The Louvre visits Minneapolis

As a homeschooling mom of three in this economy, I am fairly certain Paris isn't going to be an option for a while. I was thrilled to hear that the Minneapolis Institute of the Arts had gotten an exhibit from the Louvre. The world's best known museum selected a selection of pieces that represent the evolving understanding of a masterpiece. While we have gone to regional art museums before, we have never explored the halls of such a fabulous one. Despite the massive snow and ice storm that hit us over the Christmas holiday and left a half an inch of glare ice over everything, it was worth braving both the roads and the sidewalks. With help, my mother was able to accompany my family. The best part of the experience was that we were left wanting to do so much more. The MIA is an enormous museum. My family has gone to the building for performances of the Children's Theatre Company, (their main stage is located off the lobby of the museum) though we have never spent any time in the museum itself.


The first room included many sculptures of Antonie-Louis Barye. Many were based on the Lion and the Serpent. The sculpture was able to reproduce and sell many pieces based on the success of the original in his time. It also had the Lion and the Medusa, a painting by Theodore Gericault. The painting was based on an historical event--the shipwreck of the French frigate, Medusa. Of the 147 men placed on the raft, only 15 survived the 13 days until rescue.

I heard people discussing merits of pieces and just a couple of others being extremely critical. I loved listening to some of them, but the others made me cringe. Legitimate critiques of a piece are valid, but it can go too far. Okay, you didn't like a piece--got it. However, debasing a piece (or those who like it) just to inflate your own ego is, well...not nice. Ah, what do I know? When it comes to art--I know precious little. As a history major I didn't need to know much, but I do know what I like. One of my absolute favorite pieces was The Astronomer by Johannes Vermeer. Loved it.



I also really loved Da Vinci's drapery drawing. Presumably used for a study for future work, the drawing was stunning. It was definitely outside most images conjured at the sound of "Masterpiece." Michelangelo Buonarroti's quotation, "Who would have ever said that I made this with my hands?" was a great addition to the display of his drawing,Virgin and the Child with Saint Anne. I also enjoyed Guillaume Voiriot's, Woman holding a booklet. It was a wonderful painting, but I love how the Louvre originally scoffed at it. Ironically, now it is the Louvre's possession and being displayed. Perhaps part of the appeal was the story behind it. I so root for the underdog. The story of the painting below also gave me the warm fuzzies. In Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres' piece, Portrait of Ferdinand Philippe Louis Charles Henri de Bourbon Orleans, Duke of Orleans 1810-1842 he painted a man who died at 30 in a road accident. The man fought a cholera epidemic without resorting to violence. This magnified his contemporary popularity.




As much as people could appreciate art--there was ample history. There were many sculpted pieces representing thousands of years including cylinders from Mesopotamia. Some reflected poorer work likely made in a provincial workshop while others may have been made under the Akkadian Kings. One part explained that art appreciation was a combination of acquired knowledge and personal taste. The more people view masterpieces, the faster they recognize it.

However, with appreciation come the increased likelihood that someone will fake others. Fakes are often intentionally lesser known works because they are less documented and recognized. Some fakes represent great art in themselves and become very famous in their own right. Other pieces exemplified how ordinary objects not intended as "art" are truly beautiful. I was saddened by the first century grave marker for a young boy. Depicted with his mother playing with him, time and culture were transcended to touch the hearts of those viewing it. The exhibit touched on definitions and the evolution of the idea of a masterpiece and works, how those artists who defy the traditional norms can expand art, fraud, re-attribution, and displayed art from around the world. I thought the exhibit was wonderful. As my kids want to come back too, I would say it was an enormous success.


**Cameras were prohibited in the gallery so I did not take the photos pictured in this blog posting. Since the images above are in the public domain, I have used them here.

Framing up at art

The boys had an art class last Tuesday--an art class at Autumn Moon, a scrap and knitting store a few towns over, that I forgot about. We were very fortunate, the owner of the scrapbook store allowed us to come in later in the week and make one of the projects. She would have let us make paper decoration (hanging in the photo below) but I was really really tired. I can't imagine how this woman works so much--think she might be superwoman in disguise. She was great with the boys. The project was pretty independent and only needed them to paint the picture frame and then decorate it with paper cutouts.


They spent an hour creating a picture frame. I was glad they had a chance to do some stuff, just them. Sometimes Mom is helping or we are tagging along with their older sister's stuff. This was an opportunity to do some stuff with just the two of them without a lot of stress or rushing. Though my youngest managed to get paint in his armpit despite the t-shirt. Don't ask me how; go figure. Life in the past weeks have been extremely hectic and I was grateful for their project and some slower time.

Latvia at the Landmark

The Sunday prior to Easter, my boys, mom and I went to the Landmark Center for one of their "trips" around the world. Sunday happened to be Latvia. We enjoyed learning about the culture, geography and government. There were Latvian dancers and singers. We learned that the oldest examples of mittens were found at an archaeological site in Latvia. My kids located the country on a map, viewed lots of pictures and really enjoyed the afternoon.


We also got to see traditionally dyed Easter eggs. It is inspiring us to attempt to do some like it. I think that would be incredible. We also toured the public exhibit owned by the Ramsey County Historical Society of the cyanotypes of the Mississippi River by Henry Bosse.


I was sad that my daughter didn't come with us, but she made the very grown up decision to stay and work on a paper she has been trying to finish. Standing outside the Landmark, we also got to see statues of Linus and Lucy from Schultz's cartoon Snoopy. Shultz was a Minnesota native and there are Linus, Lucy and Snoopy statues all over the city. Sadly, most of the Snoopy's were auctioned a while back and are no longer on public display.

Catching the sun with mosaics

A week ago, my kids and I went to St. Paul to Mosaic on a Stick, a mosaics studio we heard about from a homeschool group we are members of. We were kind of intimidated by the selections of materials, so we just bought two kits that had the essentials to make four small sun catchers. It wasn't a hard project, but we did make a few mistakes along the way--like leaving just a few more spaces than I did and to watch the amount of glue we used.

We really liked doing the project--it was simple and really didn't take a long time--a bonus for smaller children. The kit included pieces of glass that had already been cut so it wasn't an overwhelming beginner's projects. We really only had to glue, grout and seal them. Grouting directions are on the package and only involves mixing small amounts of water into the powder and sealing them. We were all pleased with the outcomes and we would like to do more projects. I don't know if we would do a lot of things, but a few would be nice. Maybe we can even make a few for Christmas presents.

I try to find art projects that the kids really enjoy doing. Especially as they get older, I have attempted to make sure their projects are something they can really enjoy and be proud of for a long time. Finding great projects can be a challenge if you are trying to be cost conscious, but this was a winner for sure.

Map making at the Rochester Art Center

The Rochester Center for the Arts is a center that focuses on modern art. They usually have monthly family days on one Saturday each month to focus on a family friendly art project that is related to one of the exhibits on display. This month the activity focused on map making with a blank map of Rochester that allowed children to choose what things they found important. This was an especially hard thing for my kids because we spend only a small part of our time in Rochester. We still enjoyed it, though the boys found making sculptures with the pipe cleaners far more interesting than coloring a map. Collin did manage to finish his--choosing the river as an important element. I thought it was a wise choice, rivers are often so central to a city's identity. It was about the time that I was marvelling at my tweener son's intelligence that my daughter felt a need to point out that the river sat right behind the windows where we were and I had been watching the ducks. Oh well.

I am not usually into modern art. I much prefer to see easy to understand, traditional art. It is who I am. Though I did much enjoy one piece in particular. It was a thought provoking film projected on two walls. One wall showed the drive Israeli's often make on well paved, open roads that often takes an hour. In contrast, Palestinians who travel between cities in same areas travel in horrible, congested roads that appear to suffer from bomb damage. They must deal with several checkpoints that don't always appear to make sense; their time to travel the same distance is five and a half hours. It was a difficult piece to explain to my children. While the piece was an emotional one, it did not--nor do I believe was able to, interpret the historical context of the differences. If only the violence could finally stop. Living with constant security concerns, violence or retaliation is good for neither people.

Building, art and the electoral process

Last Saturday we had a big day. I brought my kids to Home Depot so they could build their monthly kids' project with wood. They made a sailboat; it was cute and was pretty easy. I remember when I first started bringing my daughter; she was so little. Even the boys have gotten so big. They are getting better at doing the projects--I think I have finally gotten them to stop pounding when the nails bend. They have even gotten better at reading the directions. It has been awhile since I brought them down there--seems like there is always something to divert us that particular day.

Afterwards, I remembered that the Rochester Art Center was also having a kids' project. This month they made volcanoes with paper cups and tin foil. Then they "erupted" it with diluted tempera paint, vinegar and baking soda. It was fun and we were able to discuss basic chemistry. Since we had to wait between Home Depot and the Art Center, we had walked over to the Mayo Civic Center, which is attached to the Art Center.

Rather, the Art Center is attached to the Civic Center. I had been unaware that they were holding the Minnesota state DFL convention. At first, I was reluctant to go in. I had become disillusioned with our politicians when they failed to help my family when we asked for it during my husband's enlistment. I am a firm believer that things happened for a reason; I wasn't happy about it, but my daughter's excitement made me realize that there was a learning opportunity there. We stayed. I am happy I did. We got to listen to Al Franken speak--I was really energized. I realized how much my daughter's excitement reminded me of how I used to feel. I doubt I will ever lose the touch of cynicism, but at least I have lost the hopelessness and remember that we can fire our leaders when they fail us. It is a great feeling to know that.

My daughter would really like to volunteer at some campaigns. I think I would like to do that just to help my kids realize that we all have a responsibility to ourselves and each other to be aware and vote. There are times that doing so much with my kids can wear me out, but there are other times that I am grateful to have such a motivating force in my life.