Currier Museum of Art: Grand Reopening

As I blogged earlier this week, today is the grand reopening of the Currier Museum of Art. The museum has been closed for over a year and a half due to its expansion and renovation efforts. (You can also read more about it here in the Hippo Press.)
I attended with my sister and brother-in-law. We arrived just in time to see the last several minutes of the ribbon-cutting ceremony. I took a few pictures and thought I'd give you a sneak peek into my day:

This was the view from one of the side streets leading up to the museum. The first thing you can see is sculpture piece newly acquired by the museum. It's titled "Origins"; the artist is Mark di Suvero. That statue stands in the Currier's new plaza area. (There's now parking in front as well.)

Closer...

...closest! This was taken at the base of the sculpture.

Some of the media covering the ribbon cutting.

A few of the costumed musicians playing for the ribbon cutting. Within the museum, there were even a few actors dressed up in period costume as the artists of the time. One was even strolling around complete with brush and palate!

This is the new Winter Garden Cafe. Previously, this area was the front of the museum. I remember seeing, from the street, those lovely 1930's mosaic murals and the columns flanking the doors. Now they are enclosed within a lovely glassed in area with galleries on either side. I have to say, I'm rather glad the murals are protected from the weather now. I'm not sure how well you can see them in my picture, but you can get a feel for the new cafe.

In fact, here's a map of the new layout. It was in the little booklets the museum staff handed to us as we entered.

Here is one of the many activities going on over there today. These gals had a table where they were making balloon sculptures based on the Mark di Suvarno piece I posted above. Cute, non? And a great way to get the children involved.

There were quite a few families at the grand opening today. In the European art gallery, I heard an adult ask a little girl (who couldn't have been much older than 6 or 7) which painting was her favorite. She pointed to "A Knock at the Door" by Laura Alma-Tadema(1897). "What do you like about it?" the adult asked. "I like her dress. I think she hears somebody knocking." said the little girl. Awww! What a great way to get kids interested and involved with art. I hope I can do the same someday when I have children.

I didn't take any photos of the 2D artwork within the museum. I have a few reasons for this. First and foremost, flash photography is not allowed. It's very damaging to paintings, drawings, printmaking pieces etc. Think about how old some of these works of art are. They're being protected by particular museum lighting and climate. The only way I can explain it is - think about what happens to a bumper sticker stuck in the back window of your car all summer. Eventually over time, it gets bleached. Repetitive flash photography can aid in the disintegration of some of the pigments in these works. I cringe every time I see a big flash in a museum.

It is fine however, to take personal non-flash photographs, but I choose not to do that either. My argument is this - you're at the museum to see art "in person". If you wanted to see a photo of it, there are art photographers who have done a much better job than you at documenting the work. Why bother going to the museum at all? Just buy a book or find a picture on the web. (Personally, I like to find little postcards in the giftshop on the way out).

Hang on a second while I climb back down off my soapbox. Ah. That's better.

That said, I am gung-ho for bringing your sketchbook. As an artist, there's so much to learn from sketching master works. One of these days, I'm going to pick a quiet evening to hang out, wander around, and draw. I would encourage anyone interested in art to do the same...even if you don't think you're much of an artist! You might be happily surprised. Inspiration can come from a wide variety of sources. I had a great time today and felt like I'd recharged my creative batteries a little.

If you live in the area, you should definitely take a trip to see all the new changes in the museum - especially since this first week is free admission. Woo-hoo!