I was rather taken taken yesterday in downtown Albany, approaching the pedestrian bridge over I-787 that leads to the Corning Preserve and Hudson River, by this Seward Johnson sculpture, "Power of Suggestion." The trouble is, according to my friend David Brickman and other well informed critics, that may mean I'm a Philistine. Oh well.
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August 18, 2010
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This blog is by Bob (Robert C.) Conner, a longtime journalist and author of the 2018 novel "The Last Circle of Ulysses Grant" published by Square Circle Press, and a 2013 biography "General Gordon Granger" published by Casemate. He is currently writing a biography of the Kansas abolitionist Col. James Montgomery. His Civil War blog can be found at robertcconnerauthor.blogspot.com
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Then I'm a Philistine, too, for drek it is.
Posted by: Johannah Turner | August 18, 2010 at 02:27 AM
No that means you agree with Brickman et al., and I'm the Philistine. I did think it was an actual woman at first, and it had the desired effect of amusing and provoking another look. While that sort of statement/joke is common in modern nonrealistic art and not normally what I'm looking for, in this case I come to its defense.
Posted by: Bob Conner | August 18, 2010 at 10:59 AM
Yes, I see. Confusion due to sleep deprivation. Well, I can't argue that someone else shouldn't enjoy it. I'd just rather see dignified art than whimsical "installations" in any but designated public spaces (e.g., amusement piers). I didn't care for the Christo Gates, either. Gates to what? Orange schmattes littering the Greensward. Olmstead must have rolled over in his grave.
Posted by: Johannah Turner | August 18, 2010 at 01:43 PM
Well, Bob, we like you even if you are a Philistine. As for Christo and Olmsted, I can only say my own experience of The Gates was ecstatic, and I guess Olmsted might have enjoyed the way it drew so many people to his park in the middle of winter.
Posted by: David Brickman | August 20, 2010 at 12:15 PM
Me philistine too. Me like!
Posted by: Tom Hughes | August 22, 2010 at 02:07 AM