10.26.09
Posted in Look at 8:33 pm by Erin
Mount Rushmore is one of those ubiquities in American culture that I was not too keen on visiting, but it was right there, and my mom wanted to visit. The one aspect that I was interested in was its inclusion in Hitchcock’s North by Northwest, but it’s not mentioned within the park itself. I did have to visit the dining room, and of course it’s totally different now. The U.S. government promised these lands to the Native Americans, then carved the faces of 4 U.S. presidents into that same land, using rocks that Native Americans find sacred. That encapsulates U.S. history pretty well, I think.
What really shocked me was that I had never heard of or seen pictures of Crazy Horse Monument until this trip. Really? The world’s largest mountain carving, just a few miles from Mount Rushmore, and I’ve remained unaware of it for 30 years? It’s an interesting story: they refuse to accept any funding from the government for the project, so it is funded entirely by donations and profits from admissions and concessions.
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09.28.09
Posted in Look at 10:36 pm by Erin
We followed the Mississippi River towards Minneapolis, and stopped at the sculpture garden outside of the Walker Art Center. My favorite work was Dan Graham’s Two-way Mirror Punched Steel Hedge Labyrinth (fourth image): depending on which side you were looking at, you could see other viewers, a reflection of yourself, or a combination of the two in varying levels of translucence. Aside from being a technical marvel, I loved what I perceived to be the commentary on surveillance and self-absorption inherent in the work. Later, I ate the most amazing portobello mushrooms with toasted goat cheese and balsamic vinegar reduction…mmm….
We continued on to Pipestone National Monument, with a lovely walk around the area where Native Americans still quarry for the stone that they use to make pipes. There are offerings of tobacco tied to trees, gorgeous prarie grass, and gorgeous pinkish-red stone walls jutting towards the sky.
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09.24.09
Posted in Look at 8:50 pm by Erin
In the crapshoot that is the family to whom you’ve been assigned, I got really lucky. Everyone in my family is very interesting, talented, and artistic. So I was really looking forward to a 10-day roadtrip with my mom, from Ohio to Wyoming. We set out in her teardrop trailer, which is a super-cushy way to camp for this tent-and-an-outhouse girl. We crossed Lake Michigan on a giant steamship, visited Madison, Minnesota, Pipestone, the Corn Palace, Mt. Rushmore, Crazy Horse Monument, the Badlands, Wall Drug, and Deadwood.
What’s that? You want photos? Very well:
Madison was beautiful; my favorite part was waiting at a red light on my bike, and at least four other bicyclists queued up behind me. It’s the sort of bike traffic that I’ve never experienced before, outside of races I used to participate in.
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