There's a Dragon in my Art Room: Three fabulous exhibits, no pictures?

Thursday, February 21, 2019

Three fabulous exhibits, no pictures?

Ah, to go to NYC and see 3 fabulous art exhibits was a delight, but to learn no photos were allowed in any of them was a huge frustration! The three exhibits were: Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving at the Brooklyn Museum, Andy Warhol's Endangered Species at the Ukrainian Museum, and Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth at the Morgan Library and Museum.

But I'm gonna tell you about them anyhow, and show you some pics I took in parts of the museums where photography IS allowed....

I know lots of people have been VERY excited about the Frida exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. And so was I. It is an extensive collection of memorabilia, including tons of photos, some of her drawings, her clothing, her medical corsets (including plaster corsets that she'd painted herself), a prosthetic leg with red satin shoes, and video clips. It's a very in-depth look into her life. But there were only about 1/2 dozen of her paintings, and, while the exhibit was fascinating, I desperately wanted to see more of her actual paintings. They look very different (so much better!) in person, than in photos. So - worth going? It's up to you. Just don't expect to see an exhibition of her paintings, or you'll be disappointed.

Anyhow, there's so much else to see, while you're at the Brooklyn Museum. Above is a gorgeous Alfred Bierstadt painting. If you make the visit, don't miss Judy Chicago's incredible installation, The Dinner Party (pictured below)!

Below, The Virgin by Joseph Stella

There's currently a big Andy Warhol exhibit at the Whitney Museum, but we instead decided to go to the tiny Ukrainian Museum, where his Endangered Species series of prints were on display. I'd had a set of poster prints from this series in my former classroom, but again, seeing the 'real thing' is so much more impressive! The exhibit also included some memorabilia from his childhood.

Elsewhere in the Ukrainian Museum, there are exhibits of costumes and headdresses. But the exhibit that most intrigued me was RE:CREATE. Christina Saj's Transformative Paintings. The colorful paintings hung on the walls, and in the center of the room were boxes with a variety of painted shapes backed by magnets, that visitors were invited to use to transform the paintings. I loved the novel concept of this artwork. I hope other visitors aren't afraid to dig into the boxes and play! Such fun!

Below are the 'before' and 'afters' of a couple of paintings that I transformed.

I discovered by accident that there was a J.R.R. Tolkien at the Morgan Library and Museum. I honestly had never even heard of the Morgan Library, but I'd previously toured and seen exhibits at the New York Public Library (also worth a visit!). Well... The Morgan Library is a real gem! And the Tolkien exhibit? WOW! I hadn't realized that he was, as well as a writer, also an incredible artist. And of course he also designed all the maps, and created the languages, too. If you travel to NYC this spring, the exhibit is there through mid-May, and is definitely worth a visit, even if you aren't a huge fan of The Lord of The Rings books. (By the way, there's also a fabulous photography exhibit at the Morgan right now, and no photos were allowed there, either.)