I do try to drag myself from the comfort of my tv occasionally, so there I was on a First Friday. Now that the sun goes down later than the 4:17 of December it’s rather pleasant to be out and about. There was a new show opening and that is catnip to me.

I can’t say I loved this person’s exhibit, but I did like this piece. The exhibit was about colonialism and mostly consisted of re-printed vintage photographs of indigenous workers standing next to European fruit trees. The artist was insulted that the workers were not identified by name, but the trees were. Oh well, that’s the past for you.

This massive bronze is also an idea from the past, but I love the mountain behind this.

This window has a better view of the peak. Some musician was playing a variety of string instruments, that’s why there was a speaker.

The first piece I ever saw by this artist was at my old campus, and I can’t say that I love his work because he makes his people look rather ugly. He chose fiberglass as his medium, so I assume he used a mold and helpers. These larger than life figures are outside on the lawn. I think that they look great against the lighted building as one can’t really see the details. Perhaps that is the secret of this artist’s appeal.

Every year the local college sponsors a pow-wow (the college gives a number of scholarships to people from the reservation so that they can go to college with a bunch of rich kids). This year it was held in the hockey arena which was a great idea because it was extremely windy outside. Because it was a small informal event I focused in on the dance outfits (I wore a black dress, red scarf and my summer dance shawl).

The woman on the right is wearing a jingle dress, (traditionally the jingles are made out of chewing tobacco lids) so she was a serious competitor. I haven’t seen the chevron design on a ribbon skirt before, the other two ladies chose interesting fabric for their dance shirts.

What’s interesting in this group is the woman on the left in black and red. The wide belt is traditional for a woman’s outfit, but I’m not sure what style she had.

The woman in the middle has ribbon work (shaped ribbon designs) and not just plain rows of ribbons. She is there to compete (they do give out prize money).

These two were the head dancers so they were fully decked out in finery, I think that they automatically get some sort of remumeration.

These guys were my favorites after I saw them outside smoking cigarettes. So pow wow outfits can range from ordinary street clothes, to street clothes with some sort of Native logo to dance outfits. The guy with the hoodie over his dance outfit is a perfect blend of the traditional and modern and very chic. I love the outfits that reflect the individuals sense of style mixed with tradition. We carry the past into the future.

I do enjoy a gallery opening, it’s always interesting to see what sort of art is deemed worthy of display. This was an absent pleasure during Covid time, so when I saw a listing for a feminist art show at the local university off I went.

And there were several persons in the show, a ceramicist and a couple of painters. What struck me was that one of the painters had not framed anything, her work was just stuck up directly on the wall. (Is framing a sign of the patriarchy?)

This artist did go to the trouble of having her work framed, and it is nicely set off against an interesting printed wallpaper.

The ceramicist’s work was all done in the same colors, black, white, grey and red. The red really pops against this somber background and she showed the most works in this grouping.

I liked the choice to mount this work at floor level, and of course it makes sense. Why would a dog be floating up onto the wall?

I know that I have mentioned in the past that every gallery opening should have some type of nibbles, and this was part of what was available. The multicolored carrot and radish were artistic choices, but the lunchmeat cut in the shape of a mountain lion (the school symbol) was inspired. Because it’s a university there was no free alcohol (but one could purchase this). Overall it was a great show and a great showing, so well done university.

Some years ago, the US Mint decided to change the quarter coin from a traditional looking eagle to representations of each state. I think it started with the 13 originals and they added new ones in the order that they became a state. I think this was to encourage coin collecting, or maybe they just got bored making the same thing.

So a friend’s grandkids got a starter set for doing just this. And as I just throw my coins into a sack, I had a number of quarters that I was saving to put in parking meters. So I pulled these quarters out and actually looked at them for the first time in years. And I saw that I have these miniature works of art floating around in my pockets. After making 50 state designs, the Mint just couldn’t stop. So here are a few that I especially liked.

You know that I like Great Blue Herons, but I also like loons, pheasants, and whatever the other one is.

An egret is nice, but the bats are the best (and I am keeping them safe from a parking meter). These bird designs all have a nice graphic quality to them, one can tell what they are supposed to be.

I selected the Utah coin because it is such a weird design. I believe it is intended to represent the joining of the railroads from the east to the west at Promontory Point. But this image features a head-on collision with a giant railroad spike floating mysteriously above. Well done designer.

The other coin is design celebrating art in a place I have never heard of, that apparently exists to be painted.

Besides states and places they have also designed series with people, famous men (who cares?) and famous women. This is my favorite, the beautiful silent film star Anna Mae Wong (and she is not going in a parking meter either). The other woman represents the contributions from the influx of farm girls into the Satanic mills of textile work.

And the obverse side of the coins has also had an upgrade, with a new rendering of the founder, looking rather dapper. I can hardly wait to see what sort of art is coming in the future (assuming that we continue to use actual money, instead of going virtual). There will continue to be a place in my pocket for the parking meters until then.

So besides appearing in bits and pieces, human figures have been popular decorations for buildings for centuries.

I love this Mesopotamian mash-up that once stood at the gates of a city (I would be impressed if I saw this when I came to a city). It seems to be a man, some sort of winged creature and an ox? It makes me think something is amiss that all cities don’t have city gates anymore. It would keep out the riff-raff.

This is a modern re-creation of an ancient style, a caryatid, which is “a stone carving of a draped female figure used as a pillar to support a Greek or Greek-style building”. I have no idea why this was originally added to this building, but it now graces a pizza parlor.

This is a pretty standard kind of Baroque decoration with both an angel and putti up near the ceiling. It’s gotten rather dusty up there, but it still adds to the magnificence of the building.

This rather sad looking female form is carved into a decidedly uncomfortable position. She is there to hold up the mantlepiece on a fireplace. Only a man would think that this is a good idea for the decoration of a room.

Yes, we’ve finally come to the representation of an ordinary (well not really ordinary) man. It’s the famous explorer of the South pole, and he’s not really part of the building, he is standing there frozen into a purpose built niche to celebrate his activities. It’s too bad that he is mounted into a wall rather than the city gates as he could also inspire awe at the power of the rulers. (Why did he go to the South Pole? Because.)

Is a car just a means of transportation, or is it something more: a statement, a totem? Cars started becoming popular just a hundred years or so ago. There were lots of competing companies, but how to distinguish one from another? Body styles were based on coaches, but these things had motors, motors needed cooling and as it is right up there in front, the radiator cap became the perfect place to differentiate the brand.

The engine on this highly modified Ford is obviously a replacement, but a useful and decorative radiator cap is part of the original beast.

And from there the practical gave way to the exuberant and symbolic. This is also from Ford and features a racing greyhound, to suggest that this car is fast (and it probably could go 50 mph at least).

The radiator is no longer exposed in slightly later cars, so now the signifier has transformed into a hood ornament. This stylized woman is taking a leap into the future.

But why let the ladies have all the fun? This hood ornament is a man (I think?), perhaps he is faster than a speeding bullet.

But there is no need to get completely literal, it’s hard to say just what this represents, but whatever it is, it’s fast.

But there is still room for the literal, this car boasts a rocket as it’s mascot (note to designers: this is an airplane), and one can “blast off” down the road.

But what caused the demise of these symbols? Why if one is struck by a car with a fixed hood ornament, one could be injured (yes, they are missing the obvious). So these were finally outlawed except for ornaments that are on an elastic tether so that they bend on impact (I’m looking at you Mercedes and Jaguar). But they still exist as testament to the art of automotive styling in these decorative details.

Cars are just a thing to get one from place to place for most people. But sometimes one develops an emotional attachment to a car; the first car, the car one had fun in with friends, your daddy’s car, the car one regrets selling. But selling the car is not the end, one can always buy the same model from somewhere and then the art begins.

This is the classic dream of many car aficionados, the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air. This one is especially desirable as it is a convertible, a symbol of the freedom of the open road. In tomato red with those gorgeous fins it is a spectacular car. It was further customized to be a low rider and it has a trunk full of hydraulics.

Chrome details on many vintage cars are beautiful, but the custom work of plating and engraving on the tiniest details make these cars truly amazing.

This 1955 Bel Air (which is a desirable car, but not like the ’57) also boasts a fantastic paint job, they sure didn’t come off the assembly line like this. These two also show the hydraulics in action.

Even the mundane parts of the engine have been chromed, plated and engraved in a gorgeous way!

The places that these owners find to detail are amazing. The ordinary bumper, the thing that prevents other cars from dinging one another are engraved on these cars. The show was set at a local art museum and these certainly are works of art and love. (And these artists are much better than the artist whose work was a pile of clothes). I hope that this is an annual event, (and of course I want one for my very own).