Kathmandu Walk
Cris and I usually walk to and from the Hotel Tibet to the World Education office, but since it is monsoon and has been raining in the mornings we only walk back at the end of the day. It takes about 45 minutes and, while it can be a bit sweaty and dusty, I really look forward to it. Yesterday I stopped to take the picture below and then this young man shot me this lovely smile.
It is interesting to be in a country where so much work is still done by hand.
Thanks for following along.
David Beck 1953 – 2018
It is very rare in our lives to be around genius. I was so fortunate to spend several days with David Beck in his San Francisco studio back in 2005 when Peter Carroll and I worked on a film about David for the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Claire Larkin at SAAM hired Peter to make a short film about David’s piece “MVSEVM”, and I was hired to shoot stills and help set things up.
I remember that David didn’t particularly like to be called a miniaturist even though the scale of his work was often quite small.
I was terribly saddened today when Claire emailed to say that David had died. Here is his obit in the Times.
David was truly a genius. I was completely in awe of his creativity and craftsmanship. His spirit and sense of playfulness were as abundant as his talents.
During the shoot the four of us laughed so much and had an absolute blast together. As we were packing up and getting ready to leave, I lost a bet with him about the name of the actress that played the lead in the Munsters. He nailed it with Yvonne DeCarlo.
Peter’s film is linked above, and “MVSEVM is on permanent display at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in D.C. Watch Peter’s film and listen to David’s voice, which sadly will not be heard again.
Boudhanath / Full Moon
Last night was the full moon and Cris thought it might be a nice idea to go to Boudhanath Stupa and have a stroll around. We have come here quite often, but always during the day.
It was a beautiful evening, the temperature was perfect, and the feeling was very peaceful and relaxing.
This giant prayer wheel spins constantly and is just inside the doors of the little temple on the site.
The area is really interesting. One enters the main gate at 6 on a clock face and everyone strolls quietly around in a clockwise direction. The stupa is on the inside of the clock and is surrounded on the outside by restaurants, guesthouses, and smaller business enterprises. Dogs and pigeons are everywhere.
Nepal is so interesting in terms of religion. The culture here blends Hinduism and Buddhism in what seems to me a beautiful way. I have talked to Nepali friends about this and it seems quite natural to them. If you think about religion in the West, there isn’t so much crossover. The closest I can think of to this is Unitarianism, which is how I was raised, and seems to encourage people to take the best of all religions and build a personal philosophy around what you find useful. One year my Sunday School was called “The Church Across the Street” and we spent the entire time visiting just about every church and denomination in Meadville. I loved the Holy Rollers.
Because one walks in a circle around the stupa it is easy to just keep going without realizing where you entered, which I eventually figured out is one reason for the visit. I just had the feeling that it would be possible to walk all evening and not feel the time passing. It was a lovely experience.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #11)
New York State Fair in Syracuse. Shot in 1980. I did a quick search for Red online and unfortunately nothing came up. Anyone out there ever see him back in the day?
The Hope and Feathers exhibit opens on the 4th. All these prints will be for sale at the gallery and online on my Photo Shelter site. The online site will include images that didn’t make it on the walls due to space limitations.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #10)
I have delivered all of the American Demographics photos to Hope and Feathers for framing. I get back from Nepal on the 1st and the show will be hung on the 2nd. The opening is Thursday the 4th.
I had heard that a house was to be moved in Ithaca and went down to hang out and watch the action. These two guys seemed to be enjoying themselves. You can just make out the corner of the house that is attached to this cool Peterbuilt. Robby Aceto did a great job on the colors.
Hope to see you on the 4th.
Nepal 2018
We tried something different this year on our trip to Kathmandu. Instead of going through Dubai we opted to fly Qatar Airways through Doha. It was a nice long flight and the Doha airport is wild. Here is the giant teddy bear with a lamp on its head. Quite bizarre.
The flight to Kathmandu from Doha was 4 1/2 hours and I was getting a bit tired and bored.
It is always great to get off the plane and be in Nepal. You can deplane from the front and back just like in Long Beach!
They have renovated our usual room at the Hotel Tibet. Brilliant sunset last night from our window. / We have today to goof around before Cris starts her World Education work tomorrow. Cheers and thanks for following.
American Demographics / Hope and Feathers Exhibit (Image #2)
This photo was taken in Columbus, Ohio in late December of 1981. I almost felt compelled to knock on the door and see if they wanted to interview me. It was an unsettling time in my life. / Those Millar Mitts do go way back.
I’m working on my statement for the exhibit and will continue to post here whenever Hope and Feathers start putting details online. Have a great weekend everyone and thanks for following.
An Interesting Day or Two
Yesterday I took the train from Stratford upon Avon to Marylebone London. It was raining.
I made it with plenty of time to spare to make the 5.30 kickoff for the Fulham v Derby County match (ended in a 1-1 draw, but still fun).
After the match I walked back to my hotel past my favorite row of houses. Most of them have these amazing stained glass doors. Mind blowingly beautiful.
This morning I had a bit of a plan that started in Bishop’s Park.
I wanted to walk past the Cottage again. Last night, I entered the ground through door 36. Quite narrow.
I really like these graphic tiles set into the pavements along the Thames Walk. Especially the smell lines coming out of the poo.
Next stop was The Dove in Hammersmith for a pint of ESB. Nice
I started inside in the tiny bar and then moved to the deck out back.
Just before I got to my ultimate destination (next photo), I got a text from Cris at home telling me to call immediately. This is why; a giant fookin’ tree had fallen on my Element, and had knocked over my Vespa. I think the Element might just be toast, but the Vespa could be ok. Kind of put a damper on things.
Many years ago John Wilson surprised me at the end of a very long walk along the Thames with this view.
Here is a closer look at the Naked Ladies of Twickenham.
And another.
I made it back to the Dove for more beer and a Sunday roast. Tomorrow I have some meetings with folks interested in the suitcase project. V exciting.
Huntington Library
I was back at The Huntington yesterday for my annual visit to the Blue Boy. It is breathtaking. It’s quite impossible to look at a reproduction and get any sense of just how amazing this painting is in person.
At the opposite end of the gallery is this painting by Thomas Lawrence which is commonly referred to as “Pinkie”. I had never really paid much attention to her, but it is pretty easy to get lost in gazing at it.
It was very hot yesterday so I didn’t walk around the gardens for long. There are lots of ginkgo trees on the grounds. I grew up with one in my side yard in Meadville and clearly remember climbing it as a boy. It was the only one I ever saw as a kid, and is still my favorite tree.
As I walked over a little bridge in the Japanese garden, these guys showed up thinking I might feed them. Sorry I couldn’t oblige.
Willard Patient Dress / Part 2
This is the back of the dress that I posted the other day.
There is more of the beautiful orange thread on this side, as well as some very fanciful figures.
In the image below, I love how the two horizontal lines at the bottom of the dress seem to me to indicate water. And is that a spigot just above the lines?
Here is the reverse side of the above figure. I was thinking at the time we were shooting that people who do embroidery might like to see this view.
This figure is similar to one on the front of the dress.
The faces she does are so expressive.
Here is another detail of a hand, and I am not sure what is represented coming out of what appears to be a pocket.
The figure below in the box looks like either a kind of face or something from the depths of the ocean.
Is this another face?
Her use of lines is very cool.
I have been trying to figure out how the grid below fits in to the overall design. At first I thought it represented a building, but I am not so sure.
And here are just a few more shots of the reverse side of the dress.
Thanks for checking this out. I will continue my efforts to find the name of the Willard patient who created this. In the meantime you can continue to see the latest uploads of the cases at the Willard Suitcases site.
Jon Crispin's Notebook 
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