Here are few more sculptures from Citygarden, above and below photos showing "Kindly Geppetto" by Tom Atterness, an American artist. In this piece, the carpenter Geppetto is about to hammer the poor Pinocchio as he was trying to prove that he was able to tell right from wrong. Otterness explores complicated relationship between the creator and his creation. 
Above is "Femmes au Perroquet", an unpainted bronze version of a variety of media, including painting, printmaking and sculpture by Fernand Leger, a French artist. I wonder if Leger named this piece Women or Female and Parrots because he thinks women talk too much or only speak of things that men told them to say!
"Untitle", Stainless Steel, by Martin Puryear (above) and (below) "Aesope's Fables" Painted Steel, by Mark di Suvero. Both Puryear and di Suvero are American artists.
Last Saturday as we were leaving Scottrade Center after the 2nd period of the Blues v. Stars game (the Blues lost 4-2 to Dallas), I mentioned to my husband that the sculptures at Citygarden are spotlighted and the walkways are lit with foot-lighting. We decided to drive by for a look. When we got there, knowing I would like to take a few nice photos, my husband told that I could take the pictures from the southeast corner and he would stay in the truck as there was no parking space nearby. CP said I should stay where he could see me and not walk into the park. As I was taking the photo below of the sculpture "Eros Bendato" by a Polish artist named Igor Mitoraj, I heard someone saying "Do you have 85 cents?". I turned around and found a homeless man standing next to our truck asking my husband for money. CP gave the man a handful of change, more than 85 cents, from the cup-holder while making sure I was ok. I lifted my camera into position, thinking if the man tried to do something funny, the flash could blind him, enough to give us time to get away. 
According to the information in the brochure, artist Igor Mitoraj was inspired by ancient cultures and in this bronze sculpture, he constructed the head of Eros, the Greek god of love and desire that has been excavated and lies on its side with eyes and mouth wrapped in bandages. The bandages symbolize civilization as broken in which desires and ideas were imprisoned and at the same time, held together despite destructive forces created by so many opposing views in the world. Below is the Two Rabbits by Tom Claassen, a Dutch artist. The sculptures are created in traditional bronze but enveloped in white paint, creating the impression of marshmallowy lightness.
The homeless man took the change, said thanks and walked away. I quickly got back into our Ford Ranger and we left without taking any more photos. In my wild imagination, it could have been a "what if" story of someone tried to carjack or attack us, the worse would be we would get shot, without a chance to surrender our vehicle or my purse. It could have been a bad story for the late night news! A few years after we moved to St. Louis, probably 1997 or 1998, a person was killed while sitting in his car, waiting for his wife to come out of the house so they could go to their English class. Two teanagers walked up to the person, shot him in the head, pulled his body out of the car and left him bleeding on the sidewalk. The killers did not need a vehicle, they just wanted a joyride as they abandoned the car later after having enough fun. The victim was a Vietnamese soldier serving under South Vietnamese army, was imprisoned by the Communist for almost 20 years, survived all the torture and mistreatment, after years of waiting to unite with his family in the US, finally came to America so he could live in peace and freedom. He died a senseless death on the street of St. Louis six months after arriving the land of liberty. To this day, I am still haunted by this tragic story. The photos in this post will be the only night photos of Citygarden in my collection because I do not wish to take another chance of a "what if" ending story. 
Below - "Big White Gloves, Big Four Wheels" by Jim Dine, American artist. Pinocchio welcomes visitors to Citygarden.
This will be the first post of "St. Louis Friday" series and I thought a post about Citygarden would be most appropriate as this new sculpture park right in downtown St. Louis has become a major new destination attraction. Opened in June of this year, the two block sculpture garden has received praises from "experts" as well as regular people around the country. This urban public park is completely open, accessible and fun for the whole family. The adults enjoy the sculptures, the lush landscape, reflecting pools or a drink at a cafe while the kids having fun climbing up the Two Rabbits or getting wet on a hot day running thru "the sprays from the water leapt six feet into the air from 102 nozzles implanted in a paved plaza" (Commerce Magazine). 
Above is "Zenit" by Mimmo Paladino, Italian artist.
Below is "Tai Chi Single Whip" by Ju Ming, Taiwanese artist. 
I thought of my nephew, JL and a great time we would have if I could take him to Citygarden and all other fun places. I plan to put together to send to JL another "picture book" of Benjamin and what is happening in St. Louis. 
The garden has drawn steady crowd of tourists, art fans, office workers, loft dwellers and many others who wanted to experience a relaxing and peaceful moments in a Citygarden. The best of it all is no admission fees and no specific schedule (hours of operation) to follow.
Here are few more sculptures from Citygarden, above and below photos showing "Kindly Geppetto" by Tom Atterness, an American artist. In this piece, the carpenter Geppetto is about to hammer the poor Pinocchio as he was trying to prove that he was able to tell right from wrong. Otterness explores complicated relationship between the creator and his creation. 
Above is "Femmes au Perroquet", an unpainted bronze version of a variety of media, including painting, printmaking and sculpture by Fernand Leger, a French artist. I wonder if Leger named this piece Women or Female and Parrots because he thinks women talk too much or only speak of things that men told them to say!
"Untitle", Stainless Steel, by Martin Puryear (above) and (below) "Aesope's Fables" Painted Steel, by Mark di Suvero. Both Puryear and di Suvero are American artists. 
