Day 2: Nashville TN (4 of 4)

Day 2: Nashville TN (4 of 4)

Another THB Top 20 Book Of the Day: Pictures of Nothing, Kirk Varnedoe

The twins want to know: THB, are you having fun yet????

Weather: Intermittent sun, blue skies, low 70s

THB and DB reach Nashville in the mid-afternoon, the skies have cleared. 

Actually the side of the Nashville 21C, and the entrance to the restaurant. Much more interesting than the lobby entrance

Teal is the Nashville penguin color

The elevator art is a rotating set of videos; the snake is not well received according to the bellman

Flamingos score higher

 A lovely suite. THB is stumped on where to plug in at the "desk"

No bathtub in the shower. No shower in the bathtub. No bathtub

The 21C has cleverly put a wall socket on the bottom of the couch. Sort of like putting a socket on the airplane below the console...not where you'd think to look

We are in time to take the weekly docent led tour of the collection. Brian is terrific, a full-time employee that works on the installations (rotating between 21Cs). After that, we’re not exactly sure of his role except that we believe we could’ve arranged a private docent tour ahead of time at each hotel, depending on availability.

We start the tour with one other couple. Then a single person joins in after start. Then three people together join in. Then near the end of the tour the single and set of three drop out.

At the very end of the tour, after the other couple drops out, we spend a few minutes alone with Brian. We find out that in some of the 21Cs there are rooms decorated by artists. Too late to rebook!! He can’t let us into the artist’s room because someone may already be inside.

The theme of the current show

Permanent piece above the check-in desk, Walter Othmann

Wim Botha (encyclopedias)

Sam Nhlengthwenthas and Marguerite Stephens

These are pics that are taken with flash as the "picture" is washed out and hard to see otherwise (DB pic); Hank Willis Thomas

Another taken by DB, only the flag is visible in the "before" image

THB's versions (note the connection to Montgomery portion of the trip); Hank Willis Thomas also did a large sculpture at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Raise Up. A small bronze piece is also in the 21C Nashville show, THB didn't capture it though we talked about it with Brian

Paul Rucker, who also plays the cello

Toyah Ojin Odutola

Nidaa Bagwan

Tim Hetherington, now deceased. Since the work at the 21Cs is all 2000 and more recent, most of the artists are still alive

These next set of pictures were hanging in a large conference room, fortunately empty and Ryan-accessible

Steve Mumford (based on sketches, not photos)

Graciela Sacro

Kevin Dooley

Alain Declerq

Ben Durham; two "portraits" of the same person

this one done with words

Done in tiles from a map of an area where the artist and person posing grew up

Manubu Hasagawa, made of paper

More work by Mikhael Suboztny (S. Africa prisoners)

Ken Gonzales-Day

Lynching scene with victim removed

Lynching scene with victim removed

Mikhael Suboztny

Travis Somerville; lynching attendees in their approximate positions and the two pics with victims removed (similar theme to work above, different artists, or so THB believes)

Nick Brandt; animals photoshopped back into their original setting

Peggy Ahwash

More work by Travis Somerville, on canvas bank bags used during the depression (the one from the late 1920s)

Dan Halter

slightly out of order

Yung Jake (aka Young Jake), did the artist's room

Wu Jian'an

Liu Bolin

Large ceramic pieces hanging in the Gray & Dudley restaurant by Beth Cavener Stichter

After the tour, it’s rest time and then dinner at Gray & Dudley, the in-house restaurant. Pretty mediocre and the service ranges from overbearing (first server almost left a place setting so he could join us as the meal was going to be that good) to it must be her second day (second server). We share a mixed green salad (the first salad that arrives is not the one ordered) and DB has a burger and fries and THB has sliced thin pork chops covered with pea shoots and snap peas. Two drinks, hot olives, $100 before our $25 dine with art package discount. THB thinks he paid something like $50 each for upgrades on the two dine with art packages in order to get a $25 discount at each place. Hmmmmm….

If you add bacon to the veggies, then they are just "mostly" veggie; on the other hand, adding bacon to a dish is usually a pretty good idea

No pics worth publishing of the main courses, so here is one of the home-made bread (THB makes a version of this same loaf, about as good as these slices)

A frou-frou G&T, too sweet for THB's taste

Corpse reviver

Half a salad