Tour Secret Shopper at Laumeier

“Earthmover” by Marie Watt at Laumeier Sculpture Park

This article appeared in the GO! Supplement of the Saint Louis Post Dispatch on Friday August 17, 2018. The writer did not identify herself as a reporter. Needless to say, I felt like I passed the “secret shopper” test after reading it a couple of weeks after the tour I lead was featured in the story.

LAUMEIER SCULPTURE PARK TOURS WHEN 2 p.m. first Sunday of month – WHERE Laumeier Sculture Park, 12580 Rott Road – HOW MUCH $5 – MORE INFO 314-615-5278; laumeiersculpturepark.org

You can walk around Laumeier Sculpture Park for free any day of the week. So is it worth paying $5 for a one-hour tour? A friend and I went to find out. A regular outdoor tour is scheduled at 2 p.m. the first Sunday of every month. (See the park’s website for groups and other tours). Only five tour takers braved the muggy Summer day to walk around the 105-acre park and view many of its 60 pieces of artwork.

Docent Wes Morgan, wearing a Cardinal’s jerseys says he’s been giving tours for years, but he clearly still loves doing it, happily recalling things like who pursued the purchase of many sculptures and how long the pieces have been at the park. We started at the Aronson Fine Arts Center and soon rambled south, stoping at sculptures to learn more about their history, maker and material.

Sculpture Parks’ allure comes not just from how the art is placed in nature, but sheer size of many sculptures, Against a woody backdrop, a giant deer looks lifelike (if in a science fiction movie). A half- buried tire looks like something one might find on a vacant lot. But when Morgan explains how the artist alludes to both Cahokia Mounds and modern technology, the lowly tire acquires gravitas and its placement seems perfect.

A clockwise walk around the park allowed us to take in a great many of the artworks, and Morgan was still headed toward more after the hour was long spent.

Note that much of the walking was over uneven slightly hilly ground; people in wheelchairs might need to ask if the tour could be modified.

Laumeier has excellent signage for its collection so some of what the tour offered could be read on one’s own. What was extremely helpful, though were answers about previous sculptures (some had been on loan and were gone) and tales about how a few have been damaged by weather or vandalism. The tour not only offered more information and background on the artwork, but it also propelled us out of the air-conditioned indoors and to a captivating destination that caters to art-lovers, families, tourists, and even dog walkers. BY JANE HENDERSON

Is there room in our society for John W. Burns?

Is there room in our society for John W. Burns?

If so why? If not, why not?

At Lakewood High School (OH) our Civics class period periodically featured a movie with some thoughtful questions raised for summative assessment purposes. The question in the title of this blog I remember verbatim and repeated often among classmates with a bit of light-hearted sarcasm. Here are four movies I recall were part of our Civic instruction. In hindsight, it could be part of the reason I am so fond of classic films. 

Lonely are the Brave (1962) - When itinerant cowboy and drifter John W. (Jack) Burns hears that his old friend Paul Bondi has been sentenced to two years for aiding and abetting illegal immigrants, he returns to Duke City, New Mexico to Bondi's home. After a reunion with Bondi's wife Jerry and finding he can't visit Bondi in jail the nonconformist Burns sets out to join his old friend in the county jail on a drunk and disorderly charge. Burns gets into a brawl in a local cantina, but when the police decide to release him because of jail overcrowding, he assaults a policeman and is facing a one year jail term. Burns is disappointed to find that his friend does not want to escape and risk a longer sentence but do his time and return to his family. Using two hacksaws smuggled in his boot, Burns and two cell mates break out of jail and Burns heads for the Mexican border. Now facing a five year term for his escape, a sentence he could not endure because of his fiercely independent nature, he and his faithful horse Whiskey race up the mountain range to freedom with the authorities in hot pursuit. (John W. Burns is played by Kirk Douglas)

The Incident (1967) - Stark melodrama about two thrill seeking tough guys who terrorize late-night passengers on a New York City train. The random victims are more concerned with their own problems than helping each other and pray that they won't be next. But it's going to take a lot more than prayer to end this nightmare of fear and violence. Film debut of both Martin Sheen and Tony Musante as the hoodlums

The Ox-Box Incident (1943) - The Ox-Bow Incident takes place in Nevada in 1885 and begins with Art Croft (Harry Morgan) and Gil Carter (Henry Fonda) riding into the town of Bridger's Wells. They go into Darby's Saloon and find that the atmosphere is subdued, in part because of the recent incidents of cattle-rustling (the stealing of livestock) in the vicinity. Everyone wants to catch the thieves. Gil learns that his former girlfriend left town at the start of the spring and drinks heavily to drown his sorrows. Art and Gil are possible rustler suspects simply because they are not often seen in town. The townspeople are wary of them, and a fight breaks out between Gil and a local rancher named Farnley. Immediately after the fight, another man races into town on horseback, goes into the saloon and announces that a rancher named Larry Kinkaid has been murdered. The townspeople immediately form a posse to pursue the murderers, who they believe to be the cattle rustlers. 

12 Angry Men (1957) - The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young man is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open-and-shut case of murder soon becomes a detective story that presents a succession of clues creating doubt, and a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other. Based on the play, all of the action takes place on the stage of the jury room. This movie starred Henry Fonda as the juror that stood his ground until justice prevailed. 

The Dude Abides with Cecil B. Demille Award

Jeff Bridges gave an epic acceptance speech upon receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the 2019 Golden Globes (1/6/19). It made me smile. Among other things, he said he was lucky to work with Michael Cimino. Bridges reported going into the first time director’s office before shooting, and saying “Man, I’m so sorry, but I think you made a terrible mistake. I’m not feeling this guy at all. I feel so inadequate. I’m giving you late notice, I know, but please fire me.” Cimino’s response: “Jeff, you know the game tag? ...You’re it. You are the guy. You couldn’t make a mistake if you wanted to. You know, the life of this character is coming through you. It’s a done deal.”  

Bridges went on to say it was a wonderful vote of confidence and a great perspective. Jeff Bridges says he used it in the film — and in all the other movies as well as in his life. “You know, I’ve been tagged. I guess we all have been tagged, right? We’re all alive. Right here, right now! This is happening. We’re alive!”

 Globes

In a way only Bridges can, he added: “One guy, he had nothing to do with the movies, but I’ve taken a lot of direction from him. That’s Bucky Fuller. Bucky, he’s most famous for the geodesic dome, but he made a great observation about these oceangoing tankers.” Fuller noticed that the engineers were particularly challenged by how to turn these huge vessels. “They got this big rudder, it took too much energy to turn the rudder to turn the ship. So they came up with a brilliant idea, to put a little rudder on the big rudder. The little rudder will turn the big rudder, the big rudder will turn the ship. The little rudder is called a trim tab. Bucky made the analogy that a trim tab is an example of how the individual is connected to society and how we affect society. And I like to think of myself as a trim tab. All of us are trim tabs. We might seem like we’re not up to the task, but we are, man. We’re alive! We can make a difference! We can turn this ship in the way we wanna go, man! Towards love, creating a healthy planet for all of us. So I wanna thank the Hollywood Foreign Press for tagging me, and I wanna tag you all. You’re all trim tabs. Tag, you’re it! Thank you!”

Note: I have paraphrased Bridges a bit here, but I think you get the gist. We can all be trim tabs!

Movies Highlights 2018

The Golden Globes are on tonight and next month I’ll surely be tuned in to the Oscars. Here are some movies I enjoyed in 2018.

Eigth Grade In his feature film directorial debut, comedian Bo Burnham deftly encapsulates the awkwardness, angst, self-loathing and reinvention that a teenage girl goes through on the cusp of high school. Given that the 27-year-old stand-up comic achieved fame as a teenager himself through YouTube by riffing on his insecurities, he is uniquely capable as the film's writer and director to tell the story of Kayla, an anxious girl navigating the final days of her eighth grade year, despite creating a protagonist who is female instead of male. Directed by Bo Burnham and released in August 2018.

 

A Star Is Born depicts the raw and passionate tale of Jack and Ally, two artistic souls coming together, on stage and in life. Oscar-nominated music superstar Gaga in her first leading role in a major motion picture. Cooper directed the movie and portrays seasoned musician Jackson Maine, who discovers and falls in love with struggling artist Ally. In theaters October 5, 2018

Another movie by the same name (A Star is Born) was relweased in 1954 about a Hollywood actor Norman Maine (played by James Mason) is a celebrity whose star is on the wane but meets aspiring actress Esther Blodgett (played by Judy Garland) directed by George Cukor. Turner Classic Movie channel recently presented this film and was a fun counterpoint to Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga.

 

RBG is a revelatory documentary exploring Ginsburg 's exceptional life and career from Betsy West and Julie Cohen, and co-produced by Storyville Films and CNN Films released May 4, 2018.

On The Basis of Sex tells an inspiring true story about the young lawyer Ruth Bader Ginsburg as she teams with her husband Marty to bring a groundbreaking case before the U.S. Court of Appeals and overturn a century of gender discrimination.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor? Filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children's TV show Released June 8, 2018.

Bohemian Rhapsody is a celebration of Queen, their music and their extraordinary lead singer Freddie Mercury. The film traces the meteoric rise of the band through their iconic songs and revolutionary sound. Directed by Bryan Singer and released November2, 2018

The Green Book Tony Lip, a bouncer from an Italian-American neighborhood in the Bronx, is hired to drive Dr. Don Shirley (Ali), a world-class Black pianist, on a concert tour from Manhattan to the Deep South, they must rely on "The Green Book" to guide them to the few establishments that were then safe for African-Americans. Directed by Peter Farrelly and in theaters November 21, 2018

Mary Queen of Scots explores the turbulent life of the charismatic Mary Stuart. Queen of France at 16 and widowed at 18, Mary defies pressure to remarry. Instead, she returns to her native Scotland to reclaim her rightful throne. But Scotland and England fall under the rule of the compelling Elizabeth I. Directed by Josie Rourke and in theaters by Dec 7, 2018.

VICE explores the epic story about how a bureaucratic Washington insider quietly became the most powerful man in the world as Vice-President to George W. Bush, reshaping the country and the globe in ways that we still feel today. Written and directed by Adam McKay released December 25, 2018.

Modern Times Chaplin's last 'silent' film, filled with sound effects, was made when everyone else was making talkies. Charlie turns against modern society, the machine age and progress. Firstly we see him frantically trying to keep up with a production line, tightening bolts. He is selected for an experiment with an automatic feeding machine, but various mishaps leads his boss to believe he has gone mad, and Charlie is sent to a mental hospital - When he gets out, he is mistaken for a communist while waving a red flag, sent to jail, foils a jailbreak, and is let out again. We follow Charlie through many more escapades before the film is out.  Paulette Goddard plays Chaplin’s love interest. Thanks again to Turner Classic Movies...Chaplin's movie from1936 is a reminder that films have enduring value.