Whoo! Couple of days behind, and a lot of stuff to tell. Lessee, where to start?
Marg and I started Aikido classes with the club at the University this week. So far we know the very basicest basics about how to stand, how to roll backwards without breaking your head, and how to turn in ways that will become the foundation for most of the discipline to come. It sounds dull typed here, but it's a way lot of fun. Plus, we got to see a guy juggling in a racquetball court on our way to class Tuesday.
Over the weekend, we saw
Kill Bill vol. 1. QT has managed to make a film that, among other things, is a masterpiece of Tarantino-style filmmaking. It has everything that people think Tarantino films are about in spades. It's also a loving sendup of decades of B-movie martial arts pics, in the same way that
Pulp Fiction was partly a spoof of the 'buddy movie' and Blaxploitation genres. Finally, in some fashion (I read this somewhere but I forget where) it reminds one of a two-hour version of the Black Knight segment of
Holy Grail, which somehow manages to be totally gratuitous without ever getting dull or stale.
Your reaction to the film, I expect, is entirely predictable based on how you react to those last three statements. We both loved it, and I think there can be no doubting Tarantino's command of his craft in this film. However, if you don't like his kind of film, I bet you really won't like this one, as it represents a kind of distillation of his approach.
Finally,
Musica.
Alan LeQuire, the guy who made the fantastic Athena Parthenos in the Nashville Parthenon, has created another sculptural masterpiece. It was commissioned by an anonymous donor for the City of Nashville to celebrate the musical arts. It's thought to be the largest bronze figure group in the United States. From the
Nashville Record:MUSICA is the creation of sculptor Alan LeQuire. The 40-foot tall work celebrates Nashville's rich musical heritage and ever-increasing cultural diversity through nine graceful bronze human forms joined together through the spirit of joy and the natural rhythms of dance.
"MUSICA is a vibrant tribute to Nashville's creative community," said LeQuire. "Dance is the physical expression of music and the piece is intended to convey that energy to the viewer in a composition which is simple, exuberant and celebratory. The dancing figures pay tribute to the abundant spring of music that flows constantly and naturally from Nashville, branching into different genres and reaching audiences with varied tastes the world-over. The nine figures represent different ethnic and racial backgrounds. In this way, MUSICA is also a celebration of the goal of racial harmony and diversity in America and the world."
So, we went to the unveiling on Saturday. There was the enormous statue, covered by a greenish parachute (which Tymme wanted). Backlit by the low late afternoon sun from our approach up Demonbreun Avenue, the piece was almost visible in silhouette, and what one could see looked great. There was a nice crowd around. An art show from a number of local galleries and groups (including the
Madison Art Center), a music stage, and a bunch of food made for quite the festive atmosphere.
Six o'clock rolls around, the speeches are concluded, and a sax quartet starts playing. The huge honking big-ass crane starts to lift up on the wires connected to the veil for the Grand Revealing.
Uh-oh. Is that thing caught on an enormous bronze hand? Crap, make that several hands and other body parts. Riiiipppppp. Ping! The ropes connecting the tarp to the crane part. Tymme winces as irreparable damage is done to the lovely parachute. We wince as it becomes clear that The Moment is going to be more like The Long, Drawn-Out Untangling.
Oddly enough, in the end it's almost better this way. A single moment of drama is replaced with twenty minutes of excitement and repeated spells of oohing/aahing, as assistants with long poles clear the parachute from the bronze bits it's twisted around and reattach the crane's cables. Little Lttle by little, the work sees the light of the setting sun. By the time the parachute finally clears the piece for good, the audience is totally keyed up.
Luckily,
Musica is truly magnificent. Wow. A little bit of the idea comes across
here, on LeQuire's site, but you've really just got to see it. As
the Tick might say,
"Oh Whoa! KEEN!"
