The sacred Garbage Man

If a picture paints a thousand words, then this one is a whole tome in itself~~

W. Eugene Smith WORLD WAR II. // The Pacific Campaign. June 1944

This photo from World War 2 is iconic and, in my mind, is one of the most important comments on war in general.  The picture, by W. Eugene Smith, is of an American Marine finding a desperate infant still astonishingly breathing among the dead in Saipan. They passed the baby from soldier to soldier until the child arrived at the top of the hill.  I wish I could find out whatever happened to the child, but have not been able to do so as yet.  Perhaps the child’s history is now lost to us.

What’s in YOUR wallet?

It kind of sounds like paper money is rapidly becoming an antiquated art form; even though we still use it here in the US, my daughter in Norway informs me that nobody really uses paper (including checks) over there; “money” is either in the form of plastic or is digitalized via e-devices. 

Sigh.  Yet another piece of skillful beauty succumbs to society’s need for efficiency, (similar to the LP record jackets giving way to small CD covers only to fall prey to artless MP3 players.)  I suppose those in-the-know have decided that such a form of monetary movement is somehow more secure, which in my opinion is debatable.  But as usual, I was not consulted.

Not only is the craftsmanship of our paper money exquisite, but through the years, different features have been added to make it increasingly difficult for counterfeiters, unarguably artisans in their own right, to succeed in their objective.  Case in point: did you know that if you hold up a magnifying glass (since my multifocals are obviously not sufficiently empowered…) to the rim of the main

Back seat Buddha

pixabay

I love the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City.  My NYC artist daughter says that the collection there is considerable, and she would know.  I’m a particular fan of the antiquities section, Egypt and all that, and Bob always likes to visit the Orientals.  Of course, part of the artwork that is preserved has to do with the culture’s endemic religious artifacts, including the stone/metal/wooden idols, some little and some not so little (there’s a Buddha in the stairwell that would not even fit in my house….)

Of course, in our post-modern (whatever that is), enlightened and