an appreciation

I've had an off week. One of those where you wake up and everything is the same as it always is, but then the day goes on and you're distracted by some nameless, indescribable thing. I followed the advice of my boss at my internship and took Saturday for a mental break at the North Carolina Museum of Art.

I might have been too excited about seeing the collections to relax my mind, but I did really enjoy myself. Here are some of my favorites:

Mona Lisa 2 by Devorah Sperber. This installation is actually made up of over 5,000 spools of thread. When you look through the glass bulb, you see her right side up and can move it around to see if her eyes follow you.

The Garden Parasol by Frederick Carl Frieseke. I love this painting, the colors, and the way you can see the paint coming off the canvas to create texture. It reminds me of Monet (the artists were actually neighbors at the time this was painted).

An actual Monet! The Cliffs at Etretat, Sunset. I wish this photo did the painting justice, it's so beautiful in person. Monet was all about capturing scenes in different light and I think this painting is a great example. You can see the blue of dusk everywhere and the warmth of the setting sun at the same time.

A Diebenkorn! If you're a huge Gilmore Girls fan and can remember every episode like I can, then you know how happy this makes me. If not, you can still appreciate the slabs of color in Berkeley No. 8.

Pi by Morris Lewis. Paint was spilled onto this giant canvas (I think it's linen) and allowed to be absorbed. It's really impressive to see in person just because it's so large (as in, way taller than I am), and that's why I like how simple it is. If you look close, you can see how the colors in the paint separated as it bled outward.

Untitled by Page Laughlin. This painting reminded me of something from Elle Decor. When I looked her up when I got home, it turns out that Laughlin actually bases her paintings off of spreads from magazines like Architectural Digest and Nest. You should read her artist statement, it really is interesting and gives you so much more to think about when you look at her work.

This one is cool. I really like when artists use found objects. This one, Lines That Link Humanity by El Anatsui is made from thousands of pieces of liquor packaging and bottle caps.

Really, though, go to the museum and see for yourself! It's free to see their permanent collection and to walk around the park and the building itself is just beautiful.