NYC Museum Visit

Yesterday I went into NYC to see an exhibit at the Whitney Museum of Mexican Art: Viva Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art 1925 to 1945. It was originally scheduled to run sometime from January through May. I had been waiting for the weather to warm up a bit before I went, but then Covid-19 shut the city down. 

The show has been extended through January 2021. Last week, I figured I better go soon if I wanted a nice day to visit. I did get a nice day--mid 60's through 70 degrees. 

I loved the exhibit.  It was interesting to see how Diego Rivera's work changed from his first works in Mexico to works in the US, including those under the WPA. His first works celebrated revolution and condemned capitalism. His US works focused more on industries and workers. I learned about his commission for Rockefeller Center Man at the Crossroads. The fresco included an image of Lenin. Rivera refused Rockefeller's request to remove the Lenin image, and Rockefeller had the mural plastered over. Luckily, Rivera recreated the mural as Man, Controller of the Universe in Mexico. 

I learned about Jose Clemente Orozco--I had never heard of him--and his mural Prometheus among others. I was surprised to see Jackson Pollack's work in the exhibit: he had worked with Orozco.

After I left the museum, I had lunch at Pastis. It was around 1:20 and the sidewalk dining area was packed, so I decided to try it. I didn't realize it was such an "in" place: Lorne Michaels, Nicole Miller, Juliana Margulies, Jay McInerney, Salman Rushdie, Lynne Coll.

I also walked The High Line on my way back to Grand Central. One entrance is next to the Whitney, and only northward traffic is permitted right now. I loved walking through the gardens and getting a different view of the city. Unfortunately, food and drink vendors are closed. (Of course, if they had been open, I would have missed Pastis.)

Here are some photos I took from the High Line: 

It was a wonderful day--I miss days like this.

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Covid-19 Note: On Tuesday, I heard that Covid-19 cases in Connecticut (as well as New Jersey) had increased enough to trigger the New York State quarantine. Governor Cuomo said it would be impossible to enforce this quarantine because of all the people who have to cross state lines for their jobs. Non-essential travel was discouraged, but I decided to go anyway. I socially distanced myself on the train, took a taxi to the Museum, wore a mask all day except when I had lunch or sipped some water on the train. It was hard to stay socially distanced at the Museum, but we all wore masks. Today I learned Norwalk is a red zone with more than 15 daily cases per 100,000 population over a two-week period. 

I'll be staying close to home for awhile. 

Work in Progress

I forced myself to go to the gym Wednesday. I was exhausted Tuesday night, but didn't do the practical thing and go to bed early. I was posting and writing until midnight.

It wasn't that I got a late start on Wednesday (I was up by 6:30) but that I got off to a slow start. Before I knew it, it was 9:30. It would have been easy to blow off the gym: I would have done that a few weeks ago.

By the time I got to the gym. it was 10:15. It wasn't a particularly good workout, but it was a workout. I did better on Thursday: I was finished with my workout by 10:15. I also had a good workout today.

I've been prioritizing my workouts, which obviously has made a big difference in my gym attendance. I've also been prioritizing walks with Lola. I'd say our walks average 50-55 minutes. I want to take this time now before winter sets in, and it gets too cold for leisurely walks.

I finally got started on my new ACT manual. I've only had it since the end of August: just another example of me sabotaging myself. I start with a new ACT tutoring student next week; he's already taken an ACT course. That means I need to get my manual updated as well as figuring out additional material to cover with him. I had a similar experience with another student last winter (without a new manual to update) so at least I have some idea what to do.

I've been seriously considering doing nanowrimo this year. I had an idea to write a murder mystery set in a dog park. Now, I don't think it's  a good time for nanowrimo. I've got the ACT manual to do, ongoing major cleaning, organizing, and decluttering, finalizing (I hope) my mother's estate, financial planning, you get the picture. Even as I write this, I wonder if I'm just making excuses. This just might make me crazy.

If I do forgo nanowrimo, I have to do nablopomo, at least. Oh look, there's also a NaNonFiWriMo, National Nonfiction Writing Month. Pressure.

My last WPA mural inspired writing class is November 5. I want to keep writing. I can try for 500 words a day in addition to my blog posting. I failed when I tried to do that a few years ago, but at least it's doable: not as onerous as nanowrimo's 1667 words a day.

Now it's time to work on my story for my WPA mural class on Monday.

About Last Week

The week started with me editing a story for my writing class. The library was closed for Rosh Hashanah, so I had two weeks to write a story inspired by the WPA oystering murals by Alexander Rummler. I had an idea for my story shortly after receiving the assignment. I wrote most of the story last weekend. On Monday, I edited it and read it in class. It was very well-received--people thought it was a true story. All of the stories were good--even better than the agriculture-focused stories in our previous assignment. I am really enjoying this class.

I also wrote four blog posts last week. This included two posts about our wedding getaway three weeks ago.

I went to the gym three times. It's been months since I've made it at least three times a week. I exercised here three times. Of course, I'm walking Lola every day. Our average walk is around 50 minutes. We've been fortunate with nice weather and need to take advantage of it. Last Monday I saw the (or a) hawk at Oyster Shell Park. It was too far away for me to get a picture before the hawk flew off.

We had a small last DPF of the year.

On Saturday, Jeff, Lola, and I walked on the NRVT from Wilton Center through Merwin Meadows Park to School Road and back again. I suggested we stop at the Red Rooster Pub afterward: photo here. I figured it could be our last opportunity to have a drink outside this season.

I finished the week at a reception for the Autumn exhibition at the Rowayton Arts Center. That could be my first artist date in years.

Overall, it was a good week. My biggest fails were in housework and prep work for my ACT Manual.

Keep on trying.

New Writing Class

I signed up for a writing class this summer but didn't make it to even one session. I'm happy that I started another class yesterday. This is my fourth class with Kim; she's encouraging and supportive. The work of her students is inspiring.

The focus for this class is on the Norwalk WPA murals. Of course, that's right up my alley. Today we got background information for Ralph Bloom, Norwalk historian. Later we had a writing exercise using one of the Gruelle paintings illustrating A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. It was fun to hear the different takes on the paintings.

The homework assignment is to take inspiration from Rummler's farm murals. Let's see how that goes.

Justin and Mark

Today I led a tour of the WPA Murals. I came up with the idea (don't like the word ideate even though it's concise--too affected for me) designed it and planned it.

Mural artist Justin Gruelle chose to illustrate literary works. His six murals at Norwalk City Hall depict three of Mark Twain's works: A Connecticut Yankee in Sir Arthur's Court, Innocents Abroad, and Roughing It. 

13 people signed up and showed up for the tour--a great turnout. It was a good group--everyone participated including an artist who shared his perspective.

Bonus: I'm getting paid for designing the tour. I didn't expect payment, but I can sure use it.

Poetry and Oysters

An odd juxtaposition? Not in Norwalk. I recently attended a poetry workshop, "Oystering Then and Now" at City Hall.

We read poems about oysters, crabs and the earth, discussed poetry "rules" and explored prompts. We also looked at the oystering exhibit in the Mayor's Gallery as well as the WPA murals. After the workshop, we enjoyed oysters and beers in the gallery, and shared our poetry.

I was glad to share in a creative endeavor--it's been a while. I was especially interested because the WPA murals were part of the program.  As a docent, I've grown to love the murals and what they mean to Norwalk.

Oysters and beer were a bonus.

Connecticut Open House Day

Saturday was Open House Day here in Connecticut.

One local event was a tour of WPA murals as well as an outing on a oyster boat. I led one of the mural tours, and Jeff and I were psyched to get out to the Norwalk Harbor. It was a a beautiful day. We learned a lot about the oyster business.

We also went to the re-opening of Mill Hill. The grounds had been landscaped with new signage added. We also enjoyed an art show which included preliminary versions of Alexander Rummler's WPA murals.

After Mill Hill, we headed home to pick up Lola for an hour hike at Cranbury Park. To top off the day, the Mets swept a double header, and Jeff cooked dinner.

It was a good day.

A WPA Mural Tour

Sunday I led one of three tours of WPA murals. This wasn't a typical tour because it also highlighted the launch of a new audio component, Otocast. I incorporated some of the audio into the tour. I didn't really like doing that. I prefer our usual inquiry based, interactive approach.

It was nice to get back in tour mode; it's been too long.

Miscellaneous Movie Musings

Last night I went to a movie premiere--no red carpet nor bright lights here. The film was a documentary, Enough to Live On: The Arts of the WPA. I'm interested because of my work as a WPA mural docent. I have mixed feelings. I enjoyed the film and learned new things, but it felt a little disjointed. I also got the feeling that the author/narrator/director loved the sound of his own voice--he was a bit too pompous and pretentious.

We watched The Man from UNCLE last weekend. I watched out of nostalgia. I loved the TV show. My cousin Cindy and I played our version of "UNCLE." I was Honey West and she played Jill Ireland. That's the actress's name; she played several roles on UNCLE. The film did nothing for me; most film versions of TV shows don't.

I found some notes--aborted posts--about films we watched a month or so ago.  I was psyched to see Ralph Bakshi’s The Lord of the Rings again. I had originally seen it the theater back in 1978. I liked it, but it wasn't as good as I remembered. Many scenes contained a jarring mix of animation and colored film of live actors. It took me out of the story.

We also watched Days of Heaven--directed by Terence Malick--one Sunday night. Jeff was not impressed. I've seen this film a few times. I loved the cinematography and Linda Manz' narration.

That got me thinking about narration I liked and disliked in films.

Liked: Linda Manz in Days of Heaven
Sissy Spacek in Badlands (another Malick film)
Fred MacMurray in Double Indemnity
William Holden in Sunset Boulevard
Woody Allen in Annie Hall
Kevin Spacey in Usual Suspects
Morgan Freeman in The Shawshank Redemption
Quvenzhane Wallis in Beasts of the Southern Wild

Disliked: Jean Shepard in A Christmas Story 

I'm not sure why I disliked narration in A Christmas Story. I wonder how I would have reacted if the narration were in the young character's voice. Something in the narration bugged me.

I thought Woody Allen's Manhattan also had narration, but I think it was just Woody narrating the first few lines of his novel.

I found this article on voice-overs helped me with my list.

"I'll Bet You $23.80."

I can't believe that I forgot about this line when I wrote about the 1930's Nancy Drew films in this post. As described on this Nancy Drew site, $23.80 was the weekly paycheck for WPA workers. WPA in pop culture again.

WPA Murals in Pop Culture

Last night we watched Elementary. The main plot was about a murderer of participants in a math quiz/scavenger hunt. A secondary plot concerned Joan Watson's interaction with Holmes' new assistant Kitty. As part of the secondary plot, Watson was investigating why a man known for finding values in real estate was interested in a dilapidated building.

The kicker: the dilapidated building had a WPA mural that had been painted over because the artist Diego Rivera was a communist. The mural's value far exceeded the building's value. The mural also had a great historical value.

I get a kick when I hear "SAT" type vocabulary words on TV shows. The reference to WPA was something similar, but more important. It reminds me that not everyone had forgotten the legacy of WPA art.

Muddled Musings

I've been relatively busy the past few weeks with tutoring.This has been a nice surprise--usually my slow time starts at the beginning of June. I had my last tutoring session yesterday for a while, so I got another week or two of more work than expected.

I use the word "relatively" deliberately. I work part-time--many fewer hours than the 40-hour standard. Sometimes I get frustrated; I wonder why I don't have time to accomplish more. Jeff kindly reminds me of transportation, preparation and follow-up that I do for each tutoring and teaching session. It makes me feel a little better, but I always feel that I'm not doing enough, falling behind.

In addition to work, I've been busy with my docent training. We had an introductory meeting, then five official training sessions followed by a field trip. We saw a few of the murals outside of City Hall, such as two in the Maritime Aquarium and five in the Norwalk Transit District. We also visited two active oystering businesses remaining in Norwalk: Norm Bloom and Hilliard Bloom. I shadowed a Stroll & Sip tour and co-led another. While most of this place in May, additional prep, planning and follow up work has extended into June. I'm hopeful that the work will grow in July.

Sometime last week or even earlier, I contacted poison ivy. I don't remember the last time I had poison ivy--it has to have been thirty years or more. At first I thought it was hives because this has been such a bad allergy season. I went to the dermatologist on Monday; the medication has helped a lot.

I start teaching two classes in July; I  have about three off weeks before then. It's not like a vacation. I have many projects that I need to accomplish from housework to marketing to subject tutoring prep (history) I can't let this time go to waste.

WPA Mural Docent Training

Norwalk has one of the largest collection of artworks from the 1930's Works Progress Administration; many are located in City Hall. Yesterday I had my second of five training sessions to become a docent. The eight of us in the program are from backgrounds of education, art history, history and marketing. 

Last week I read through a large spiral notebook of materials that the trainer provided. The materials include some good background information about art visualization techniques, and many factoids about the artists. But I was a bit frustrated. I needed more information--more facts about the artworks themselves (not just a list of people in some of the paintings.)

I had some trouble getting my point across, but finally made myself clear. A few people seemed to agree with me; one offered to give me some fact tidbits. Later the trainer acknowledged that all of us will bring something different to the program, and all of our tours will be different.

By the end of the session, I was having fun. I'm psyched about this program; I think I'll do a good job.