My Favorite Gallery Experience

[REMgirl]

I'm an artist and I have studied art for many years. It always was amazing to me to see real paintings and sculpture in person after only seeing them in books.

My favorite experience was when I visited the Chicago Art Museum. I had come to see the Monet exhibit, but first we went upstairs to tour the other galleries. One of my favorite painters was Seurat, the artist known for his pointillism technique, painting in small dots to create an impressionistic image.

I knew the Afternoon on the Grande Jatte, his most well-known piece, was hanging in the gallery and I couldn't wait to see it. I climbed a wide, winding staircase up to the gallery and when I went inside, the painting was hung at the end of the room. It's huge! I stood there, transfixed. It was a wonderful moment, and I actually got tears in my eyes. I approached it slowly, and finally got up close to it. It was amazing! The dots of color are all different and shimmery and the colors and textures are hard to imagine. I backed up and walked up about twenty times.

My friends finally had to literally drag me out of the gallery.

[rocketman70]

I'm an artist and I have studied art for many years. It always was amazing to me to see real paintings and sculpture in person after only seeing them in books.

My favorite experience was when I visited the Chicago Art Museum. I had come to see the Monet exhibit, but first we went upstairs to tour the other galleries. One of my favorite painters was Seurat, the artist known for his pointillism technique, painting in small dots to create an impressionistic image.

I knew the Afternoon on the Grande Jatte, his most well-known piece, was hanging in the gallery and I couldn't wait to see it. I climbed a wide, winding staircase up to the gallery and when I went inside, the painting was hung at the end of the room. It's huge! I stood there, transfixed. It was a wonderful moment, and I actually got tears in my eyes. I approached it slowly, and finally got up close to it. It was amazing! The dots of color are all different and shimmery and the colors and textures are hard to imagine. I backed up and walked up about twenty times.

My friends finally had to literally drag me out of the gallery.

Yeah, the Art Institute is awesome. The French Impressionist galleries are incredible. I love the Armory as well.

Best gallery experience I've had was earlier this year in London at The Tate Modern. What an incredible museum. They have the most incredible collection of modern art, heck the building itself was a work of art. I was only going spend an hour or so there and I ended up staying for nearly 3.5 hours. Just incredible. If for some reason you find yourself in London, you can't miss this place.

[REMgirl]

Oh, I'm envious of you going to the Tate Museum! I have an acquaintance who lives near London and she promised me if I ever got to travel there, she would make sure I got to the Tate.

[atomikdarling]

Staring up at Winged Victory from the bottom of the staircase at the Louvre.

She's the most beautiful headless chick in the whole wide world.

[berzerker]

I've always loved the Detroit Institute of Art's Modern section. But, maybe that's because I'm from there.

The Cleveland Museum of Art has a fantastic Asian collection.

The Carnegie Museum of Art was doing some renovations while we were there - so, they just hung up everything that would fit in 3 massive rooms. It looked like this:
http://www.cmoa.org/images/exhibitions/firstgallerychairs.jpg

Of course, how can you go to Pittsburgh and not visit the Warhol.

I saw (a tiny bit of ) the Louvre. It could take days to see it all.

If you like Monet, and are in Paris, go to Musee de l'Orangerie. Full of impressionist works.

[eighty]

Pshaw, shall no one mention MoMA? I only got to go to the ghetto Queens version because the real one (in Manhattan) was closed the whole time I lived there for renovations, but it was still super-tight.

Guggenheim I did NOT enjoy. They say Frank Lloyd Wright hated the Guggenheim's collection, and that's why he built the museum as a huge ramp, so you're always standing off balance. I can see where he was coming from.

In Cincinnati there's been good things at Publico and fun times at Mockbee.

[berzerker]

Duh, MoMA. How could I forget? Been to both, and for sure the Manhattan version (was) nicer. Is the new one open?

Oh, yeah, and for the designer in any of you, check out the Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial (next one should be 2006) in NYC. Product (my specialty), graphic, interior, interactive, etc. design at it's finest. Every 3 years...

[Louisianagrl]

My favorite gallery experience has to be seeing my "work" (I'm a model on the side for my old roomate's photography business)framed and in print. It just stunned me that one of my oldest and dearest friends could make such brilliant work....

http://www.woodennickelimages.com/Golden%20L.jpg

http://www.woodennickelimages.com/Light%20of%20Day%20L.jpg

http://www.woodennickelimages.com/aros_b.jpg

[eighty]

Duh, MoMA. How could I forget? Been to both, and for sure the Manhattan version (was) nicer. Is the new one open?
Since September, as far as I understand.

[despondent]

I was very moved by Ansel Adams. It really connected with me.

[REMgirl]

I saw the Ansel Adams exhibit when it was in Cincinnati years ago. I agree, that was a moving experience. When presented as one large show, it's stunningly beautiful.

[rcc94]

My favorite Parisian museum is the Musee d'Orsay. In London, I loved the Geffrye Museum, which is more interiors than art. In D.C. I enjoy visiting the Freer.

One day I'll make it to NYC.

[JesusPresley]

My favourite time at a gallery was probably photographing the shadows cast on the walls of the Dayton Art Institute by th Chihuly exhibit a few years ago. I shot them with colour slide film, processed the film like a normal negative, and got some really trippy shit.

C:\My Documents\My Pictures\chihuly 1
C:\My Documents\My Pictures\Chihuly2

These are the only two prints I can find right now, there are better ones, but you get the idea.

[ms. chevious]

i thought the only good thing about the louvre was the pyramid. i could die happy without seeing another ingres or david. i did, however, get a scar on my knee from falling up the stairs to see the nike statue.

that said, i thought the centre pompidou and the palais de tokyo were amazing.

i also liked the munic museum of contemporary art (esp. the velvet underground banana graffitied by the front door), and the tate modern.

[Patas]

Well this has nothing to do with art really, but once a few years ago my friends and I were in one of the many art gallery's on "The Mall" in Washington DC. We were looking at some old vase or something and one of my friends started telling a funny story. So we were all kind of chuckling. Mind you the gallery was small and virtually empty. Upon hearing this the janitor walked up to us and started explaining why we should be joking about the vase, and he continued telling us about the vase. Then he said something along the lines of "You guys seem like good kids so I'm going to let you know about this invention idea I have". Then he proceeded to tell us about his big invention, which was like an interactive keyboard-like device for the blind. What you have is a flat keyboard like board or a palm-pilot or something. You insert a disk that contains a book and the screen morphs into braille. We all agreed that it sounded like a great invention, but the technology just wasn't there.

Looking back on the situation I feel that the guy should've called Inventech instead. "Everyone laughed at my computerized screen, which morphed into braille, but if I would've called in Inventech I'd be RICH!!!"


< Oh and art museum wise I'd have to go for the Art Institue in Chicago or the Chicago museum of modern art.

[rocketman70]

Oh, I'm envious of you going to the Tate Museum! I have an acquaintance who lives near London and she promised me if I ever got to travel there, she would make sure I got to the Tate.

Wow, do it! You'll love it.

Staring up at Winged Victory from the bottom of the staircase at the Louvre.

She's the most beautiful headless chick in the whole wide world.


I saw (a tiny bit of ) the Louvre. It could take days to see it all.

If you like Monet, and are in Paris, go to Musee de l'Orangerie. Full of impressionist works.

My favorite Parisian museum is the Musee d'Orsay.


i thought the only good thing about the louvre was the pyramid. i could die happy without seeing another ingres or david. i did, however, get a scar on my knee from falling up the stairs to see the nike statue.

that said, i thought the centre pompidou and the palais de tokyo were amazing.


Wow, I really want to visit Paris, and in the worst way. Would someone on here take me? :D

[rcc94]

Wow, I really want to visit Paris, and in the worst way. Would someone on here take me? :D
I'm trying to go next year, but I'm having the hardest time getting my parents to join me. And my dad is a huge Monet fan.

I also forgot that my favorite St. Petersburg museum is the Hermitage. It's amazing!

[rocketman70]

I also forgot that my favorite St. Petersburg museum is the Hermitage. It's amazing!

You are so lucky.


::jealous:: :p

[rcc94]

You are so lucky.


::jealous:: :p
The amazing thing is that is was almost half my lifetime ago - in 1989. It was still Leningrad then. Our tour guide wouldn't let us visit by ourselves, since it is so large, she thought we might get lost in the museum.

Yet they let us (a group of high schoolers) ride the buses and subway by ourselves. Having to read a subway map in another alphabet is not easy! At least I'd already been to Paris that year and had learned how to read a subway map in another language. 1989 was a good year for travel!

[patio]

http://www.woodennickelimages.com/aros_b.jpg


Damn!!!!!!!!

[eighty]

C:\My Documents\My Pictures\chihuly 1
C:\My Documents\My Pictures\Chihuly2
Hey you gotta upload those pictures buddy, they're local to your computer right now.

[REMgirl]

I visited the Chihuly exhibit twice when it was here in Dayton. Not only were we blown away by the giant "tree" pieces, but by some of his early animal forms and the "puttis", the little cherubs he made. I especially enjoy how he incorporates his work into environments.

[berzerker]

My favorite Parisian museum is the Musee d'Orsay.
One day I'll make it to NYC.


Musee d'Orsay rocks. The space is beautifully done, and the works in it are quite impressive.

Pompidou didn't really impress me. Maybe it was just the exhibition that was there, but the building itself was cool.

And, go to NYC. Just go. Figure the rest out later.

[eighty]

And, go to NYC. Just go. Figure the rest out later.
And take me with you.

[juggles]

I think someone already mentioned the National Gallery in Washington D.C. I caught part of an interesting exhibit of baroque architectural models about five years ago. Very cool. The level of detail was astonishing. The facade of the model for the Kremlin was something like ten meters across. Wish I'd had more time to spend there.

But my big gallery experience was at the Alte Pinakothek in Munich. Vienna was supposed to be the high culture stop on our trip. I planned to drink beer and listen to Oompa bands in Munich. I expected to like the Neue Pinakothek (Van Gogh's "Sunflowers," Monet's "Waterlillies" and whatnot) but I was stunned to walk into a room in the Alte and see the wall filled by Rubens' "Large Last Judgement." I had no idea I liked Rubens before that. We also heard the Bavarian State Orchestra while we were there which was equally eye (ear?) opening.

I don't pretend to know much about art or musuems, but I was very impressed by the Pinakothek, and this was before the Moderne was open so it's probably even better now.

[rcc94]

And, go to NYC. Just go. Figure the rest out later.
I just need to know where to stay. I want to go this year.

[eighty]

I just need to know where to stay. I want to go this year.
Brooklyn is cheaper (and nice!), maybe you could start buttering up an NY woxyer now and bum them for a couch later. :p

[akip]

my fav gallery experience of recent memory was at mass moca in north adams, ma. mass moca is a contemporary exhibition space housed in an old renovated mill. anne hamilton made a brilliant installation in the biggest space, a huge, cathedral-like room lined with high windows which she'd tinted pink (but a pink which somehow did not reflect on the inner space). she rigged up maybe 30 plexiglass boxes along the ceiling that dispensed, one by one, crisp, pure-white sheets of paper. they were timed so that at least one or two sheets were floating through the air at any given time, but always released in succession. the paper accumulated on the floor like snow.

anyway, my kid was with us and he was dashing through this huge gallery, catching the paper. he was exhilarated and laughing and having fun. it was one of the loveliest things i've ever seen.

[berzerker]

Brooklyn is cheaper (and nice!), maybe you could start buttering up an NY woxyer now and bum them for a couch later. :p

We got WOXY people there - fuck if I can remember who, at the moment. I guess I'll need to look into that myself, since up until about 3.5 months ago, I could have just stayed with the soon2BX-wife's brother, in Brooklyn.

[JesusPresley]

My favourite time at a gallery was probably photographing the shadows cast on the walls of the Dayton Art Institute by th Chihuly exhibit a few years ago. I shot them with colour slide film, processed the film like a normal negative, and got some really trippy shit.




These are the only two prints I can find right now, there are better ones, but you get the idea.
http://myspace-495.vo.llnwd.net/00157/59/47/157177495_l.jpg
http://myspace-056.vo.llnwd.net/00157/65/07/157177056_l.jpg

Ok, I fixed this. Didn't realize what I'd done wrong before and haven't been back to this thread since.