Mesmerizing Modern Art
Aside- I spelled "mannequin" wrong every time in the story of day two. I thought it looked wrong, but, apparently, "manakin" is a type of bird the spell checker knew and I didn't. However, Anabelle thought it was hilarious and forbid me from changing it.
Our trend of breakfast and back to bed
maintained the energy levels needed for the trip.
True to form, and Disney practices, we
continued using a well-worn paper map (with Joaquín location) to find our way
around. However, we did rely on the Navicomputer to give us general directional
input after starting off toward the wrong compass point yesterday morning.
With a bit more understanding of the
local geography, we walked the way we intended to on the first day but missed.
This put us behind the White House for a better look at it, and then right near
the side of the Treasury building that doesn’t have the Alexander Hamilton
statue in front of it. Instead, there is a statue of Albert…something. The
fence is blocking it in the picture, and I certainly do not have the energy or
desire to look it up.
We were getting sick of the “American
Brutal” (which anywhere else in the world would just be called “ugly”) FBI
building as we passed it nearly every day using Pennsylvania Avenue. A
combination of finally reading signs (and remembering what Mr. History said) explained
why there was a Ben Franklin statue outside the Waldorf Astoria. It was the old
Post Office building. It was nice that they left Franklin’s statue there since
most of his work as a founding father was in Philadelphia, and he had minimal
representation in the nation’s capital.
Due to a pathological need to Grid our
vacation adventures, we were able to skip the line going into the National
Archive and use our FastPass for the Constitution.
Contrary to the Capitol, everything we
read about not allowing photos at all in this building was completely accurate.
We went through the multiple other
exhibit sections before heading to the “main room.” I have no idea what the
exhibits are actually called, but since no one will be able to take a picture
and prove me wrong, these names will have to do.
The History of Rights exhibit had the
original Magna Carta, written (under duress) by King John. (Yes, the Robin Hood
one, hence the “under duress.” Richard the Lionheart got himself perished
stomping on a revolt in France after returning from the Crusades, meaning John eventually
became king anyway. Sorry Robin.) I thought it was odd that this document from
1215 looked in better shape than the U.S. Documents from the late 1700’s and
early 1800’s. Points to British paper and ink, I guess.
The other interesting thing about all
the documentation detailing the history of the rights delineated in the
Constitution being applied to “everyone” is all the information shown about
those protesting and complaining against certain people gaining those rights.
It was the EXACT SAME arguments used
today to try to restrict people’s rights.
They were accused of leading to:
Socialism,
Attacks on Family Values,
And a loss of Women’s identity.
Yes, women having less rights was (and
still is) pointed out as a key part of their identity, and important to family
values.
One would think this horse hockey would fall out of style, or at least women would rise up as one and murder all of the men for constantly trying to pull crap like this and get rid of the excuse that way.
The history bug bit Rosa again in the
Archives. While normally she’s fairly speedy about passing through museums, in
here she read almost every section, and was talking about finding books about several
topics.
Anabelle learned this stuff in school,
showing an advance from when I was in class. I read a stupidly wide variety of
topics, and Rosa had to study for her citizenship test, but a lot of this was
new to both my wife and I. Honestly, there’s also a lot of inspiration being “In
the Room Where it Happens” so to speak, that led us all wanting to get some
history books.
(“Who’s us?” – Anabelle)
Given the nature of the main items in
the building, most of the exhibits were based around the increasing of rights
and inclusivity. Two other sections looked at it via different lenses. There
was an entire section of documents and memorabilia related to sports and the
integration and allowability of expression in them.
The section that really caught Rosa’s
interest, (which again, thanks to improvements in education, at least in our
and other parts of the country, Anabelle had already learned the details about)
was the history of immigration. Since it was the Archives, not only was it the
history of immigrants integrating and building sections of the country (along
with resistance to that), but there was also the evolution of the documentation
used to follow and monitor that immigration.
The documentation extended into a
section on presidential history with varied letters and other documents from
leaders past. To keep things interesting, there were interactive games showing
how the Archives functioned as an important repository of official
documentation of all types, what it was used for, how it was stored and how it was
accessed.
I forget which section it was, but they
even had a comic book there to highlight the Wertham fueled assault on that
media as part of the McCarthyism attacks on rights from the Fifties. The comic was a reproduction, not an original, and it was from the wrong era.
They were accused of leading to:
Socialism,
Attacks on Family Values,
And a loss of Women’s identity.
One would think this horse hockey would fall out of style, or at least women would rise up as one and murder all of the men for constantly trying to pull crap like this and get rid of the excuse that way.
(“Who’s us?” – Anabelle)
Still... points for trying.
After spending quite a while going
through the immersive and detailed exhibits, we circled back to the main
rotunda room housing the “Big Three” of United States of America Documents.
The room was laid out in a clear way for
those who wanted to see the documents and all the associated information. (That
is, most of the visitors.)
Start on the left,
work your way around the room,
see all the information presented in the cases before the documents,
see the Documents,
then see all the information in the cases after the documents.
A majority of guests were doing that.
The guard, however, was yelling to
everyone entering the room:
“There’s no line! You can go wherever you want. There’s no line!”
This meant the minority of rude people
who thought they were more important than everyone else would come towards
whatever display they wanted to see and push their way through the people who
had been patiently experiencing the entire room.
For a change, I did leave a “how could
we improve your experience” comment when I got the email.
It was a slightly more polite and well
justified version of:
“THERE DEFINITLEY WAS A $&#%ING LINE!”
Anyway.
Start on the left,
work your way around the room,
see all the information presented in the cases before the documents,
see the Documents,
then see all the information in the cases after the documents.
“There’s no line! You can go wherever you want. There’s no line!”
“THERE DEFINITLEY WAS A $&#%ING LINE!”
The information about the documents was kinda more impressive than the documents themselves, as after sitting there for as long as they have, they were mostly blank. Still, it was inspiring being in their presence, knowing this country was founded on freedoms and inclusion. It gives one hope that may continue.
(Or as excited as anyone can be about quiche…which for her is a considerable amount.)
I have been to the Hirschhorn exactly once. When we brought Jesse with us on a High School trip to Washington, he found a brochure on appreciating modern art, and led us there. Brochure or no, my father was in no way going to appreciate the most Avant Garde of the non-representational art. Dad’s running commentary was hilarious, and I really wish Anabelle could have had her experience enhanced by that kind of visit. I did my best.
Which we did not care about.
“Boob Wheel.”
Well, I won’t forget that one.
I think?
It was made out of cloth that varied between abstract, visible images, and what looked like a relief map.
We encountered a woman there who asked Rosa to take her picture. Though we live in the age of selfies, this in and of itself was not the weird part.
There was a special exhibit by Yayoi Kusama in the lower level. The whole museum still was free and didn’t require reservations, but the low throughput required pre booked tickets to see the special exhibit. Anabelle was familiar with her work and a fan. You could not book it the same day, therefore Anabelle set it up for the next morning. Only two tickets were allowed at a time, but with some multi phone fidgeting we set it up for all of us.
Rosa, who is much more a fan of representational art than this museum, greeted the news with a very flat.
“oh…thank you.”
“Once for my sworn enemy.”
Along with the blueberry and Pac Man theories were:
A Hamburger,
A Xenomorph egg,
And the round puppets we saw Mummenschanz use on the Muppet Show.
Rosa to bask in the Capitol again…
And both of them to indicate the Freedom statue was mooning me.
Oddlier as the shirt
predates the series by a decade or so.
The modern art building of the National
Gallery started off with a bang- highlighting the works of Matisse and Picasso.
A common question in modern exhibits happened when Rosa saw some rock piles
bisected by the windows in the lobby:
“Is that art?”
We took the weirdly shaped elevator to
another floor. (Is this art?) There were more works of the same artists,
leading Anabelle to remember a beloved children’s book When Pigasso Met
Mootise.
On this floor was a huge glass wall
facing directly at the West Gallery Building.
I stated, “Oh look, you can wave to the good art through the window here.”
Anabelle was not amused.
Higher up, the art got less
representational.
There was a square made entirely of woven red glass beads.
It was called Blue.
I’m not sure if the name was part of its artisticness.
Anabelle thought the thread for the weaving (that couldn’t be seen) may have been blue.
Rosa thought the glass steps were cool. I don’t know if they were art as well, or that section was closed.
Another guard in this highly
contemporary section liked Anabelle’s Optimus Prime shirt. There’s something
about modern art guards and late twentieth century action cartoons.
The museum was structured kind of
strangely, and due to the wind on the roof required recrossing paths to get to
the two upper most rooms, even though there was roof access.
Again, with modern stuff it’s a mixed
bag. The highly impressive and surreal Magritte paintings were represented
well.
There were also some Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Pollack paintings.
“Is that art?”
I stated, “Oh look, you can wave to the good art through the window here.”
Anabelle was not amused.
There was a square made entirely of woven red glass beads.
It was called Blue.
I’m not sure if the name was part of its artisticness.
Anabelle thought the thread for the weaving (that couldn’t be seen) may have been blue.
Rosa thought the glass steps were cool. I don’t know if they were art as well, or that section was closed.
There were also some Warhol, Lichtenstein, and Pollack paintings.
Moving
further into abstraction was…
what looked like someone just peeled the paint of the museum wall.
Again, you can’t win ‘em all.
Case in point-
There was what looked like a close-up view of a black and white cookie called “White Curve viii.”
Y’know, if it took you eight tries to paint a canvas half black and half white…
Maybe art ain’t your thing?
what looked like someone just peeled the paint of the museum wall.
Again, you can’t win ‘em all.
There was what looked like a close-up view of a black and white cookie called “White Curve viii.”
Y’know, if it took you eight tries to paint a canvas half black and half white…
Maybe art ain’t your thing?
In the room with a Mondrian was “Bird in
Space.” It was supposedly an abstract reduction to the essence of birdness. It
looked like a flat feather in marble. We saw a shiny metallic version when we
visited the MoMA later in the year. This is why we are members…
Of the MET.
[Later edit- We also saw a copy of "Bird" at the MET itself. Not only that, but Anabelle's favorite Matisse from the National Gallery, and some from the MOMA were on loan for a special exhibit. Not only only that but at the cypress special exhibit, "Starry Night" from the MET was there, on loan from the MOMA. No wonder we're members of the MET!]
There was a giant Calder mobile in the museum proper, and a bunch more in one of those isolated “tower rooms” off the roof. Those are basically a combination of art and engineering, meaning I’ve always been a fan.
On the roof itself was a couple of
letter sculptures and a GIANT BLUE CHICKEN representing pulling together
against Covid. I don’t understand why it represents that, but I also do not
care.
The reason I do not care is, “GIANT BLUE CHICKEN! WOO HOO!
What followed the chicken viewing was
some confused up and downs to reach the other “tower room.” To get there we had
to pass a plastic box that filled with condensate in the sun.
I really feel like I pursued the wrong career sometimes.
In the first room of the other tower
were huge canvases with thin lines on them meant to be the Stations of the
Cross. I’d explain further but the labels were no help, and the book we got cataloguing National Gallery art works conveniently left that whole exhibit out.
The next room was full of Rothko’s
though, which I have an appreciation for. Not in a way I can explain to anyone
else yet, but there’s a lot more going on there than colored rectangles…
The reason I do not care is, “GIANT BLUE CHICKEN! WOO HOO!
I really feel like I pursued the wrong career sometimes.
Trust
me.
Due to most of the rest of my family
being much more toward Rosa’s mindset when it comes to non-representational
art…
(And probably fairly close to Anabelle’s Sworn Enemy to be honest)
they did little of today’s two museums on their visit two years back.
Therefore, Anabelle took fifty-five pictures for Aurora.
We learned why we couldn’t find the café
between the East and West galleries we originally intended to eat in earlier in the afternoon. At first
Anabelle said it was in the museum with the good art. (We may be corrupting
her.) However, it was in the underground tunnel between the two, which we were
unaware existed. Sadly, after the broken cappuccino machine in the Hirschhorn,
we reached this café after it closed.
We reached the end of operating hours
with some disappointment in an art museum.
Again, again.
Before going home, we stopped in the
American Art and Portrait Gallery once more. It was more or less on the way to
the hotel. Anabelle ran up to the Art Vending machine and this time chose a
googly eyed pet rock she named Abigail Adams the Second. She also wanted to see
the Georgia O’Keeffe flower picture again. She asked the guard for directions,
and he started, very hesitantly, referring to the “big, weird thing.” He was
visibly relieved when she recognized the post-apocalyptic Brooklyn painting by
his description and after an error in elevator direction found it.
The top floor balcony part with
entertainment paintings was open. I climbed up and was impressed with the Chuck
Jones bust. Then I saw the guard rails were glass through metal that made them
look like they were far shorter than they were. This triggered my irrational
fear of heights.
DC Flashback:
I first learned about this irrational fear of heights in the Air and Space Museum when a show in a theater let us out on the second floor with no warning. It’s been somewhat in control lately, so having it flare up full force was a party.
I had little idea what I saw up there
until I got back down on stable ground and looked at the photos. I was glad the
sports side was closed after all. Turns out there is an acceptable reason for high-speed
photographic passes through an art museum after all.
Once more we needed dinner, The "Hip City Veg" vegetarian place was a good bet for gluten free as well and Anabelle had heard of it. I eat veggie burgers often enough now that those offerings wouldn’t be an issue…unless they were.
It took until the end of this trip to figure out when it was and wasn’t.
While on line I wondered aloud what
vegetarian substitute they used for the French fries and onion rings.
Take it, Anabelle-
“You fool.”
After dinner, we checked out a place
that looked interesting closer to home called “Joe and the Juice.” They had no
gluten free options, even for milkshakes which sounded like a sanitary issue. As
Rosa was checking the menu, Anabelle ordered herself a Starbucks. I went to get
it while they went back to the room to clean up. On the way back, my sense of
direction jammed, and I had no idea where I was.
Note- The Starbucks was across the
street from the hotel. Perhaps we pushed ourselves a little too hard.
Worldwide staffing issues hit us in a
non-cheese related way, and I had to grab some towels from the front desk on
the way in.
They started the shower parade while I did a check in at work. Rosa watched a Zoo documentary while Anabelle checked Instagram and I read old Hulk Comics. (RAAAH!)
I kept reading while they joined up to
watch more Say Yes to the Dress episodes and then we all watched the Math School House
Rock episodes (to continue the trend) until we all passed out once again.
18,020 steps.
8.3 miles
(And probably fairly close to Anabelle’s Sworn Enemy to be honest)
they did little of today’s two museums on their visit two years back.
Therefore, Anabelle took fifty-five pictures for Aurora.
Again, again.
I first learned about this irrational fear of heights in the Air and Space Museum when a show in a theater let us out on the second floor with no warning. It’s been somewhat in control lately, so having it flare up full force was a party.
Once more we needed dinner, The "Hip City Veg" vegetarian place was a good bet for gluten free as well and Anabelle had heard of it. I eat veggie burgers often enough now that those offerings wouldn’t be an issue…unless they were.
It took until the end of this trip to figure out when it was and wasn’t.
Take it, Anabelle-
“You fool.”
They started the shower parade while I did a check in at work. Rosa watched a Zoo documentary while Anabelle checked Instagram and I read old Hulk Comics. (RAAAH!)
8.3 miles
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