I can taste the salt in the air; feel the gritty friction of sand, sweat and lotion on tender skin. Somewhere behind me there’s a murmuring of overlapping voices, like the adult conversations in a “Peanuts” movie, randomly interrupted by squawking gulls.
Temperatures in the 70’s here in February, a tease of Spring just around the corner, and this photograph, trigger memories that are real, but from infrequent experience. I always preferred the beach in winter.
Over the years many people have made a point of telling me what an angel Barbara is. I know her better than that, and could quibble a little, but since I mostly agree with the sentiment, I was happy to find photographic evidence of her persona.
“To see a World in a Grain of Sand
And a Heaven in a Wild Flower
Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand
And Eternity in an hour” Auguries of Innocence--William Blake
I have made thousands of close-up photographs of flowers over the years. I am hypnotized by the sinuous lines, sensuous tones, synesthetic textures, lush colors. The shallow depth of field at such acute proximity causes rapid softening; some suggestion of great mystery, just out of reach. The subject becomes an abstract for something “other.”
“Remembering speechlessly we seek the great forgotten language, the lost lane-end into heaven, a stone, a leaf, an unfound door.” Look Homeward, Angel–Thomas Wolfe
I have been accused of eroticizing these subjects, to which I have several replies: 1) So what? 2) Georgia O’Keefe did it, so that’s pretty good company. 3) These are the reproductive parts of the plant, so it’s just documentation. 4) And, most importantly, what someone “sees” in a photograph says more about the viewer than it does about the photograph or photographer.
So much of what we “see” is preordained. We see what we want to see, what we expect to see, what we are ready to see, what we are looking for. But what Witches’ Brew of emotion, intellect, training, bias, and physiology conspires to cause perception? The character of the lighting here makes for a dramatic image, but does knowing it’s in Bodega Bay make it ominous?
Well, the decorations are down, and we are not expecting snow (more of a 10-12 year cycle for that), but it’s going to be very cold this week, for Savannah. I know, I know, most of the rest of the country will be much colder, with varying forms of precipitation. The rest of winter for us will be dreary more than cold; just gray days and penetrating, chill winds. I’m old and have intentionally thinned blood. I feel it in my bones, sometimes.
But that never lasts for more than a few days at a time, and then the sun is out, and the air is crisp, brisk, refreshing. The lower angle of the sun puts an extra edge on the built environment; the open shadows of the urban forest shimmer; and my city sparkles in this aphelion time zone. And then, very soon, it will be Saint Patrick’s Day.
Every day, the first light to strike the United States opens onto the coast of Maine. Each dawn, like a new year’s beginning, offers the tantalizing tease of fresh starts, a chance to renegotiate with the universe.
This week’s post is a celebration for me, the two year anniversary of starting this (mostly) weekly sharing of photographs and thoughts. I wasn’t sure at the start if I could, or would, sustain the effort to post regularly, but I did, except for a few random times when I was traveling. And I have in mind a number of images I want to share going forward, so I hope you are enjoying seeing this as much as I am doing it.
Monet Water Lilies murals at the Musee de l’Orangerie.
The room is a large oval, all soft white and gray, with a simple bench in the center, and four Monet Water Lilies murals circling the space. It felt appropriate to whisper; the place seems hallowed.
The day after the Armistice in November 1918, Monet offered the French government 8 of his Water Lilies murals as a symbol for peace. They were installed at the Musee de l’Orangerie in 1927 not long after his death.
“And crawling on the planet’s face, some insects called the human race. Lost in time. And lost in space… and meaning.” The last lines from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”
It is so easy to fall into egocentric thinking, or, more accurately, non-thinking. For years I’ve sent out this holiday Solstice greeting with some attempt to offer a positivity in the lengthening of the day, the coming of more light. But if you are anywhere near this photograph’s location on the Winter’s Solstice, you are saying goodbye to your longest day, and moving into summer. My bad. I have mentioned how we begin another trip around the sun, but the notion of a starting and ending point/date is pretty arbitrary; maybe it should be the Equinox? Which one?
One of the nice things about getting older has been appreciating the liberation that can come from letting go of certitude.
Whether you are gaining or losing light, I hope you are having a good holiday season, whatever your beliefs, and I wish for you, in the New Year, at least one sometimes irritating but irrevocable, unshakeable friend whose perspective reminds you regularly that there is more than one legitimate point of view.
We were down one of the little Parisian side streets, in a women’s clothing shop that Barbara has such a knack for finding, places with small inventories and unique offerings. If you find something you like, and it’s your size, you know no one else will ever show up at a party with the same outfit.
This young woman was one of the staff helping Barb, and she had a great look herself. I asked her to step closer to the front window for a minute and took a couple of quick frames, because…
Savannah, GA, Annual decorating of the squares, for Warren, Greene and Washington Squares.
In 1733 General James Oglethorpe founded the 13th colony, Georgia, with the establishment of Savannah on a bluff above the Savannah River. The current Landmark Historic District (downtown) mirrors the original Oglethorpe Plan, a grid of streets and egalitarian lot sizes with a series of small parks or “squares.” The properties that extend two blocks north and south of a square, and one block east and west of the square make a “ward.” (For a much more detailed explanation of The Oglethorpe Plan, read Thomas Wilson’s excellent The Oglethorpe Plan.)
Some time before my involvement, the City of Savannah partnered with the Downtown Neighborhood Association (representing the interests of downtown residents) to name a Ward Captain in each ward and that person’s one responsibility would be to round up enough neighbors to put up some ribbon, bows, and garland, decorating their square around the first of December, and taking it down January 1st, with the materials furnished by the City, and (I think) the Chamber of Commerce.
In the early 2000’s I wound up being the Washington Ward Captain. We had a few neighbors, and a fair amount of vacant properties, but it was enough people to get the job done easily and quickly, and be proud of how our square looked each year. As we acquired more residents, and more people showed up to help, someone started bringing snacks. Then beverages. In 2012 I started photographing the group after we finished, and have only missed two years of photos so far. Above is this year’s, from last Saturday. Barbara, black dress 4th from right, with the Christmas lights necklace (of course) and I have lived in this neighborhood the longest of any now, over 30 years.
An adjacent ward, Warren, has a lot of commercial property, so there are fewer residents to do the decorating, and somewhere along the way we just combined our populations and did the two squares together. Of course the party part grew, and now there were refreshment tables set up. A couple of years ago we added a third, Greene Ward, and now it’s a moveable party, with each square providing food and drink as the few fearless climb ladders, make short work of the project, and move on to the next square, while many more watch. The neighborhood has grown and we have a lot more people than needed, but that’s OK, because some of these people should not be on a ladder, me included.
I heard mention of some conversation about the City taking over doing the decoration starting next year. I don’t know how accurate that information is, but if it is true, I think that would be a mistake. It’s likely that a City plan would be minimal budget and effort, standardized as much as possible, and outwardly focused, toward visitors. It would be the next step in the ‘theme-park-ification’ of downtown Savannah. When we, the residents, do it, we do it for us, and to show off our neighborhoods. I believe we get a better product. And, more importantly…
There’s a lot more going on here than just hanging ribbon, bows, and garland.
“Decorating the Square” is a new gallery with eight group photos from the last ten years, including Pandemic Christmas, when we also had an ugly sweater contest. To see that gallery, go to https://www.billdurrence.com/index/G0000WbSqyQ_uGRc
