31 Thursday Oct 2013
Posted in art, iPhone, photography, San Diego, Travel
Tags
art, california, iPhoneography, La Jolla, museum, Ocean, Pacific Ocean, photography, San Diego, Travel, view
These windows at the San Diego Museum of Contemporary Art in La Jolla, California, showcase the living art that is the Pacific Ocean.
A security guard there said artists would prefer not to be displayed in this gallery because people spend more time staring out the window than at anything else in the room. (And as it happens, on this day, the other walls are bare.)
24 Tuesday Sep 2013
Posted in Amsterdam, architecture, art, photography, photowalking, random, Travel, urban
Tags
Amsterdam, art, contemporary, Holland, modern, museum, Netherlands, photography, Stedelijk, Travel
One year and one day ago, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam re-opened to the public after extensive renovations. It was also the last full day of my visit to that city … so what better time to join with thousands of Amsterdammers and tourists to have a look.
If you’re into modern and contemporary art, and you happen to be in Amsterdam, this is the place for you.
The Stedelijk is located on the south end of the Museumplein. The museum is easy to find because it’s near to pretty much every other major museum in the city … and also because of the distinctive exterior of the museum expansion.
Admission is covered by the Amsterdam museum card (Museumkaart) if you have one. Otherwise, check out their website for current admission rates.
Ticket stub from Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam.
08 Saturday Jun 2013
Posted in art, history, London, photography, Travel
This is one of the more interesting artifacts at the British Museum in London, to my mind.
Until I saw this last year, it wasn’t obvious to me what kind of role Arabic played in Chinese art centuries ago.
23 Saturday Feb 2013
Tags
art, culture, EMP Museum, horror, museum, music, Nirvana, photography, Seattle, Travel, Washington
Another great attraction in Seattle is the EMP Museum, which focuses on popular art and music.
The museum, housed in a building designed by Frank Gehry, covers topics spanning modern music and popular culture.
The photo above is in the first display in an exhibit on the emergence of punk and grunge, focusing on Nirvana. The guitar is a Mosrite Gospel, played by Kurt Cobain during the Seattle show in which the song Smells Like Teen Spirit was performed publicly for the first time.
Other parts of the exhibit include such seminal artifacts as Nirvana’s first demo tape and the original photo that would become the cover art for Nevermind.
It’s a fascinating journey through the first days of the Pacific Northwest punk/grunge scene, all the way through its popularization and its acceptance by mainstream media.
Nearby are a historical guitar gallery and an exhibit on Jimi Hendrix.
Elsewhere in the museum are exhibits on horror movies, science fiction and the art of video games, the museum’s newest installation, whose opening I missed due to timing, unfortunately.
If you’re in Seattle for a visit (and especially if you call Seattle home), do make time for this museum.
16 Tuesday Oct 2012
Posted in London, photography, photowalking, random, Travel, urban
Tags
England, GB, London, museum, photography, photowalk, Sherlock Holmes, Travel, UK
I rarely visit museums for make-believe persons … but it seemed appropriate to make an exception for Sherlock Holmes. Above is a recreation of what Holmes’s study might look like. Find it and lots more other trivia at 221B Baker St. in London.
And don’t despair if you don’t find it at first: The building is between 237 and 241 Baker St.
Even the city capitalizes on the famous address. Below are tiles used to decorate the Baker St. Underground station.
Ricky Leong 