For more than 50 years, “Orpheus and Apollo,” the constellation of gleaming metal bars conceived by the sculptor Richard Lippold, graced the grand lobby of Lincoln Center’s Philharmonic Hall like two friendly gods floating in space. It hung on steel wires from the ceiling until 2014, when it was taken down for safety concerns. This midcentury masterpiece has now, against all odds, been reassembled at another New York landmark — La Guardia Airport.
“Lippold said if this is ever taken down, they won’t be able to build it again,” said Alberto Quartaroli, director of the Richard Lippold Foundation. But Humpty Dumpty could be put together again, after all.
Aging brings its share of aches, pains and memory glitches, and the death of people you have known a long time. But, as Downie writes in his journal, selections of which are printed below, life is still very sweet: “I’m defiantly not ready to retire or to fear the future.”
The thing is, I’m a classic extrovert. I thrive in lively settings and gain energy from being around other people. But on a trip to Lake Como in 2021, I had a realization: Much like our day-to-day lives, everyone needs their alone time when traveling. After all, during life outside the alternate reality when traveling, I’m never with any one person 24/7. Why should vacation be so vastly different?
Dear Jean Pierre carries a profound weight, not simply because of the tremendous amount of days accounted for within it. It is an intimate record of a love and lifetime that had faded into the background of history, now present and alive for us once more.