29 January 2009

Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden, DC




These two sculptures posses more fortitude, power, dynamics and human strength than almost 50% of the living, breathing elected population in DC. When art is stagnant or boring few notice it.

Like Picasso, who actually created todays "market" mentality affecting contemporary art, so too will our politicians fall victim, as GM recently learned, to the rehashing and support of a product, bill or agenda that few want. No one needs a sculpture but everyone feels something that he or she never experienced before encountering this object in the public space.

Who needs a vehicle which gets less than 20 MPG when China has higher EPA standards for its cars than our "forward thinking" government? And Chrysler, which we bailed out once before, may rethink encouraging their artists sculpting prototypes of the "future" to change their giant boxes of ego on wheels. Try surpassing the Chevy Impala Bathtub Car into something beautiful and efficient.

Detroit, one day, will have sculpture gardens and a new vision that NO ONE, now, AT GENERAL MOTORS has. Again they ask for handouts, blind to new vision. Like Bethlehem Steels; old site, being turned into a casino on a river next to a slum, Old Business As Usual will lead to economic downturn, crime and ultimately ignore the immediate culture in its neighborhood. Louisville's river front developement is a beautiful model for any city emerging from a post-industrial age attempt at urban renewal. Imagine Kentucky having this attitude about the tobacco "market"?

The most obscene object I ever saw was a full sized Ford Truck parked at an auto show in the beach town in Pinamar, Argentina. I apologized to my friends for this encroachment on their culture and intelligent-design way of approahing life and navigating in high mileage, efficient and beautiful small cars of ALL sizes. Argentina happens to have most of the Ford Falcons that left the USA for some reason decades ago...go figure why Ford tossed this model into the trash. So, as Lee Iaacoca told me, "If you can find a better car, then buy it." I did exactly what he said: TOYOTA. At 240,000 miles my TOYOTA still runs well, clean oil drips from the stick and averages 30 mpg after, count them, EIGHTEEN years. May you, DETROIT, recycle your unsold gas hogs into a better and efficient product. Likewise:

I say, "If you can find a better politician in your state, then elect her!"
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