This is Part 1, as I got to the museum too late to see one of the most interesting shows, that of Bill Armstrong's. But I'm so curious to see it that I promise there will be a Part 2 in the near future.
I love the Philadelphia Art Museum! I'd been there before a few years ago to see the Mavericks of Color photography show (oh, how the word maverick now has a bitter connotation- thanks, McCain/Palin!) but this was my most recent venture. The museum is famed for being so incredibly beautiful and grand, and was popularized by Rocky. Sitting on the legendary steps I watched 6 tourists haul themselves to the top to have their photo taken in Rocky's triumphant position.
The shows I took in today were the Gee's Bend: Architecture of the Quilt, James Castle, Anita Sieff, and Gilbert and George: Notations. The Gee's Bend exhibit is fabulous! I didn't anticipate that reaction upon entering the gallery, but those quilts filled me with such joy and inspiration that I could feel happiness welling up within me. The quilts are wide-ranging in their age, technique, and palette. I really liked how imperfect they were, because it emphasized their handmade qualities, and the intention to be used rather than displayed. But the colors were brilliant, or muted but paired deftly, and the fabrics told tales of the quilters' histories. There was a quote in the wall text in which the architecture of a quilt was compared to traditional building architecture, something about architecture being a framework inside which artistry can be expressed.
I also really liked the Gilbert and George exhibit. I know so little about these artists, although I could recognize their trademark colorful grids just about anywhere. This one piece in the show, Red Morning Drowning, made me think about what we've been talking about in my photography class about series and sequence, and an implied timeline. It's an emotional and psychological piece, but each grid as a different image could be marking a moment in time.
