Friday, May 15, 2015

Travel to west and to Dallas; there's art in Dallas too

                             "Nature or Abundance" by Leon Frederic, at Dallas Museum of Art.

     I have always been more partial to realism or impressionism than other forms of art when it comes to painting. The purely abstract or cubist artists have never "done it" for me. But at the Dallas Museum of Art you have many choices.
     Yes, after a "whirlwind" tour of the West (Vegas, Sacramento area, Yosemite National Park's tall peaks, and the family nearby) I started back toward the East coast with visiting my son in Dallas. The plane ride to Dallas got horrendous (we must have hit the tip of a thunderstorm near the airport, and the passengers applauded when we landed), with being buffeted about and the plane dropping a few feet a couple of times, making people in their seats go "Ohhhhh." We made it and I was glad of it.
    Of course, we had to see the obligatory memorial to John F. Kennedy at the 6th Floor Museum, which showed the window assassin Lee Harvey Oswald shot from, and a lot of other interesting information. But Dallas has 'art' too! Dallas also makes you think of the "Dallas" TV soap opera, but what about art?
     The "Dallas Museum of Art"  is very spacious and son Adam knew what he wanted to see. Religious art not so much-- he'd probably seen plenty on a trip to Europe. The primitive sculptures of people in the African art section he considered predictable, but other areas of this multi-floor museum kept his interest.
      The Reubenlike fleshy woman of  the 1750's "Abduction of Europa" I found interesting and attractive, more so than the Cubism of Picasso and Braque, or the Modernist approach of Mondrian with his lines and squares. I remember in high school having a braless art teacher who talked about Mondrian, though I have no memory of doing a lot of colored lines and squares.

     Also in the museum was the "Mirror Stage," which was a video in a darkened room. A person outside us warned there'd be bad language and possibly nudity so Adam was eager to go. Inside, the video showed young women with oddly painted faces complaining about their lives. It was more performance than art and we quickly left.
     The Incan "language" of  knotted cords on the wall was unique. If you don't have the actual symbols of your language like words, would thin rope (or was it like yarn) in various knots be as adequate?
      Across from the museum and across from that are outdoor areas to explore. The Nasher Sculpture was next to the DMA but it was dinnertime and we skipped it. Pictures of it make it look like a great place to walk among trees and outdoor art. The DMA had an outdoor sculpture garden too, but they were closing it as we got near (it was close to 5 0'clock). And across from THAT is a park in the median of the highway, with colored folding chairs and some landscaping and a restaurant with what looked like shooting flames in a few places inside. Different, to say the least. So the museum and its surroundings are worth your time -- no admittance fee (donations requested, though).