Walkin’ in DC
Lest you think I spent my entire tenure in Arlington feeding fish, playing with cats, and catching up on the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I thought I would share a few pictures I took while walking around.
First of all, a picture taken at great risk to my own personal safety and security.
They have superior rowboat technology…
While taking the above photograph (one of two that I took of the rowboat), I was approached by a Smithsonian security guard.
“Remember,” he said. “No photography allowed.”
“No photography?” I said, bewildered.
“It’s on the sign out front of the display.”
Sure enough, the sign said “No photography”. I had to check – like an idiot, I hadn’t really taken notice of the sign since I figured it was just there to tell us what the exhibit was.
But how did he know I was taking pictures? I wasn’t using a flash, and I had turned off the beep that the camera makes after it takes a picture. And he was all the way across the hall from me with several display cases set up between us. I didn’t even see him coming until he spoke.
The answer: He hadn’t noticed my camera. He had seen the flashes from another person’s camera – somebody who wasn’t considerate enough to turn their flash off. He just spotted me while looking for the real culprit.
Round and round they go…
Like a good philistine, I don’t do much to remember the names of pieces of art that I like. Or even their sculptors. Feel free to inform me in your comments. This piece is in the Hirshorn Sculpture Garden, which is across the street from the Hirshorn Gallery.
Now, that’s eerie….
Another sculpture from the garden. It seemed incredibly appropriate to me that a spider had chosen to build its web on this statue. Click the picture for a larger version.
Getting along fine without legs…
This image isn’t on the Sculpture Garden, but can be found outside the Hirshorn.
No sense of scale….
The picture above doesn’t really do justice to just how big this sculpture is. Seated and slumped like that, the sculpture is easily taller than me – even when I’m wearing my boots, which add a good inch-and-a-half to my height.
You can do that with burlap?
“Four on a Bench” – unfortunately, I still can’t remember the artist’s name. What I do remember, however, is that these figures were all made using burlap that was shaped around a living subject.
What to do when you have too much of one color…
“Blues” – again, the artist’s name escapes me. The medium? Tubes of blue paint, paper labels, and clear acrylic.
When you have nothing to wear…
One of my favorite pieces on display at the Hirshorn – “Venus of the Rags”. I love its simplicity and the way it combines the classical with a modern image and creates an interesting visual joke on expectations. Again, I have no memory of the artist’s name.