I went to the MFA last month to see the Magna Carta exhibit and take photos of some of my other favorite pieces in the collection. I posted running commentary on Twitter, at least until my battery died. Since a number of my friends said they enjoyed my slightly subversive take on what many consider to be a stuffy subject, I decided to make it a semi-regular thing, as time and budget allow. This blog will be a place to collect these experiences and expand beyond a 140-character format.
Why? Well, lots of places try to make things like art, science, and history fun and accessible in order to encourage kids to learn. What about the adults, though? I love the idea of "Paint Nights," where people can get together, have a few beers or glasses of wine, and paint a portrait of whatever the evening's subject may be. The idea seems to be spreading, and that's great. But once you've used the social aspect to hook people, where do they go to learn more? There's literally thousands of years worth of art history waiting to be discovered, but not everybody is enticed by the idea of walking around and reading plaques on walls, and while those plaques will identify the subject and provenance of those paintings and sculptures, they don't say why you should care about them. Ditto for all those landmarks and "living history" places that are popular places to take children while the adults just hope the kids will be worn out by the end of the day.
My goal is to hopefully make these subjects fun and entertaining for adults. Don't just look at a painting, read who the artist was and the approximate year they painted it, and walk on to the next one. Look at the models' expressions. What do you think they're really thinking while they pose for the artist's sketch? It's not just the Mona Lisa - aka La Giaconda - who seems to be hiding a secret. There could be anything from political commentary to the artist's lust in that religious painting. Or the perspective is skewed so it looks like something totally other than what was intended is going on. And history is so much more interesting when you discover real people and places instead of just names and dates in a book. I hope to use my own slightly skewed perspective to encourage others to see things in a way that maybe they haven't before.
Please keep in mind that although I'm not above making wisecracks and personal asides about the subjects I'm presenting, I do have the utmost respect for them at the same time; it's not my intention to be mean-spirited. It wouldn't be fun to joke about an El Greco or Cranach painting if they were just terrible artists (that's what MOBA is for, and I love them for what they do). It's because they've done brilliant works that just happen to have a certain je ne sais quoi that I can find humor while still admiring them. I hope that by sharing the things I see - both on exhibit and in my head - I'll convince some of my readers that you should see them for yourself, and see what you can take from those experiences.
I'm also always taking suggestions for new places to visit. Right now due to the aforementioned time/budget thing I'm sticking to the Boston area and day trips from there, but I'm hoping that as we go further along, I'll be able to branch out and maybe do some getaways, too. It's a very loose experiment, and I'm still working on a list of places to visit in the coming weeks/months. I don't know where it's going to take us, but isn't that half the fun?
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