The Thinker(s)

In the picture you see Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker" and me--a guy who just thinks he's a thinker. Julie (and some passers-by) told me to take my clothes off to make the comparison more authentic. I don't think too well in the nude in public so I decided to pass on the idea.

Julie and I, on this lovely Memorial Day, meandered the paths of our local sculpture gardens.
This bronze edition of Rodin's famous sculpture dates from 1904 and is on loan to Grand Rapids' Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park from the Detroit Institute of the Arts. It is the first time the piece has been moved in 85 years.

Rodin was inspired by Dante's medieval writings and the piece "symbolizes poetic genius in undisturbed contemplation." I wish you could see the detail in the work. Rodin believed in the majesty of the ordinary person. He told his students to seek out plain, ordinary, flawed people for their work, not models of human perfection.

About his Thinker Rodin said, "What makes my Thinker think is that he thinks not only with his brain, with his knitted brow, his distended nostrils and compressed lips, but with every muscle of his arms, back, and legs, with his clenched fist and gripping toes."

Another creative piece is British sculpturer, Bill Woodrow's, "Listening to History." It requires some patient observation and contemplation.



Barely surviving, I also was stepped on my Leonardo Da Vinci's massive horse sculpture. You just have to be careful walking the Meijer Gardens. Other than that, it was a pleasant day.