National Gallery of Art

Probably about a decade ago, I made my (so far) only visit to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.  It must be a pretty large facility, as I recall seeing only a small fraction of the art there! Although, I arrived there later in the day than I had planned (after getting lost on the D.C. streets), and also wound up spending too much time looking for a good place to eat dinner.  The Modern Art section was the only part of the museum that I explored, which all in all made it a worthwhile day!


My favorite part of the National Gallery (that I actually saw) was this one room dedicated solely to mobiles and sculptures by the American artist Alexander Calder.   The lighthearted whimsy and youthful joy which this room emanated was surely palpable to even the least artistically interested person.  While spending considerable time basking in this room, an elderly woman approached and said "This room is magic!", to which both my traveling companion and I responded, "Yes, it is!"


One of Calder's pieces at the gallery was "Finny Fish" from the year 1948.


Large structures built by Calder were also prominently on display at the Storm King Art Center (see post dated 4-27-2011).

Storm King Art Center

A few years ago I visited the Storm King Art Center in Mountainville, New York!  The center is a large outdoor sculpture garden, including works by Alexander Calder, Henry Moore and others, and includes some rather large works of art.  My main impression of the artwork was that it focused solely on very minimalist and abstract type sculpture, which was pleasing and restful to look at.  However, I felt that the place could use some more detailed and intricate works, to further engage the viewers. Perhaps something with more of a human element to it, something more to relate to, would have been good.  My other recollection of that day, is that it was one of the hottest, most humid days I had ever seen.  I remember my traveling partner making me run uphill to stay with her, as she was searching for a restroom, and I was thinking that running in that heat was probably one of the silliest things I had done in some time. Wow, was it miserable outside!  Fortunately, a rain shower came after a while, and I also got to rest my pale skin in an air conditioned restaurant. After I got back home, I didn't go outside again for several weeks. 


Anyway, here are a few photos that I took of the Storm King Art Center.  :)