I love museums more than almost anything and have been to some wonderful ones such as the Art Institute of Chicago and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was stunned when I visited Art Institute of Chicago by the gargantuan size of A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat. It's larger than life! The ladies' fan on the lower left must be eighteen inches long. I saw an amazing series of tapestries in Philadelphia that affected me so deeply, I wrote about them in my book.
But our Blanton Museum of Art right here on University of Texas at Austin campus will always have a special place in my heart, not only because it's near where I live, but I truly love the way they do things there.
First of all, they try to be inclusive and accessible by having free admission one day a week! You do have to pay for parking, but it's inexpensive and quite nearby.
One of my favorite things about the Blanton is that it's an amazingly efficient place to study art! It has many different eras of art including copies of ancient Greek statues, ancient Greek pottery (even one of the coveted "geometric" vases!), Middle Ages, Renaissance, American West, Futurism, and plenty of Modern. This, coupled with the small footprint of the Blanton compared to most museums, makes for a lovely, entertaining visit packed with learning. I've probably brought dozens of friends to the Blanton over the years, in my attempts to help everyone around me love and appreciate art the way I do.
In addition to the museum's holdings, they also have frequent exhibits of traveling art from other museums. In general, the museum doesn't mind non-flash photography of their pieces (which I love!) but traveling exhibits are the exception to this tradition. I've seen some really amazing things at the Blanton in traveling exhibits. Until June 30th, you can catch "The Floating World" exhibition which contains sample print blocks by Austin's very own Daryl Howard! I was blown away to see her demonstration pieces right next to antique Japanese prints right here in my beloved museum!
I like that the Blanton changes over time, but not too fast, so I always have time to develop favorites. One of my favorite pieces that isn't currently on display is Elysium by Hans Hoffman. This artist would put huge swathes of paint on the canvas all at once by cutting off the flat end of the paint tube and painting with that. He had a refined sense of color and tended toward primary colors. One of the things I love about this painting is that the whole thing looks like crayons out of the eight-crayon box except for the small area to the upper left, which is a blank piece of canvas, that has been decorated with pink (not a primary color) in sort of a boutonniere shape. It's like the little garnish on this blocky semi-landscape. I like the name of the painting too, because if I think of it this way, it makes me think "everything is ideal and in its place."
The Blanton is nicely arranged: some museums seem sort of awkward and arrangements base on a theme are certainly creative, but they don't make learning about art easy. I've been to many museums that don't even have explanatory placards, which I always think is not doing our youth any favors. Don't we want everyone to learn about art? The Blanton clearly does!
I'm not a huge fan of modern architecture (I'm more smitten by the curvature and burgeoning decor of Art Nouveau) but the Blanton does modern architecture right. It doesn't feel cold, edgy, boring, or copied from Norwegians. It's quite nice actually and make sure you tour the outdoor installation by Ellsworth Kelly with the rainbow windows. I like the classic lines that somehow seem less harsh than a lot of modern architecture.
Blanton has great events, and some are for members only. I recently attended the Avante-Garden Party and loved it! So many people wore outrageous, garden-themed outfits, I wish I had thought to make one for myself, since I do sew quite a bit. The hors-oeuvres were lovely, the music was sweet and the weather just happened to be perfect for us out on the Moody Patio.
This brings me to another exiting topic: The Blanton has been getting better recently! The front yard of the Blanton used to be dirt, a sidewalk, some trees, and a few cranky squirrels. Now it's a beautiful patio with towering sculptures for shade!
The architecture, exhibits, staff, and basically everything else I can think of about the Blanton has very much improved in the past few years. They even have a cute gift shop (so happy they finally have this!)
I hope you'll visit the Blanton soon or become a member like me! If you do, hit me up and maybe we can go see it together!
Let me know in the comments if you've ever been to the Blanton.
Much love and respect,
--Pam