The Hirshhorn
On Presidents' Day, we had sunshine and unseasonably warm weather, and we took the kids over to the National Mall to see some Smithsonian museums we had yet to visit since moving here. I'd always been curious about the Castle, so that was our first stop.
The Castle is the Smithsonian Visitor's Center. It gives some history on the Institution and its founder, James Smithson, a British scientist who never visited the United States (interesting story). One room displays a sample of the museum's diverse holdings, and there are models of the entire Smithsonian campus on the Mall. If you were visiting DC, the Castle (officially called the Smithsonian Institution Building) would be a good place to begin exploring the Smithsonian museums; it offers guides, maps, and trip-planning tools. We enjoyed the lovely gardens on the grounds and the striking architecture inside and outside the building.
Close to the Castle are the Freer and Sackler Galleries, which feature the Institution's collection of Asian art, and the Museum of African Art. We walked over to what we thought was the entrance to the Freer, but signs directed us to the other side of the building. When we reached the other side, more signs told us this entrance was closed as well. Since we couldn't find where to enter the Freer, we went into the Sackler. (In writing this post, I discovered that the Freer is indeed closed for renovation until October 2017).
In the Sackler Gallery, we viewed the exhibition Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan, which included beautiful displays of Afghani artists and craftsmanship. We learned about woodworking, pottery, rugs, and jewelry. We also saw a collection of Islamic art, including colorful ceramics and textiles.
Next we crossed the courtyard to the African Art Museum, which I was excited to visit because of our experience living in Mozambique. We viewed a variety of masks, carvings, paintings, and textiles. One room displayed a collection of kangas, the brightly colored cloths women wear as coverings for their clothing or use as head wraps or tablecloths, which in Mozambique are called capulanas. They were inexpensive and I brought back around twenty of them when we came home; some I have used to make throw pillows. My happiest find in the museum was a painting from a Mozambican artist, Malangatana.
I was not only proud that Mozambique was represented among the art, but I also just loved the painting, with its greens, reds, and yellows that reminded me of the flag, and the flowers, the woman, the crosses, and the tears that reminded me of the beauty and the pain of the country itself. The gift shop was full of lovely art, jewelry, and ceramics that I was tempted to take home; thankfully Harvey was there to hold me back.
We took a quick break from the art and headed over to the Mall to let A get out of his stroller and give the kids a chance to run around and enjoy the lovely weather. I sat on the grass and soaked in the sun and the views of the Capitol (which you can spot behind me in the selfie), the Washington Monument, the museums, the tourists, and my kids playing tag:
Along with the nude paintings and sculptures, we saw other stunning pieces of modern art: deKooning, Miro, Kandinsky. There's something I love about being in an art museum, being in the presence of great works of art and seeing them up close. I'm not an artistic person, so I'm in awe of the creativity and skill of artists: the ability to imagine something unique and bring it to life with intention and precision. I love thinking about the meaning of art, what I can imagine and what I can't, the sense of mystery it evokes. Modern art is my favorite art for this reason. And the Hirshhorn certainly delivered on thought-provoking modern art.
That was our Presidents' Day: family, art, sunshine, play--and a few nudes, courtesy of the Hirshhorn.
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| The floor of the Smithsonian Castle |
The Castle is the Smithsonian Visitor's Center. It gives some history on the Institution and its founder, James Smithson, a British scientist who never visited the United States (interesting story). One room displays a sample of the museum's diverse holdings, and there are models of the entire Smithsonian campus on the Mall. If you were visiting DC, the Castle (officially called the Smithsonian Institution Building) would be a good place to begin exploring the Smithsonian museums; it offers guides, maps, and trip-planning tools. We enjoyed the lovely gardens on the grounds and the striking architecture inside and outside the building.
 |
| The Castle gardens |
Close to the Castle are the Freer and Sackler Galleries, which feature the Institution's collection of Asian art, and the Museum of African Art. We walked over to what we thought was the entrance to the Freer, but signs directed us to the other side of the building. When we reached the other side, more signs told us this entrance was closed as well. Since we couldn't find where to enter the Freer, we went into the Sackler. (In writing this post, I discovered that the Freer is indeed closed for renovation until October 2017).
In the Sackler Gallery, we viewed the exhibition Turquoise Mountain: Artists Transforming Afghanistan, which included beautiful displays of Afghani artists and craftsmanship. We learned about woodworking, pottery, rugs, and jewelry. We also saw a collection of Islamic art, including colorful ceramics and textiles.
Next we crossed the courtyard to the African Art Museum, which I was excited to visit because of our experience living in Mozambique. We viewed a variety of masks, carvings, paintings, and textiles. One room displayed a collection of kangas, the brightly colored cloths women wear as coverings for their clothing or use as head wraps or tablecloths, which in Mozambique are called capulanas. They were inexpensive and I brought back around twenty of them when we came home; some I have used to make throw pillows. My happiest find in the museum was a painting from a Mozambican artist, Malangatana.
 |
| Nude with Flowers |
I was not only proud that Mozambique was represented among the art, but I also just loved the painting, with its greens, reds, and yellows that reminded me of the flag, and the flowers, the woman, the crosses, and the tears that reminded me of the beauty and the pain of the country itself. The gift shop was full of lovely art, jewelry, and ceramics that I was tempted to take home; thankfully Harvey was there to hold me back.
We took a quick break from the art and headed over to the Mall to let A get out of his stroller and give the kids a chance to run around and enjoy the lovely weather. I sat on the grass and soaked in the sun and the views of the Capitol (which you can spot behind me in the selfie), the Washington Monument, the museums, the tourists, and my kids playing tag:
Our final stop was the Hirshhorn. If you are a parent of children or teenagers and you're planning to visit the Hirshhorn with them, be aware that there's some art there that might raise some questions with the kiddos! I'm not sorry we took them there, but I wish I'd been a bit more prepared for what we saw. As soon as we stepped off the elevator, we were greeted by a giant painting of a nude man reclining, with everything on display. In fact, when you search for "nude" on the Hirshhorn Web site, there are almost a hundred results. So we heard a few "eeewww"s and "gross"es and "why"s, but we explained as well as we could to a group of 5-to-13-year-olds why the naked human body was an appropriate subject for artists to portray.
Along with the nude paintings and sculptures, we saw other stunning pieces of modern art: deKooning, Miro, Kandinsky. There's something I love about being in an art museum, being in the presence of great works of art and seeing them up close. I'm not an artistic person, so I'm in awe of the creativity and skill of artists: the ability to imagine something unique and bring it to life with intention and precision. I love thinking about the meaning of art, what I can imagine and what I can't, the sense of mystery it evokes. Modern art is my favorite art for this reason. And the Hirshhorn certainly delivered on thought-provoking modern art.
That was our Presidents' Day: family, art, sunshine, play--and a few nudes, courtesy of the Hirshhorn.
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