Crystal Bridges and Arkansas (the 45th State)

Crystal Bridges through Frederick Eversley's Big Red Lens

In my attempt to hightail it out of the Midwest for my sabbatical (beating the weather and winter in general), I dropped down into Arkansas to see Crystal Bridges and my 45th state of the union. Crystal Bridges is officially the only Walmart establishment I will ever willingly visit though it was difficult to shake the stigma despite it being a well respected art museum. Aside from the architecture and the grounds (which everyone raves about and rightfully so), I was most impressed by the sheer number of women and minorities that were represented in the collection. I could only hope that this becomes commonplace and not a detail that merits drawing attention to in the future.

Near the 20th century section (architect: Moshe Sofdie)

Nam June Paik's John Cage Robot II

Mark di Suvero's Lowell's Ocean through the window 

Gabriel Daye's Plexus 27 (featuring hundreds and hundreds of intricately placed threads in a stairwell)

Detail of Wayne Thiebaud's Supine Woman

Detail of Richard Estes' Antarctica, 2007

Arkansas from the Crystal Bridges Trail before I drove seven more hours to Amarillo, Texas reenacting my other career as a long haul truck driver.

"Material Time" with Will Knipscher at University of Dayton

Material Time with Will Knipscher opens tomorrow at Gallery 249 at the University of Dayton. Here are some photographs of the installation.

Cape Horn, Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, 2015

Cape Disappointment, Washington, 2015 and a piece from Where the Light Goes by Will

Two more images from Where the Light Goes and Miracle Hot Springs, Buhl, Idaho, 2014

Thunderbird Hotel, Marfa, Texas, 2013 and another work from Where the Light Goes

Kirkham Hot Springs, Idaho, 2015 on the right

Will's three dimensional origami prints showing the process of creating his photograms in the front and Cape Horn... and Hearst Castle, San Simeon, California, 2015 in the background.

The opening reception is from 5-7 PM tomorrow night with a gallery talk at 6 PM.

Arizona Inn Encore

I haven't met a location in the Autobiography in Water series that is as troublesome to resolve as the Arizona Inn in Tucson. I returned in October for a wedding and stayed there for the first time in my life. I recorded every moment I was in the pool, trying to swim multiple times a day. I made sound recordings of a very unusual bird song and swatted dozens of mosquitoes.

I even saved all the towels I used in the hotel room and documented them before returning them to the cabana laundry bin. I am hesitating on how to properly tie all of this together but on the bright side, I will be returning soon. May the answer come quickly as visiting all the locations in this series is coming to a rapid close.