Art Museum of the Americas & National Museum of Women in the Arts

The first museum I want to share my experience is the Art Museum of the Americas. I was going to visit but then I needed to wait for them to finish installing their latest exhibit: Fusion. Fusion is an exhibit about the Asian influence in Latin America and it's art and artists. I took some photos from some of the information sheets about different artists and I'm just going to include those in their fullness because I found them really useful.

Result of this museum visit: I think that Arturo Kubotta is a new favorite artist and the series done by Tomie Ohtake on the creation are among my favorites. Why? I really like Kubotta's portrayal of the universe. I think it is beautiful--a lot more beautiful than my non-professional camera will allow me to show you.  With Ohtake's painting from the Creation of the World series, I love how there is light appearing in the darkness.  I know it looks mostly brown in the photograph, but it closer to black in real life, with a slight rim of red and orange appearing around the circumference.

Las Palmas (The Palms), 1973, M. P. Alladin, Trinidad

Another view of Las Palmas by M. P. Alladin

Interior wall leading from one room to the other in the Art Museum of the Americas

This wall is a work of art in itself! It is so beautiful! And blue! Loved it so I took a picture.

View of the "backyard" of the museum, standing in the blue mosaic hallway

Solemn Pact, 1980, Manabu Mabe, Brazil

Untitled from the series Creation of the World, 1994, Tomie Ohtake, Brazil

Another view of Untitled by Tomie Ohtake

Endlessly Spacious, 1962, Arturo Kubotta, Peru

Another view of Endlessly Spacious by Arturo Kubotta

Cosmic Sedimentation, 1963, Arturo Kubotta, Peru

Another view of Cosmic Sedimentation

Now begins the second art museum visit: the National Museum of Women in the Arts. First of all, can we just appreciate how lovely the building is?

First floor interior of the National Museum of Women in the Arts

Second floor interior view of the museum

Now, here's some of the art pieces that stuck out at me as I wandered.

Still Life of Fish and Cat, after 1620, Clara Peeters, Flanders
Peeters is the only Flemish women known to have specialized in still-life painting as early as the 1620s.

This piece was painted in the early 1600s and looks like a photograph! The detail on the fish, shrimp, and cat are astounding!  The fish look so real, especially with the light that she painted on reflecting off of their scales.  I'm just amazed at the beauty and realism of this still-life.

Portrait of a Young Boy, 1817, Elisabeth Louise Vigee-Lebrun, French

Plain and simple: I liked this one because his smile reminded me of my nephew's smile.

4 Seated Figures, 2002, Magdalena Abakanowicz, Poland
From the information sheet: "Known for her innovate off-loom sculptural techniques,...these handless figures may relate to the artist's personal experiences; she witnessed her mother being shot in the hands as soldiers stormed their hom in Poland during World War II. Abakanowicz notes, however, that the figures are genderless and do not suggest any particular race: 'They are naked, exposed, and vulnerable, just as we all are.'"

Whether or not these four seated figures in any way represent the experience that the artist witnessed during the Holocaust, I like the artist's own statement about how they reflect everyone in our naked, exposed, vulnerable state.  How many times have we sat down feeling like these creations look?  Hoping no one would notice us but hoping they would, at the same time?  I also think that the way she manipulated the fabric and made it sit up is really neat. I would never think of doing that!

To Kiss the Spirits: Now This Is What It Is Really Like, 1993, Hollis Sigler, American

I like this artist's rendition of death: climb up a twisting staircase in a pillar of light and slowly turn into an angel. Also, the brushstrokes reminded me of Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night.

After the Storm, ca. 1876, Sarah Bernhardt, French
From the information sheet, "She based this image of a woman cradling a child on a scene she witnessed on France's Breton coast. Bernhardt's composition also recalls Michelangelo's well-know Pieta sculpture, where the Virgin Mary holds the dead Christ.

I love France. I love sculpture. I love the Pieta. I love this sculpture and the story of grief that it so plainly is telling.

Lady With a Bowl of Violets, ca. 1910, Lilla Cabot Perry, American

For anyone who has seen BBC's Bleak House, doesn't she kind of resemble Lady Deadlock? That was my first thought. My second thought as I examined the painting more closely is that I like the impressionist leanings, especially in the light landing on her clothing, yet still results in a recognizable portrait.