Day 78 July 30

By Al

I had an uneventful day.  That night we were going to try to go to see the Moth at the Bitter End, a famous nightclub in Noho.  We got into the back of a very long line.  After a short time, a man came along and let us know that there was very little chance we would get in.  Because the line was so long, we believed him.  We looked on our phones , and saw that the Angelika Theater was only two blocks away, so we decided to go to a movie.  We saw "Looking for Sugar Man."  This was a wonderful movie and we both recommend it.  In the 1970's, Sixto Rodriguez recorded a couple of records.  He was from Detroit.  He never caught on and eventually went into construction work and obscurity.  However, in South Africa, he became the voice of people who were opposed to apartheid.  His two records became very popular.  Unfortunately, this was never conveyed to him in the United States.  Eventually, rumors started in South Africa that he was dead.  There were various stories about his death, such as that he shot himself in the head while on stage, but everybody thought he was dead. 

In the late 1990's, a reporter decided to find out about his death.  Not if he was dead, but how he died and what his live had been like.  He was able to locate a daughter of the singer's in St. Louis.  He called her and asked about her father's death.  She told him her father was still alive.  He was living in Detroit and working in construction. 

This resulted in a film crew coming to America.  They located him. They also arranged for him to come to South Africa for a concert tour.  It was highly successful with thousands of people coming out to see him.  It was an amazing thing to see.

He is now doing a tour of the United States.  Unfortunately, he will be in Minnesota while we are in New York, and he will be in New York, while we are in Minnesota.



Sally's Afternoon at the Museum

Sally's Day
 I went to the Museum of Modern Art, which is about the only art museum open on Monday.  I looked at an exhibit about children in art during the  20th Century. (No pictures allowed).  My favorite was a corner devoted to PeeWee's Playhouse- which was included because it was a new approach to children's TV shows (perhaps they forgot Rocky and Bullwinkle- which was a rather radical cartoon show for its day). They displayed portions of the playhouse- the door, Globey, and Conky (who gave PeeWee the secret word), and an episode of the show.
 They also had a children's play table, which reminded me of my own highchair- it unfolded in the middle and converted the highchair into a play table.

The sculpture garden is full of fun and interesting statues.

Balzac in the entrance to the Sculpture Garden.  It is massive and heavy.

This statue by Giacometti is behind the Balzac.  Together, they remind me of  those "Before and After" pictures you see in diet ads.

This series was done over a period of 40 years by my favorite artist guy- Matisse. 

This is  on the far right, and shows how his work became more abstract over time.

This Family by Moore was one of two pieces (the other being a massive Water Lilies by Monet)I remembered from my visit 40 years ago.  It was fun to see this again.  I love the way the child connects the parents. 

This Goat is by Picasso.  She is QUITE pregnant, and looks like she could give birth right there in the garden.