Bestest Friend and I are doing a blog project. Each day we will write a blog post on a predetermined theme randomly chosen by a random noun generator. The theme for the fifth day of the month is "Drawing." I am such a bad artist that I've started taking photos of town landmarks and putting them through an app that creates pencil drawings.
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Oh, boy, I am scraping the bottom of the barrel for local landmarks here. There is a semi-famous poet who was born and raised in our town and there are a few murals with lines of her poetry when you walk through downtown. In January of 2021, our local Humane Society did a fundraiser where we did a scavenger hunt throughout the county and I have a photo of Hannah in front of one of those murals, although it's not a great photo of the mural or of Hannah.
This was obviously back when I didn't write about every stupid thing I did on my blog because there is no mention of the three weekends in a row that I went around with Hannah photographing her in different locations to the point where she started to refuse to face the camera. LOL at Hannah forever. I have approximately a million photos from this scavenger hunt and in each photo Hannah is looking more and more resentful.
ANYWAY. Back to the poet. In one of our parks, there's a sculpture of her. I am not going to say anything about the quality of this sculpture, but simply post it here.
And here's the version I've run through the drawing app.
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As always, I'd like to know which version of the photo your prefer. Who's the semi-famous person from your town? (I feel like I've asked this before. I HAVE! When I wrote about this same poet and actually showed you a photo of one of the murals. Forget the question. Is there a piece of not awesome public art around you that makes me chuckle when you see it?)
Is LN supposed to be kneeling or did they just forget her legs and feet?! Haha; I kid. It's dorky, but I kind of like the statue--esp. the mosaic because I like sparkly things. As of right now I prefer the actual sculpture, but the mosaic shapes would make this a fun sketch to color in...
ReplyDeleteI have no idea what's going on with this sculpture. It's whatever you want it to be! Kneeling or a long dressing hiding her feet. Who knows?!
DeleteHmm, yes, interesting sculpture! Does she not nave eyes? It's kind of creepy. I agree with Maya that the drawing looks like something you would color in (and add eyeballs!)
ReplyDeleteWHY DOESN'T SHE HAVE EYES?
DeleteThis sculpture is QUITE the interpretation. I do really like the mosaic quality of the skirt though, and the colors lead me to prefer the real version to the drawing-ized version. I would really love to know how the poet feels/felt about being memorialized in such a fashion. (I feel like my reaction would be simultaneously delight/gratitude, and also "...seriously?? that's how you see me???")
ReplyDeleteThere is a sculpture in a quirky, artsy neighborhood near me that is... not my favorite. But that's the great thing about art, right? It makes you react, and not always in a positive way.
I think the poet would be HORRIFIED by the fuss made over here in town. She was essentially a recluse for most of her life. There are hilarious stories about her at social events hiding in the corner. I mean, maybe she'd be grateful that her work is so beloved here, but mostly I think she'd hate the attention.
DeleteI like the picture better than the drawing - but the drawing is kind of creepy so perfect for this time of year.
ReplyDeleteSince the Twin Cities is so huge, we have quite a few famous people although it's hard to parse out who is FROM here v who LIVES/LIVED here. But Charles Schulz is definitely one of our claims to fame. But someone who is still living who is pretty famous in literary circles is Kate Dicamillo. Have you read anything by her? Paul and I are slowly "Because of Winn Dixie" although his interest wanes at times because there are no pictures. Winn Dixie is a dog so this might appeal to you. It would be a fast read!
KATE DICAMILLO Is AWESOME! I've read so many and cried at so many. Of COURSE I've read Because of Winn Dixie and The Tale of Despereaux and I even broke my rabbit ban and read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane! I heartily approve of this choice and have made a note to myself to read more Kate Dicamillo and Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan - *sob*)!
DeleteOMG--Kate DiCamillo is a rockstar! The new Ann Patchett (Tom Lake) is dedicated to her, if I remember right...
DeleteI like the one in colour because I think the mosaic is so pretty and some of the detail is lost in black and white.
ReplyDeleteHmm. No one super famous from my town. A quasi-famous Canadian artist - Alex Colville - was from here. The biggest star from locally would be hockey player Sidney Crosby who great up about an hour from where we currently live.
To add to the above - I LOVED Because of Winn Dixie (that could be a fun, quick book club read?!). I really need to read more by DiCamillo. She's incredible.
Yes! DiCamilio is so great. I definitely need to read more of her books. They're just so well done.
DeleteA few years ago, they put up a sculpture in a nearby city as a tribute to a local politician who was very active in leading the development of the area. It is the weirdest thing! 15 feet tall, which seems like a lot but it's at an intersection where 7 lanes of traffic each way split, so it seems smaller, somehow; white marble, and it's "abstract," meaning it looks like some kind of alien totem pole. It is ODD.
ReplyDeletePoor Hannah--Maggie gets sick of my paparazzi ways, too. She'll be looking straight at me until I point the camera at her, and then she looks anywhere else.
Imagine being that politician. I wonder if they're happy about being in the middle of an intersection. If I were responsible for "development" of an area, I think I'd cry, but maybe they'd see it as a compliment?
DeleteNow that I'm in Kelowna, I can say that there is a famous (or, semi-famous) Canadian band from Kelowna called The Grapes of Wrath. I was OBSESSED with them in the late 80s. OBSESSED! And now I'm living in the city that inspired the song "Backward Town" lolololol forever. Ah, where would we be without the angst of youth? Nowhere, that's where.
ReplyDeleteAlso! My husband is friends with a guy who went to school with some of the band members, and they were as angsty and tortured-artist as one might imagine.
I love how niche our semi-famous people are. We will have to find a way to be associated with fame SOMEHOW!
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