Inspired &… reflected
The skirt does not do this young lady justice. We awaited the lecture to start. This poor gal could not get the overhead projector to project. Oh well, been there, done that. Tech, media, it always fails when you need it – right now! Anyway, see the reflection. She was standing perfectly. I used this to get Colleen into position later.
Hero
We all have heroes. I have had mine in neurosurgery. I even got a picture with a few of them. It’s flattering (to them) and it’s neat for me. Colleen has had the same inspiration to get shots with a few people we meet. She’s shy. So, I have to sort of maneuver. Voila! And, afterward I used the tour of the gallery to inspire me as I utilized the reflections for my own shots. I have no particular interest in recreating the technical excellence of these original works. I certainly appreciate the work and the thought. But my photography is entirely in a different direction.
History
I think of history as old and ancient – time. Colleen and I have been together a few short years. Yet…. all the ornaments I had went with Lisa. Colleen brought some and we acquired a few (lot), just like we acquired a few (four) more cats. As you see, we get a lot of help. That would be Nutley (aptly named).
Santa? A friend collected them. I never paid much attention. Colleen got an interest. And off we went. When we visited Winterthur, it seems that Mr. Dupont collected Santas too. How’d we compare? Not too bad. My hat’s off to Colleen’s sharp eye. I may find them but she’s the one with final approval. Honestly, I am impressed with how quickly our collection has accumulated in such a short span. Call it, making up for lost time. Mr. Dupont’s Santas are to the left.
Willow Tea
Who knew? Cranston – Stuart and Catherine. They invented it. He thought of it; she ran with it as his biggest competitor. A famous architect of the time designed her Willow Tea shop. It’s all retold in the Kelvin Grove museum. And! We had a reservation that very afternoon. How neatly serendipitous is that! Really! The décor was as it was shown in the museum right down to the distinct high-backed chairs. My research assistant (wife) outdid herself this time, for sure! Chuckle, I was tickled pink!
Scene this?
California. Museum. Boredom. Sometimes there is enough art, too much. I need to do some. So, I got the nearest willing subject and made her walk the museum for me. And then I made a composite. More fun. There are many ways to have fun in a museum. Aren’t there?
Weary
We were in the museum and I sat to wait. I contemplated. And, I photographed. Me, you, and the mirror reflection. Fun! And, then ala Andreas Feininger, I paid homage to an image that stuck in my memory. Are there new photos or are there copies of something previously done? Either way, we had fun while I waited and rested.
After a while, it felt like we were in a photo booth. Well, no, but it was fun anyway.
Art?!
No! Well, sometimes it ain’t art. Well, no, someone loves it enough to hang it in the museum. My stuff’s not hanging. So, it’s art- there’s. But not to me. Are you following along here? ‘cause as far as I can judge, there’s no skill to slapping up random shapes of color. It just fails to “call” to me. Obviously, someone thinks this is important. And, I see “emperor’s new clothes.” So, make the “piece” your own.
Art
We’re at it again. Think Salvador Dali and the flying cats – Philippe Halsman. I don’t remotely pretend to greatness. But once in a while inspiration strikes. Art. I was already warned to never – ever – consider tossing my cats into a picture. Ever! Meanwhile we did this poorly lit moody picture. As a critic might comment, it was to enhance the moment and add mystery. None of that… it was just dark in the museum and I was too lazy to do any more.
Side by side
This is pretty easy to do, for me. Why not? It was an unexpected fun interlude in St Michael’s. We wandered in via a back street. A few hundred yards further on the road was a giant parking lot. We dropped in and spent the day. Fun! Right or left?
Cubist
I could be wrong. But she reminds me of Picasso. Compliment? Sure! I’m probably wrong. But the artist recalls cubism. It’s not my cup of tea. But, I can appreciate the talent.
Sometimes it ain’t art…
So much art, so little time. It’s about fun, right? ‘cause sometimes it ain’t art.
Do you need an explanation? Or, do you get it? Explanation? Is art fun? Serious? Did you ever have the sneakin’ feelin’ the artist is havin’ a laugh on you? On me? Someone actually bought this to hang on a wall. Some walls are better than others. I wish I could do art like this…
Soup
Iconic! We saw it! Andy Warhol, remember him? He painted a soup can and gained fame for it. He was the first to think of it. At the very least he was the first to execute the work and call it art. We were there. It’s about as iconic as standing before the Mona Lisa. Not the same, but nonetheless, it’s famous. I did not expect to see it nor to find it. But there! This was not on my bucket list. But we stumbled upon it. No one else in the museum was the least bit excited. It’s kind of like meeting the Beatles. Who?
Random
Washington is full of museums and official buildings of significance. There’s no way to know what’s what or all the names of places while wandering in a single day. Photo ops abound. There is plenty to see and to admire. The museums are free. Well, tax dollars paid for most of it. Why are they all in Washington? Or, is it like the Catholic church? All roads lead to Rome?
Orchid pick
Too numerous to pick. I was taking shot after shot. Mostly good. Pick one, or two… shots. I was not doing catalog work. I was looking for an image to stand out. Ah! Well, here’s my pick. As I say, too many images, not enough space. I don’t discard. But there is only so much time (too little) to acknowledge one’s work. Don’t spend too much time. I don’t obsess. I let gestalt prevail. View the lot and let one image catch your eye. It’s no beauty contest. No one will hate you if you do it.
Orchids
In the National Portrait Gallery there is an atrium. And this was the venue for a large orchid display. Beautiful! Enjoy! And there were people to see it too. I missed the shot of a short white polka dotted dress on a tall young man with sideburns. Drat! But I got this one of a guy mimicking one of the flowers. Thank you for being there for me.
Red dress project
“To commemorate Women’s History Month, the National Museum of the American Indian presents The REDress Project, an outdoor art installation by artist Jaime Black (Metis). Showing in the United States for the first time, the installation of empty red dresses centers on the issue of missing or murdered indigenous women. Black hopes to draw attention to the gendered and racialized nature of violent crimes against Native women and to evoke a presence through the marking of absence.”
It’s not isolated nor limited to indigenous women. It’s worthy of note. It deserves more than a tsk tsk. What will you do? This museum, of all the Washington museums we passed, was the only one with a security check at the door. There’s not much controversy in dino bones. But here…
Art
You may have guessed that I have a dim view of modern art. I don’t see the point in a mish mash of paint and call it abstract art. Or that all black panel where the artist advises: “should it ever need retouching, use ## black paint.” Oh! We were at a basket exhibition at the Biggs Museum. Non-traditional ones were also on display. How about a basket made of staples? Is it ‘the more outrageous’ that gets displayed? There was a screen vase made with woven spots. And the screen was flamed to leave flame marks. At least I can see that. The most fascinating thing was a take-off on the Perfect Storm – movie and book. That maelstrom at least made sense to me.
Art at the museum
There were several groups of kids running around the museum. They were undisciplined and loud. The teacher apologized profusely. No problem. We’ve been there/done that. We helped ourselves to their art supplies. And then we made our own art. In the corner over there…the discussion was intent. Why the corner? I’ve been framed before… See or be seen?
Make your own art
I’ve been to a lot of museums and on occasion I get to feeling a little silly. So, I incorporated the experience in my Photoshop antics. It’s not too hard to do. I’m not a multilayer manipulator. I do a few things only. Otherwise my attention wanes. I like that they hung a window near a window. The obvious problem was with the interior exposure vs the outdoor brightness. It’s simple to fix with two images exposed with the final plan in mind. And then I simply cloned myself. It’s better than genetic modification.
Grandma Moses
Grandma.
Grandma Moses. Anna Mary Robertson Moses (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), known by her nickname Grandma Moses, was an American folk artist. She began painting in earnest at the age of 78 and is often cited as an example of an individual who successfully began a career in the arts at an advanced age.
I am okay. But the painting is pretty primitive. Is that fair? Maybe childish? Juvenile? Here’s my point. Look at the eyes. They are just painted dots. Dots. Not even an attempt at making them symmetric. I was kind of shocked. Because you start when you are old, it gives you a free pass on technique? I guess, I should get out my paint again. I did some mickey mouse watercolor work last year. I dispatched the efforts to the junk pile. Right place, right time, favorable critics – timing is everything.
Iconic
The most iconic painting that equates Le Louvre to art is the Mona Lisa. And did you know Whistler’s Mother is owned by France. Don’t bother to go see the Mona Lisa. Its mounted under glass and crowded with people. You are stuck with the glare of the glass that prevents any meaningful examination. I did not know “Mother” was owned by France and loaned out across the United States. We were lucky to see it in Paris. What do I know? What I can tell you is that iconic paintings tend to be in accessible or hard to find. (they’re traveling.)
I’ve been to a lot of museums in the past several years. Am I making up for lost time? Who knows? What I can say is that I now try for a gestalt overview and then a detail of the brush strokes. It helps to include the label so I can identify the darned painting later. No, even though digital makes this easy, I don’t do it. There are a few painters I recognize. Mostly, I admire the technical prowess. I cannot tell much difference. It’s me. I can’t tell the differences in wine taste either. I’m missing a gene. No matter. I have other talent and am content to continue to look and try to be appreciative. It’s a work in progress (me). Ain’t educashun gran?
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Yes, it’s free. But that is not the only reason we attended. It opened about two years ago. It was pretty moving. I learned more than I wanted to know. For instance, the ship model cutaway shows slaves stacked like cargo. Exactly. And it was assumed that there could be as much as 33% loss of cargo during the voyage. Really! I never knew the inhumanity. And it was not confined to a single country. Multiple nations took part and profited. The suffering was enormous. I can admit that this was not something taught in any school I attended. History is written by the winners. The losers don’t get much mention. I’m truly saddened and appalled.
Reflection – reflecting pool/waterfall. It was on the list of places to see in the museum.
This cutaway model shows how human cargo was stacked/arranged for the long voyage from Africa to the colonies. I was shocked. Somehow, i never realized the utter lack of regard for human life. I am ashamed at my ignorance of human suffering. I am sad.
National Portrait Gallery
It’s free! Well, no. I paid taxes. Therefore, my entrance fee is built in. Go figure. What if you don’t pay taxes (see President Trump)? It’s still free. These days if it were up to the Republicans, there’d be no arts, no museums…. Meanwhile, aside from the portraits, there is art – aluminum foil art, and steam radiator art. The atrium is cool with a flat fountain (remember it’s free). And then, our government thought enough to make two museums in the same building. So, half and half. You can do that if your patron is one and the same (our fearless government).
I Can Read
Biggs Museum. It’s the best little museum ever! Free food! Ha! It was a concert event for the artist. She painted with pieces of music in mind. Musicians came to perform pieces with her art in mind. It was a grand event. We were fortunate to attend.
I can read music! I followed the pianist as she played and read her score. I followed the measures. She had to play many redundant same notes following the measures as she read. I wonder? How does she keep track as she plays the same note over and over. I’m sure I’d lose track and miss a note here and there. Besides, if she did, would anyone know? Hey! I don’t read music that well. My only regret is that I never paid enough attention while my kids were in the same music theory class as Alicia Keyes. Nor did I bother to record her early piano concerts when my kids played too. But, I suppose something rubbed off.
