The VA Museum of Fine Arts had a Chihuly exhibit for most of the winter. When I emailed James the information about the several-month-long exhibit last fall, he jokingly replied "I'm busy that day." That turned out to be a pretty accurate description. The kids and I managed to squeeze in a visit on the last weekend of the exhibit!
The glass was, as always, amazing and stunning. We're pretty spoiled though, and this was our third exposure to Chihuly glass; we saw an extensive exhibit in at the
Desert Botanical Gardens as well as a lot of
Chihuly pieces and glass art in general in Seattle. The size of this exhibit just didn't compare, and it didn't take us long to walk through. I don't think the boys noticed that aspect though; they were adequately impressed with what they saw.
We thought it was funny how so many of the pieces were wonky, but still considered almost-priceless art. We told Papa he needs a better marketing team for his glass work!
These pieces together use all of the glass colors. The inside and outside are different colors, with all different flecks incorporated. Even the rim of each piece is a contrasting color.
Since we had made it through the Chihuly exhibit more quickly than I'd expected, we took some time to explore the rest of the VMFA. We spent a lot of quality time mocking the modern "art". So uncouth, I know.
The description for the piece below includes: "Despite the wide gold frame and the vibrantly patterned background, this subject's stylish Sean Jean street wear and Timberland boots keep him firmly in the present and urban America." I do actually get the artistry and commentary of this piece, which is
supposed to be critiquing how the "Old Master" paintings excluded people
of color. All I could think of when I saw it though? That's something Tracey Jordan (from 30 Rock) would commission.
This one, however, was too much of a stretch for me. "This forty-part work was created by pressing individual felt-tipped pens onto blotting paper until the ink reservoirs emptied onto the page. As vessels rather than drawing instruments, the pens are used in an unconventional manner that preserves their material purity." HUH? This is something you would yell at your toddler for doing with his marker collection, but it's art when it's framed an stuck on a museum wall.
Like I said...uncouth. I'm not sure the docents were impressed by our commentary.
Of course, after all that culture...this may have been the best part of the whole night: Hot Doughnuts Now! Mmmm...warm Krispy Kreme doughnuts!
