Sunday was my last day in Ohio. As I flew back west, back home, I thought about how interesting it's been to be in the Midwest, to experience a part of the country that is very different from California. Here are some highlights from my day.
We started the day with a trip to the Columbus Museum of Art.
One of my favorite paintings in the museum was Custodian by Robert Gwathmey. I didn't notice the gun in the hands of the African American figure, but he definitely looks strong and unapologetic, deflecting attention from the more stereotypical figure of an African American body on the poster behind him. Another was Lunch by George Tooker. In it, a group of people silently eat lunch with no interaction or even indication that they notice each other. Included in the group is a lone African American man--yet all the characters look similar in their isolated and dehumanized status. One of the most disturbing paintings was Herrin Massacre by Paul Cadmus. The violent scene depicts a labor dispute in which strikers killed a number of scabs. This was an incident I'd never heard about.
The museum also had a special exhibit called "Great Expectations," paintings of privileged children dressed in gaudy clothing and looking just about as unhappy and ugly as children can look. The main collection has an amazing piece by Dale Chihuly, "Isola di San Giacomo in Palude," made of glass. It's huge, colorful, striking, and so complex that one could stare at it from 1000s of angles without repeating the convergence of shapes and sizes.
After the museum, we ate lunch at Abuelo's at the Easton Mall--a restaurant which Johnnie decided was the P.F. Chang's of Mexican food. It was cavernous with large, fatty portions. I had enchiladas (again) with cheesy potatoes and refried beans. I did not feel like I'd eaten a healthy lunch afterwards, to say the least. We also visited the Apple Store and Barnes and Noble, before finally going to the airport.
I'm glad I had a chance to see a little more of Columbus. It's not a great city, still it feels like a typical midwestern city trying to forge a unique identity.
Comments (1)
It was interesting to read about the places you visited in Columbus, which are all familiar to me. Having lived most of my life there, I have a completely different perspective on Columbus as a 'city'---for me, it will probably always feel like 'home'. I guess you can 'take the woman away from the midwest, but you can't take the midwest out of the woman.' Like most cities, Columbus has quaint little neighborhood communities (German Village, Short North, Clintonville, Victorian Village, Beechwold) as well as the numerous surrounding cities (Westerville, Reynoldsburg, Pickerington, Dublin, Worthington, Bexley, New Albany, Gahanna, and so on) with their own special flair. When I think of Columbus, it's not the cityscape that I think of, it's the little communities that make it feel like a place to call 'home'. Next time you visit Columbus I'll have to share some of the unique treasures (metro parks, diners, Gallery Hop, Park of Roses, Rails to Trails, Mozart's on High St, Greek Festival, Picnic with the Pops, Underground Railroad locations, etc) that make Columbus a great place to live and possibly even explore as a tourist.
Posted by Lori | April 3, 2008 11:49 AM
Posted on April 3, 2008 11:49