"A painting in a museum hears more ridiculous opinions than anything else in the world." - Edmond de Goncourt (French artist & novelist (1822 - 1896))
If you've never been to Houston, you might be under the impression that it is a far cry from the dreary, rainy city of Seattle. And you would be wrong. Contrary to popular belief, Houston is indeed a very dreary, foggy, and rainy city. I've lived here for just over a year now (a year and a half if you include my internships), and I can probably tell you the date of every sunny day I've experienced since I've been here. And by sunny day I mean just that... a sunny lunch or cloudless sunset hardly qualify as an all-out sun-shiny day. I'm from the desert, remember? We got over 300 sunny days per year back home. I'm not use to this crap.
Anyway, I digress... the last couple of days have actually been really nice. Cold, but nice. I so missed the sun! It was nice to be able to go walk around in the Village, take a stroll in Memorial, or even just to finally open the sunroof on my car. It definitely helped lift my spirits too.
Ironically, this sunny weather inspired me to go visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. I know, great way to spend a sunny day, right? Well, it was actually! I decided to wait and go at 5 in the evening, mostly hoping that I'd miss some of the crowds. Now, I'll admit I almost walked back out of the door when they told me the price was double the normal admission because of a special exhibit. However, when I learned that the exhibit was a tour of French Impressionist works from the Met, I decided to stick around and check it out. The Met doesn't usually let such works leave their halls, so this was a rare opportunity.
I spent two hours touring the exhibit, stopping and listening along with the audio tour when noted. Now, I love art but I don't know much about it. However, I will say there is nothing more emotional than seeing a master work less than a foot away from your eyes. Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Renior, Picasso... you definitely don't see stuff like this back home. It was wonderful. Spectacular even. And definitely impressive.
I left the MFAH and took my sweet time leaving the museum and returning to my car. The night air was crisp and cool... and for once I didn't get the reality check of some "lady of the night" walking in her stilettos back to Montrose. (The museum district borders one of Houston's more colorful areas of town). It was just a nice evening, and I didn't so much mind that I spent it alone. I guess you could say that this night with the French Impressionists that impressed me was a happy little Valentine to myself. And I'm glad I chose to keep it that way...
If you've never been to Houston, you might be under the impression that it is a far cry from the dreary, rainy city of Seattle. And you would be wrong. Contrary to popular belief, Houston is indeed a very dreary, foggy, and rainy city. I've lived here for just over a year now (a year and a half if you include my internships), and I can probably tell you the date of every sunny day I've experienced since I've been here. And by sunny day I mean just that... a sunny lunch or cloudless sunset hardly qualify as an all-out sun-shiny day. I'm from the desert, remember? We got over 300 sunny days per year back home. I'm not use to this crap.
Anyway, I digress... the last couple of days have actually been really nice. Cold, but nice. I so missed the sun! It was nice to be able to go walk around in the Village, take a stroll in Memorial, or even just to finally open the sunroof on my car. It definitely helped lift my spirits too.
Ironically, this sunny weather inspired me to go visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts. I know, great way to spend a sunny day, right? Well, it was actually! I decided to wait and go at 5 in the evening, mostly hoping that I'd miss some of the crowds. Now, I'll admit I almost walked back out of the door when they told me the price was double the normal admission because of a special exhibit. However, when I learned that the exhibit was a tour of French Impressionist works from the Met, I decided to stick around and check it out. The Met doesn't usually let such works leave their halls, so this was a rare opportunity.
I spent two hours touring the exhibit, stopping and listening along with the audio tour when noted. Now, I love art but I don't know much about it. However, I will say there is nothing more emotional than seeing a master work less than a foot away from your eyes. Van Gogh, Monet, Matisse, Renior, Picasso... you definitely don't see stuff like this back home. It was wonderful. Spectacular even. And definitely impressive.
I left the MFAH and took my sweet time leaving the museum and returning to my car. The night air was crisp and cool... and for once I didn't get the reality check of some "lady of the night" walking in her stilettos back to Montrose. (The museum district borders one of Houston's more colorful areas of town). It was just a nice evening, and I didn't so much mind that I spent it alone. I guess you could say that this night with the French Impressionists that impressed me was a happy little Valentine to myself. And I'm glad I chose to keep it that way...
1 comment:
Don't you love museums? It's nice to see the traveling exhibits, I agree...and the ones you saw are amazing. I've seen some of them (not in New Mexico of course). ha ha.
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