Close looking — The Ploppers (April 4)

It’s usually the unsung nuances that give a city its character.  People jibe about the rain in Seattle, but we love the verdant summers.  You can find music from any country spilling out of cafes and shops in Paris.  In Berlin, the Wall draws people’s attention — but perhaps more important are the street art and cigarette sculptures that pock the straßen.  I look forward to finding those minutiae in Amsterdam.

What caught my eye in Rob’s picture gallery were the two pictures of people sitting in urban parks.  The city is quirky enough to throw bean bags on stone steps and place monolithic chairs adjacent an open square — I like that.  You won’t find bean bags in Tulsa.

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How happy are these people? Really, what more in life could the guy to the right of the red box ask for? He has his galoshes, his windbreaker, his capris, and his ass on a bean bag in Amsterdam.  Don’t tell me he’s not having a great week.

The most striking aspect of this picture is that the bean bags are even being put to use. The sky is a bleak gray and, judging by the people’s clothing, the temperature is chilly. When was this picture taken, Rob? October? February? You’d be hard-pressed to find a park in Seattle with so many people in that type of weather.

Artistically, this step-side park is refreshing. The bright colors and simple geographical shapes create a subtle happy feeling. There’s art in here; it just doesn’t try to hit you over the head. Berlin is rife with small, artsy features like this park. I certainly hope that Amsterdam is the same.

Similar to the bean bags, I especially like this picture because it shows the subtle character of Amsterdam. These dark stone loveseats, overlooking a square with a world-map mosaic, are remarkable for their simplicity. It reminds me of the iconic, “If you build it, he will come” bit that Shoeless Joe Jackson says to Ray Kinsella. The seats are dainty. I like them.

One thing that took a fourth or fifth look to notice — not sure why, exactly — was the presence of the shadows. The light play in this photo can elucidate some things: it shows the relative time the photo was snapped, which in turn shows how vacant this park is around dinner time; the chairs must face the sun most of the day, which would make them a prime picnic spot; and finally, the lack of large shadows shows that the off-camera part of the park is bare of trees or buildings. I’m curious to know what’s over there. My money is on a fountain.

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