Yesterday, Lauren and I met up with our friends Sean and Rachael to visit the American Visionary Art Museum (AVAM). This is a definite must-see in Baltimore. It has all the quirkiness that Baltimore has come to symbolize. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside. So the best I can do is recount from memory as best I can.
We got started by wearing the giant face-sized photos of celebrities as masks. I wore a smiling Morgan Freeman, and Lauren wore Michael Jackson in his white boy days. Next we entered the museum proper and began a leisurely stroll throughout. The first thing that caught our eye was the bra ball. This is not the trite home item. Nay, it was 18,000 bras strung together, hooked to each other, rather like a rubber band ball. It was about as tall as an adult human. Around it were some stories of how people heard about the bra ball and donated their bras.
This bra ball is somewhat representative of the works inside the museum. There is an oddball piece of art and the story of the artist and the synthesis of his/her work is written on a card nearby. Lauren absolutely adored a very detailed house made of things found in nature. Sticks formed the framing, with moss used as grass and roofing. Stones helped form the base and stairways. This was a home for miniature people, too. Soft pussywillows were used as pillows. Acorns were irons. Thin, patterned birch bark became flooring. We had never seen anything like it and were entirely fascinated. Probably our favorite collection was a set of quilted panels. They told funny stories about inventors who became victims to their inventions. For example the Segway inventor died in a Segway crash. Another panel showed elephants and their various moods. "Elephant rage" was when a TSA security personnel was patting down the elephant. There was a 10-ft long scale model of the RMS Lusitania made entirely of toothpicks glued together and painted. One more example of art here is a stegosaurus made of items of trash (it was as big as a lion).
This place was quite enjoyable. Lauren has lived in Baltimore for nearly four years and she had never been to the museum to view the art until yesterday. I loved reading about the lives of the artists. They often had some mental illness, and most of them were local. Next time you are in Baltimore, make the hike over to see this museum. It is worth it.
PS Lauren had no idea how cool her new last name would be until now.
PPS If you can beat the computer on this, you deserve major "street cred."
We got started by wearing the giant face-sized photos of celebrities as masks. I wore a smiling Morgan Freeman, and Lauren wore Michael Jackson in his white boy days. Next we entered the museum proper and began a leisurely stroll throughout. The first thing that caught our eye was the bra ball. This is not the trite home item. Nay, it was 18,000 bras strung together, hooked to each other, rather like a rubber band ball. It was about as tall as an adult human. Around it were some stories of how people heard about the bra ball and donated their bras.
This bra ball is somewhat representative of the works inside the museum. There is an oddball piece of art and the story of the artist and the synthesis of his/her work is written on a card nearby. Lauren absolutely adored a very detailed house made of things found in nature. Sticks formed the framing, with moss used as grass and roofing. Stones helped form the base and stairways. This was a home for miniature people, too. Soft pussywillows were used as pillows. Acorns were irons. Thin, patterned birch bark became flooring. We had never seen anything like it and were entirely fascinated. Probably our favorite collection was a set of quilted panels. They told funny stories about inventors who became victims to their inventions. For example the Segway inventor died in a Segway crash. Another panel showed elephants and their various moods. "Elephant rage" was when a TSA security personnel was patting down the elephant. There was a 10-ft long scale model of the RMS Lusitania made entirely of toothpicks glued together and painted. One more example of art here is a stegosaurus made of items of trash (it was as big as a lion).
This place was quite enjoyable. Lauren has lived in Baltimore for nearly four years and she had never been to the museum to view the art until yesterday. I loved reading about the lives of the artists. They often had some mental illness, and most of them were local. Next time you are in Baltimore, make the hike over to see this museum. It is worth it.
PS Lauren had no idea how cool her new last name would be until now.
PPS If you can beat the computer on this, you deserve major "street cred."
2 comments:
This totally seems like a place Eliana would love. I am intrigued by the wearing of the masks. That sounds fun. Love the eclectic nature of the blog these days.
I want to go!
PS I beat the Pringle banner.
Post a Comment