I headed over to the museum and the first thing I notice is the building is way bigger than it looks from the outside. Maybe I just have a depth perception problem when it comes to buildings but I was amazed at the amount of space that I was inside. I approach the first desk on the first floor lobby and it turns out to be the membership desk. What that means is the first person you encounter is the person I can only assume is a membership drive member. (I realize that was a whole lot of 'person's and 'member's). You will quickly find out that if she detects for half a second that you are not considering becoming a member like three minutes ago, you will become unimportant.
One of the wonderful things about First Thursdays at the museum is the schedule. The event lasts from 5-9pm and during that time there are a variety of things going on. I, for one, am not into beer tasting so I do not want to spend an hour doing that. I do enjoy dabbling in my (nonexistent) artistic talent so I enjoyed the drop-in and draw instead. If drawing isn't your thing then you can go to the auditorium and watch a movie. If you want to skip all of that you can just enjoy the live music playing in their cafe or walk around the gallery and enjoy the art. You get the idea...there is a lot to do.
The first thing I did was catch some acts from Hamlet as performed by Samford University Theatre group. It has been a while since I read the book, but I didn't realize there were funny scenes in Hamlet. My favorite line? "Words without thoughts never to heaven go." The group from Samford was really good and they made me want to re-read the book. I'm a nerd, I know. Don't judge me, one day someone will find it adorable ;-)
After the select scenes of Hamlet, I tried to make sense of the gallery map and quickly realized that if you toss the map aside and just wander, it's not such a bad thing to get lost in the art. Which is exactly what I did. I got so entranced in one piece that I turned around, there were three people standing behind me and I didn't even hear them come in. There was something about sitting or standing in the middle of a large gallery-especially when I am the only person in the room-that evokes feelings of....clean?.....crisp?....clear?....emotion?....To be honest, I am still not quite sure. What I do know is I am an on-the-go type of person and I could have sat in any one of the galleries, all alone, for hours.
My third 'event' for the night was the 'drop-in and draw' class which was led by Daisy. I really enjoyed myself; everything was informal, you literally just drop-in at 6:30, stand by an easel and draw. Although I enjoyed myself and the company of the fellow artists around me, I am a HORRIBLE artist! My picture:
How the sorceress' face is SUPPOSED to look:
(http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:L'Envo%C3%BBteuse_(The_Sorceress)_Georges_Merle.jpg)
Despite the horrible rendition, I enjoyed myself and I am looking forward to going back. Although I had a great experience there are a few things I learned about myself that will be good to know for future dates:
I am not a fan of abstract art. Seriously, if my niece can do it and she isn't getting millions for it, why should I be impressed because someone else says it's their take on the capitalistic society and Barbie?
I get a kick out of contemporary art.
13th -17th Century Italian Art brought out the critical Christian in me.
So did all of the religious art. And Madonna looked bored ALL of the time!
18th Century Art bored the crap out of me.
Statues kind of freak me out.
All in all, it was a pretty good night but I did leave wishing I had a date with me. I didn't necessarily want to talk to anyone while I was there, but standing in the room getting lost in the paintings, the artifacts, the history and the expression...it just made me want to be sharing it with someone.
Until next time,
~LT
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