Field Trip!

Took a day off from work, which is something I almost never do unless I'm really sick. We hopped on the MAX train in Gresham and rode to downtown Portland.

Alyssa really wanted to go see La volupté du goût: French Painting in the Age of Madame de Pompadour: at the Portland Art Museum

(go to either one of those links and watch until the pictures cycle through. It doesn't have even a fraction of the impact of seeing the exhibit, but it gives you an idea.)














Click on this picture for the larger version. ::sigh::
My babies.


Now I'm not an art person. I mean, I appreciate beauty, and have a definite idea of what I like and a tiny inkling of what goes into creating art.

However, I'm very unimpressed with the idea of the whole pretentious art scene.

You know what I mean, right? Some guy or girl gazing at a canvas splashed with paint and/or elephant dung, nodding sagely and saying with great seriousness, "Oooh, I see what he's trying to saaaay with this." and everyone else going, "Oh, yes, I SEE IT TOO!!"

Then, they act like anyone who doesn't see it is a total idiot.

I have no patience with it, it pisses me off that some dumbass somewhere calls stuff like that 'art' and that many people make money from it. I always think of The Emperor's New Clothes when I hear about some new sensation sweeping the art world.

There were quite a few items of that variety, actually. Some of the modern art was, mm, interesting to look at, but most of it... not so much. A few pieces had me raising my eyebrows, wondering how I could fling some paint or paint some junk, pile it up and call it art... and get someone to buy it.

Sort of a 'if they'll buy THIS crap, I could sell 'em something!" (No, not the sculpture pictured here... I like this one.)





















After looking at the more modern stuff, we headed for the French exhibit.

When we walked in, what I saw literally brought tears to my eyes. It was the most stunningly beautiful art I've ever seen. There isn't even a way to begin to describe it. Each piece called me to move on while the one I was looking at made me linger. It was just lovely.

Breathtaking.

I'm serious here, folks.

We were given a small handheld device that resembled a flat telephone so that we could listen to some of the history behind the art. The stories were fascinating, and I learned a great deal about France in the age of Madame Pompadour.

(I never knew any of it before.)

It was a lovely day in Portland, the weather was perfect and the company of my children-who-aren't-children-anymore was a gift.

Totally worth taking the day off from work.

Unfortunately, no photography allowed in the museum at all.
::sigh::