Spring Break

Janna and I just returned from Ithaca, NY where we were able to visit with my sister, her husband, and their lovely baby, Hazel Ruth, the "Sprout". It was such a privilege to spend time with their family. This was the first time in my life that I spent so much time with such a small child. Their baby is so small and fragile (although quite normal for height and weight). She was so beautiful--even when she had her face scrunched up to cry. She doesn't have the muscle control yet to make any recognizable facial expressions, so every expression is a delightfully unexpected contortion. Being able to carry the baby in the baby carrier was wonderful. She would sleep so peacefully, except when she would wake up long enough to emit some delightful baby gurgle.

I spent Wednesday with the 7th grade on their Field Trip in Philadelphia, but in return for staying up until 2:00 in the morning, I had the next day off. (I drove separately to get a head start on my spring break.) At the last minute, Janna took the train up there to meet me, so I had some time to explore Philly on my own. Therefore, I visited the Philadelphia Art Museum. Much effort had been expended to put the historic art into its context. Whole rooms were reconstructed with art works in the context of a 17th century French drawing room, the cloister of a Gothic monastery, or a Hindu temple.

Two curiosities. First, in the Tibetan Buddhist exhibit, they had beautifully rendered artwork of Tibetan demons. I enjoyed the painstakingly detailed depiction of these monstrous deities. Specifically, the paintings of Herukas caught my eye, whose name a descriptor suggested was etymologically related to "Heracles." I did a Google search to try and confirm this over the internet; however, I only discovered a gaggle of UFO conspiracy theorists, among others. Pennsylvania misleads me once again! Stupid Pennsylvania!

Secondly, after discovering all of this art thoughtfully placed in context, I finished my tour in the Modern and Contemporary Gallery. I've always strangely--to myself--enjoyed Piet Mondrian, but Cy Twombly's exhibit made me want to cry with pity for whomever bought these monstrosities. See if you can find the penis in this picture. (Here's a hint--it looks like a giant penis.)

http://www.philamuseum.org/collections/permanent/85717.html
And Iliam? Ummm...either this dude is really lazy or extremely self-important. Either way, he is running a brilliant scam. What this made me realize is that the whole point of "Modern" art is to take the art itself out of context. This can be good, as in Mondrian's appreciation of color and line. However, My Toucan Sam underwear have more artistic meaning to me then scrawled, mispelled names of mytho-historical warriors from the 1200s B.C...and I am someone who cares about the Trojan War at Ilion, otherwise known as Wilusa.

After seeing this exhibit I thought that if I were a artist, I would want to exhibit an entire contemporary room in which all the furniture, decorations, appliances, etc... were designed by myself. Of course, this could go in a million directions.

Finally, in Ithaca, we visited the Museum of the Earth. This is a must-visit for those who would like to say that "evolution" is only a "theory." It is designed for kids, but Sprout slept through the whole thing and I enjoyed it thoroughly. So, who knows. Of course, you can drop an approximately 11,000 year old Mastodon on a campus of IDers which they have to pass on their way to class every day and they can still embrace the cognitive dissonance.