Getting some culture

There is this great program in the Phoenix area called the Culture Pass. Available through the library system, it lets anyone with a library card check out a free pass (when available) to one of about 15 local museums. Availability is limited, and the most popular venues (e.g. the zoo) can be almost impossible to get, but I've been able to snag several passes for places I want to visit, and I take the kids along as an outing. I know that at this age, they could care less whether they are in the art museum, the botanical garden, the science museum, or our living room. To them, these trips are a ride in a car, some sun, a somewhat bumpy stroller ride, a bottle, and another car ride. But to me, it's a chance to get out of the house and see something interesting while pushing the stroller and lulling the kids to sleep. Last week we went to the Phoenix art museum. It's a good sized museum and we only made it through about half of it. We started with an Ansel Adams exhibit which was excellent. That guy could take a really nice picture. Really, really nice. Then we strolled outside through the sculpture garden so the kids could fuss while I prepped their bottles, and not disturb too many people. They ate, I shot some pictures, and then it was back inside to the modern & contemporary wing of the museum. It's a decent size, just about the right amount to not be overwhelming, but I wasn't overly impressed by most of the works. My initial reaction upon walking into one of the galleries was, "Okay, so contemporary art has to be BIG, but not particularly technical, or visually appealing, or good for that matter." I'm sure the curator would disagree with me, and I did find a couple pieces that weren't just huge, but at least in that first gallery, they were few and far between. I enjoyed the upstairs gallery a bit more, as there were several pieces I really liked. One in particular, a piece called, "You Who are Getting Obliterated in the Dancing Swarm of Fireflies " by Yayoi Kusama I would love to take the kids back to see when they are 2-3 years old. It consists of a dark room with mirrorred walls creating a feeling of infinite space. Dangling from the ceiling are lots of wires tipped with color-changing LED lights which turn on and off and change colors while you stand amongst them. It's a dazzling effect, and the only problem is that with mirrors on the walls and a very dark room, it's hard to find the way out (especially when pushing a double length stroller!). I also liked a big installation by Peter Wegner ("Guillotine of Sunlight, Guillotine of Shade), and a smaller painting by David Hockney.

The art museum was last week's trip, and it was very successful. Yesterday we tried to go to the science museum, but that was much less successful. Five minutes after entering, Ella got extremely fussy, and despite trying to feed her, trying to hold & comfort her, and changing her diaper, nothing would calm her down, and we had to leave. That might not bode well for her future science career, but I'm not worried about it. At least she settled down to a slumber while walking the long way back to the car.