Sunday – May 12, 2013
Another good reason to go to Boston is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Mrs. Gardner built an Italian Renaissance palazzo to display her magnificent collection of 2,500 objects. There are artifacts from Egypt, ancient Rome, Medieval and Renaissance Europe, China, Japan, the Middle East, and the Americas. Unfortunately, photography is prohibited so I have no lovely photos of the museum to share.
Mrs. Gardner’s museum has a breathtaking collection of art housed in a Venetian palace in downtown Boston. The website provides a catalogue of the treasures, but doesn’t give the viewer an accurate sense of the size or grandeur of this unique palazzo. http://www.gardnermuseum.org
Contemporary Art
This day, the Gardner Museum was crowded with Mother’s Day families. As the sun streamed into the center courtyard, casting shadows on the spring flowers and palms, my shutter-finger flexed uncontrollably. We decided that we would return soon, but during the week.
Institute of Contemporary Art
The morning clouds gave way to a bright blue sky and we had enough time to go to the Institute of Contemporary Art located on Boston Harbor.
Harbor-side View of the ICA
We read about the ICA and it sounded like an interesting place to visit, not only because of its excellent location on the waterfront, but also because of the unique architecture of the building.
Street Art Indoors
There were several works of contemporary artists on display in the galleries. After two decades of working in San Francisco, “street artist”, Barry McGee’s works were brought inside for to create an inspiring exhibit.
Art Appreciation
McGee was a graffiti artist who also worked with “found objects” and discarded materials to express the pessimism of urban living, pollution, addiction,and poverty. The market value of his artwork rose after several international exhibits. As a result of the increased attention in the art world, his public pieces were scavenged or stolen. I think they should have given cans of spray paint to the visitors for us to make art and participate in an interactive exhibit.
Graffiti Artists
Inside Outside
I enjoyed Barry McGee’s works! They expressed the tension of working in the streets of San Francisco and the grittiness of street life. It must have been a challenge to display his work indoors in a gallery space.
Art or Nature?
McGee’s work was a fitting end to our weekend. We began with the memorial in Copley Square, which was a spontaneous public outpouring of emotions to honor the victims of the bombings at the finish of the Boston Marathon. We ended with Barry McGee’s view of life on the streets in another major American city. With the current thread of inequality, lack of respect for each other, and inhumane violence, it is a challenge to all of us to retain inner strength, maintain resiliency, and to question our values and attitudes toward other human beings.
Natural Mural
Barry McGee’s philosophy of art and life was recently quoted in a Boston newspaper: Are you into the magic of art? Just the magic of, how did that happen? And if you’re standing in front of something and just don’t understand it, but you’re drawn to it? I think it’s one of the last things that still has a magic to it. It just appears. Perhaps we all need a little magic in our lives?