Sunday, August 22, 2010

Art Adventure: Birth of Impressionism at the de Young


It was a gorgeous day in San Francisco where I planned to meet my dear friend, Lucy, and some friends at the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park for the Birth of Impressionism exhibition. Lucy, a Masters degree student at Columbia in social work, was leaving for NY to a more rough and tumbly world, (including long term research in the NY jail!), in just a few days. What a contrast however, to first stroll around this beautiful park and catch a little Parisian Museum culture on loan to San Francisco before studying the slammer.

The Botanical Garden

Entrance to the park with the Academy of Sciences straight ahead (that dome is their "living roof"), where the de Young sits right across the street.

Inside the Contemporary Art room, I found Lucy and Kenya pondering skateboarder art.

Part of the Bay Area Figurative room; a David Park and an Elmer Bischoff.

Shiny things!

You gotta love (or at least admire) the technical skill of painter Gottfried Helnwein.

Upstairs in the textile room, a sweet surprise; my favorite fashion duo, Rodarte, in a tie-dye exhibition.

I can never get enough of the headdresses and adornments of the Oceania section.

Dorking out with my favorite headdress. It's six feet tall and has a whole stuffed bird in the middle!

Inside the Birth of Impressionism exhibition; there were many lovely "Before" Impressionism works, i.e. realistic, beautiful, and decadent nudes and allegory paintings. This one was in the Bridging Impressionism section- getting a little loose around the edges.

This one's totally dark! I got in trouble after this shot with one of the many security guards for sneaking photos so I didn't get any shots of the Manets, Degas, Cezannes, or Whistlers. It was a great show, though, and I was surprised to find I loved a lot of the work I thought I might have found a little stuffy. Still, I could give or take Renoir. Yawn.

Culture Club: Lucy's sis Phoebe, Lucy, Kenya, and me.

Lucy and Darrol in matching Ray Bans. We're going to miss you Lucy!

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