For the first day of the local Arts & Entertainment program, we took a trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Upon arrival, we split up into several groups to check out the exhibits. Some folks looked at photography and European and Asian art from years ago to modern ages. One of the pieces we looked at in the Prints, Drawings, and Photographs exhibit was “Cathy Rigby on Balance Beam, American, 1927-2006,” which depicted the beam and explained how the artist portrayed the motion in a single image.
In the European Art exhibit, we first saw medieval armor and weaponry. The next part of the exhibition was filled with many biblical figures and saints pictured in paintings and sculptures. The paintings and textiles in this section were very large and very beautiful. One of the installations in the museum was set up as a drawing room from a 1700s New York City row home. The room was filled with beautifully made furniture and 5 sets of paintings.
After looking through the European art, we then looked at the Impressionism and modern art. In this section, we saw pieces from Claude Monet and Van Gogh to Andy Warhol. A piece in this section that was particularly interesting was “Strange Fruit” by Zoe Leonard. The art piece was made with rotted old fruit that was sewn together and is a memorial to the artist’s friend and the many people who lost their lives during the AIDS crisis. It was a very interesting installation. We got to experience a lot of amazing art that inspired deep emotions and communicated messages.
Toward the end of the day, our group ate lunch in the PMoA Cafe. We then went to the gift shop – some people bought prints and postcards of the pieces they really enjoyed. Overall, it was a great first day with Arts & Entertainment!
