<snip>
So the Marden show was caught in this inner monologue. And sure enough on the older work, the corners and edges were chipped where the emaculate painted surface had flaked off. These wear points didn't really bother anybody but me. The tell tale signs of age, of a long gone era of a lost perfection. Since this gallery was almost empty, I could spend plenty of time by myself there and enjoy my contemplations.
[...]
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It's always a pleasure to read your postings about art; they're rich in detail and analysis yet pleasurably free of the headache inspiring pretension which often plagues such writing.
It's interesting your ride on BART brought the "fading future" to mind for you. As it happens, there's a growing interest in what some are calling "the paleo-future" or, the future as the past imagined it.
In fact, there's a lovely blog devoted to the topic:
<http://paleo-future.blogspot.com/index.html>
...
My weekend was also busy and filled with slow walks, careful observation and contemplation. Only, instead of works of 20th century art I was looking at houses. My wife has decided that the era of apartment living is, for us, as dead as the pyramid builders...time to move on. If all goes according to plan, within months I'll go from a life of slowly accumulating savings, tailored suits and zero equity to householder systems analysis (roof, heater, windows, security...check, check, check) and trips to home improvement mega stores.
Which is fine; things happen, you roll as best you can.
While a real estate agent showed us polished kitchen surfaces in a show home my mind drifted.
What're you thinking about?" my wife asked. "Oh, a few things...our debt to income ratio, the interest rate we're likely to get for a mortgage, the intense conditions at the galactic center, the city of Trantor Asimov created for his 'Foundation' series, the digitally re-mastered 'classic Star Trek' series, Russian anti-aircraft systems, what will happen if the US attacks Iran, how hot you look in those heels and that booty hugging skirt...lots of things."
"Michinom" my wife said with a smile.
.d.