Saturday 19 July 2008

A Man Named Pearl

I'm currently in New York doing some research at the Schomburg Center. And it is HOT. The Center is actually quite cool, but outside it is boiling. It was 29C at 10.30PM last night: yes, it was basically as hot as the hottest we ever get in London AT NIGHT! Crazy weather. However, I've not seen kids playing with fire hydrants yet, but I'm keeping an eye out!


I'm staying with my friend Janet in Brooklyn and last night, at the insistence of her sister, we went to see A Man Named Pearl. It's a lovely little film about a self-taught topiary artist, Pearl Fryar, from a tiny town in South Carolina. We got a chance to meet him before the screening and he was very charming and interesting. His work is incredibly elegant and beautiful, and a true testament to the value of finding what you do well and having fun with it. Also, it's amazing to learn that most of the plants in his garden were salvaged from the dump behind his local garden centre. It made me think of all those crafts people out there producing beautiful work in so many mediums. There's a nice post here about a visit to the gardens and some great pictures. If you get a chance to see the movie I recommend it - a real one-off.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for linking to my post about Pearl Fryar - it really is a unique place, and he is such a unique individual as well - remarkable really. And I so agree with you - he made his garden out of plants that might otherwise have been thrown away - yes, he is an artist for sure. And sorry about the heat - I live in South Carolina, and it's pretty unbearable here today.

Good luck with your research.

Anonymous said...

Cara, have fun in New York! Yeah, I bet it's hot. Hey, by the way, if you do happen to see kids playing in the fire hydrants-----can you please ask them how they got the water going? I always wondered that. I'm serious! I think it can't be easy to open a fire hydrant!

Noël said...

hey there, that sounds like just the kind of thing I'd like to see...still envying your NY sojourn no matter how hot! ;o)