Some time long ago – I think it was the early spring of 2004 – Lee and I went down to the newly-constructed Nasher Sculpture Center in the still nascent Arts District of Dallas. I took some pictures of him, and wrote it up into my journal, The Daily Epiphany, at the time. It was popular enough that I re-wrote it into a magazine article and it was published in a local magazine, Richardson Living, (I’ll dig up what I wrote and put it up here when I get some time). The folks at the Nasher liked it so much they sent me some free tickets.
Now, about seven years later, Lee and I went down there again and I took some more pictures. Like most museums the artworks move around quite a bit – so nothing was exactly the same. Lee has, of course, grown a bit, and my camera is different. The trees in the Nasher garden have grown a lot. In 2004, the place felt like a finely tended garden – now it’s more like a forest glade.
It was hot as a humid blowtorch today, and the light wasn’t very good, so the pictures aren’t great. I wanted to go early in the morning, but the house was full of sleeping college age boys, nobody slept much last night, and it took some doing to get myself enthused and then roust them up and out the door.
Night (La Nuit) by Aristide Maillol
This is Lee sitting on a wall in front of Night (La Nuit) by Aristide Maillol.
Lee sitting by Night, 2004
Seven years ago, the sculpture was out in the grassy garden area.
Eve, by Rodin
Eve, by Rodin, 2004
Bronze Crowd, by Magdalena Abakanowicz
Bronze Crowd, by Magdalena Abakanowicz
Bronze Crowd, by Magdalena Abakanowicz - 2004
Richard Serra - My Curves are Not Mad
One sculpture that is still in the same place is Richard Serra’s My Curves Are Not Mad. That’s not surprising – it weighs fifty tons or so and I read somewhere that they had to do some serious work on the foundation when the museum was built. I did this by memory, but it looks like I stood in the exact spot I did seven years ago. You can really see how much the trees have grown.
My Curves are Not Mad - Richard Serra, 2004
Inside My Curves are Not Mad - 2004
Quantum Cloud XX (tornado) by Antony Gormley
Quantum Cloud XX (tornado) by Antony Gormley used to be down at the bottom of the garden. I liked it there, it looked like a ghost emerging from the shrubbery. It’s always been one of my favorite pieces and I still like it. Actually, today I was glad it had been moved into the air conditioning.
Untitled (Sprawling Octopus Man), by Thomas Houseago
Untitled (Sprawling Octopus Man), by Thomas Houseago, is part of a temporary exhibit, called Satuesque.
Hammering Man, by Jonathan Borofsky
Everyone that has lived in Dallas for a long time remembers Hammering Man, by Jonathan Borofsky, because it used to grace Raymond Nasher’s shopping mall, Northpark. I love it that he was allowed to stay in the city.
Bill Chance 