For the love of art

I went with two fine friends to the Anderson Collection at Stanford University this afternoon.

The Andersons collected work by all the big mid-century names in American painting. 

For many years the family displayed these works on every available surface in their home. 

Their gift of their collection to Stanford required a special building to display it properly. 

It is a lovely building and shows off the art to great advantage.

The approach to the second floor galleries was a beautiful wide staircase

with steps with very low risers that made it easy to climb,

The rooms are spacious, beautifully lit by both natural and artificial light.

The art is good, but I also found that these open spaces and neutral floors

set off the visitors, such as these children, to good advantage.

Some of the paintings, such as the ones by Mark Tobey

and Agnes Martin, had very complicated and worked-over surfaces.

Others, like the one above and also like some poems, seemed joyous and free

and looked as if rapid execution contributed to their charm.

How things look is also very important in daily life;

here is a haiku by my teacher, Kiyoko Tokutomi;

I wash it by hand

to have a white dish towel--

beginning of summer

Kiyoko Tokutomi

The Open Sky, Yuki Teikei Haiku Society, page 20.