Once upon a time I loved to drive, any place, any time. I don’t know how many times I drove from Chicago to New York or Chicago to the West Coast. For the most part, I loved each trip. But after five plus years of commuting 70 miles a day across the George Washington Bridge I lost my love of driving. I still do it, but little as possible. So when I heard about a show of Japanese prints in Cincinnati I had a hard decision to make. I asked my Japanese art seminar if anyone wanted to go with me for a day trip, five hours each way. I decided I would go if I could get someone else to drive with me. At first there was great enthusiasm for the project, but finally I had only one taker, a non-driver. With some anxiety on my part, about the length of the drive and about the weather, we bravely set out yesterday morning. 

The show was great,definitely worth all that driving. There were many prints I had never seen before, and very high quality. The museum looks terrific. I’m sorry we didn’t have more time to look at everything there. My companion was good company. We talked about everything from Japanese art to cooking with tofu. She has only been in the US since August, so she was excited about going on the road trip. Also, she enjoys looking at things the way I do. It’s always a pleasure to share with someone like that. I can’t say this is the beginning of a new phase in my life, driving trips, but I guess I would consider doing more.

Probably it was 1963 when we went to Gettysburg for the first time. We were driving from Chicago. I don’t remember the details: time of year, destination. I know it wasn’t tourist season; we were alone on the battlefield. There was no visitors center, no one to explain exactly what went on. You had to find that out for yourself. What I do remember, vividly: we got to the battlefield very early, and it was shrouded in fog. At first I was disappointed. I thought we wouldn’t be able to see anything because of the fog, and we didn’t have time to wait for it to lift. But, as we drove the monuments seemed to come alive in the fog, and we expected the battle to begin momentarily. It was an amazing experience that still moves me.

This trip to Gettysburg was another tourist experience, with lots of rain thrown in. Now I know all about the battles, but it would take years to really know all about it.
My persistent feeling about all of these war memorials is that it would be good if we really did not celebrate war any more. I know that Gettysburg is not a celebration, but there is too much emphasis on heroism and not enough on the horrors these men and women lived through.

This sculpture, called Shaking Man, is on a walkway in Yerba Buena Garden. Many people stopped to take pictures and clown with it, but I think it really has something to do with the earthquake–that would make you shake.

I was particularly taken with it. Depending on lighting conditions I often see multiple images just like this.

This is the first time I’ve been to San Francisco in twenty years or more. A lot of things have changed, but mostly it was the people–the locals not the tourists, who are the same all over. Twenty years ago I had the feeling everyone was on a holiday, even the locals. It seemed so idyllic. I had the impression you could go there and work and still be on a holiday, perpetually. Never mind that I didn’t think I could stand it.

Today, the locals look like they do in New York: everyone walks very quickly and no one makes eye contact. No more big time holiday. I don’t know whether it’s because everything is so expensive everyone works all the time, or whether it’s the panhandlers, nasty and aggressive, who reminded me of New York before Rudy Giuliani. All in all we had a good time, but sometimes it was a little scary.

I went to the Japanese Tea Garden and the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park, the Asian Art Museum, the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park and spent a lot of time in the new Yerba Buena Gardens near the Moscone Convention Center South of Market Street. The de Young has a fabulous collection of art from Papua New Guinea, which blew me away. I spent a lot of time looking at it, but still felt I couldn’t really comprehend it. However, it makes me think the pieces I brought back from PNG are worth a lot of money. Maybe someday I’ll try to sell them.

Another highlight of the de Young is their nine-story tower. You get a fabulous panorama of the western part of San Francisco.

The Asian Art Museum was a disappointment. They moved it to the old library building, kept the old shell and a couple of the old halls and built a new modern structure to show a bit of the collection. Unfortunately, like most new museums they give you more to read and fewer actual objects on view. I know they have a fabulous collection, but most of what I wanted to see wasn’t there.

I went to the Legion of Honor on the third morning, primarily because it entailed a long bus ride and I was tired and somewhat museum’d out. I found two interesting exhibits: the Reva and David Logan collection of artist illustrated books with a show of books illustrated by Picasso, and a show of photographs comparing sites from the 1906 earthquake with their contemporary equivalents.

This is the hundredth anniversary of that devastating earthquake. It’s hard to know whether they are celebrating it or are very nervous. They are certainly earthquake conscious.

I have the feeling this seemingly useless square decoration on top of one of the downtown hotels was put there to defy the gods of the earthquake. I wouldn’t want to be standing under it when the earthquake comes.

One of the joys of New York City is the surprise of finding something new. As much time as I’ve spent being a tourist in the city, I never seem to see it all. One of the joys of this last trip was discovering the Conservatory Garden in Central Park. It’s hard to believe the concrete jungle houses all this beauty.

From the sublime to the ridiculous: I found this sign at Mass MOCA.
I’m waiting to see who names their public restrooms (toilet stalls) for donors.

One of the highlights of our trip was the textile exhibit at the museum at Historic Deerfield. I’ve put some of the photos I took in the album called "Wonderful Cloth." I’ll add other wonderful fibers as I find them. Some of these textiles are also listed here. Do a search on embroidery or textile.

Obviously I am overdoing this. Nothing seems to please me. This was my third visit to the textile museum in Lowell. It’s a fascinating place, very well done. But it was empty, on Sunday afternoon. Renee and I were the only visitors. There were no guards, only the man at the admissions desk. Many of the exhibits have motion-activated sound. It was very spooky walking around and listening to voices, looms and spinning wheels from nowhere. Even so, I hope they survive; I’d like to go back again some day.

Yesterday I went to visit the newly-reopened Morgan Library where I may never return. They spent a lot of money to create a noisy, flashy space that totally ruins the ambiance the library was noted for. There is a large entry area (prepared for lots of visitors), a dining room, a cafe so noisy you could not hold a conversation with your dining partner, a gift shop, very prominent elevators and stairs, two new small gallery spaces and a reading room not generally open to the public. Mr. Morgan’s library and study and the older galleries are tucked away in corners you could easily miss. I guess you can call me grumpy, fat old artist.

Renee and I got back to the city last night, and today is a beautiful day. I’ll be off exploring New York as soon as my laundry is finished–the reality of travel. Both Lowell and Amherst made us think a lot about the life and revitalization of cities. Lowell claims, in a tourist center introduction, that it has been revitalized. Amherst, we were told, is on the verge of explosive, upscale growth. I think about all of this and relate it to Pittsburgh and Chicago. Fifteen years ago, Chicago had a large, vacant area encircling downtown. It was made up of old, empty factories and brownfields. Today, most of that has been occupied and the city is thriving and beautiful. Lowell and Amherst seem to be similarly unoccupied. So they could go either way. My friend Julia told us Northhampton, next to Amherst, was revitalized by a powerful, farsighted mayor. Certainly that was true for Chicago. So where is a Mayor Daley for Pittsburgh?