The weekend before last found me in Oakland, California for an appearance at the New Rheem Theatre. It was a quick trip but I had a great time.
This week you could find me in Chicago. What a city. What I love about Chicago...the people, the architecture, the art...what I don't like...the wind. I found myself fascinated by how people kept their hair from looking like mine...wild and crazy.
I was with my son Jesse and we had a blast. We were lucky enough to find time to visit the best museum ever...the Art Institute of Chicago where we found the most outstanding exhibits. Henri Cartier-Bresson - The Modern Century left Jesse and I in awe.
The museums collection of Impressionist art is astounding, and I found myself standing in front of Van Goghs "The Bedroom"1889... I have always wanted to see it.
Henri de Toulouse Lautrec "At The Moulin Rouge" impressed Jesse.
a few pieces of art I was mystified by...
Pierre Auguste Renoir. Two Sisters (On the Terrace), 1881
Oil on canvas 39 9/16 x 37 7/8 in. (100.5 x 81 cm
Claude Monet French, Water Lilies, 1906 Oil on canvas 34 1/2 x 36 1/2 in. (87.6 x 92.7 cm)
Georges Seurat A Sunday on La Grande Jatte -- 1884, 1884-86
Oil on canvas 81 3/4 x 121 1/4 in. (207.5 x 308.1 cm)
Oil on canvas 81 3/4 x 121 1/4 in. (207.5 x 308.1 cm)
I could not believe how big this piece of art was. It was huge, with thousands of miniature dots creating a border around it. Amazing...and there were hundreds more pieces of art that were out of this world. O'Keefe, Picasso, Gaugain, Cassatt...I could have spent days...but we had one more exhibit we wanted to see and that was the Thorne Miniature Rooms.
If you love miniatures...you have to see this...
I was shooting through glass so check out more here
It's all in the details...
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| If you are a miniature freak like me...You'll love this book. All 69 rooms shown in detail. |
There was more to this trip...but you'll have to wait...
“I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, determined to ‘trap’ life—
to preserve life in the act of living.”
—Cartier-Bresson in 1952, recalling his work of the early 1930s
to preserve life in the act of living.”
—Cartier-Bresson in 1952, recalling his work of the early 1930s
6 comments:
Good trip. Walt Disney was a fan of miniatures as well.
Happy Birthday BTW a few weeks ago!
Looks like a GREAT place to visit!!! Mom loves mini rooms!
As beautiful as Van Goghs "The Bedroom" is, the real masterpiece is standing just to the right. Artists have always amazed me. For I CAN draw a straight line, but unfortunately after that the rest is lost to me.
When I was 17 I was in a art class that the teacher wanted us to paint a picture like Georges Seurat pointillism. I still have it.
Hey, dear! Of course I knew of the Thorne Rooms... you know I did live in Chicago. It's my fave city EVER. DESPITE the wind!
So I have (had) the book of the exhibit - the Miniature Rooms book, but I gave it to Sebassy. See, I read aloud to him this cool kids' book that came out this year called The Sixty-eight Rooms. He loved it, and while we read would look up that particular room. He has spent hours with the book --- I hope he'll go to see them one day! In case anyone is interested, here's the synopsis:
Sixth-graders Ruthie and her best friend, Jack, are on a class visit to Chicago’s Art Institute, where they see the famous Thorne Rooms. Filled with incredible miniatures, the rooms, representing different time periods, fascinate Ruthie. When she finds a key that shrinks her and allows her to get inside the rooms, Ruthie wants to return as soon as possible. Jack is a willing partner, and when a way is found to shrink him, too, the adventure really begins. First-time novelist Malone carefully crafts a fantastical story with plenty of real-world elements, including Jack’s mother’s worries as she tries to make a living as an artist and the subplot of a museum security guard, who has lost something important. Jack and Ruthie find it in the rooms, which tie the past and present together. There are contrivances that make accessibility to the adventures possible, but readers will focus on the mystery, the history, and the excitement of being small. Grades 4-6.
PS Did you have Pasticcios waiting for you upon your return? You better have had!!!
Happy Birthday!!
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