Will Travel For Art: September 2012

I was told to go to the Brooklyn Museum by a man I admired, a previous boss who had worked there before. I fully intended to go every time I went to New York...for 10 years. Finally a full decade and many, many trips to New York later, I started my visit to the Brooklyn Museum, in the Bronx. Yes, I realize I was in the wrong borough and there were multiple rivers and Manhattan in the way, but when I told my husband I really wanted to get to the Brooklyn Museum and see the Rachel Kneebone exhibit his first response was "Great, we'll visit my cousin in Spite and Dyvil". We took the scenic route… literally, the commuter train to Grand Central has a much better view than the 9 subway line, and after stopping for coffee, took the 4/5 out to Brooklyn. Half-way through our subway trip my husband started to search his pockets for the directions and realizing he didn't have them, we got off at Franklin Avenue and called the friends we were supposed to meet for brunch. They hurried to collect us off the street corner and ushered us over to Bar Corvo for more coffee and food and a counter-weighted bathroom door. It was truly worth the mention.

I found it fitting, since we were going to see an exhibit of art inspired by that of Auguste Rodin, to find "Uovo in Purgatorio" on the menu, one please! They were overindulgent, in one word, and so filling we had to cancel our "dessert french toast". After a quick stop for ice cream at Ample Hills that was "on the way" to the museum we finally reached our appointed destination.

I don't know if they are always there, but I immediately noticed the figures from the Burghers of Calais in the huge entrance and attempted to explain what "burghers" were to my husband, finally figuring out that he was thinking "burgers". Saved by the wall text explaining the story! We went to the 6th floor directly to visit the Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art and entered the exhibit space to be confronted by Kneebone's works interspersed with those of Rodin. What an opportunity. They were easily identified from eachother at a glance since Kneebone's stark white porcelain figures (yes porcelain, fragile, smooth and creamy) contrasted the black patina of the Rodin casts. The National Gallery of Art has a wonderful collection of works by this master of the 19th century but the Brooklyn Museum seemed to have more on view when I was there. Walking in to the exhibit, my first thought was "altar", the work that confronted me there was pediment like, broken into three, with small figures intertwined on top in offering. I was not immediately struck by this, but as I walked around I realized there were no heads on Kneebone's figures, they were only torso-down. My mind zigged to thoughts about how women are valued only for sex and childbirth, the relationship with the headless works of Rodin, and the sheer helplessness of a headless, armless woman. Judy Chicago's masterpiece, The Dinner Party, is permanently

installed in the center of the Center and worth a visit in itself, but it occurred to me after we left that the subject matter was complimentary. The images of Chicago’s iconic work do it no justice, the intricacy of each place setting was amazing to finally see in person, especially for a x-stitcher like me. I took a number of pictures of Chicago’s work, the settings for Elizabeth Blackwell and Petronillo de Meath for that beautiful embroidery, and Sappho in honor of our upcoming trip to Greece.

I managed to talk my husband into doing something art related TWO days in a row while in New York. The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx created a mini- Monet’s Giverney. I read about the exhibit on the New York Times website, but I actually heard about it first from Bill Cunningham, I’m a bit obsessed with his “On the Street” videos, so I always get excited when he mentions something art related, I feel like he’s doing it for me. Having never been to Giverny itself, I had to do this, even at $20, the entrance fee is cheaper than a plane ticket! It was beautiful, especially the lily pads and although it was hot, the clouds kept moving around, providing some great lighting for pictures. I think I took fifteen pictures of one lily pad because of the shadows and water droplets that formed on it. What I thought was especially interesting was that the point of the project was to create a “Giverny-like” garden. The whole display will change with time as plants bloom, are cycled out, and are then replaced with other plants, although not necessarily the same types. After a bite in their cafeteria, that was more filling than we thought it would be we took the commuter train back onto Manhattan and headed back to Washington, D.C. concluding another wonderful weekend!