r and i visited friends in baltimore this past weekend. since r didn't get to see much of the city the last time he was there (only a day trip), we aimed for mostly touristy things. e & c, being gracious hosts, took us all over the city. as we drove around, they shared interesting facts like the history of certain buildings, places where john waters lives and hangs out, the bar where the charm city cakes staff gets their drink on, etc.
we spent saturday at the american visionary art museum and the orioles game against the red sox. we got to see manny ramirez hit his 500th homerun, which was pretty exciting, even for us who don't follow baseball.
on sunday, we visited the baltimore museum of art and caught their comprehensive photography exhibition, looking through the lens. it made me fall in love with photography all over again. we stopped by poe's grave and then ended the day at fort mchenry, making it there just in time to see the flag change.
e & c took us to cool places for food: delicious sopapillas at golden west cafe, brunches at miss shirley's and rocket to venus, yummy italian pastries at vaccaro's, comforting afghan food at the helmand, and arguably the best hotcakes at pete's grille.
r really liked the city and got to see a very different side of it than the one portrayed in the wire. the only down side to the trip was the traveling itself, the traffic and the truck running on its last leg. we will probably plan another trip there in the near future, but we will be taking either the bus or train next time. nothing will keep us from traveling!
Showing posts with label baltimore. Show all posts
Showing posts with label baltimore. Show all posts
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Sunday, October 28, 2007
baltimore
last weekend, i visited friends in baltimore. it was a really nice getaway from new york, more so than boston. i like boston, but there's something about baltimore that i really admire. maybe it's still a relatively blue-collar, middle-class city. my new favorite museum is the american visionary art museum. i even flirted with the idea of moving to baltimore to justify purchasing a membership.
their main exhibit was "all faiths beautiful." along the staircases between each floor, postcards from frank warren's postsecrets were framed and posted on the walls. these postcards specifically involved people's secrets about faith. some of them were pretty general (i found god, now i'm saved. i lost my faith and am hiding it from my family and friends.); some were pretty profound. there was one memorable card regarding a military personnel (navy?) who is a liberal atheist who felt compelled to lie about his political and religious stance to gain respect among his peers and to appear as a candidate for promotions among his superiors.
there was a room devoted to the female as the origin of life that permeates in many religious beliefs as well. i admit that i've gotten to a point in my life where i don't feel the angst i once did in my younger years towards the societal oppression of women. i think it was just a matter of realizing being angry doesn't change anything. really, i need to work hard to prove my capabilities, even if it means i have to work extra hard to do so. some things in life aren't fair, but it must go on. so it was actually refreshing to see artwork that promoted feminism so vocally.
i also really liked and appreciated an exhibit that focused on artworks created by people with mental disabilities. art, being a medium with so little constraint and so open to new ideas and ways of communication, offered a voice to some of these people who aren't able to express themselves in conventional ways. also, it's a way for them to create something beautiful that other people can admire, giving them a sense of gratification that they might not feel often in their lives.
within all the exhibits, the museum promoted a sense of community among baltimore artists by selecting many of the artworks from local artists. baltimore, being sort of the underdog among east coast cities, is trying to rebuild itself to come out of that status, and art is an important element to any community trying to elevate itself, allowing expressions of progression and vision. besides the obvious attraction of my dear friends and their loving cats, i hope to visit baltimore again very soon.
their main exhibit was "all faiths beautiful." along the staircases between each floor, postcards from frank warren's postsecrets were framed and posted on the walls. these postcards specifically involved people's secrets about faith. some of them were pretty general (i found god, now i'm saved. i lost my faith and am hiding it from my family and friends.); some were pretty profound. there was one memorable card regarding a military personnel (navy?) who is a liberal atheist who felt compelled to lie about his political and religious stance to gain respect among his peers and to appear as a candidate for promotions among his superiors.
there was a room devoted to the female as the origin of life that permeates in many religious beliefs as well. i admit that i've gotten to a point in my life where i don't feel the angst i once did in my younger years towards the societal oppression of women. i think it was just a matter of realizing being angry doesn't change anything. really, i need to work hard to prove my capabilities, even if it means i have to work extra hard to do so. some things in life aren't fair, but it must go on. so it was actually refreshing to see artwork that promoted feminism so vocally.
i also really liked and appreciated an exhibit that focused on artworks created by people with mental disabilities. art, being a medium with so little constraint and so open to new ideas and ways of communication, offered a voice to some of these people who aren't able to express themselves in conventional ways. also, it's a way for them to create something beautiful that other people can admire, giving them a sense of gratification that they might not feel often in their lives.
within all the exhibits, the museum promoted a sense of community among baltimore artists by selecting many of the artworks from local artists. baltimore, being sort of the underdog among east coast cities, is trying to rebuild itself to come out of that status, and art is an important element to any community trying to elevate itself, allowing expressions of progression and vision. besides the obvious attraction of my dear friends and their loving cats, i hope to visit baltimore again very soon.
Monday, November 06, 2006
baltimore/dc
i'm spending the week in baltimore. the city has such character - there are tons of decrepit buildings and awesome murals that i'm dying to take pictures of. i want to walk around the area where i'm staying with friends and try to get these pictures before leaving. visiting new places is always such a source of inspiration.
well, except dc. we walked from georgetown into the mall today, and there was only one building i kind of wanted to take a picture of but then didn't. dc is always so grey when i'm there, and the buidlings kind of blend in with the weather. when i do see cool stuff, like boldly colored row houses, we're in the car, and i'm not yet skilled enough to get my camera set up to take pictures quickly. i was also disappointed that the national gallery didn't have a photography section. maybe that's why i was so uninspired by dc. how can the national gallery not have a photography section? i hope we just missed it, not that the gallery didn't have one. it would be too sad if the latter was the case.
but we did see this one piece composed of mussel shells glued to a square canvas. for some reason, my friend and i were both drawn to it. i loved the green paint that blotted some of the insides of the shells to give them a sense of freshness, almost invoking the smell of the ocean. also, the dark, black/grey shells in 3-dimension made me think of an industrious city - metal/steel structures that evolve into skyscrapers, dirt and grime covering surface, smoke creating a layer of grey blanket that covers the city - and the fishing industry that is threatening ocean life. the splashes of green represents to me the few trees/greenery that manage to survive in this environment, as many cities have planted trees along streets and have created small parks, and also the beautiful spots in the ocean are still untouched by the spoils of human demands. the juxtaposition of the colors and textures characterizes the struggle between nature and human creations. the irony is that human beings are nature's creations, and sometimes i think that our supposed destruction of the planet is part of nature's plan.
or it's getting late and i'm just babbling because i really need to get some sleep after a long day...
well, except dc. we walked from georgetown into the mall today, and there was only one building i kind of wanted to take a picture of but then didn't. dc is always so grey when i'm there, and the buidlings kind of blend in with the weather. when i do see cool stuff, like boldly colored row houses, we're in the car, and i'm not yet skilled enough to get my camera set up to take pictures quickly. i was also disappointed that the national gallery didn't have a photography section. maybe that's why i was so uninspired by dc. how can the national gallery not have a photography section? i hope we just missed it, not that the gallery didn't have one. it would be too sad if the latter was the case.
but we did see this one piece composed of mussel shells glued to a square canvas. for some reason, my friend and i were both drawn to it. i loved the green paint that blotted some of the insides of the shells to give them a sense of freshness, almost invoking the smell of the ocean. also, the dark, black/grey shells in 3-dimension made me think of an industrious city - metal/steel structures that evolve into skyscrapers, dirt and grime covering surface, smoke creating a layer of grey blanket that covers the city - and the fishing industry that is threatening ocean life. the splashes of green represents to me the few trees/greenery that manage to survive in this environment, as many cities have planted trees along streets and have created small parks, and also the beautiful spots in the ocean are still untouched by the spoils of human demands. the juxtaposition of the colors and textures characterizes the struggle between nature and human creations. the irony is that human beings are nature's creations, and sometimes i think that our supposed destruction of the planet is part of nature's plan.
or it's getting late and i'm just babbling because i really need to get some sleep after a long day...
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