Blog Archives
Silly String, the battle
At this point, everyone in our whole family has had a COVID-influenced birthday. It started with mine in March, went through two June and and one July birthday, and ended with a pair of January birthdays.
I have to say that we’ve made these crazy birthdays fun and unforgettable to the very best of our abilities. On this day, when my granddaughter Bennett turned seven, we ate pizza outside, sitting in circles that my son spray-painted on the grass. And then, after pizza, some (socially-distanced) fun with Silly String.
But we are lucky: we’ve been mostly healthy. We have friends and family. We all have the same jobs we had at the beginning*. We have Silly String. And we all fully realize that puts us in a category that not everyone gets to be in.
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.21.2021
*Except the Patient Spouse, who retired in December.
Slice
I happened upon this metal-building cemetery chapel at just the right time of day.* The sun was slicing across the windows on the south side, reaching toward the ones on the east. For a metal building, it wasn’t all that bad.
Idalou, Texas
photographed 1.17.2021
* I could tell you that I carefully plotted my visit to get the sun angle. But you know I’d be lying, so why even take the effort, when I can just be upfront about it all. As my friend Andy always says, “…and it has the added benefit of being the truth.”
Death and the open door
It seemed like maybe someone accidentally left the door open, giving Death a chance to just waltz right in.
But then again, has a closed door ever really stopped Death?
Idalou, Texas
photographed 1.17.2021
Read Reader (snow)
Terry Allen – really, you should know about him. The thing is, though, it is almost impossible to know where to start. His Wikipedia page says he’s an “American Texas country and outlaw country singer-songwriter, painter and conceptual artist.” And that’s true. But barely touches the surface of what he’s done. He’s recorded several albums, including the incredible Lubbock (on everything). His songs have been recorded by everyone from Guy Clark to David Byrne.
And, so then, in his spare time, he’s also a talented visual artist and sculptor. His work can be seen in places as diverse as the New York Museum of Modern Art, the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art, The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. You know, just to name a few.
Additionally, he and his wife, the artist and playwright Jo Harvey Allen, have recently established the Terry and Jo Harvey Allen Center for Creative Studies at Texas Tech, and have donated their personal papers to the university.
Want to know more? Here’s a song, Gimme a Ride to Heaven, that I’d recommend. Or, maybe you’re in the mood for a short film? (The film is produced by Lubbock’s own Paul Allen Hunton, if you were wondering.)
This piece, “Read Reader,” is made entirely out of cast books. And on a snowy morning, the figure seems to be striding with much determination toward the university library.
“Read Reader”
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.10.2021
Square Spiral Arch (snow)
More snow, more public art.
This piece, Square Spiral Arch, is by Jesús Moroles. It features spiraling lines of texture – which are enhanced by the snow clinging to them – to represent fingers of energy. The circle and square motif represents heaven and earth and are reflective of the artist’s work and travels in Asia. (from Texas Tech’s public art app, ArTTech.)
“Square Spiral Arch”
Texas Tech University
Lubbock, Texas
photographed 1.10.2021
