It was like winning the lottery. Stranded at Chicago O'Hare, my name was called for the last remaining standby seat on the 5:10 plane to Sioux Falls. Amazing luck, yes? My suitcase finally caught up with me today, and I've been nesting with books and cats and coffee. It was a wonderful trip, but I'm glad to be home again.

On my last day in upstate New York, I was taken to the Everson Art Gallery in Syracuse, where, among other exhibits, I got to see the Pollock Matters exhibit (scroll down to bottom of linked page) which was absolutely fascinating. The story of the Pollocks and their authenticity was, of course, interesting, but perhaps even more intriguing to me were the photographs and possible influence of Herbert Matter on Pollock's aesthetic, as well as the story of Herbert and Mercedes Matter's friendship with Pollock and Lee Krasner. I also learned that Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming, which I never knew before.

Later on that day, following a dinner of delicious Mediterranean food, I got to see the Martha Graham Dance Company perform with the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra. The performance included the well-known Appalachian Spring, but also three other stunning pieces--all replete with the original costumes and original sets (most of which were by Isamu Noguchi). The expressiveness and modern lyricism of Graham's choreography was just gorgeous--as well as its interconnectedness with modern music and art. There was a moment in the second piece, titled Diversion of Angels, which Graham said was inspired by the paintings of Kandinsky, in which a dancer in a red costume races and leaps across the front of the stage like a streak of red paint in a Kandinsky painting. That moment was unmistakable. And it made me happy.

I've been fascinated with this time period--mid-century modern--for some time now. I'm obsessed with it . . . can't get enough. Both the Pollock exhibit and the dance/symphony performance seemed like necessary things for me to see right now . . . I can't explain why, exactly, but it was precisely what I needed.

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Oh, that sounds MARVELOUS! The good parts, I mean. The travel stuff, well ... at least it was O'Hare and not, like, Minot? Meaning it is an airport in which one could find decent food and in which one could totally justify spending $349.00 on, say, a piece of jewelry because you've just been told you don't really exist.

I love your description of the dance. I saw a dance concert last year that was so moving to me I've wanted to tell everyone about it--but once I start talking I realize I'm incapable of describing what actually happened.

And I love the gray cats! GRAY CATS.

K

Do you know from Balthazar Korab and Adolph Loos?

superbigmuch, I do not know from Balthazar Korab and Adolph Loos, but will Google!

And Karin, yes . . . I've been thinking about kinesthetic imagery and its challenges, too, lately. And gray cats! What could be better than gray cats?