W.DC

Last weekend I went to DC (for the first time, kind of crazy I know) to visit my brother. Really my mother and I went down their to help him "set up house" so to speak, he's the quintessential haphazard bachelor, perfectly content to live with no curtains on his windows. So naturally my decorating itch kicked in and headed for 10th street to rectify the situation. I figured since I was down there I would get to The Smithsonian and finally quiet that nagging voice in my head telling my to get there. More specifically we headed to Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden; anyone who knows me knows that I'm very nearly obsessed with modern art, so this was the obvious choice out of all the Smithsonian institutions for me to see during my short visit. It had a great variety of artists, mediums, and movements showcased. They had an incredible show on the lower level called Strange Bodies. There were photographs, sculptures, installations, and  drawings, its was awesome. I was really excited to see Giacometti scupltures especially Walking Man II 1948:

One of the creepiest things I've seen in a long time was this, I don't even know what to call it,maybe a replica or representation, it is constructed with pigmented polyester resin on fiberglass.  The artist is Ron Muek, and name of the piece is Untitled (Big Man), 2000. Check out the creepiness:

My favorite piece however, had to be by Edward Keinholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, it was titled In the Infield Was Patty Peccavi, 1981. It was so intricate and fascinating from every angle, one of the best installation pieces I've ever seen. 

   

I have to say I was really nervous when I was greeted by an Andy Warhol at the bottom of the escalator, but the space redeemed itself ten fold. The upper levels were chock full of amazing pieces too. The second level was closed for the installation of their Louise Bourgeois show, which opened last week, but the third level was open which is were I saw this awesome sculptural creation that reminded me think of you Helen, 1. because it looked like pick-up sticks, and 2. because it was so colorful and put me in mind of your project. It's a piece by Jesus Rafael Soto made in 1968, titled Two Volumes in the Virtual. 

The top level was a great big circle which was a little dizzying some how, but they did have a ton of furniture to sit down on which was excellent, and they also have alarms that go off if someone gets too close to a piece. I've never seen that before but I thought it was pretty hilarious, all the guards were so used to the alarm going off they barely responded besides grumbling under their breath and skulking off to go scold some unsuspecting museum patron. 

Overall it was a great museum, maybe it took itself a little too seriously, which I find more often than not is the case with these types of places, but I got to see some particularly great art and that makes it worth it. And if the art wasn't enough to make the trip worth while getting to hear an oafish man say it was okay to touch a Louise Bourgeois sculpture (that was in front of the museum) because "the rules don't count if you're outside," and then getting greeted by the "DO NOT TOUCH THE SCULPTURE" sign only to respond with "well that's so stupid why would you put it outside unless you wanted people to touch it," made braving the DC cold snap completely worth it. The only thing that I find almost equally as fascinating as art is the ridiculous things that people think and more importantly say out loud.