Great Barrington and Tanglewood

Neighboring Picnicers at Tanglewood

It was a beautiful day in the neighborhood.  We spent it in Great Barrington, which has a different feel than the other surrounding towns.  There are far more young people, more of a hip, funky atmosphere.  We ate lunch, roamed the streets window shopping and gallery browsing.  Tonight we returned to Tanglewood for an all Wagner program.  It was thoroughly transcending.  More pictures at flickr.

Norman Rockwell and William Shakespeare

Rockwell Museum

Norman Rockwell moved to Stockbridge, MA in 1953 so that his wife could be treated at the Austen Riggs psychiatric hospital.  (side note. James Taylor was also treated there and refers to his time at Austin Riggs in the song, Fire and Rain).  Stockbridge remained Rockwell's home until his death.  He helped established a custodianship which became the Norman Rockwell Museum.  The museum is the authority on Rockwell and holds over 700 pieces of his.  We went primarily to see the current show, Howard Pyle.  Pyle was an illustrator and children's book author during the fin de siecle.  Rockwell studied and admired his works as a student.  Pyle hardly had his own style.  He would mimic styles he felt best illustrated the texts he was illustrating.  To my delight, the show included Hokusai's The Great Wave of Kanagawa.  Previously, I've seen this print only in reproduction.  There is always something new to discover in the Berkshires.
Tonight we saw The Tempest at Shakespeare and Co.  It's our only play this trip.  The production was not great.  Olympia Dukakis played Prospero and she was extremely weak.  Her voice is not suited to Shakespearean dialogue.  Physically, she didn't control the character, either.  To our delight Merritt Janson played Miranda.  We saw her last year as Rosalind in As You Like It.  It was the best portrayal of Rosalind we've ever seen.  She was equally good as Miranda.  Other principals were also noteworthy.  Kristin Wold as Ariel was charming and captivating.  More photos at flickr.

Hancock Shaker Village

Hancock Shaker Village

The United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing....USBCSA....nope, no hope of an acronym there!  The Shakers are a religious sect who live communally and are amazing at invention, music, egalitarianism. The only remaining members live in a Maine commune. Since we had seen Borrowed Light at Jacob's Pillow on Sunday, we wanted to visit the Shaker Village in Hancock, MA.  It is a beautiful setting in which most of the buildings still stand in pristine condition.  The Shakers have not lived in the village since the 1960's.  We heard nice talks in the round barn and the dormitory about the structures and life in general.  The dormitory dining room had 2 interior windows, borrowed light.  

This evening we attended a Brahms Piano concert at Ozawa Hall performed by Gerhard Oppits who, over 4 evenings, is playing the complete works for piano without one piece of sheet music.  Very impressive.  We sat on the lawn this evening among the crowd that spilled out of the hall like fruit from a cornucopia.  It was beautiful to watch the interior of the hall warm as the sky cooled to evening then night.  We re-visited our discussion about LeWitt's art.  I asked why Wayne could consider the Brahms' piece art and not the LeWitt wall paintings.  More photos at flickr.

Mass MoCA

Sol LeWitt Wall Painting

Mass MoCA in No. Adams, MA is one of the largest centers for contemporary visual and performing arts in the US. It is located in a converted factory building, which offers huge display spaces. We went primarily to see the "Oh, Canada" and "Invisible Cities" shows. Fortunately, a tour of all the galleries was beginning as we arrived. It was nice to get an over view and introductions to pieces in each gallery.  We had not been to the museum since its initial opening and were pleased and surprised at the improved holdings and curatorship. The most interesting was the Sol Lewitt retrospective. Please visit this site to understand the magnitude and importance of this show. 65 artists and students spent 6 months installing the work which will be on display for 25 years. Lewitt had gifted his work to Yale University when he was dying from cancer. Yale, realizing their limited space, sought out Mass MoCA and LeWitt agreed. He visited and collaborated on the placement and configuration of the spaces prior to his death.

Sol LeWitt Wall Paintings

Of the two other shows, I liked The Mountain by Graeme Patterson in the Oh, Canada show.  My best description is art within art within art.  Patterson describes it as the first of four installations that focus on his personal experience with male bonding.  Coming in a close second was the entire Invisible Cities show, particularly Melting Pot by Miha Strukelj.  The concept is inspired by Italo Calvino's novel of the same name in which imaginary conversations take place between Marco Polo and Kubla Khan.  Polo describes his voyages and the cities to Khan.

Invisible Cities

I was so happy to have finally seen some contemporary art that can be visually exciting, provoking, evoking and accessible without extensive reading and probing to understand the artists' intents.  More photos at flickr.

The Clark

The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute is in Williamstown, which is also home to Williams College.  This makes for a great day visit.  The very small town center hosts a wonderful gallery, The Harrison and an adequate little lunch spot, Thai Garden.  The Harrison's main show was John MacDonald's paintings and Paul Caponigro's photographs. MacDonald's work, pictured above, was of landscapes in and around Williamstown.  The quality of the paints is almost encaustic in appearance.  I couldn't decide if that was a mixing choice or a medium effect until reading the artist's statement.  He's a plein air painter interested in light and texture.  

The Clark is a very interesting place.  It  houses the private collection of the Clarks, (he, grandson of Singer Sewing Machine founder) and has a mission dedicated to research, and extending and advancing the public understanding of art.  This trip was a bit disappointing because the original building is under renovation and the current show is recent archaeological discoveries of northern China.  I admit this lack of interest is due to my complete ignorance of Chinese art, religion, culture, etc, etc.  I did enjoy a couple of the sculptures. Zhenmushou (Tomb Guardian Beasts) from the Tang dynasty.  The expressions and the melding of beasts/humans was captivating.  And the Warrior Guardian from the Qi dynasty because of his posturing amused me greatly.   ZhenmushouWarrior Guardian


John and Kathy returned for a sleep over on their way back to PA following their trip to P'town.  We ate at Chez Nous.  It was enjoyed by all.  More photos at flickr.

Ozawa Hall

We spent most of the day reading and napping.  Sometime in the early afternoon we went to Lee for lunch and then to the new Big Y for water, milk and bananas.  Not very blog worthy.  But tonight we attended a concert at Ozawa Hall.  The Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra played Brahms' Tragic Overture, Schubert's Symphony in B minor, and Strauss' Also Sprach Zarathustra.  Each piece used a different conductor.  They were all big symphonies with large sound which we thoroughly enjoyed.  It is fun to see the student musicians revel in the opportunity to play and be heard. The picture is taken from the top of the hill. Attendees have the choice of sitting outside or inside.  The angle disguises the orchestra seats but highlights the drama of the building and the stage.  More photos at flickr.

Jacob's Pillow 80

We had an early performance time today, 2pm at Jacob's Pillow, to see Tero Saarinen's Borrowed Light. Saarinen is Finnish who began his career with the Finnish Ballet. The piece is inspired by the Shakers and uses original Shaker music. However, the work is not about Shakerism but rather community and devotion. There are 8 dancers and 8 singers from the Boston Camerata. The dancers and singers share the stage; their costumes are black and the light is stark, cast at an extreme angel from stage left. The title comes from the Shaker practice of adding interior windows to a building in order to extend daylight hours. There were many aspects I liked. The dancers make exaggerated zombie like movements with a lot of stomping. All of us would have preferred more traditional dance. But I did appreciated Saarinen's ability to extract and project a visceral feeling of human struggle both emotionally and physically within a community or space. Here is a brief clip of Borrowed Light from the company's website. I don't believe it is the Camerata performing the music here, though.
Tonight we ate at Bistro Zinc. It was amusing that at our 8pm reservation the menu was practically empty of all selections. All these old folks around here eat early and wiped out the kitchen.

Tanglewood 75

It was a sun scorching day. We had worried that the predicted evening showers would affect our Tanglewood concert. But it was beautiful all day and night. First thing I realized at around 5am was that I left all the tickets at home. Thus, we began the day by stopping at the Tanglewood box office for replacement tickets. We next stopped in Lenox for a light lunch at Patisserie. They have the most mouth-watering, beautiful desserts. I highly recommend it. We ate on the patio and then went across the street to visit The Wit Gallery and discuss works and possible options with the clerk. We didn't have time for extensive visits to other venues, but we did take abbreviated tours. First, we stopped at Arrowhead, Herman Melville's home in Pittsfield. There was a very funny sculpture in the field of Moby pursued by Ahab.

We also stopped at Ventfort Hall, the filming sight for Cider House Rules.

It was now late enough that we headed to Tanglewood and took our place in the short line for the 5:30 opening of the grounds. Inside we found a beautiful spot under a huge maple tree to spread out and relax. The performance this evening was in celebration of Tanglewood's 75th anniversary. The pieces were all relatively short with various conductors attending. I'll list the highlights for my own memory, but to also recognize the performers. 1. Keith Lockhart conducted Copland's Fanfare for the Common Man and 3 dance episodes from On the Town by Bernstein. 2.James Taylor sang with John Williams conducting selections from the Great American Songbook. 3. Stefan Asbury conducting Haydn's Piano Concerto in D. 4. Andris Nelsons conducting Anne-Sophie Mutter playing Sarasate's Carmen Fantasy and Yo-Yo Ma playing Tchaikovsky's Andante Cantabile. 5. Andris Nelsons conducting Ravel's LaValse 6. David Zinman conducting Beethoven's Fantasia with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus, John Oliver conducting Our groups' favorites were Mutter's performance and the Beethoven. The Chorus gave me chills. Everything was topped off with a fabulous fireworks show.

Becket Bound

We are back in the very lovely Berkshires of Massachusetts. We come every year to enjoy Tanglewood, Shakespeare & Co., Jacob's Pillow, The Clark and more, more, more. Our friends John and Kathy met us. They actually arrive ahead of us because we got a late start and then hit very heavy slow traffic. We had stopped at Whole Foods along the way and picked up steaks and every cheese, cracker, hors d'oeuvres one could desire. After conversation over the hors d'oeuvres in which we solved most of the nations political and social ills, we ate, drank and laughed into the wee morning hours. Great to be back here where we are staying for the second year in Becket at the home we exchange with Kate and Greg. Hope they have as much fun in Wareham.

Reason Rally

It rained pretty heavily on and off today. We walked down to the Reason Rally to check things out. There was a fairly large crowd despite the rain. After hanging around for a few speeches, we went to the National Gallery to escape the downpour. There we saw a Picasso exhibit of some 55 works. The exhibition presented the development of Picasso's drawings over a 30-year period. There were his earliest drawings on loan from the Barcelona Picasso Gallery which we remember seeing years ago when we were in Barcelona. Another reminder from our travels were two large-scale group portraits from the Dutch Golden Age, on long-term loan from the Rijksmuseum and the Amsterdam Museum. We ate lunch in the Gallery and bought an umbrella for the duration of the day. Back at the Reason Rally we heard Dawkins speak, but the speech was uninspiring. Far better was Greta Christina. She laid it all out about how religious enthusiasts work to destroy the freedom of others.
Tonight we picked up Adam and Maura for dinner in their neighborhood at an Indian restaurant and a Dvorak concert, Stabat Mater, at the Kennedy Center. The concert was excellent. The choir blew us away.
For more DC pictures please visit my flickr page.

Cherry Blossoms

Today was beautiful, warm, and sunny; perfect for a walk along the Tidal Basin through the cherry trees. Prior to the Tidal Basin we walked to the Hirshhorn Gallery to see a light show. It was okay, a bit dated in technical terms. But still worked optically. We also got to see one of our favorite sculptors, Juan Munoz, pieces "Last Conversation Piece" which is a permanent installation outside the Museum.
The walk along the Tidal Basin was jammed with people. But everyone was in good spirits, taking photos and lounging. This year we walked toward the Lincoln Monument rather than toward the Potomac as in the past. At one point a helicopter past overhead and sent the cherry blossoms flying through the air. Our walk took us to the new Martin Luther King Monument. The area has MLK quotes engraved in granite along a wall. Very moving and sad.
To end our day we stopped at the Corcoran, our first visit ever. The holdings are fantastic. There are many Hudson River School pieces.

The Nation's Capitol

The drive into DC from Juanita's and Carlton's is an easy 15-30 minutes when you do it at noon. Otherwise, it is a tangled nightmare of traffic. We chose the noon time trip. At the HIlton we were told our room would not be ready for a few hours. We walked around the corner to the Mozart Cafe for a light lunch. I thought the Renwick Gallery was close by and we headed for a quick visit. Unfortunately we headed the wrong direction. What should have been a 5 minute walk turned into a 30 minutes walk. The exhibit was not anything I was interested in, either. It was decorative arts from the White House archives. This was mostly furniture and china. In the past we have seen amazing exhibits of turned wood and jewelry.
Back at the hotel, Adam stopped by after work. He went to dinner with us at Alabardero, a Spanish restaurant. It was an elegant place and reminded us of Paris. Strange, I know, since it was trying to be Spanish. I haven't taken any pictures in 2 days, so you must be happy with the restaurant. Lo siento!

Manassas and Peking (Duck)

The first thing we did today was go into the Wegman's that is adjacent to the hotel. I've been curious about this chain. eh. The wine selection was great, but otherwise Whole Foods, et al, seems comparable. We went into Fredericksburg and had lunch at Soup Taco, a small Venezuelan restaurant near the visitor's center. My dish was sumptious homemade corn tortillas stuffed with refried beans, cheese and onions. George Washington, James Madison and James Monroe are among the luminaries who called Fredericksburg home. We drove out to Spotsylvania and then through the battlegrounds.
We arrived at Juanita's and Carlton's home in early afternoon. Sandra came over after work and we headed to Falls Church, VA to eat at the Peking Gourmet Inn. This Inn is famous for its....wait.....Peking Duck. They serve around 250 per day. Wow. The inside of the place was elegant and the waiters were dressed in red jackets. The duck is sliced at the table and the first pancake for each person is rolled by the waiter. After that, you're on your own. The foyer walls were covered with pictures of famous visitors, Presidents Clinton, Bush, Bush. It was a great day and a great time visiting with auntie and uncle. They are the best.

Manassas

We stayed in Staunton, VA last night. It is a lovely town that hosts Shakesperean plays on a regular bases. The town was spared during the Civil War and thus has beautifully preserved Victorian homes. The main street is long, unscathed and filled with shops, albeit shops with knick knacks. We ate last night in a beautifully converted rail station. Tonight we are staying in Fredericksburg. We aren't sure why we booked here since we toured the area 3 years ago. Instead of coming here directly we opted to visit Manassas' National Park. The main battle fields behind the visitor's center was picturesque with golden grasses and rolling hills. The film (there is always a film) at the center was very sad. Over 5000 casualties in the first battle and 25,000 in the second. For more pictures visit my flickr.

Folk Art and Highways

Before Southern Highland Craft Guild members. The Guild is an educational, non-profit organization founded in 1930. It is a network and market for mountain craftspeople. there are more that 900 artisan members who are selected by a jury. The quality is superb. Everyday a different member works at his/her craft on site. Today we saw a weaver. Her colors were so rich and beautiful. We purchased a small carved wooden bluejay to hang on our Christmas Tree. The remainder of the day was spent driving to Staunton, VA. It was another beautiful ride through the Smoky Mountains. See more photos at Flickr

Asheville Arts

Another beautiful day in the Smoky Mountains. Our hotel is a few miles from historic Asheville. We are near the Biltmore Estate. We drove into Asheville and headed for the Appalachian Crafts Center. It was closed on this Sunday and foretold the future for most all galleries. We walked up and down streets block to block window shopping and finding the occasional open store. All the restaurants were open and there was a nice band playing with some performers dancing near the Woolworth's. The city is filled with unusual characters dressed in mountain clothing, 1940's style. Long hair and bearded dudes with a lot of tattoos. People were lounging around on benches, dining at outdoor cafes, playing music, a real arts setting. I found a nice iron forged maple leaf hook and some sgraffito bird cards. We returned to the hotel about 4pm and sat on our sunny balcony to read. Tonight we ate at Ruth's Chris' Steak House along with the grim reaper. LOL See more photos at Flickr

On Top of Old Smoky

This is Waynesville, NC in the Great Smoky Mountains, very apropro as today is Wayne's birthday. Before we left Chattanooga we went to the Hunter Museum. We had been fascinated by the design and location of their new addition. It is somewhat reminiscent of a Geary design. It beautifully complements and overhangs the Tennessee River. The collection is good. I'm beginning to more and more enjoy museums in smaller cities that can't afford to hold the most noted works. In these smaller museums one can see works that were the beginnings of a career or the studies for larger works. It's refreshing to see these and sometimes surprising to see an unexpected style or approach of an artist I think I know well.
The drive to Asheville took us through a portion of the Smokies. I find it difficult to convey the beauty of these mountains. This time of year finds them displaying flowering dogwood and redwood among the occasional tender green of a maple. Now and then a rusty orange oak will declare itself. As we neared Asheville a storm of some magnitude formed over a distant mountain top announcing its presence with dark clouds and lightening. We entered Asheville through the rain. See more photos at Flickr

Pardon Me Roy, Is That the Cat That Ate Your New Shoes?

Chattanooga! We love you! What a great city full of promise and foresight, art and history. It's clean, friendly and interesting. We came here to see the Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain Civil War battle sites. We were surprised to find a vibrant arts and restaurant area on the river near our hotel. We spent the early part of the day at Chickamauga, which is actually in Georgia, touring the battle areas. The site is the oldest Civil War park. As such, it is filled with state monuments dedicated to the soldiers. The redbuds are abundant here. We next drove to Lookout Mountain. It was a harrowing hair pin after hair pin turning road to the top. Then we were hit with rain, lightening and hail. All very dramatic. There is a complete community of homes and schools on top. We were amazed that Hooker conquered the mountain without air conditioning and all wheel drive. Tonight we went to Sugar's for dinner. It is a BBQ joint. The ribs were fine, and we had a nice accompaniment of loud rock and roll music by a cover band. See more photos at Flickr

Mississippi Royalty

In order to drive from Oxford, MS to Chattanooga, TN, one must drive south to Birmingham and then north again to Tennessee. This traverse took us through Tupelo, MS, the birthplace of one Elvis Presley. Having already stopped on a corner in Winslow, AZ, how could we pass up the opportunity to see the place that shaped The King. After Elvis achieved some popularity (and money) he returned to Tupelo and bought back the house he was born in, which his father built, and the surrounding land. On that land now is a fairly large and nice gift shop and museum that covers his life in Tupelo. The house is a tiny 2 room abode, front bedroom and back kitchen. The church Elvis attended and sang gospel has been moved to the grounds. There were a surprising number of people here, even 3 women from Australia.
The countryside we passed through today was so beautiful. There are hundreds of redbuds scattered through the woods which are just beginning to break with pale green buds. Occasional dogwood dot the woods. As we drove east and north we entered the Appalachian Mountains. Chattanooga sits on Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake, which are both part of the Tennessee River. Chattanooga abuts the Georgia border and lies at the transition between the ridge-and-valley portion of the Appalachian Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau. The city is therefore surrounded by various mountains and ridges.
We are staying near the river. The area is filled with restaurants, movie theater and an arts bluff area. As we've seen in many places the restaurants were filled with people, young, old and in between. It's hard to understand the recession. Maybe things really are improving. See more photos at Flickr.

The Sound and the Fury

Oxford, Mississippi, the home of Ole Miss and William Faulkner. Today the temps his 81, woo hoo. We started our day at Rowan Oak, Faulkner's 1844 antebellum home where he wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning A Fable's outlines on his study walls. Our research found out that James Lee Burke and Salman Rushdie have also visited there. It's a literary oddity to see those two listed together. It's also a serendipity that we were just in New Iberia seeking out James Lee Burke spots mentioned in his Robicheaux series. The grounds of Rowan Oak appear much as they did when Faulkner lived there with the out kitchen, barn, stable and servant's quarter still standing. Wayne has been reading Faulkner in preparation for this trip. After, we went to the town square to buy more Faulkner. The square's format is exactly like the Magnolia square. The courthouse in Magnolia is more charming. But the stores in Oxford are more upscale and the fronts preserved better. The stores are of 3 varieties: clothing, restaurants and book stores. Oh, and the occasional law firm. Ole Miss was disappointing to me. I expected the university to be quaint and situated walking distance from the town square. However, it is modern and spread out. We went to the museum, which had a paltry collection. Now we have discovered there is nothing else here to see except the Confederate Cemetery. We will dine on the square tonight and make haste for Chattanooga tomorrow. For more pictures visit my flicker