Archive for April 11th, 2011
Wow.
Tomorrow, April 12, 2011, will mark fifty years to the day that a human being entered space. At 6:07 AM, April 12, 1961, Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin blasted off from Tyuratam, deep in the Soviet Union, for a 108 minute trip into outer space. In that time, his Vostok 1 spacecraft made one complete trip around the earth. Gagarin and craft came down (separately) at about 8AM.
Yuri Gagarin became a worldwide celebrity, but continued his work in Soviet aeronautics. Tragically he was killed while testing a jet in 1968, just the year before Neil Armstrong became the first man on the moon.
Beginning in 2001 space enthusiasts around the world have been honoring Gagarin by celebrating April 12 as Yuri’s Night. Yuri’s Night parties draw thousands each year, and this year will be the biggest yet.
So far we haven’t got word of any local Yuri’s Night parties, so that means there’s only one thing to do- have your own! Keep us posted if you hear of any good ones!
A year or so ago, the SNR a man on the street question was something like, “What do you think is the best public art in Sac?” and 4 out of 5 answered the ceramic man on a can in the Downtown Plaza. Given the question was asked in the mall so the outcome was skewed, but that is WRONG! So wrong. Sac has so many pieces of great public art, amongst my favorites are the HEARTHEARTHEART benchs near the Convention Center because of the wordplay, the weird not-a-skateboard ramp thing in the West End project near 15th & Capitol and the classic painted poles on 16th & Q. In semi-public art news, have you seen the Chilhuly in the CAL-EPA building? And don’t get me started on murals. Really. Don’t.
But hands down, seriously abso-friggen-lutely the best public art in Sac, in my opinion, is Samson at the Sacramento International Airport. It was made by Brian Goggin, who I didn’t realize also did the awesome “Defenestration” in SF until just now. Samson is just so joyful and clever, it makes me smile every time I see it. I also love it because I am a vintage crank and while I never want to use an old suitcase again, but I do love looking at them. In conclusion- well done SMF!
And because my editor hasn’t taken away my blog password yet and through the magic of Facebook I can finally spell his name correctly, I now give you the greatest piece of art in my house. Yep, not midtown related at all. Give me a teeny bit of power and I will abuse it within an inch of its life. Anyway, Hands by Sac artist, hand model and awesome guy Patrick Slesicki.
P.S. My house is way cuter than that ugly ceiling fan conveys.