LaLaLa #2

Although not a huge fan of this style of naïf art, I was kind of looking forward to going to the Grandma Moses exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento with Sylvia. When I was in 4th grade, our beloved teacher Mrs. Sisson had us study Grandma Moses. The artist was an amazing person, having started painting in her 70s and painting so prolifically. The exhibit was lovingly curated and viewers paused longer than the average time before each painting, sucked in to what Sylvia called the artist's "mind maps" of her village. Even I spent a lot of time looking at the detail and vaguely remembering Mrs. Sisson's lesson. I think we read a book, watched a documentary and did paintings of Poplar "in the style of..." Some of those paintings, would definitely have been less cheery than the endearing and actually quite elaborate "Sugaring Off" (below). Just imagine muddier snow, rusted-out rez cars instead of horse-drawn buggies, way more dogs running around and a few passed-out drunks up alongside some of the buildings. Title would be "Sleeping It Off." Yes, just add making fun of Grandma Moses to the list of reasons why I'm probably going straight to hell.



I hadn't been to the Crocker for over a year and was surprised at the construction and expansion project. The museum is really one of the state's best art museums and allegedly the oldest West of the Mississippi (and the Crockers were related to Elena Poniatowska). One of the coolest things about the permanent collection is that most of the art has a plaque that offers an explanation/interpretation of the work and alerts viewers to special details (e.g. looking beyond an obvious fireworks display in a painting and noting that flames are shooting out of Mount Vesuvius in the background). These explanations, surprisingly, are not in the least bit patronizing.

But the very coolest thing was the 2nd floor's center gallery. The paintings there are now hanging salon style. (See page 3 of exhibitionlayout.pdf)

I must have seen this style of hanging art before. But I either don't remember it or am such a peasant I actually haven't. Both are very real possibilities. Since I would never dare profane the space of a museum with my camera, I'll let Tommy Huynh's photo that I found on flickr.com illustrate this gallery that had me absolutely enchanted.

I figure that since I credit the photographer it's probably OK to copy his photo that he probably wasn't supposed to take in the museum in the first place anyway.

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Sylvia showed me Thrift Town out on Arden after we left the museum. A pink and orange paisley button-down shirt, a burnt-orange linen blazer that I hope will make me look like a professor and jeans that have a henna tattoo iron-on detail on the end of the legs and in a size number that made me very happy (never mind that I can't really sit down in them...they'll be my museum-going jeans).