This past weekend, while the parents in law were in town, we all went to the new Art Museum that opened up downtown.
From the website-
"At the heart of downtown Roanoke, the new 81,000 square foot Taubman Museum of Art proves an arresting landmark for visitors arriving from US I-581. As Roanoke's most contemporary structure, it provides an analog for the city's evolution from industrial and manufacturing town to technology-driven city. The building's forms and materials evoke both the drama of the surrounding mountainous landscape of the Shenandoah Valley and the lyrically gritty industrial-era building culture of the great early 20th century railroad boom, when Roanoke came to prominence as a switchpoint city of the new South. "Yes, it's beautiful. Yes, the lines are stunning. But honestly? It sticks out like a sore thumb amongest the older, industrial era buildings that surround it. That bulbous area that sticks out over the sidewalk? Was supposed to house IMAX equipment. The City Council decided that an
IMAX THEATER would not be
profitable, so it's empty and wasted space. Yes,folks, taxpayer dollars at work, because they never scrubbed that section from the construction and built it anyway.
The Museum itself is still a point of contention here, in it's design and positioning downtown. And most likely, always will be.
Anyway...
The interior is absolutely stunning. Soaring ceilings, wide, open galleries, bright, bold colors in some, and perfectly displayed art works.
The Revo:oveR display is very interesting in that it is mainly observer dependent. The Judith Leiber Handbags are tiny pieces of art. but what I really enjoyed was the Tattoo artwork gallery ( Pens and Needles: Drawings for Tattoos,
Current Exhibits ) and the people watching.
Oh the people watching...
There's an art display that has people stopping, pointing and questioning. 'Recordings' by Mark Jenkins. Cloth and Tape artworks that are on display in 'nongallery' areas.
My MiL was fooled by one near the elevators. There was another in the Modern Gallery that fooled people. There was a third that I saw,outside, on the Terrace.
The MiL was at the elevators, and behind what she assumed was a young, blonde girl waiting for the elevator. Well, she waited and waited, the girl never pushed the button, so finally she reached around her to push it and realised... the girl was a statue. She was dubbed 'Stuffanie'.
There was another in the Modern Gallery. A couple walked in, the woman stopped, shocked, said something to the male, and pointed. He promptly tried to go over to the 'guy', and she grabbed his sleeve, yanking him back. Then she saw us, sitting on the bench, giggling at their reactions. then it dawned on her that 'Phil' wasn't real.
Others walked in, spotted 'him', stopped, stared, walked over, peered at him and when they realised, no, he wasn't really a man sleeping in the Gallery, walked away quickly, as if they hadn't tried to figure out why a man was laying on the floor.
The third one was outside, on the Terrace. I only spotted her as we left and drove across the bridge next to the Museum. I wonder how many people wonder at the girl sitting outside in the cold, on the ledge...
Several photos from our trip have been uploaded to my Gallery on DeviantArt. Because of the Museum's photograph policy, any photos with artworks in them will NEVER be offered up for prints/sale. Any that do not include artworks, and if I think they warrant it, may be offered as prints.
Please do not ask for any photos not available for buying to be made available. They are for my use, and visual sharing only.
Photo posts forthcoming. I hope you enjoy them.
contemplative