Field Trip to the Chrysler Museum of Art

The third day of our trip Dork finished up early and we were all able to go to the Chrysler Museum of Art. It was awesome...ok I thought it was awesome. Dork and Quirky are of the same mind sight when it comes to art museums..."look its another really old piece art by another dead guy." I find this so surprising, because Quirky is such a blossoming artist herself. Oh well...I can be thankful that I had the opportunity to expose her to such wonderful pieces of art and that I myself was able to see paintings that I had always loved but thought I would never see beyond the pages of a book. Paintings by artists that I have admired from the first time that I realized that there was something called art history, which combines two of my favorite things.

We walked first through the glass exhibit and then into the porcelain exhibit. Of these two, the glass was what inspired me the most. I was in awe of the Tiffany glass and the Frank Lloyd Wright windows. The Tiffany stained glass windows were so vivid in color that they seemed to glow with life. I wanted to just stand there and look at them for hours. After see the windows designed by Wright, I have to wonder why we build our houses with such mundane windows today. Each window little cookie cutter forms with no vision. I was also intrigued by a series of contemporary glass art miniatures by Nick Cave. The details were minute yet so realistic. I was in awe of his technique. I wish that we had arrived at the museum in time to see the glass blowing demonstration that they do daily, but we were an hour too late. 

Next we walked through the antiquities section. Quirky was a little more interested in this section, probably because, we studied ancient history in depth both last year and this year. She was however a little embarrassed by the nudity in some of the statues. So heads up for some of you parents...art sometimes includes nudity. It is a personal choice of what you feel is appropriate for your children. Of the antiquities section, I think my favorites were the Greek pottery. The rich detail and the stories they tell, simply amazing. The colors, though limited, brought a life to the pottery, and despite their age they seemed as if they had been created merely yesterday. 

Then we wondered through European and American art sections, most of which were paintings. We saw everything from a John Singleton Copley to a Matisse, Degas to Warhol. I don't know that I could truly express all I want to about each of the paintings that we saw. I know that this makes me sound like the biggest art nerd ever, but just standing in front of these master pieces was a thrill for me, and I was happy enough that Quirky and Dork slowed down enough to at least look if not study each piece. I think that the modern art section was Quirky's favorite. Here she slowed down even more and looked closer at the bright colors and bold paintings.

My final opinion...this is a wonderful art museum, and if it was closer to home I would probably be here at least once a week just to sit and study the art. The collections were nothing short of magnificent, and my only regret being that we could not stay longer. If you are still curious, you can find out more about this museum on their website. For you educators they have ready made lessons plans on their website that relate to their exhibits. To me this was a wonderful field trip opportunity, and I suggest that any one who has the opportunity to go, should go.