It’s moments like this that make growing up a city kid so special.

Video

Lyrics to Blues Get Off My Shoulder
There is a cold, cold feeling from my heart
that’s trying to get colder
and this happy heart cruised
I’ve been touched by the blues
, blues get off from my shoulder

Got my heart not speaking to my head
even getting colder
and this happy heart cruised
I’ve been touched by the blues,
blues get of from my shoulder

blues you heard me
can’t you see
ohhh you are so mean to me
I can’t help you please let me be
Oh won’t you hear my plee

Now this cold, cold feeling is
driving me mad
I sure miss the love that I had
I hope I lose this blues
before I get a little older,
blues get of from my shoulder

Now this cold cold feeling is
is driving me mad
Oh I sure miss the love that I had
I hope I lose this blues
before I get a little older,
blues get of from my shoulder
Oooooooohhh
Oooooooohhh

They lured me to their limo, as a lark, just because they wanted their picture taken.  What a lovely moment for them, and for us.

Arab Festival, Great Jones Street in The Village.

Not lacking in strong opinions, or in expressing them loudly and strongly, and ready to cross a lawn to chastise the owner of an unleashed dog.   A classic opinionated New Yorker, God bless her.

Bertoia was born in Italy, and studied art and craft in the US.   Once he designed his diamond chair, made of hand welded steel.  He lived off the royalties for the rest of his life.   There is nothing like them.

In Bertoia’s own words, “If you look at these chairs, they are mainly made of air, like sculpture. Space passes right through them.”

They do all that, and they echo the human form.   When I went to buy chairs for my garden, I found nothing remotely as appealing, and I too succumbed to their charm.

Not on a public bench, but these oblivious lovers are in the spirit of Georges Brassens:

Les gens qui voient de travers
Pensent que les bancs verts
Qu’on voit sur les trottoirs
Sont faits pour les impotents ou les ventripotents
Mais c’est une absurdité
Car à la vérité
Ils sont là c’est notoire
Pour accueillir quelque temps les amours débutants

[Refrain] :
Les amoureux qui s’bécott’nt sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s’fouttant pas mal du regard oblique
Des passants honnêtes
Les amoureux qui s’bécott’nt sur les bancs publics
Bancs publics, bancs publics
En s’disant des “Je t’aime” pathétiques
Ont des p’tit’s gueul’ bien sympatiques

Ils se tiennent par la main
Parlent du lendemain
Du papier bleu d’azur
Que revêtiront les murs de leur chambre à coucher
Ils se voient déjà doucement
Ell’ cousant, lui fumant
Dans un bien-être sûr
Et choisissent les prénoms de leur premier bébé

[Refrain]

Quand la saint’ famill’ machin
Croise sur son chemin
Deux de ces malappris
Ell’ leur décoche hardiment des propos venimeux
N’empêch’ que tout’ la famille
Le pèr’, la mèr’, la fille
Le fils, le Saint Esprit
Voudrait bien de temps en temps pouvoir s’conduir’ comme eux

[Refrain]

Quand les mois auront passé
Quand seront apaisés
Leurs beaux rêves flambants
Quand leur ciel se couvrira de gros nuages lourds
Ils s’apercevront émus
Qu’ c’est au hasard des rues
Sur un d’ces fameux bancs
Qu’ils ont vécu le meilleur morceau de leur amour

[Refrain]

English translation here

Love is dead, but the rage lives on.

La Place des Vosges, exhibition of drawings

Cars and girls. Is there any photo theme that is less classy? Google offers 488 million links to this very popular theme, links that is, the number of photos must be in the billions.  Good grief.

So what do we downtowners have to add to such a weight of sheet metal and female flesh?

This:

The Henri Cartier Bresson show at Beaubourg is good at delineating the, to us rather arbitrary and bizzarre, specific themes of surrealism.

See here, for instance: http://lilithfilm.tumblr.com/post/80263632359

Apparently influenced by Freud, there was an effort to connect with the subconscious.  Two of the mean used, that HCB almost pedantically photographed, were fabric that encloses the bdoy and people in a state of dream or revery.   It is impossible at this date to see why people in the 20’s thought this was revelatory or useful, but HCB sure thought so.

Please note that this pedantic surrealism is different from a general attitude of surrealism which is integral to street photography.

I passed by this figure in Central Park, when it occurred to me that here was my chance to make my very own Surrealistic photograph with not one, but two of the obsessive themes of the movement, bondage by fabric and being in a dream state.    So I hope this evokes something in your subconscious.

Outside a department store.