The last couple of days have been quiet. It was raining off-and-on over the weekend, so we pretty much stayed home. The other day I cooked up a pork shoulder (aka Boston Butt) on the smoker. After 9 hours of smoking, and another hour in the oven (to make sure I got up to 160 degrees–don’t want to poison people), out it came. It shredded up well and tastes great. Probably the best BBQ I’ve cooked down here so far. A for-sure item for my BBQ stand menu.

Today we decided to drive down to Ponce. It takes about 1 1/2 hours to get down there from here (it’s to the south-east of us, on the southern shore of the island). Some of the road is interstate-like, but there’s still a big section between Utuado and Adjuntas that’s not complete–that’s the part that slows you down the most. On the bright side, we did notice that they are finally putting in the towers necessary for overpasses in the missing stretch. So, with any luck, they will be done in the next couple of years. Here’s hoping!

We went down to Ponce because we wanted to check out the Frida Khalo exhibition
at the Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP). I’m glad we waited until after the holidays, since it looks like the place was a madhouse earlier on. As it was, the museum was pretty quiet and you could really spend some time without feeling rushed.

We were a bit disappointed with the number of paintings (there were only a handful), but they were pretty interesting nontheless. Probably the coolest one was The Suicide of Dorthy Hale (El suicidio de Dorthy Hale). I was intrigued by how she painted onto the frame (clouds at the top, dripping blood at the bottom). It’s really impressive, especially when you get up close.

(One of the nice things about the museum is that you can get close to the paintings. There are only a very few where they have the front roped off, like one with her and a monkey.

Now here’s something odd: when I search for this painting, there are a bunch of pics with the monkey on her right shoulder [the paintings' left], but the painting I saw had the monkey on her left [painting right]. Either I’m in some alternate universe, or there is another monkey painting. Send me a link if you find something.

Not This Monkey

Anyhow, it’s nice to have a museum [unlike Chicago's Art Institute] where you can get up-close to the works.)

In addition to the paintings, there were quite a few drawings (mostly pencil on paper), letters, and family photographs. Also, intermingled with her works, are other Mexican artists of her time. This is nice, because it helps to illustrate her influences. Probably the most famous of these is Diego Rivera. There are several of his paintings here, along with a “draft” of one of his murals. It is HUGE. Must have been 14 feet tall by 30 feet long. Very cool. (If I can find a picture of the mural–I’m not sure if it was ever completed–I’ll post a link.)

Another highlight of the exhibition were the photographs of Frida by Nickolas Muray. The Color Carbon prints are quite stunning and are peppered throught the hall.

Frida Kahlo by Nickolas Muray

Here’s one of the pictures on display; there are several other (I think, better) ones, but I can’t seem to find them at the moment. If I do, I’ll post the links.

Frida On Roof

(P.S. Smokers of the world, unite! Notice in the above pic the cig in her left hand? In every single picture of her, she’s smoking. If you can get a look at a good print [as they have in this exhibition], many appear to be hand-rolled. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em!)

Here’s one of the most famous pics by Muray: Frida by Muray

Alas, like most artists, you gotta make a living,. Even Muray, who also shot pics of Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor, had to do his shlep work. Here’s one of the more exciting shots: Makes Me Hungry!