Friday, May 25, 2012 A
"Another Successful Day!"
4:42pm

Another successful day! It started out rough, though. I decided to go with the train, and by the time I walked from Lexington and 86th up past the steep steps of the Met, I was pooped. So pooped I had to park in a bench in the Great Hall. While resting, I took note of Amememhat II's backside, the strong back, his 'ponytail', and the hieroglyphs on the inscriptions. I could make out a few. Also, I noticed underneath his left elbow Ptah is standing under a canopy.

Colossal Statue of a Pharaoh
Egyptian, Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, reign of Amenemhat II (ca. 1919-1885 BCE)
Granodiorite, from Tanis (eastern Nile Delta)
Lent by the Egyptian Museum and Papyrus collection of Berlin

After resting, I headed to "The Steins' Collect". I opted for the audio. Not able to take photos, I could better absorb the images while listenings. It's a wonderful exhibit, it really gives a comphrensive view of how much they did for the artists of their time. It's intriguing, too, their squabbles. Michael Stein hated some of Gertrude's choices, Picasso's cubest paintings in particular. Their feud grew permanent when he told Gertrude he hated her poetry. She never spoke to him again. The exhibition catalogue for this show seemed to have lots more text than images, and as I'd already laid out quite a bit for the Egyptian one, I passed. Should our local library ever aquire it though, I'd like to study it. I wonder, too, if the exhibit will make its way west? It first was at the National Gallery of Art. (I recognized a couple of the apple paintings from the Cezanne and contemporaries exhibit that made it to the Phoenix Art Museum.) One can hope.

After lunch of more tilapia, black beans and carrot juice, I decided next on Asian art. In all my visits, I'd never made it to these galleries. There's a recreation of a Chinese moon watching garden:

Detail of Chinese Courtyard in the Style of the Ming Dynasty
"Modeled on a seventeenth-century courtyard in the Garden of the Master of the Fishing Nets in Suzhou, the court was entirely constructed using traditional tools and techniques."

Another delightful piece is a charming sculpture set of two men playing a board game:

Pair of Seated Figures Playing Liubo
China, Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220)
Earthenware with pigment
Accession Numbers: 1992.165.23a, b
Luibo board: #1994.285a–m

After going through most of the galleries, (I shortchanged the Japanese a bit), I was feeling like I could absorb no more.

Gratefully, a cab was waiting and I arrived 'home' tired but not too tired. After a small supper of yogurt and a banana, I picked up my cleaning. Danny2 cleaners did great! They even got the spots out of my ancient skirt!

Friday, May 25, 2012 B
"Me in Hotel Room Mirror"
7:40pm


Perhaps the art I've seen will inspire me to get doing art again...

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