who is yet another stranger. Somehow, Renaldi get it done often enough to assemble an impressive gallery (I do wonder what his batting average is--how many potential subjects abort the project for each successful photo?). When he pulls this off, does he do it because he has assumed the role of authority figure (I'm thinking of the Millgram experiment)? Or isn't there, in all of us, an insatiable craving for physical intimacy, at least on the level of simple touching? To what extent is Renaldi's job easier than it seems? And if someone came up to you, asking you to pose for a photo, touching a stranger as though you knew him or her well, would that be of interest to you? I assume that I would say yes without hesitation, but it would depend on how I was approached by the photographer. As I suggested above, he or she probably has only a few seconds to make their case that they (the photographer) is someone I can trust. That seems like the most difficult part of this project, much harder than convincing me to touch a stranger.

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Sunset drumming

Last night I road my bike across town to the World's Fair Pavilion in Forest Park in St. Louis to take some photos. I didn't know what I'd find--I assumed I'd be shooting a sunset. It's a spectacular overlook at one of the many edges of one of the largest city parks in the U.S. I did find a compelling sunset, but what was equally compelling was a group of first rate drummers that go by the name of "Soularo," including Nafi Rafat and Marcus Jones. They gave me permission to photograph part of their session. IMG_4237 drummers Soularo-3 IMG_4202 drummers Soularo IMG_4185 drummers Soularo As Jones noted hours later, drumming is like heartbeat. That is true, and it is also a powerful elixir, capable of erasing one's woes and filling one with thirst for good-hearted life. That's what seemed clear from watching the dozens of people who were drawn to this spontaneous gathering. IMG_4225 drummers Soularo IMG_4191 drummers Soularo Only a few weeks ago, I spent time at this same location honoring the life of Sonny Glassberg, who recently passed away (she was the mother of a friend of mine). She gave substantial financial support to allow the renovation of this extraordinary venue.

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Cool new museum wing, but I don’t get the art.

The St. Louis Art Museum has spent a ton of money, $160M, on a brand new wing, which I visited Sunday. It's spacious and bright. It's an inviting space for viewing art. There were a few dozen works of art in the new wing, and here are but a few: Mississippi Circle. These are limestone rocks. IMG_9542 This piece is called Octagon, and it is a dyed canvas. IMG_9549 This work of art is called Fluorescent Lights. It is made of a long fluorescent light. IMG_9553 You can probably already guess my reaction: The Emperor Has No Clothes. I hate to feel and sound so negative, but very few of the works of "art" in the new wing caused any reaction in me other than sadness that they had spend so much to display such unimpressive things. I imagined all the groupthink that went in to the planning. I am sad to think that there are so many talented artists out there, in so many new and alternative media, yet the above efforts are the things that get the primo space in the St. Louis art museum. This is most certainly art that does not offend. Perhaps that is the point--after all, the museum agenda is controlled by well-to-do people. We certainly don't want art that spawns social justice. Maybe we are filling this space with stuff, so that we don't need to make difficult decisions about what kind of challenging art would take its place. this display makes me want to administer a secret ballot survey to those visitors who view these works. That survey would include questions like these (along with my predicted answers: 1. Do you consider the above 3 items works of art? (22% yes). 2. Do you consider the above 3 items impressive works of art? (3% yes). 3. Should these works be replaced by something else? (95% would say yes with regard to 75% of these works) Again, I am saddened to write this. I want to be proud of my city's new art museum.

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