DC, Baby!

Well, I went to DC last week, and I've decided to just put those picutres up, and maybe add commentary later, if I get around to it.

Enjoy.

Spy Museum

Tuesday Morning I got up bright and early and had a massage (waaaaaayyyy over priced, and not all that great. I decided I'm not a fan of "Swedish Deep Tissue." It wasn't all that deep, and she got a bit too friendly with me.

Following my massage I went to the International Spy Museum. I had only an hour which sucked! The museum was great! One to not miss! Next time I'm in DC I shall have to plan more time so that I can see the whole thing.

Oh, and my return trip: long. Very long. I left the hotel at Noon, EST and didn't get home until 11:30 pm PST. So, nearly 15 hours in transit. Fun.

Final Thoughts

I literally ran out of pictures on my SD card. I think I may have to bring two next time. I'm actually really surprised that I did, though, because I thought that I took more pictures while in Jerusalem and Greece, both. Who knows?

Anyway, as I was trudging back to my hotel I passed this, and had to stop and find a picture which I could delete to make room for this. I hope it was worth it.

Yes, that's the White House

Vietnam Veterans Memorial

I decided to pick one name on the Wall and mourn him while there, in an attempt to fully experience it.

I chose William Lutz.

A random unidentified tourist became a ghost of soldiers past in this picture.

William's page in the book listing where names can be found on the Wall. Listings in the book also include rank, branch of service, date of birth, date of casualty, and hometown.
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Mumsy keeps asking me what I felt here. I'm not sure I can put it into words sufficient, but maybe this (which I wrote as I left) will answer those questions.

William Lutz: Pfc, Marine Corps, Philadelphia, PA.

I don't know you, but today I mourned you. I'm sure you were just a scarred young boy, feigning bravery in the hopes that it would chase away your fear. Somehow I doubt it worked.

Today I mourned your passing, your service, your sacrifice. I wept for you as I imagined unrealized dreams, and the girl you left behind. Tears filled my eyes as I thought of the pain of your family and friends.

My tears were not for you, alone, but for all the casualties of the Vietnam War. My tears for you were tears for them all.

William Lutz, Pfc, thank you for helping me mourn.

WWII Memorial and Lincoln Memorial

Next, I headed to the WW II and Lincoln Memorials.

This tower is named "Pacific" the opposing one is, predictably, the "Atlantic".

Here's the fountain that must represent America. Also, each of the smaller pullers is labeled with a state's name. They're not in alphabetical order, I'm not really sure how they are ordered.

Lincoln Memorial from the far end of the Reflecting Pool.

You can kind of see from the choppy water and the stormy sky the kind of weather we had to endure the entire weekend. Lovely.

Hey, look, it's Lincoln. And he's sitting right where Hollywood tells us.

One must have for themselves a picture of Lincoln.

Right after I took this picture I met a delightful young New Zealander who asked me to take his picture with Lincoln. I obliged, and he returned the favor. It's a crap picture of me, so you don't get to see it.

Returning and Decisions

As I returned to the Metro from the Iwo Jima Memorial I snapped this picture of the sky line.

From left to right the important structures are: Old Post Office Pavilion, Potomac River, US Capitol Building (small dot right above the Potomac, very near the center of the picture), Lincoln Memorial, and Washington Monument.

Thomas Jefferson Memorial.

This wasn't particularly easy to get to, so I didn't end up visiting it. But, the picture is pretty neat anyway.

I also ended up having to skip the Holocaust Memorial. However, I figured I went to Yad Vashem while in Israel, so I'm pretty much depressed enough about the whole thing anyway.

Iwo Jima Memorial

I finished with the Smithsonian Museums earlier in the day than I had anticipated, so I headed back to Arlington to see if I could find the Iwo Jima Memorial. I did.



This memorial ignited similar emotions as I had experienced Sunday. As I stood there staring up at the faces of the men who raised this flag on the island of Iwo Jima tears streamed unchecked. I thought of the countless Marines (since technically, it's the Marine Memorial) who have given their lives for our country, and the countless who will.

In those sacred moments I offered up a heartfelt prayer for each and everyone of them. And one for us. May their souls rest in peace, and may we never forget or trivialize their contributions.

Air and Space Museum, American History

My traveling companion returned home on a 6 am flight, leaving me to fend for myself in DC all day Monday and half of Tuesday. I was determined to finish seeing the sights.

Monday morning saw me making my way around a couple of the Smithsonians. I started the day at the Hirshhorn Museum of Modern Art. There were some interesting pieces, but at the end of the day, I'm rather picky about what modern art I enjoy.

After the Hirshhorn I headed to the Air and Space Museum. It was ok, but not as cool as I was hoping. More Air than Space.

Sculpture outside the Air and Space Museum. A star being born? Magnetic Field diagram? Who knows. Very sciencey, though.

Interestingly, the National Museum of American History was closed for renovations, so they chose 150 pieces from the normal exhibit and had them on display in a small portion of the Air and Space Museum. And now, for your viewing pleasure:

An Edison lightbulb.
How freaking rad is that?!

Kirmit the Frog

Dorthy's slippers, and the Scarecrow. For GatPat.

Stradivari Violin, the "Greffuhle" c 1709

From the placard:
"Handcrafted by Antonio Stradivari in Cremona, Italy, this instrument represents an artistic standard of perfection recognized by classical musicians in the United States and around the world.

Of the 620 Stradivari instruments that survive, this is one of only eleven that are decorated. The inlay along the sides — an ornate motif of flowers, vines, and animals — is suggestive of eternal life and the promise of paradise. The brilliant tone of the Greffuhle (named for a French nobleman who once owned it) can still be heard today in concerts by the Smithsonian's Axelrod Strin Quartet and the Smithsonian Chamber Players."

C3PO and R2S2. Oh yeah!


Sunstone from Mormon Temple, 1844

From the placard:
"Inspired by a vision described by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Later-day Saints (the Mormons) this celestial limestone carving was one of thirty that adorned a grand temple built at Nauvoo, Illinois, in the 1840s.

In 1844 an anti-Mormon mob murdered Smith, destroyed the temple, and drove the congregation out of Nauvoo. The Mormon community relocated to Utah, where it flourished in the isolation of the West."

The thing that really impressed me here was, of the thousands of items museum curators had to choose from for this limited display, this Sunstone from the Nauvoo Temple was considered to be among the top 150 most representative of the Smithsonian collection. In other words, the Church is such an important part of American History, that they couldn't not include this in their display. Wow.

Arlington National Cemetery

On Sunday we headed to Arlington National Cemetery. Originally we planned to see the Iwo Jima Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers and then head over to the Holocaust Museum for a nice depressing day.

The weather decided to help get us in the mood: It rained 2 1/2" while we were walking around the cemetery. As we approached the Cemetery we saw a huge memorial, which turned out to be the Women in Military Service for America Memorial. It was amazing. The hall was filled with memorabilia of women who had fought for our country.

Also in the hall was the 'Faces of the Fallen' exhibition. Many artists have donated portraits that they created for various soldiers who have died in the current War on Terror. It was breath-taken to walk by the faces of the men and women who have so recently perished.

After we left the Women's Memorial we headed into the cemetery, proper. We went in search of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and found, instead, JFK's grave site. After a bit more wandering we crested a hill and I took this series of pictures which form a rather lovely panorama.

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Down the hill we managed to find the Tomb of the Unknowns...

We had somehow managed to make it just in time for the Changing of the Guards.

The emotions I felt while standing there partaking of this ceremony were overwhelming. Hallowed reverence are the only words I can think of that come reasonably close.

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Soaked to the bone, we decided to call it an early day, Iwo Jima and the Holocaust Museum would have to wait until Monday.

Washington Monument

I was told that we should check out the monuments at night, so we planned to do that Saturday night. The weather turned nasty, so we called it a night. However, not until I got these pictures of and from the Washington Monument.

The Capitol Building.

The Lincoln Memorial

The flags around the Monument were whipping wildly in the wind, it was really, really neat.

For the finale, a couple of love birds on the Metro.
They looked so in love I snapped this picture so I can sketch them.

Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden

If you guessed Henry Moore give yourself a gold star.

They had 3 or 4 at the Garden, but I took only this picture.

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Yes, kids, that's a Rodin.

Walking Man, 1900; enlarged 1905; cast 1962

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Good eye. This one is too.

Monument to Balzac, 1891-98; cast 1966

Interestingly, tradition holds, that under his cloak Balzac is grasping his virility. This is due in part to the fact that originally Rodin favored portraying Balzac in the nude. Many studies were created, including the one below which contribute to this belief. If one looks at them at the correct angles, one can almost make out the form beneath the cloak.


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Judith Shea

Post-Balzac, 1991

You did read the paragraph above, didn't you. This is hilarious! Trust me. I loved that the museum choose to put these are opposing sides of the garden. Subtle humor, I suppose.

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Gaston Lachaise

Standing Woman, 1932; cast 1981

She really seemed to embody woman-hood.

U.S. Botanical Gardens

Yeah, so we hung out at the Botanical Gardens, got a problem with that?

Calla lilies. I shall have too many calla lilies at my wedding.
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GayPat shall have orchids at his.

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Yes, that's right: it's growing out of the rock!
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An explosion of PINKNESS!

Pre-explosion.

Sculpture Garden

Saturday found us wandering around the National Sculpture Garden. The official Web site can be found here.

Typewriter Eraser, Scale X: Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

"This sculpture presents a giant falling eraser that has just alighted, the bristles of the brush turned upward in a graceful, dynamic gesture."

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Personnage Gothique, Oiseau-Éclair (Gothic Personage, Bird-Flash): Joan Miró

"[The] bird was cast from an object the artist created, while the head was cast from a cardboard box and the body from a donkey yoke. Through the juxtaposition of disparate objects, surrealist artists such as Miró sought to evoke surprise and stimulate associations in the mind of the viewer."

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France Spider: Louise Bourgeois

"The spider carries associations of a maternal figure... Bourgeois' spiders appear as looming and powerful protectresses, yet are nurturing, delicate, and vulnerable."

Detail of "France Spider."

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Cluster of Four Cubes: George Rickey

"The massive element of Cluster of Four Cubes is appended by ball bearings to slender arms that branch from a central post. Each cube is precisely weighted and balanced, engineered to turn effortlessly in the lightest breeze; they glide, nearly brushing one another in an intricate and graceful dance that belies their apparent bulk."

Lookie, they move!


Seriously, I didn't move while taking these pictures, the cubes did. Groovy!

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House I: Roy Lichtenstein

"Roy Lichtenstein is best known for the pop paintings based on advertisements and comic strips that he made in the 1960s."


What the? That's right, kids, it's concave!

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Cheval Rouge (Red Horse): Alexander Calder

"Calder's outdoor stabiles such as Cheval Rouge exhibit a universally appealing grace and, though steadfastly abstract, evoke a friendly resonance with natural forms. Here the sleek, tapering legs and tensile up-thrust 'neck' recall the muscularity and power of a thoroughbred. This stabile reflects Calder's assertion: 'I want to make things that are fun to look at, that have no propaganda value whatsoever.' "


And, from the other side...

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Cubi XXVI: David Smith

"Cubi XXVI achieves a dynamic equilibrium between the static nature of its looming geometrical components and the dramatic upward and outward thrust of its composition."

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Moondog: Tony Smith

" The title itself derives from two sources: Moondog was the name of a blind poet and folk musician who lived in New York City, and Smith has also likened this sculpture to Dog Barking at the Moon, a painting by Joan Miró. "

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Chair Transformation Number 20B: Lucas Samaras

"Here the artist suggests an animated flight of stacked chairs. A deceptively simple form, the sculpture appears from different viewpoints to be upright, leaning back, or springing forward."


It's supposed to look like a real chair from this angle. Um... I said: supposed to.

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Four-Sided Pyramid: Sol LeWitt

"The terraced pyramid, first employed by LeWitt in the 1960s, relates to the setback design that had long been characteristic of New York City skyscrapers. Its geometric structure also alludes to the ziggurats of ancient Mesopotamia."


The dramatic angle. Me like-y.

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Thinker on a Rock: Barry Flanagan.

In Thinker on a Rock the artist substitutes his signature hare for Rodin's Thinker (1880), making a witty and irreverent reference to one of the world's best-known sculptures.

What you don't get to see is the picture of me kneeling in front of it mimicing the thing. Funny, funny!

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Stele II: Ellsworth Kelly

"Alluding to the severe presence of the work, especially in a landscape setting, the title refers to a type of ancient stone monument that traditionally served a commemorative function."


Art? I dunno.

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Untitled: Joel Shapiro

"Achieving a balance between abstraction and representation, the geometric forms of Untitled can be said to resemble the torso and appendages of a human figure striking a precarious pose."


Cast in bronze, the original was made with plywood. This detail shows that the wood grain was preserved in the casting. Pretty cool.

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Six-Part Seating: Scott Burton.

Guests to the garden were invited/encouraged to enjoy the seating. We did. Let's just say: I'm not going to move to granite seating in my place anytime soon.

"Scott Burton's work has been described as sculpture in love with furniture.' Indeed, the artist intended much of his work to be both sculptural and functional."

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Aurora: Mark di Suvero

"Aurora is a tour de force of design and engineering. Its sophisticated structural system distributes eight tons of steel over three diagonal supports to combine massive scale with elegance of proportion."


My second favorite sculpture in the whole garden. I'm not sure what it is supposed to mean, but it's so powerful (as in: embodying power)!

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Puellae (Girls): Magdalena Abakanowicz

"The work refers to an account the artist heard as a child in Poland during World War II about a group of children who froze to death as they were transported in cattle cars from Poland to Germany, as part of the 'Arianization' process."


My favorite sculpture in the whole garden. So powerful (as in full of emotion)!