Aftermath

As I start this post, I wonder how many hundreds of thousands of bloggers are at this moment saying, "I'm sorry for not posting in a while." Prisoners of an ever-expanding collective societal guilt? It smells like a thesis to me.

In the meantime, we are still dealing with the aftermath of the fire. I always think I'm o.k. but am getting bogged down by the details. I keep remembering more things that were in the fire space. The best news of remembered items was that I had a 10 foot square dog painting (that I really like) rolled up in a giant PVC shipping tube (constructed from drain pipe). The tube melted and bent but the painting was fine. O frabjous joy!

The Fire

We were on fire last week so things have been jumbled and out of kilter. No one was hurt and the firemen/trucks came right away but there has been some damage and we are regrouping. This was not the first time (maybe 1873?) the building has been on fire. Every time we remove later renovated sections, we've found scorched evidence. I'm happy to say though, this is the first fire where there is a sprinkler system and we had a very speedy Fire Department response. This photo, taken after the fire was out by Kurt, is shot from the second floor with a view of the Zeckendorf towers and the Con Ed building. It's nice and crisp (ho ho) since the windows are gone--one of those photos that needs an explanatory caption to belie it's peacefulness.

Of note, a couple of my canvases burned up in the fire. I'd like to think they were in sympathy with James Rosenquist's work after his recent studio fire. His loss is much greater than mine. And the loss of art is always a tragedy.

Study in Contrast

I've been to Louisiana and back while Kurt stayed in New York. These represent some contrasting visual moments from the last four days. In art as in all things, a little black makes white more white and and a little white makes black more black. Vive la difference!

Your hair is on fire!

Yesterday I had the oddest experience. The phone rang and a voice said, "Are you on fire?" I responded that I hoped not and turned to look out the window. There was a fireman right there! I grabbed the dog and ran down the stairs. Unlike last time, there was no actual fire but it was a photo-op for sure. I've included a general view so you can see the entire scene and then two images that that seem worth saving in the name of art.