Dear Henry,
A couple of weeks ago our friend's dad asked your Daddy if he would speak to his IU class on diversity about living with a disability. Daddy agreed and so while he was in class we went to the IU art museum to look around. I had wanted to take you for quite some time but parking can be such a bear on campus I just hadn't gotten around to it. You are so observant and like to look around at people and things I knew you would enjoy it.
I was right! We started out in the African section. There were rich textiles, baskets and pots. Not really my thing, but you LOVED looking at them as I carried you around to each piece. You wanted to pet the fabrics and you put your face really close to the glass cases to see the pots with the bumps and designs on them. I did really like that most of the pieces were used in daily life so the honed sheen of the basket's handles rubbed by the families that filled them with grains showed. This is the kind of thing that makes my mind wander, thinking about people of different times and cultures. Mommy read every other three descriptions to you. You listened like a seasoned student and I enjoyed your wide darting eyes.
I believe your favorite piece was a sculpture in the modern art collection. You looked at it intently, started "talking" and reaching out to it. The sculpture was a human figure riding a horse (sorry! I'm unable to find the artist or title to make a link.)
Your second favorite piece was a painting done by Diego Rivera titled Danzante completed in the late 40's. It has a man with a LARGE, colorful, feather headdress. The colors dance off the canvas and it made you wiggle in my arms and stretch your little turtle neck it's way. It didn't matter what direction Mommy turned you twisted so you were facing Rivera's work. Rivera, married to Frieda Kahlo, typically painted LARGE murals depicting the life of the average worker and honoring the native heritage of the people of Mexico. History has typically documented and painted the big names, men and the wealthy. Rivera was a part of a movement driven to depict the common people, the workers that make everything happen and to honor a rich native heritage that Mexican's were supposed to ignore even existed. Mommy has seen many of Rivera's large murals in Mexico City first hand. Mommy always liked Rivera's work because it is what I always thought history class should be about...the everyday people. You can get lost in the details and stories he tells in his art. I can imagine it would blow your little mind to see these gigantic paintings. It is my hope that someday you and I can stand side by side to study them over as Mommy did with Crappaw and Grandma P. Our time was up and we walked back to meet Daddy. We waited outside the classroom for a while, sitting in a spot Mommy sat many times during college. It was neat to sit there with you. Students waiting for their classes to start couldn't get enough of you so they smiled and talked to you. Mommy peeped through the tiny window of the classroom door to see that Daddy had all of the students' attention and I felt VERY proud of Papa. A few minutes later the professor opened the door and insisted I let the class meet you. We slipped in and a room full of smiling faces shifted to you. At the end of class a student came up to me to tell me how absolutely adorable you are, as if I didn't know!
Love, Mommy
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