The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art has free admission on Wednesdays. Today happens to be a Wednesday – score. After a long morning of writing, thinking, reading, and exercise – a visit to a museum seemed in order. It is a fairly small museum – though when I look at their collection online – I didn’t see half of what they have – which makes me think either I missed something, or they have a lot in storage. The collection I did see covers a bit of ground. They have American, Contemporary, French, Baroque, Renaissance, Ancient, and Global African. The special exhibit was from students in the West Tennessee area – unbelievable what some of the kids have created.
I probably rushed through the museum a bit – I was only there for about an hour. When I left I thought about how I’m not a great student of art – I could have spent more time looking at color and technique – next time. I had a different appreciation for the paintings than I think I’ve typically had. Having tried to paint these past few nights – I saw things differently. I was looking more closely at how colors were blended and layered. I looked at a lot of paintings wondering if it’s something I would want to create – I toured in search of inspiration. The first few paintings I came across I appreciated for how the titles told a story… “My Father Was Big As a Tree” and “Windy Corner in Vera Cruz.” I love a good title. “Story told by My Mother” made me think of my ex-fiancee, B’s, m. I mother. I never met the woman, I didn’t know much about her, but I had seen a picture or two – she struck me as a bit of a magical figure with a larger-than-life personality.
The painting Halloween (left) reminded me of the painting Carnival Evening by Rousseau which was the cover and title of a book of poems – the original is one of my favorites back in the Philadelphia Museum of Art. In both paintings, the moon practically glows as if the canvass could emanate light.
I took a few pictures of hyper-realistic paintings – the one on the left, Ecce Homo” I would have guessed to be a Caravaggio (it wasn’t). I can’t get over how real the bread and the goblet look in “Still Life on Draped Table.”
I’ve been wanting to paint a cafe scene. I really loved the cafes B and I visited out in California, my poem Hermosa Pelirroja was an attempt to imagine the two of us in Spain… While the painting “Cafeteria” wasn’t exactly what I’ve envisioned as what I would paint – it has that French / European feel. I’m not sure what to make of the man being busy with his newspaper while she does her lipstick…
I came across one landscape painting, “River Scene” by Henri Harpignies, that I loved. I couldn’t get over the setting sun behind the trees.
The museum also has some sculptures, artifacts, and modern objects. I particularly liked this piece of glass work – sorry, I didn’t note who had made it.
In terms of something a bit more modern, I enjoyed the painting “Clouds Over Alabama” – in person, the swirls almost move.
On the second floor is a huge mural called “Drawing Memory: Essence of Memphis” by Victor Ekpuk. The work draws on Nigerian symbols and is his recollection of Memphis. Hopefully you can click on the images or zoom in…
After the museum, I went for a short walk. I came home to a package of canvases that I had ordered and a new set of paints. Assuming nobody calls me to get together – I suspect I know what I’ll be doing tonight.