Pretty Pretty Pictures

And then there was art!

My aunt had a meeting with a client in downtown Sacramento today, and since she didn't want me to have to bang around all day by myself (not that I mind banging around all day by myself...) she offered to take me with and leave me to wander around Capitol Mall by myself for a few hours. And it turns out that that Capitol Mall has an art museum - the Crocker Museum - right around where we were going to be.

It's not a bad collection, overall. I'm perhaps a bit spoiled by the Albuquerque Museum, but I didn't entirely like the way the upper floor was displayed: they went with this weird thing where they have a high-ceilinged allery with paintings stacked four deep up the walls and labels in the corner with a little chart to show what every painting on that wall is. Confusing, and not helpful when I'm stuck in the middle. And I'm too short to see the top paintings well.

Most of the European art was from the 18th and 19th century, mostly lesser known artists but some very nice pieces regardless, and the contemporary section was neat - there was one that was a portrait of George Bush made up of smaller panels of skulls and crumbled buildings and bombs and stuff, and a painting of the Stonewall Riots, and some seriously creepy statues. The Asian art section was teensy tiny, but they had a few really lovely pieces of Korean celadon pottery and some nifty Buddhist sculptury from Myanmar and Thailand. And there was a temporary exhibit on Japanese women ceramicists. I did not know making weird looking pots was so controversial!

I like being in museums by myself. I mean, it's fun to go with other people, too, so you can pool art knowledge and vaguely philosophic insights and made fun of the really ugly paintings. But going to museums by myself is such a serene experience. I can put my headphones in and listen to Art Music and get as close to the paintings as I want and take too long reading the placards and just lose myself all the way in taking in the art. It makes me feel very...content.

Best thing about today, aside from the art: I had In-and-Out Burger for lunch AND dinner. SO GOOD.