What's Blooming on Harrison: 2007

After suffering through so much Artopia,
I was just wondering,
how well it might compare
with my neighborhood Summer art fair,
the one on Harrison Street in Oak Park

And as you can see,
my local art fair isn't so bad....



I'm a real fan of that central piece,
with its fade-in fade-out brush painting





Here's a close-up



...and a wonderful variety of texture and color,
and watery forms that seem
to belong in a pond
(or fish tank)


a small, glimmering world of beauty



Then, there's these more masculine, earthy pieces,
ready to be buried,
and then excavated in a few thousand years
to the appreciative gasps of future archeologists



A small bottle
suitable for that mystical elixir
that prolongs life for many centuries

******************************

But to be completely candid.....
this art fair was many miles beyond awful --
even among summer art fairs
it was at the bottom of a very deep barrel --
a festival of junk jewelry and bead necklaces,
and paintings that should only be shown
in a braille museum.

All of the above pieces were found on
one small table -- behind which stood
my good friend John Putnam
"The mad potter of Oak Park"


There was only one more
nice piece at the show...
this mural on the edge of the
neighborhood.

It feels a bit generic -
like a shopping mall version
of an outdoor urban mural,
with zero political content.

but at least it's fun and enjoyable