This past weekend I went to the High Museum in Atlanta with Kelly, Aaron, and Livy. It was fun! I can’t remember the last time I went to an art museum. I was especially excited to go reading the new e-book by Luc Travers, Touching the Art. It details a process of appreciating art much like you do a movie: getting emotionally involved with the characters and stories, connecting it back to your own life. I really enjoyed the book, and I suggest you get it. Or at least watch the video lecture series on Luc’s site.
We started off at the Dali exhibit, which was weird. It did very little for me. I studied how the exhibit was laid out more than the actual paintings. My stint as a gallery manager in the WKU photojournalism department was very satisfying, and the idea of continuing to work at a museum/gallery intrigues me. I also people watched a lot. There were so many cliches walking around! Folks wearing scarves, corduroy jackets, and berets looking very seriously at a painting of dots. Power asian couple with high tech stroller. A country club type woman with a crisp collared shirt and sweater tied round her shoulders. Kelly and I had a good time talking about all these cliched folk at the cafe. It felt like a bad high school movie. (To be fair, we asked if we were also cliches in some way. Aaron suggested that we could be considered the white trash that wandered in here after finding coupons at a bar. Hey, it was $3 off!) It was interesting to ponder what was going through other people’s brains at the Dali exhibit. Were they thinking what I was thinking? Meh. I’m ready to move on. Did they find it moving? Were they completely flapping? I tried to listen into the conversations of people stroking their chins with earnest expressions, but got nothing. Oh well.
Things got much more exciting when we looked at the 19th century American art and the 15th-19th century European art. The statues were by far my favorite. I think it’s easier to connect with them because of the three dimensional nature. It feels more real and you feel part of the scene. The art in the American and European exhibits evoked a lot more emotion and the stories were more accessible. I’d like to go back on my own one day and see them again. And to see the photography exhibit. Here’s some of my favorite pieces from the museum:
One of the best moments was Kelly explaining classic Bible stories depicted in the paintings to Livy She had never heard them before! It was quite funny and reassuring. Growing up atheist myself, I totally understand. In fact, I was listening to the stories too, some of them I had never heard. Ha!
The trip to the museum renewed my interest in becoming an art model. Many of the female figures in art from several hundred years ago resemble me, unlike many of the models today. I’ve contacted a few studios, and I’ve been booked for a figure modeling class in October! Hooray! New experiences! And getting paid money to be nekkid! I’m very excited.
