Ambulating Around Manitou

            My ambulation around Manitou Springs begins with a desire for an espresso. The want of this beverage is inspired by Sarah Asleson’s Ahh, Italy, which hangs in the Business of Art Center in Manitou. Asleson’s work also invokes a feeling of calm contentment as it reminds me of times that I enjoy a book along with my espresso on a rainy day, much like today. It’s overcast with a misting drizzle.

Sara Asleson Ahh, Italy Acrylic

            As I meander around the town, I come upon a stream that runs along the back of a row of stores. Although the stream can threaten the stores with flooding from a downpour, I can’t help but think about how the stream must always follow the path laid out by the concrete base of the stores. Perhaps with time, the stream could eventually erode the concrete away and follow the path it chooses. Until then, it is a slave to the concrete structure. 

 

      Somewhere along the way, I stumble upon the alley to the penny arcade. Take a stroll down this alley, and you can be transported to the past. I think about how similar and different this is from Barbara Davies’ Retirement is a Bitch, also hanging in the Business of Art Center. Davies’ piece shows a set of stairs climbing upward in an alley. The word retirement in the title implies old age and the struggle of climbing stairs at this point of one’s life. The path to the penny arcade is a level, straight shot right into the past. The past as it is remembered is a comforting cup of espresso; the future is a winding set of stairs whose end is always too close and yet so far away. 

 

Barbara Davies Retirement is a Bitch

 

            I come upon a strange alien skull in a store window and I am reminded again of the proximity of the future and the end. The store window also contains some stickers that say “Keep Manitou Weird”. I think about how I can contribute to this request. By uploading the photograph of the skull to our blog, I am contributing to the image/perception of Manitou. People will see this photo and read about its location in Manitou and they just might say, “Manitou’s weird.”