Maira Kalman's hallelujah pictures

From "And the pursuit of happiness," Maira Kalman

The voices of hope & exaltation continue to wash over us. Ten days after President Obama's inauguration, they have not yet curdled with cynicism. I came upon this online slideshow of Inauguration images by artist/illustrator/designer Maira Kalman & found myself again thrilling to the possibility that -- after serving the puny devils of arrogance & greed for so long -- we are once again -- one hopes for a while -- turning to our better angels.

Don't miss these. They are sublime. This woman should illustrate Whitman's "Leaves of Grass."

In the same issue of the Times.

Zooming into history

"The Inauguration of President Obama," David Bergman

OK, OK, he's inaugurated already, so why am I showing you this corny low rez postcard? Because I can't upload the 59,783 X 24,658 pixels (1,474 megapixel) Gigapan file it comes from. After it has been stitched together by software, the final TIF of this image is over 2 GB. You really must see this.

Use the controls to see if you can find Clarence Thomas snoozing behind the newly sworn-in President. Or (harder) find Yo Yo Ma taking a photo with his iPhone. For those of you who want the tech explanation, it's here on photographer David Bergman's blog (my favorite fact -- this pic was made with a Canon G10).

I'm way too tired to write tonight about the implications -- pro & con -- of such technology. Or for that matter, about the artistic possibilities. But, remembering the magisterial slow pans Ken Burns did over incredibly detailed prints of cast-of-thousands' Civil War scenes made from large-format glass negatives exposed by Matthew Brady and others, I did come up with the shot below of Abraham Lincoln's 2nd inaugural address by way of comparison. I don't doubt there were better photos made of that scene, but still...


"Lincoln's second inaugural," Photographer unknown

Deep in the season

"Snowy backyard," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

I like taking pictures from exactly the same vantage point in different seasons. This is last week from my bedroom window in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Here's the same shot 2 1/2 months ago.

And here's another snow shot from the same window of my next door neighbors' yard.


"Closed for the season," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

Brooklyn Jesus

"Brooklyn Jesus," Tim Connor, All rights reserved

Going through old pictures. I remember each picture, including the bad ones -- exactly where I was when I took it, what kind of light was there, what I was feeling.

This is not true of any other aspect of my life.

Change -- keeps coming

"Sam Cooke, Barack Obama," unknown photographers

If you liked the Bettye LaVette-BonJovi version of Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna' Come" that I pointed to yesterday, you'll love this post. A (typically) fanatical fan of my friend Doug Schulkind's longtime WFMU radio show, Give the Drummer Some, told me about the special show he did last election day. To generate mojo for Barack Obama's eventual landslide victory, Doug filled the hour-long slot with 14 versions of Cooke's masterpiece (including the original).

You can hear the entire show from the WFMU archives here or by clicking on each individual song here (who do you want to hear 1st: Aretha Franklin or The Gits?).

Also check out Doug's funny, political, inventively visual blog on music & more , "Beware of the Blog."

Change

Editor's note: Just found out the link embedded above doesn't work cause HBO yelled copyright.
Try this link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zDTHPY29HY . Thanks, K.

Bettye LaVette & Bon Jovi sang Sam Cooke's great "A Change is Gonna Come" at yesterday's pre-inaugural "We Are One" concert at the Lincoln Memorial. It doesn't get any better than this (in the video note the slight alteration of the lyrics' final line).

Here are Sam Cooke's words as he wrote them:

A Change is Gonna Come

I was born by the river in a little tent
And just like that river i've been running ever since
It's been a long time coming
But i know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

It's been too hard living, but i'm afraid to die
Cos i don't know what's out there beyond the sky
It's been a long, a long time coming
But i know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

And then i go to see my brother
And i ask him to help me please
And he just winds up knockin' me
Back down on my knees

There were times when i thought i couldn't last for long
But now i think i'm able to carry on
It's been a long, been a long time coming
But i know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will

Wish I had a river...

"Dutch skaters on frozens canals in Kinderdjik. After more than a week of cold, an estimated 2.3 million skaters, out of a population of 16 million, have taken to the Netherlands frozen canals and lakes," Michael Kooren, All rights reserved.

"I wish I had a river
I could skate away on
I wish I had a river so long
I would teach my feet to fly
Oh I wish I had a river
I could skate away on..."

Excerpted from the song "River" by Joni Mitchell