 | I made one of my frequent pilgrimages to Niki de Saint Phalle's Queen Califia's Magical Circle and I spent some time just sitting there and absorbing it. I've decided that what it makes me think of Dr. Seuss, Alice in Wonderland and American Gods. |
There was quite a bit of disrepair. Lots of the mirror pieces set into the mosaic (especially in the maze portion) were busted. Just in the hour we were there, several kids tore through on scooters and skateboards, the likely culprits. They seemed loud, bored and oblivious to how special and unusual it is. To them, it's just that weird art thing that's a short ride from the skate park/sports complex. They looped in, rode roughshod through it, and back out again. It made me sad.
Is anyone looking after it? I guess maintenance of these things is probably the first to go in a budget crisis, like the one we're currently having. I remember mentioning that I should let my son climb one of the snake walls to take a picture. Someone within earshot sternly informed us that it wasn't allowed, and we were properly chastised.
Some pics from the day (click on any image to the larger version):
This is a path leading up to the sculpture garden. I don't remember it from last time, and it looks like a work in progress. It looks like they've repurposed some concrete pieces. A mosaic, connecting to a path that leads to many mosaics. I wonder if it was intentional?
One of the (many) snake walls:
The bird creature centerpiece:
The mosaic pieces themselves are a wonder. I love the tactile sensation of running my fingers over the stones.
Niki's signature plate on the inside of the centerpiece:
A pretty little orange tree within the park's citrus orchard:
A sweetgum tree we saw on the way out, and the same sweetgum tree after I was playing around with embossment filters in Photoshop. I don't know why I like the original image so much. It has a sort of zen-like simplicity to it, I guess.
A good birthday, after all.
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