in my ideal life, the one i used to imagine in my late teens, i saw myself as a cultural maven, hitting cocktail parties, discussing experimental art, writing, and living the lush life. i thought of myself as one of the posh new yorkers that stayed up late, drank cosmos (hey, sex & the city just started), and had THE most interesting life EVER.
and then there's my real life.
on saturday, the munchkin and i dashed off to the art museum in search of mommy's alter ego. of course, from the begining i felt a little lost. thankfully i wrangled my family (mom + brothers) into joining me so i wouldn't amble about confused with no one to talk to.
when we first arrived, i was pleasantly surprised to find out anyone bringing a child and signing him/her up for a (free) museum membership entitled the accompanying adult to also get in free. the next surprise was that if you are a Bank of America customer, you can visit several museums for free at the beginning of the month. so, our tickets were gratis & all we had to come out of pocket for was the parking. yes.
museums are interesting spaces. tons of people talking about color, intention of the artists, and paintings that don't really make much sense (to me). not only am i not art smart, but the language of art...all of the vocabulary that goes along with discussing it, the frames of reference people use, the artists...are foreign to me.
the contemporary art section was a confusing blur. of course you had a few Andy Warhol's, Jean-Michelle Basquiats, and Jeffery Koons, but then you had a room with video and bodies with severed heads. my (younger) brother bolted out of that room as if the chick from The Ring was chasing him. comedy, but it WAS a bit strange. sometimes i am confused about what is deemed "high art." some galleries were fulled with paintings with simple lines, or geometrically-shaped colored blocks that i didn't find particularly fascinating, but who am i to judge? i did enjoy myself, though...immensely. silly me, i forgot my camera at home, so i had to make due with my phone. hope you enjoy the flix (click on the pics to enlarge them).
The Cheech Marín Collection (yes, as in Cheech & Chong. who knew).
Margart García, "Eziquel's Party"
This "window" isn't made of stained glass. it is made entirely of butterfly wings. i wondered, did he kill the butterflies? or did he wait for them to die, then pluck their wings? either way, it is painstakingly beautiful, don't you think?
close-up of the "window"
from the african art collection
egyptian art collection
south-east asian art (of India)
so i felt inspired by all the art. i will call this, Lady in Red...camera phone + glass + munchkin & me
peace
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This was lovely...only an artist (YOU) could capture this in just the right way!
I love museums and I am always dragging my children! They actually love..or atleast they are excited to go!
Ahhh I have lived the life of a woman hanging in NYC with artists and interesting urban nomads, drinking cosmos...although in those days I preferred a vodka martini...3 olives--I still do! Sitting in some funky loft talking about art and Frieda Kahlo and the work of Andy Warhol and where are all the Black avant garde artists...LOL!
I rather like my life now. But I get what you mean.
I loved the butterfly stained glass...very beautiful. Although you raised a question that just creeped me OUT! I so hoped he did just kill butterflies for arts sake. Do inquire...call the museum and see if they know...put my mind to rest (smile)
Great minds think alike! I am loving the Cheech Marin collection.
Do you know, as I strolled through the museum I counted pictures in each gallery, just so I had an idea of how many I would need, if ever... lol
Every so often I still have those ideas of living the artist dream. For me, the loft is in France, the French quarter of course. My drink is a strong french roast, along side a folded butter and sugar crepe. Food and photography would fill my days.
Ceste la vie.
Au revoir, mon ami :)
Lovebabz: well, i did a bit of digging and apparently, the butterflies are, um, put down and their wings taken. the artist is Damien Hirst & apparently he is both LOVED & LOATHED. here are some links:
*Damien Hirst Reigns Supreme
*Damien Hirst Butterflies Controversy
Xtina: i can't wait to see your collection! and you need to post those pics. i checked your blog & i saw nada. hurry up!
OOh I was so afraid of that....
Thank you kindly for investigating!
I can't in good conscience love the artwork now. If someone has so little regard for any of GOD's creatures then at some point he will look at me and mine as perhaps another interesting interpretation of some artistic endeavor and I and mine will find ourselves on the destructive end of some artistic fantasy.
The Venus Hottentot looms large in my mind.
AAARGGH!
lovebabz: sis, i understand what you're saying, but what makes his art work different than say, those that wear leather or furs? i'm by no means defending him (and i'm damn sure not a PETA person), but i don't see his "total disregard" & how it can trickle down to humans.
on the other hand, he has some other weird works. he had one that was called
"Away from the Flock" it was basically a stuffed lamb in formaldehyde. it looked very freaky, but apparently this artist (Hirst) does that type of work all the time.
Hey TPW,
Just the fact that he has so little value on butterflies as if they are less than humans? Are humans superior in their right to walk the earth? Are butterflies lesser creatures? I think not. Ifyou see any living thing as expendable or less than, then at some point you will indeed get around to me and mine.
This is how slavery thrived...in an atmosphere of ignorance, fear and disregard for life...human or otherwise.
But I too am hypocritical...I have owned furs and I wear leather shoes and carry a leather bag and I eat meat.
It is startling to see the extreme laid out.
Hello there!!
Thank you for these phenomenal photos! Wow....
You are always welcome to stop by my blog and share your thoughts as often as you'd like! The door is always open!
Peace, blessings and DUNAMIS!
Lisa
I love your blog. --And I especially love this post.
I'm a huge museum fan myself. My husband and I usually go together because he loves them too, but I will go by myself in a heartbeat. Sometimes I do it at the end of a long day just to unwind.
I have to admit that I'm a huge Damien Hirsch fan...did you see his diamond-encrusted human skull?
Ooops, fingers went to fast--Damien Hirst. I've written posts about his skull a couple of times--I swear I know it's Hirst and not Hirsch...
Hmmm...have I ever been to an art museum?...should have...I vaguely remember being near the High Museum in Midtown ATL, but can't recall going in...weird
liked Margart García, "Eziquel's Party", though
Lovebabz: maybe it's me, but while i find it SLIGHTLY disturbing to pluck the wings of living butterflies, i won't fall apart over it (not saying you are). we kill insects all the time, is it somehow more horrific because they're cute insects? it definitely poses a question, and i guess that's what art is for.
Lisa: thanks so much for stopping by & commenting! i will def check you out.
Tamara: thanks for commenting! i've seen the skull only in photos. what is it about Hirst that you LOVE? i found some of the art (esp the animals in formaldahyde) to be slightly disturbing. i just didn't "get" it...but perhaps that comes over time. while trying to find the links for LoveBabz, i did manage to see that he's quite the controversial figure. once again...thanks for stopping by & your jewelry is FIERCE!
Sista GP: on one of those days when your hubby's in town & you can shuttle the kids to someone's house, GO...i'm sure Atl has some great ones, too.
I'd written a nice little response to why I "love" Damien Hirst (almost did the rsch thing again), but my computer crashed and I didn't save my note. ;-?
In summary, I just love that I "get" his art so much easier than other artists that try too hard to do the same thing. I love his themes (death and mortality, in a lot of cases), and I love how, despite his tendency toward crazy celebrity-ism in the art world, he tries to provoke you to think critically. I think the questions you and lovebabz asked were perfect examples of just that.
So, that's not everything I wrote, but I have to make it quick right now.
Oh--I did recommend a book I thought you might enjoy--But is it Art? by Cynthia Freeland. It even hit on Hirst for a quick minute.
Great post--and I love the discussion!
tamra:i see. i guess i don't "get it," but i do appreciate it. thanks for the book rec. i will check it out the next time i'm at the library.