Toronto, Ontario; Port Huron, Michigan; East Lansing, Michigan; Galesburg, Illinois; Cantril, Iowa; Iowa City, Iowa; Fairfield, Iowa; Mount Pleasant, Iowa; Oglesby, Illinois; Chicago, Illinois; Lake Forest, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; Kalamazoo, Michigan; Montreal, Quebec; Quinte West, Ontario; Vancouver, British Columbia
Riverdale Hub: Opening reception for solo exhibition, with #SungmiKong (2025) Blue Fish Top Class #2 amongst the #WhispersOfTheTimeless series shown @Riverdale_Hub gallery. Artist explained difficulties of painting on delicate hanji-paper, the inner bark of the paper mulberry indigenous to Korea. School of fish swimming towards the left represents challenge of grabbing time, should live for the present. (Riverdale Hub, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20250405Riverdale Hub: In the Stained Glass series, #NancyLMoore (2024) Ruby Birch hs been held over at #RiverdaleHub from the In Living Daylight exhibition. Wide landscape painting abstracting nature using loose lines, rich textures and bold colours. On second floor of gallery, as we attended a new show downstairs. (Riverdale Hub, Gerrard Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20250405Berczy Park: Water still turned off at Claude Cormier (2017) fountain with 27 dogs and one cat. In background, Derk Michael Besant (1980) Flatiron Mural, a trompe l’oeil on the Gooderham Building. People lounging in the sun on the chilly day, temperatures still below freezing at night. (Berczy Park, Wellington Street East, Old Town, Toronto, Ontario) 20250406McMurtry Gardens of Justice: Eastmost in the courthouse complex, John Atkin (2017) Access to Justice is a multiple rectangular arches of corten steel, stainless steel, and epoxy painted steel. Title articulates a phrase within the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Viewer can interact with the sculpture with different views, walking around. (McMurtry Gardens of Justice, Osgoode Lane, Toronto, Ontario) 20250406Bluewater Bridge Port of Entry: Thursday noontime crossing into USA, waiting behind a single vehicle in queue. Agent took passports, asked where we were going, and said we were good to go … except we had to wait for trucks transporting radioactive materials to clear on the road ahead. Route west from Sarnia Ontario is stressful than the volumes of Detroit, with only a few small towns across I-69 towards Lansing. (Bluewater Bridge Port of Entry, Port Huron, Michigan) 20250410Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: Foreground Zaha Hadid (2013, 2015-2017) Aria and Avia, suspended over (2008 design, 2022 fabrication) Orchis. Light conceived as fluid, subtly diffusing over the fixture’s sculptural fins. Four chairs of Carrera marble, shaped like a flower unfolding and peeling away. (Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan) 20250410
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: MSU MFA Exhibition Megan Weaver (2022-2024) Re/Dejected cast aluminum self-portrait with pots and pans cascading down from ceiling made of shredded paper. Installation of imaginary kitchen as joyful gathering and self-expression, burdened by isolating expectations of caregiving and domestic work. Practices and spaces of storytelling are shaped by gender. (Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan Statue University, East Lansing, Michigan) 20240410
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum: The CORE (Center for Object Research and Engagement) basement encourages touching a smaller version of Henry Bertoia (1978) Sonambient. Each person strumming the beryllium copper rods will generate a different experience. Well-designed placement of art works in close proximity encourages engagement by students. (Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan) 20250410
El Rancherito: Unexpected brightness of chairs in Mexican restaurant disarmed us as lunch guests. Speaking with manager, the source of the furniture was Jalisco, the soul of the country. Authentic service, as waitress new to serving customers. (El Rancherito, Henderson Street, Galesburg, Illinois) 20250411Dutchman’s Store: Slight rerouting south of destination to authentic shopping of local produce, before farmers markets are officially open for season. Known as the Amish Walmart, we only visited edges of the grocery section, and avoided the dry goods. Routing through Van Buren county was suggested to us as scenic through southeastern Iowa, just north of Missouri. (Dutchman’s Store, Cantril, Iowa) 20250411Stanley Museum of Art: Abstract impressionism Robert Motherwell (1972-1975) Elegy to the Spanish Republic No. 126 is a response to the violence of human conflict and tragedy of the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) with the military coup by General Francisco Franco. Part of the series of over 100 paintings created between 1948 and 1991. Black ovals may represent the death and violence, with a bullfighting tradition potentially connected to war. (Stanley Museum of Art, West Burlington Street, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa) 20250412Stanley Museum of Art: Acquired by U. Iowa only 3 years after its completion, Max Beckmann (1943) Karneval (Carnival) depicts masked festivities of revelry before the Christian period of atonement known as Lent. The German artist had been removed from a teaching position in 1933 by the Third Reich, emigrating to Amsterdam. The three-panel format associated with devotional paintings addresses human behaviour metaphorically. (Stanley Museum of Art, West Burlington Street, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa) 20250412Stanley Museum of Art: Large enough for a human corpse, Eric Adjetey Anang (2017) Fish Coffin was part of a Stanley Museum exhibition of fantasy coffins. Figurative coffins celebrate the profession, status, or accomplishments in Ghana. An aquatic theme is appropriate for sea-related occupations. (Stanley Museum of Art, West Burlington Street, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa) 20250412Centre for Corporate Rehabilitation: Official start of 5-day Banathy Conversation retreat by CSRP Institute in rural setting. Staggered arrivals on airplanes and cars, from Helsinki, New Orleans and Toronto. Dialogue ostensibly in two groups, with overlap briefings on the second day. (Center for Corporate Rehabilitation, Fairfield, Iowa) 20240414Centre for Corporate Rehabilitation: Official photo of the 2025n1 Banathy Conversation participants, in residential retreat on farm in eastern Iowa. Five+ full days of mutual learning, with distractions limited. Two streams on method architecture and of field trainers on systems thinking, with crossover opportunities. (Center for Corporate Rehabilitation, Fairfield, Iowa) 20240414Pad Thai: Field trip to small town America, in midst of residential week on a farm. Drive 30 minutes southeast to town of 8500, restaurant just off the town square. Business owners are immigrants to the USA, friends of the host of our Conversation. (Pad Thai Restaurant, Main Street, Mount Pleasant, Iowa) 20250415Center for Corporate Rehabilitation: Sharing recent find of the 25-volume The Vietnam Experience (1981) books from Time-Life. DLH had taken similar photographs when in service, his mother destroyed them as too grotesque. The country emerged in our looking forward to fall 2025 conversation in Ho Chi Minh City. (Center for Corporate Rehabilitation, Fairfield, Iowa) 20250417Starved Rock State Park Visitor Center: Diorama of 1673 explorations of fur trader Louis Jolliet and Jesuit missionary Jacques Marquette, stopping by the village of one of the tribes of the Illinois. Contemporary view of indigenity shade portrayals common from 20th century history texts. Had lunch under covered picnic area, no time to walk the trails. (Starved Rock State Park Visitors Center, Oglesby, Illinois) 20250418
The Green Mill: Arrived just before the 9:30pm second set of Frank Catalano + Randy Brecker. Doorman said room would be mostly standing room, and we should grab any chair available as audience members from first set were leaving. We were fortunate to get seats up front. (The Green Mill, North Broadway, Chicago, Illinois) 20250418
Lake Forest: Visiting home of CMN, lifelong career shifts from tennis pro, to high energy physicist, strategy professor, now jazz pianist. First met him as a graduate school advisor 45 years ago, when I entered my master’s degree program. I recall a day biking the 20 miles up from Evanston to the prior bigger house, and then back. (Lake Forest, Illinois) 20250419
Kitchen 17: Late afternoon lunch in vegan restaurant with attitude. Followed overhead thread of light over bar, across to west wall. Ordered deep dish Chicago style pizza, kitchen prep time estimated at 35-45 minutes. (Kitchen 17, West Diversey Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) 20250419
Kitchen 17: Freshly made deep dish Chicago-style pizza, made with soy cheese and seitan pepperoni. I used to enjoy this specialty in grad school, but gave up dairy 30-some years ago. I managed two slices as DY ate around the crust, leaving more than enough for a picnic on the drive back to Toronto, and a lunch at home. (Kitchen 17, West Diversey Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) 20250419Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago: Fourth floor Fernanda Laguna (2018) I Love It is two panels of acrylic on canvas with cutouts. Feminst artist has cofounded galleries, publishing house, and art education program in Argentina. Works are part of the Descending the Staircase exhibition series. (Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, East Chicago Avenue, Chicago, Illinois) 20240419Kabul House: White tablecloth dinner of Afghan cuisine, close to home for international family from grad school days. One retired, while the other is slowly moving out of business. Catching up on kids now adults with their own children, in Hawaii and Delaware. (Kabul House, Dempster Street, Evanston, Illinois) 20250419Milham Park: Bridge across Portage River in 49-acre park on a chilly spring day. Had picnic lunch with windbreak under covered shelter. Unproductive visit to city centre, discovered Kalamazoo was practically vacant on Easter Sunday afternoon. (Milham Park, East Kilgore Road, Kalamazoo, Michigan) 20250420Jimmy Simpson Recreation Centre: Last day of advance poll for Canada federal election. Queue winding upstairs to second floor was a 30 minute wait, poll for surname in last half of alphabet had DY finished 15 minutes earlier. Unexpected crowd at 4:00pm, voters must have already made up their minds. (Jimmy Simpson Recreation Centre, Queen Street East, Toronto, Ontario) 20250421Corkin Gallery: Surrealist #ChristianButterfield (2024) Cold No. 6 – Up Up Higher is acrylic and collage on canvas. Order and disorder are in contrast with sculpted geometric shapes and colours, with newspaper clippings reflecting the oversaturation of media. Vulnerability and reflection is evoked in the declarations of consumer culture, societal pressure, and/or interpersonal strains. (Corkin Gallery, Tank House Gallery, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20250422Case Goods Lane: Overhead lamp shades strung over the narrow passage may now be weathered by years of cold winters. Live-work spaces of the Artscape Distillery Studios were vacated in 2021 at the end of the 20-year lease from Cityscape Development. East end of lane terminates with white facade of The Gooderham Condos. (Case Goods Lane, Distillery District, Toronto, Ontario) 20250422Electric Mind: Exploring the possibility of a renewed Systems Thinking TO, #ChrisChapman convened a ST/TO: One More Pass Through the Loop session. The last in-person event met in 2019, and then the Covid pandemic interrupted a regeneration. The group put post-it notes up on the whiteboard as reflections on features of prior success, and prospects when many professionals haven’t returned to downtown office towers every day. (Electric Mind, Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario) 20250424Milton Parc neighbourhood: Adding roe to salmon sashimi grapefruit salad, preparing dinner for 7. Masterful menu management avoiding dietary restrictions of family, including mussels paella and osso bucco. Large apartment in a former church nearby McGill University campus. (Milton Parc neighbourhood, Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, Quebec) 20250425Milton Parc neighbourhood: Trains and automobiles to convene at residence of nephew in final undergrad year. This home also serves as central venue for McGill Wine Society events, students will compete in France next month. Syrah and Sauternes at dinner, not spitting this evening. (Milton Parc neighbourhood, Rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal, Quebec) 20250425Galerie de l’UQAM: Diptych Veronique Gauthier (2023-2024) Inherente, Exuvie oil on canvas. Needed translation from Latin for exuviae, that are the remains of an exoskeleton after insects, crustaceans and arachnids have molted. Part of the Open Passage 2025 exhibition, of graduates of the Bachelor of Visual and Media Arts program at UQAM. (Galerie de la Université du Québec à Montréal, Pavillon Judith-Jasmin, Rue Berri, Montréal, Quebec) 20250426Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal: Curated corner foreground Yinka Shonibare (2018) Pan, fibreglass sculpture. Background Edward Ruscha (1986) Untitled from Silhouette series, airbrush acrylic of elephant lumbering uphill. Right photograph Zanele Muholi (2016) Phila I Parktown, self-portrait. (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec) 20250426Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal: Aluminum relief Frank Stella (1990) The Pitchpoling D-17, 2X. Inspired by Herman Melville (1851) Moby Dick novel, type of harpooning with a lance. Chaotic and explosive surface, negative spaces with silhouettes. (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Sherbrooke Street West, Montreal, Quebec) 20250426Restaurant Chinatown Kim Fung: Pre-theatre family dinner, including dim sum for cousins who don’t get the option as often as we do. Second order of main dishes left much to take home. Short walk away from Places des Artes. (Restaurant Chinatown Kim Fung, Rue Sainte-Urbain, Montreal, Quebec) 20240426Place des Arts: Seven seats ready for Saturday night performance of touring company for Mean Girls, The Musical. Nephew in cast, in Montreal for 6 days, following Dallas, Texas, and before Boston, Massachusetts. We preferred visiting Quebec, rather than London Ontario in late May. (Place des Arts, Rue Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Quebec) 20250426Place des Arts: Cast of Mean Girls The Musical taking bows on Saturday night performance. Owen Kent Ing stepping up from ensemble role to Kevin G this evening. He will have appeared in 150 shows by end of tour, having joined the company last year. (Place des Arts, Rue Sainte-Catherine, Montréal, Quebec) 20250426Yoyo: Post-theatre dessert with family, discussing Mean Girls The Musical. We had planned to hold up letters in the theatres as the cast was taking bows, but audience rose too quickly. Continued evening in hotel lobby until after midnight. (Yoyo, Rue Sainte-Catherine Est, Montreal, Quebec) 20250426Parc Sans Gluten: First stop on the way home was a specialty bakery. Consuming in the car, described the chocolate croissant as enjoyable and flaky, although he doesn’t have previous experience with the butter and wheat version. The bakery was discovered on a prior trip to the city. (Parc Sans Gluten, Avenue du Parc-La Fontaine Plateaux, Montréal, Quebec) 20250427St. Viateur Bagel: Pilgramage for Montreal bagels (not Montreal-style) fresh from the oven. Samples on entry of avocado cream cheese, plus spicy avocado non-dairy, suggest a Quebec version of avocado toast. Plastic freezer bag offered in addition to paper bags. (St. Viateur Bagel, St. Viateur Ouest, Montreal, Quebec) 20250427St. Viateur Bagel: Possibly obsessive purchase, it’s unclear how many bagels will be consumed in a few days, and how many into freezer. One dozen poppyseed, 6 sesame, 6 blueberry, 2 pumpernickel, plus assorted others. Resorted into plastic bags on the drive in traffic. (St. Viateur Bagel, St. Viateur Ouest, Montreal, Quebec) 20250427Snowden Deli: Away from city centre, deli has been a Montreal institution since 1946. Single order of smoked meat platter with rye bread and fries was sufficient for three diners. Broader menu included smoked whitefish chunks appetizer with salad, plus potato latkes with applesauce and sour cream. (Snowden Deli, Decarie Boulevard, Montreal, Quebec) 20250427Lock #1 Trent Severn Waterway: National Historic site, just south of busy Highway 401, Lock 1 is southernmost, and first of 44. Constructed 1908-1912, the boats can be raised 18 feet up from the level of the Bay of Quinte. Thicker concrete allowed for wagon valves chambers along side walls, rather than more expensive sluice gates. (Lock #1 Trent-Severn Waterway, Trenton, Quinte West, Ontario) 20250427Full House Chinese Cuisine: Dim sum is better when there’s more than 2 people, but variety doesn’t come in smaller quantities. For someone with a reputation of eating a lot of meal, he seemed to be enjoying green vegetables more today. I consumed most of the vegan dishes, the rest was packed up for home. (Full House Chinese Cuisine, Finch Avenue East, Scarborough, Ontario) 20250430
YVR: Arrived in Vancouver for a 6 day visit, airplane departure was late waiting for crew. Baggage is coming on next flight, and will be delivered tomorrow, we left house too late for check in cutoff. Rideshare was caught in downtown congestion, malfunctioning elevator at UP Express Union Station meant hoisting suitcases up two flights. (YVR Vancouver International Airport, British Columbia) 20250430
