Famous Ankles

So, there I was in Princeton University…and there in the distance I saw a mighty sight…

What say you these be…these black forms in the distance?

As for me, I call them giant teeth.  You can see the roots.  So, they’re teeth.

Is that the famed school of dentistry?  Does Princeton have a famed school of dentistry?

I’m told that the building these “teeth” are in front of is the art school.

I’m told these “teeth” are really human forms.  Perhaps they’re headless.  As I got closer, I could tell that they are human shapes.  Maybe the heads are down (in shame?).  Or maybe just tiny heads.  The “roots” are actually legs.

I reject that!  They’re teeth!

We ran into some other art.  Here’s the Canvas of Wishes, a wooden lattice where ordinary folks are encouraged to tie fabric.

I say “bleh” and I say the other ones are teeth and that’s grand art!

If I had wanted to get my mind off of the human teeth statues, this bit of art was just the thing.

Yes, that’s a statue of two men.  One is bound with rope and on his knees looking up in supplication to a bearded man who is holding a knife.

I have no idea what this statue represents.  I didn’t see a plaque, but I have to admit I didn’t look too closely for one.  I don’t notice any particular ethnicity that this might be trying to represent. 

Finally, a more famous statue:  Out to Lunch by J Seward Johnson Jr.

More importantly to the art, we had lunch at the famed Alchemist and Barrister Restaurant and Pub.  The hamburger is very good, but the fries are unusual and really, really good.

-H

I actually left NYC for a few hours and visited the wilds of New Jersey.  In fact, I even went so far as to get into Pennsylvania.  That close to the edge of the earth, isn’t it?

Actually, it was great.  NYC is very compact and built up and going to the suburbs and beyond is a real break.  There’s a real pleasure going to a place where the crowds are light and everything is spread out.  As usual, I get delighted by the mildest and most mundane things.

A co-worker invited me out to look for a chair out there.  I really cannot find the sort of chair that I want in Manhattan and there was a store that sort of carried them.  So I went out to Princeton and we drove out to Pennsylvania to look.  There wasn’t a great deal of luck, but it was better than nothing.

On my part, I was amazed at the size of the parking spaces for cars.  Such luxury!

Anyway, on the way back, we stopped in Princeton to look at the University.

It’s a little over 250 years old and is very attractive.

Yeah, they take “Ivy League” seriously there.  It isn’t on all of the buildings by any means, but a bunch of them.

Something that I liked was that they had a real variety of architecture.  It makes sense, of course, but I hadn’t given it much thought and wasn’t expecting the different styles.

The next place was being used for a private party.  Apparently some kid was having a bar mitzvah.  I just wouldn’t expect a kids’ party (okay, it’s a coming of age party for a 13-year old or so) at someplace like Princeton.  Mom and/or Dad must be an alumn and are putting some pressure on junior(?).

The next was a cool little walkway we walked down.

As grand a place and as historic a place as it is, it really felt just like it is:  a university.  It’s a great place and I wish it would have been a place I could have gone to.

In my next post, I’ll cover some of the artwork and the town of Princeton.

-H