Tag: museums

Yucatán Road Trip: Baluarte de Santiago and Baluarte de la Soledad, Campeche

Campeche’s city center is circumscribed by the remains of a hexagonal wall built by the Spanish between 1686-1704 to defend the colonial seaport from pirate attack (UNESCO). Remarkably, much of the early fortification, including its eight bastions (baluartes), still exists. These bulwarks are now historical attractions in their own right, protected as part of the city’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, and a few have been turned into small museums to showcase other highlights of the region. Baluarte de Santiago, for instance, is now home to the Xmuch’haltun botanical garden of subtropical plants, while Baluarte de la Soledad houses the Museum of Maya Architecture with a small but impactful collection of Maya ceramics and useful information on nearby sites, including Calakmul, Hochob, and Hormiguero.

Highly subjective personal rating: 7/10

Baluarte de Santiago

img_5056-copy

img_5057-copy

img_5070-copy

img_20150526_0912262-copy

 

Baluarte de la Soledad

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, May 26, 2015.

Impressions from the House on the Rock

IMG_20160529_145208

Whether you’re into automata; infinity rooms; female grotesques; pan-Asian decorative arts; antique guns; circuses; scrimshaw; sea monsters; stained glass; heavily carpeted surfaces; discordant music; winged, semi-nude mannequins; pseudo-Victorian street scenes; or carousels of dolls riding bug-eyed ponies, the House on the Rock has something for you. Dark, convoluted, and often flat-out creepy, the three-part complex located in the forests of southwestern Wisconsin is a call to imagination, a celebration of fakery, and a product of the extreme “eccentricity” of its designer, Alex Jordan, Jr. (1914–1989). Making one’s way past the indiscriminate jumbles of stuff that fill the multitude of tiny nooks and massive, elaborately constructed vignettes can feel like a journey through the mind of a mad man, but one that is as fascinating and surprising as it is exhausting and disturbing.

Jordan opened the original house in 1959 and built the more carnivalesque second and third sections over the next three decades before selling the complex in the late 1980s. The newer owners have continued to expand on the original site, adding an aviation exhibit and, in 2008, opening a welcome center and museum dedicated to Jordan’s life.

I owe particular thanks to Joshua Albers for this post, whose camera and low-light photography skills did laps around mine. Whenever possible, I’ve used his photos from our visit and supplemented the group with my own. All videos are his.

IMG_7774 resized

PANO_20160529_122942 (1)

IMG_20160529_124300 resized

IMG_7785 resized

IMG_7801 resized

IMG_20160529_130521 resized

IMG_20160529_130132 resized

IMG_20160529_132315 resized

IMG_8142 (1) resized

IMG_7923 resized

IMG_20160529_152304 resized

IMG_20160529_140133 (1) resized

IMG_8054 resized

IMG_20160529_140925 resized

IMG_8074 resized

PANO_20160529_153305 (1) resized

IMG_8263 (1) resized

IMG_7936 (1)

IMG_8209 resized

seene_original_9741e8e4-72f2-4da2-af01-620fc0093131 (1)

IMG_20160529_150001 resized

IMG_20160529_153128 resized

IMG_20160529_153432 resized

IMG_8095 (2)

IMG_8106 resized

IMG_8116 (1) resized

IMG_20160529_155855933 resized

IMG_20160529_164145749

IMG_20160529_164512287 resized 2

IMG_20160529_141356 resized

IMG_8268 (1) resized

 

Bonus Videos:

Yucatán Road Trip: Canton Palace Museum, Mérida

Having spent the morning at Dzibilchaltún and the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, we returned to Mérida’s city center to drop off the car and take a short break at the hotel before walking to our next destination, the Canton Palace Museum. Also known as the Museo Regional de Antropología, the mansion-turned-museum blends early 20th century opulence with archaeological artifacts and, sometimes, more contemporary art. During our visit, the downstairs was closed for installation, but the upstairs hosted an exhibition on Puuc architecture that included relief details from Uxmal and other related sites, as well as quite a few illustrative photographs and explanatory text. Although visually the exhibition could not, of course, compare with seeing the works in situ, the written content was extremely informative, with clearer explanations for the development and significance of Puuc architecture than I have seen elsewhere.

Our visit was brief—around 30 minutes—and I remember being disappointed in the museum on the whole. Our guidebooks had been rather gushing in their praise for its collection, and the reality felt significantly less impressive, especially after having just seen the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. It also didn’t help that we were nearing the end of a day spent in nearly relentless heat, including a long walk through the congested (if sometimes scenic) sidewalks of Mérida to get there. Looking back, however, I primarily think of the quality of the scholarship and the beauty of the mansion itself. We also appreciated the exhibition more when we went to Uxmal just two days later and were able to mentally place some of the architectural details we had seen in the Canton Palace on the buildings from which they are now missing.

Highly subjective personal rating: 6.5/10 [probably 7/10 or higher when both levels are open]

IMG_3890

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, May 21, 2015.

Yucatán Road Trip: Gran Museo del Mundo Maya, Mérida

IMG_387328229

Between Dzibilchaltún and Mérida’s city center sits the strikingly contemporary building of the Gran Museo del Mundo Maya. Built in 2012 in the shape of an abstracted ceiba tree (which in Maya mythology unites the three levels of the world), the museum expertly combines a vast collection of artifacts with up-to-date technology and display techniques, including immersive, multi-channel animations.

The Gran Museo divides its gallery spaces into two physically separated sections. During our visit, the first held an exhibition that was both innovative and straight-up weird. We never did figure out exactly what the thesis of the show was supposed to be (something related to evolution or extinction or how different cultures interpret the natural world?), but it included information on meteors as well as living, imagined, and extinct animals using geological fragments, fossils, European Renaissance prints, replicas of Maya artifacts, and a life-size installation representing the extinction and evolution of dinosaurs. Despite the jumble of ideas apparent throughout this section, most of the actual objects were interesting, while the unusual juxtapositions between seemingly unrelated items kept us engaged as well as confused.

Even so, I will admit to being relieved when we entered the second section, dedicated to Maya history and the museum’s permanent collection of artifacts. These galleries alone are well worth a visit to the Gran Museo, as they include a plethora of fascinating objects, many of which diverge significantly from what you can find in textbooks or even specialist publications on Maya cultures. Also refreshing were the explanatory texts, many of which appear in Spanish, Mayan, and English and reflect a perspective that somehow feels both personal and scholarly.

Highly subjective personal rating: 8.5/10 [strongly recommended]

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, May 21, 2015.

International Museum of Surgical Science, Chicago, IL

Discreetly located north of downtown in an elegant lakeside townhouse, the International Museum of Surgical Science is one of Chicago’s more hidden attractions. Although the Gold Coast mansion itself may be enough to draw the casual attention of commuters and tourists making their way along Lake Shore Drive, no large signs or neighborhood flags will alert passersby to the structure’s varied (and variably disturbing) contents. Yet, for those with an interest in medical history, Chicago architecture, museology, or the drily macabre, the museum is worth seeking out.

As befitting its subject matter, the exhibits tend to be object-based, low-tech, and straightforwardly displayed in ways that make clever use of the pre-existing historic space, often utilizing art for both illustrative and dramatic purposes. It’s a fun—or at least fun-ish—destination for a half-day visit, even if the entrance fee ($15 at the time of writing, no AAM membership accepted) felt a little steep.

Current admissions information can be found here.

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, June 25, 2015.

Gabriel Dawe’s “Plexus No. 27”

Gabriel Dawe, Plexus No. 27 (details), 2014; thread, wood, and hooks. On loan from the artist and Conduit Gallery for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now. Photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, November 28, 2014.

Return to Crystal Bridges

Hiram Powers, Proserpine, c. 1840, marble.
Tim Liddy, The Horror, 2014, enamel and oil on copper. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Leo Villareal, Buckyball, 2012, aluminum tubing clad with LED lights atop aluminum plinth. Loaned courtesy of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Gering and Lopez Gallery, and Leo Villareal.
Jeila Gueramian, IT’S YOU (detail), 2014; crocheted quilting, batting, and LED lights. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Henry Kirke Brown, The Choosing of the Arrow, 1849, bronze.
Jamie Adams, niagaradown from the series, Niagara, 2013, oil on linen. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Randolf Rogers, Atala and Chactas, 1864, marble.
Adam Belt, Through the Looking Glass (James Webb Telescope Mirror), 2011; two-way mirror, mirror, wood, and LED lights. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Hiromi Mizugai Moneyhun; Moths 1, 5, and 7; 2013; hand-cut paper. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Gabriel Dawe, Plexus No. 27, 2014; thread, wood, and hooks. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Miki Baird, swatch…the weft and warp of red walker, 2010–12, 1/2″ x 1/4″ archival pigment prints. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Crystal Bridges Museum cafeteria with Jeff Koons, Hanging Heart (Gold/Magenta), 1994–2006, high chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating and yellow brass.
Jenny Holzer, Venice Installation: Gallery D (Second Antechamber) (detail), 1990, Italian marble tiles.
Elie Nadelman, Woman’s Head, before 1915, bronze. Alfred Stieglitz Collection.
Arthur Garfield Dove, Red Tree and Sun, 1929, oil on canvas. Alfred Stieglitz Collection.
Hamilton Poe, Stack, 2013; box fans, sombreros, and weighted plastic eggs. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Peter Glenn Oakley, Stack (2011) and Cassette Stack (2014), marble. Collections of North Carolina Museum of Art and Allen Thomas, Jr., on loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Museum exterior
Richard Estes, Reflections of the Woolworth Building, 2006, oil on board.
John James Audubon, Osprey and Weakfish, 1829, oil on canvas on hardboard. Collection of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., on loan for John James Audubon and the Artist as Naturalist.
Laurel Roth Hope, Biodiversity Suits for Urban Pigeons: Dodo II (foreground) and Biodiversity Suits for Urban Pigeons: Passenger Pigeon II (background); yarn, polyurethane, pewter, glass, epoxy, and walnut. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Museum exterior.
Norman Rockwell, Rosie the Riveter, 1943, oil on canvas.
Emma Marie Cadwalader-Guild, Free, c. 1876, basswood.
Dan Webb, Destroyer, 2012, carved fir. Private collection, on loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Jonathan Schipper, Slow Room, 2014; household objects and furniture, cables, pulley, and electric motor. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Charles Bird King, Wai-Kee-Chai, Crouching Eagle, c. 1824, oil on panel.
Jeila Gueramian, IT’S YOU (detail), 2014; crocheted quilting, batting, and LED lights. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Michael Menchaca, Index of Figural Archetypes and Recurring Pattern Ornamentation, 2013, digital prints. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Zoë Charlton, Dreamers and Builders from the series Festoon, 2012, collage and gouache on paper. On loan for State of the Art: Discovering American Art Now.
Museum exterior, with view of café.
All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz. November 27–28, 2014.

Leo Villareal’s “Buckyball”

Leo Villareal, Buckyball, 2012. Aluminum tubing clad with LED lights atop aluminum plinth. 30 ft. x 144 in. x 144 in. (914.4 x 365.8 x 365.8 cm). Installed at Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AR. Loaned courtesy of the Madison Square Park Conservancy, Gering & Lopez Gallery, and Leo Villareal.

All photos by Renée DeVoe Mertz, November 28, 2014.