Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
I get to record a mostly positive story this week. Marianne's back problems and Covid are both gone. Her long-term cancer medication (Ibrance) regime will start shortly, with promise of limited side-effects. Friends Vern and Ted are both in surgery-recovery mode. The only health qualifier is that, on Tuesday, nephew Adam was rushed to the emergency room with frightening cognition and movement problems. Diagnosis revealed a brain infection and swelling (encephalitis), but he responded well to medication and has left the hospital for home. His recovery, too, will take some time, so we add him to our keeping-track list.
Otherwise, the event of the week was a visit to the Fresno Art Museum for four new gallery shows, all two-dimensional art, but no painters. The oldest work was a collection of 18th Century Japanese woodblock prints. Considering that each color in these prints was produced by a different wood block carving, they showed remarkable talent and skill.
The next-oldest display was also lithography, but from mid-20th Century commercial printers. In this case, the products came from Bowman Trading bubblegum cards. In addition to wild west, "G-men", baseball, and football cards, I was taken by war cards from 1937 and 1938 depicting scenes from the Japanese-Chinese fighting and from the Spanish Civil War. These rather gruesome bubblegum packages were marketed to young kids. And we think Tik Tok is bad!
Next in the lithography shows were these mid-20th Century pieces by June Wayne. Her work centered on women of the period and some of the challenges they faced. Nice work. Worthy theme.
Finally, FAM's two-dimensional, non-painted art show, presented the photographs of CIA photographer John Willheim from his 1960s time in the mountains of Southeast Asia. He was the only photographer allowed in the covert American war. The local Mong people were convinced to ally themselves with the foreigners, but ultimately the American effort failed. Today, Fresno is home to one of the largest Mong populations outside Southeast Asia.
The Fresno Art Museum is small, but well worth a visit.
Otherwise, my quiet week included the hardest puzzle I think I have ever completed: a 750-wooden-piece depiction of Bruegel the Elder's "The Fight Between Carnival and Lent". And, on 3.14, I baked a berry pie, from a frozen offering at the local hardware store. Really.
So, for the next week, we will offer recovery thoughts for Adam, Vern, and Ted and continue to push Marianne's elephant behind the curtain.
Stay tuned,
John and Marianne