Phoenix Art Museum

The Phoenix Art Museum - Steve and I met my brother, Mark, at the Phoenix Art Museum in downtown for the Wednesday free admission day.  It was amazing, frightening, and beautiful.  [The frightening part was the You Who Are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies by Yayoi Kusama.  The moment I stepped into that pitch dark room with only the tiny disembodied lights I felt like I was going to fall, so I backed out slowly and left.  Apparently some of us have issues and I seem to be such a one.  Kusama, I understand, has a mental illness that causes her to see patterns everywhere, particularly polka dots.  This is her way of sharing her world.  There is a polka dotted pumpkin sculpture elsewhere in the museum that she created, as well.]

There were old masters' drawings and paintings, though.  Since photographs were allowed without flash, I can share the ones I liked best.

Not sure why, but this was directly in front of the museum.

Monet's Flowering Arches at Giverny

Close up, you can see the pointillism, the pixelation of its day. 

I like this one best of all - Girl Playing Guitar.  The light is so beautiful.

Steve noticed that the next two paintings have tiny holes punched around the gilt halos.  It must have been part of the gilding process.

This tree was fascinating the more you looked at it.  It was set in a huge room with three white walls. It appeared to be covered in black velvet and had delicate, blue glass birds sitting on the branches and snow-like material at the base.  After a while, you realize that there are faint shadows cast on the floor surrounding the tree and they are just as beautiful as the tree itself.  It really grew on you, pardon the pun.

As you know, there had to be horse art and I liked it.

The piece below made me laugh.  It's made by an American artist and is called Shuttlecock Concert.

The fresh flowers are Ikebana that are replaced regularly.

After Mark and I looked unsuccessfully for Steve, we said goodbye and my brother left for home A short while later, I found Steve at the restaurant's outside seating ensconced at a shady table.  The temperature was a balmy 103 degrees, but what a gorgeous courtyard.

Odd sculpture saying goodbye on the way back to the parking lot.

Tomorrow, it's laundry, cleaning of our quarters, and family dinner with Mom and Dad.  We may even throw in some apartment hunting to plan for our return from Europe.

Friday may be church exploration day.  I understand that St. Francis Xavier (Ignatius) has a lovely cathedral and St. Mary's Basilica is a beautiful example of adobe construction.  I think we need to see them.