Watt's Up?

The LA Times has a recent piece on the current status of Watt's Towers. This masterpiece of idiosyncratic urban art and architecture is once again threatened, but this time by neglect. Cuts in the city's arts budget have reduced not only the open days to three, but the hours and salary of a worker hired to make repairs; the long-time curator is taking early retirement due to funds cuts. Yet people from all over the world make pilgrimages here just to see the Towers. Why is it that there is always money to make war, but not for art?

Tools as Art

We have recently added a page of extraordinary, old weaving tools from Cambodia: beautiful brushes for applying starch to silk threads or for cleaning them when weaving, plus a nice collection of loom pulleys, many of which are in pairs. The loom pulleys are charmingly carved by young men for young women in whom they have a romantic interest, with the imagination and skill of the carving suggesting their competency as a husband. The bird shown here should have wowed any woman, young or old! These utilitarian objects are wonderful examples of folk art and convey strong cultural beliefs and values.