Mom, Amelie and I loaded up in the car and got on our way down into the cit-ay, and once we got there, Mom's eyes captivated the guy behind the counter...I mean, seriously. He just couldn't stop talking about them. And, subsequently, he like...somehow calculated that since I was a student and got $30 off a membership for that, that two tickets plus two dollars could just equal a membership for me, and somehow...my mom would get in for free? Yeah, I don't really know, but I'm an official member of the High Museum! Which is DANG COOL! It's good for a year, I get into ANY exhibition for free...and parking's only six bucks. Can't beat that, can you? We took it and ran with it.
Now, confession. I don't really know all that much about visiting museums. A couple weeks ago, I learned that pens in museums are a great big no-no. Today, I learned that you actually CAN take in cameras...though of course, by this point, it was too late and I'd already left my camera at home. So, my pictures are so super lamely taken on my phone, and for this I apologize. (However...since I'm now a MEMBER and all...I may just go back!)
When I saw this, I legitimately almost died. Because...I was so excited. Never have I been SO excited to see a snow shovel. This is Marcel Duchamp's, Advance to the Broken Arm. Basically, he took "readymade," mass-produced objects and...made them art. And therefore forced other people to consider them as art. AND THEREFORE CHANGED THE WORLD OF ART, FOREVER. Duchamp's influence may be seen in the wonderous Andy Warhol.
Here's my crew:
And here is a mobile and a sick wire sculpture by Alexander Calder. I can't remember the name of the mobile, but the face is called American. There were actually two of them; the other was a man. They were probably one of my favorite things I saw today.
Here's Jackson Pollock:
Gotta tell ya, he's that artist whose works make people say, "my five-year-old coulda done that." But in person, you realize how...artistic his art is. FIRST of all, it's HUGE. It was mural-sized and covered a whole wall. Secondly...there's just such a creative process on the canvas, that you can see even though the painting was finished years ago. If you stand on the side, you can see layers of paint that are half an inch thick. It's awesome. And up at the top, when you're close like that, you can see his handprints! Oddly enough, despite all the chaos in the image, it was really kindof peaceful.
There were plenty of artists exhibited in this show, but last of all was Andy Warhol..and he was probably my favorite. Here are his Brillo pads, and a piece called Before and After (a reflection of the seductive powers of advertising- the piece is based on an ad for plastic surgery), and, of course, his Campbell's soup cans.
Yep, here's Andy himself:
I was hoping for the Marilyn Diptych, but the exhibit was a collaboration with the MoMA in New York, and Marilyn's located elsewhere. But it was such a cool experience regardless!
In the gift shop, I got a magnet with a Campbell's soup can on it. My Mom collects magnets (I got her one too) and I decided that maybe I'd start a collection of my own. And I also got this shirt...I couldn't resist:
Anyway, I was in heaven today. I loved it. It's all so much better after having taken Art History this past semester. I'm stoked about my membership- there's gonna be a Lichtenstein exhibit in December, and a Frieda Kahlo one in February! And after all of this, I've decided that I love this idea of having a membership at an art museum like the High...and I think it's probably something worth keeping for a while.
Today's verdict about school: take the classes you just...wanna take. Even if you don't see a way that they can help you get any kind of job, or find any career, or make any money. Cause even if they don't do THOSE things...they can really enrich your life. That's what they're there for.
Over and out...
TBF
