The Picasso Museum in Barcelona is an institution and is worth a quick visit. But if you have been looking at Picasso for years, you won’t find much in the way of major works. In any case, Barcelona is proud of what it has come to think of as its home town boy. Lots of early work.
Lots. Like an entire wall’s worth.
Set in four connected villas, the museum has amassed a very deep (but not very wide) collection.
This blue.
Avant guard in Paris with the Russian ballet. Picasso was blending fine art, music, and dance in 1909. (And here we thought we were onto something with Into the Unknown.)
There is lots of politics pervading the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía which if you think about it is somewhat ironic. I mean, the place itself is named after a queen. And lots of anti-imperial politics pervades (including some well-deserved anti-Americanism). But a queen? What kind of democracy has a monarch? Or still reveres a monarch? Seriously. Those days need to be behind us as a species.
Anyway, the ill-begotten gains of monarchy are at least being spent on art and not on oppression. Or is art just an opiate slightly stronger than religion? These are difficult issues to plumb.
And are they old fashioned or what? No pictures of some of the pictures? Trapped in the past they are. The guernica room is a shrine that should be full of life, not a mausoleum. Spain still seems to have a Franco hangover.
You might die, but if anything is noted as the cause of death, it will be loneliness.
There are no people doing art or even visiting Terzo Paradiso unless you count our unruly bunch. Here’s what we saw (and what we did).
First we explored random spaces.
And then we found some art to see (but only after getting lucky).
After a short nap in the hammocks near the circles, we found the projector and those glowy rocks from Land of the Lost.
There were no Sleestaks. So here are two for good measure. They covet the glowy rocks.
There was dirt.
There was also very silly science. But it was arty.
Not surprisingly, the room was better than the dirt.
Watch this video. Really.
Rhine took pics too. It was hard not to.
We got lucky and found another human who told us how to cross the highway, go down the stairs and find even more art. Or rather more art places with not much art. Something like that.
Rhine woke up from his long nap, dreaming of Sleestaks and late 1970s TV.
The space rang a long cool echo of lost civilizations and the empty planet to come.
So there was dance.
And reflection
We climbed back down to reality using a ladder that was too short to reach the sky.
What do you do when you’re in NYC with friends just for fun? Well, for one thing you go to the Whitney Biennial (which you get to by walking down the High Line…but that’s another story). The Whitney has become my favorite museum in the city. The Biennial was interesting, but not really much more interesting than the usual stuff on display at the Whitney. Of course, the usual stuff is usually great.
The top floor of the Biennial is downright anxiety inducing.
Are we living in a computer simulation? Don’t ask Dave.
The Man Ray exhibit in Richmond is well worth a visit, especially when you surround yourself with friends. Romey set up this visit to the VMFA with Stan. Gorgeous pictures, interesting technique, and oh the gossip!
There were the famous.
picasso
The dead.
Dead Proust
The musical.
Stravinsky
The queer.
Barbette
Some film (with a modern soundtrack by Paul Mercer called Emak-bakia)
Oh boy, oh boy did we want to go to this one the second we heard about it. Laurie Anderson has overtaken the second floor at the Hirshhorn with an installation that is a bit of a retrospective and a living piece of art at the same time at the same time art at the same time living piece of art at the same time.
Just go. I mean, you’ve been already right?
The Hirshhorn is under construction. Just like the exhibit.
So lets go see… But before we start, I just have to mention in passing that my artistic son was psyched to see the exhibit spontaneously well before I did (beat dad by two weeks in fact), but failed to connect the art he was experiencing to Laurie Anderson’s music (especially Big Science which he has heard a zillion times). I think hooking in some of the great music would be a treat.
I guess this counts. Kinda. Only an expert drum machine.
Flags in unison, except for one flag that was on strike or experiencing technical difficulties, or maybe it is just an iconoclast.
The striking flag. You can tell it is a communist since it is red.
This picture makes the song play in my head.
Anyway, here. This song was only alluded to through text in the exhibit. Have a listen.
This picture will play the song in your head, through your earholes.
Then there was the crow room (actually probably a raven, but I am calling it a crow anyway). For me, this is all about Emily Shepardson. I think Laurie owes Emily some royalties. Or maybe just a make up concert in the living room.
This room is striking, fun, quirky, disturbing, and classic overload all at the same time same time all at the same time classic overload all at the same time.
The raven crow
The crow raven
The craven row
Romey and the crow
Did I mention that my dear friend Spool was along?
The golden canoe looks as seaworthy as some of its NH counterparts
A picture for emily of a picture of the picture, but not this picture, the one IN this picture.
Color!
Kind of a shock after all of that black and white. Big paintings.
Color too!
The tape loop violins
Then it was back to Fall in the beautiful gardens next door.
My art compatriots
I mean who gets to see art like this with two beautiful women? Oh, its me.
Smack dab in the heart of campus, the IU Art Museum occupies a beautiful building designed by I.M.Pei (whose initials spell out imp, for what it’s worth). The collection is well curated and presents a blend of historical artifacts in one space and an art collection in others.
Visit if you can.
START
A special exhibit of Dürer prints was on display in the 3rd floor gallery. This was one of those many life coincidences as Eli and I had been discussing his art the night before somewhat spontaneously. The world is small.
Ancient art was also available if the 1500s were too recent.
The contemporary collection includes mostly minor works, but has a nice blend of artifacts.
What a place to see one of my all time favorite contemporary music groups. Eighth Blackbird played the National Gallery 2.16.20, and the show was free. As always, the group featured brand new music from living composers, including: Nina Shekhar, Fjóla Evans, Andy Akiho, Holly Harrison, David Lang, Viet Cuong, Jonathan Bailey Holland, and Julius Eastman. This show included some ringers in for violin, flute, and clarinet.
Lisa Kaplan, fearless leader and director of eighth blackbird
My favorite set was the second, and my favorite piece was Viet Cuoug’s Electric Aroma (2017),
The most precious thing in the museum was Cora, of course.
Cora does contemporary
The setting (no pictures or recording during the show)
After the concert, there were a few minutes for art.
Then it was out and on the metro for cocktails and dinner at Baba.
