We spent Valentine's Day afternoon with Andy Warhol, Rudolf Nureyev, Rockwell Kent, Judge John Sirica, President Bush's Scotties and seven sinning seagulls (as in "seven deadly") at the Brandywine River Museum's Jamie Wyeth retrospective.
I'm certainly no art critic, but I thought it was an enjoyable and wonderfully put together exhibit, stretching from Jamie's childhood pencil drawings (he showed promise even then) through his recent work, in which he depicts a vivid recurring dream where he is standing with his father on the rocky coast of Maine's Monhegan Island.
I was especially struck by the actual physical texture of the paintings -- in "Bale" he actually used bits of hay in the paint, and the artist used thick layers of paint to depict the fleece of the sheep "Lady" and the ice in "Ice Floe" and "Berg."
In addition to his well-known portraits (like "Draft Age," Nureyev as Don Quixote, and the posthumous painting of President Kennedy), there are many paintings of animals, including dogs, chickens, ravens, owls, sheep, goats and horses. Two "tableaux vivant" were charming: they were imaginative, dollhouse-style dioramas depicting Andy Warhol's fashionable milieu in 1970s Manhattan. There are lots of paintings of Andy Warhol -- and one by Andy of Jamie.
One painting I had never seen before was of pediatric cardiologist Helen Taussig of Johns Hopkins. According to the label, it got a mixed reception when it was unveiled because it emphasized her fierce intelligence rather than her gentler side.
The show is at the River Museum through April 5. If you go, don't miss the photograph of Jamie Wyeth as you start the exhibit on the second floor -- it was taken by local photographer Jim Graham.
A special shout-out to the Unionville friends who gave us passes to the show -- very much appreciated!
Saturday, February 14, 2015
Friday, February 13, 2015
BAYARD TAYLOR LIBRARY: Repeating the past, unfortunately
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it," said George Santayana.
The Bayard Taylor Memorial Library board should have heeded this wisdom before deciding to change the library's name to the Kennett Public Library.
In 2000 I was on the library board, and we decided that the library would be better able to serve the public if we built a new library "outside of town." We bought the property and announced the move, confident that everyone would agree with us that this was a great idea and we'd have no trouble raising the money. A bigger library! Easy parking!
We were wrong. Boy howdy, were we wrong.
We were naïve and completely underestimated the public's attachment to the idea of an old-fashioned, in-town library that people could walk to. A firestorm of criticism came our way, completely derailing plans for the new library.
Alas, the 2015 library board has done exactly the same thing. They hung a banner across State Street and trumpeted the new name and logo (a blue blob with a K in it), claiming with great enthusiasm that it reflects a modern and accessible library that is moving forward. A nifty 3D printer! Cool teen programs!
I could have predicted the result. People are calling the library board misguided, arrogant, secretive and short-sighted, the same phrases we heard over and over again back in 2000. They're accusing the library of jettisoning its heritage, wasting money and not listening to the public. An online petition to keep the name is being circulated.
To be sure, some people like the name change, others don't care, and still others say "that's what I call the library anyway!" And I'm also sure that the members of the library board are genuinely good, community-minded people, operating from the very best of intentions.
But a controversy of this sort is a very bad way to make friends and launch a multimillion-dollar capital campaign.
I speak from hard-earned experience.
The Bayard Taylor Memorial Library board should have heeded this wisdom before deciding to change the library's name to the Kennett Public Library.
In 2000 I was on the library board, and we decided that the library would be better able to serve the public if we built a new library "outside of town." We bought the property and announced the move, confident that everyone would agree with us that this was a great idea and we'd have no trouble raising the money. A bigger library! Easy parking!
We were wrong. Boy howdy, were we wrong.
We were naïve and completely underestimated the public's attachment to the idea of an old-fashioned, in-town library that people could walk to. A firestorm of criticism came our way, completely derailing plans for the new library.
Alas, the 2015 library board has done exactly the same thing. They hung a banner across State Street and trumpeted the new name and logo (a blue blob with a K in it), claiming with great enthusiasm that it reflects a modern and accessible library that is moving forward. A nifty 3D printer! Cool teen programs!
I could have predicted the result. People are calling the library board misguided, arrogant, secretive and short-sighted, the same phrases we heard over and over again back in 2000. They're accusing the library of jettisoning its heritage, wasting money and not listening to the public. An online petition to keep the name is being circulated.
To be sure, some people like the name change, others don't care, and still others say "that's what I call the library anyway!" And I'm also sure that the members of the library board are genuinely good, community-minded people, operating from the very best of intentions.
But a controversy of this sort is a very bad way to make friends and launch a multimillion-dollar capital campaign.
I speak from hard-earned experience.
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
SAY WHAT? When I run the world, things will be different
Well, aren't you lucky, Tilda is in the mood to gripe about some annoyances of the first-world variety.
1. Press releases that don't explain what the group is until the very last sentence. I read an article in a local paper that was a press release from a group whose name I didn't recognize. It started out talking about a competition the group was sponsoring, and some changes in the rules. I kept reading, almost hypnotized, thinking I must have missed what the contest was all about. Not a word of explanation until the final sentence, when the press-release writer finally decided to say the group was all about promoting gardens in public places.
2. Groups that use acronyms without explaining them. A friend forwarded a press release from an equestrian organization that used just its four-letter acronym. What does it stand for? I looked up the group's Facebook page -- and, almost unbelievably, again just the acronym! It wasn't until you drilled down to the group's website that you found out what the letters stood for. And how many people are going to take the time to do that?
3. Promulgating confusing online surveys with repetitive questions. I took a survey today from one of my favorite retailers (the carrot was that they offered a chance to win a $500 gift card). After the first routine, straightforward questions, it asked you to rate the most important and least important of four qualities for online shopping. The question was then repeated 29 more times (literally), with varied combinations of the same qualities over and over again. Honestly, what's the difference between "friendly" and "helpful" salespeople? How do you compare the importance of whether your size is in stock with whether the shipping is fast or the check-out is easy? Fortunately on the final screen there was a comment box asking about the "survey experience." You can bet that I vented.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
CHOCOLATE FEST: Cake, brownies, cookies, fudge ... and lots more
One of the better decisions I've made recently was buying early-admission tickets to this year's Chocolate Lovers' Festival, the hugely successful fundraiser for the United Way of Southern Chester County. After last year's claustrophobically crowded event, the organizers were smart to offer the "connoisseur" tickets; in fact, all 200 advance tickets were snapped up ahead of time.
We got into the Kennett High School gym at 1 p.m. sharp and started looking around. The first sample I took was a chocolate "shooter" from Talula's Table -- scrumptious. Then we saw Robin Mastrippolito of Embreeville, who urged us to try her third-prize-winning chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and butterscotch mousse filling, and of course we did so.
Some of the other goodies we tried were chocolate-covered potato chips from Neuchatel; a wonderful raspberry and chocolate cake; and Jackie Maas's "groovy fudge," which was white chocolate with a psychedelic multicolored pattern. We had some problems at first figuring out how to eat the chocolate and peanut butter crepes with only a plastic fork. But we managed; oh, the sacrifices we make for this column!
My companion said his favorite of the many cookie entries was one of Carol Yetter's chocolate-drizzled oatmeal cookies. He also marveled at one chocolate cake whose icing was so smooth and glistening that it looked like glass.
We were amused by the friendly youths who were serving up the goodies: they seemed to be competing with each other to showcase their wares. One used the sales pitch that even a half of his double-chocolate cookie was the equivalent of a whole single-chocolate cookie-- which is what the fellow next to him was offering.
After eating maybe five samples, we were surprised to find ourselves sated. We went to the beverage table, snagged a bottle of water (milk was available as well) and sat on the bleachers for five minutes to recover before returning to the fray.
People-watching was fun. In addition to Robin, we saw Donna Murray, Mary Sproat, Claire Murray, Dave Salomaki, Rich Schwartzman, Corinne Sweeney, and lots of families. (In fact, we were so full at the end that we didn't redeem all our tickets and ended up giving them to the father of a little girl.)
As a special bonus, on the way out we ran into The Cranky Friend, who was on his way in.
"You paid $50 to eat chocolate?!" he asked with a measure of outrage, trying unsuccessfully to hide his envy. We waddled past the long line of eager attendees waiting outside, returned to our vehicle in the now-crowded parking lot, and headed off to the White Clay Creek Preserve to try to walk off some calories.
This year's event, the third, was a great improvement over last year's: we got to actually see all the offerings and there were no lines at all.
We got into the Kennett High School gym at 1 p.m. sharp and started looking around. The first sample I took was a chocolate "shooter" from Talula's Table -- scrumptious. Then we saw Robin Mastrippolito of Embreeville, who urged us to try her third-prize-winning chocolate cake with chocolate mousse and butterscotch mousse filling, and of course we did so.
Some of the other goodies we tried were chocolate-covered potato chips from Neuchatel; a wonderful raspberry and chocolate cake; and Jackie Maas's "groovy fudge," which was white chocolate with a psychedelic multicolored pattern. We had some problems at first figuring out how to eat the chocolate and peanut butter crepes with only a plastic fork. But we managed; oh, the sacrifices we make for this column!
My companion said his favorite of the many cookie entries was one of Carol Yetter's chocolate-drizzled oatmeal cookies. He also marveled at one chocolate cake whose icing was so smooth and glistening that it looked like glass.
We were amused by the friendly youths who were serving up the goodies: they seemed to be competing with each other to showcase their wares. One used the sales pitch that even a half of his double-chocolate cookie was the equivalent of a whole single-chocolate cookie-- which is what the fellow next to him was offering.
After eating maybe five samples, we were surprised to find ourselves sated. We went to the beverage table, snagged a bottle of water (milk was available as well) and sat on the bleachers for five minutes to recover before returning to the fray.
People-watching was fun. In addition to Robin, we saw Donna Murray, Mary Sproat, Claire Murray, Dave Salomaki, Rich Schwartzman, Corinne Sweeney, and lots of families. (In fact, we were so full at the end that we didn't redeem all our tickets and ended up giving them to the father of a little girl.)
As a special bonus, on the way out we ran into The Cranky Friend, who was on his way in.
"You paid $50 to eat chocolate?!" he asked with a measure of outrage, trying unsuccessfully to hide his envy. We waddled past the long line of eager attendees waiting outside, returned to our vehicle in the now-crowded parking lot, and headed off to the White Clay Creek Preserve to try to walk off some calories.
This year's event, the third, was a great improvement over last year's: we got to actually see all the offerings and there were no lines at all.
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