Hey all,
I had such a great day on Friday, I wanted to do a quick blog about the Museum Hop I enjoyed. As you know, I love a good museum, and in BH (Belo Horizonte) there is an area around the Praca Liberdade (Liberty Square) where quite a few museums cluster.
I hit all of the ones right around the park and will do any others next week. Shall we start the Museum Hop???
I hit all of the ones right around the park and will do any others next week. Shall we start the Museum Hop???
First off, I headed to the Memorial Minas Gerais, which is a free museum in a magnificent building dating back to the late 1800s. I can't tell you how beautiful this and the other museums are. The staircases alone are worth the visit.
This museum traces the history of both Belo Horizonte and the state of Minas Gerais. It's put together quite well and for most of the museum, though I don't speak fluent Portuguese, I was able to enjoy it a lot. They have a room made like a cave with primitive art on the walls and moving dioramas about prehistoric man. There are many rooms of history and how specific areas of BH and MG were settled. Farming, railroad and mining were things they hit hard on. I enjoyed it very much.
I was able to take pictures in this museum, which was nice. I got a good slideshow to show Jonathon since he wasn't able to go with me.
The next museum is called the Mines and Metals Museum and it was also interesting. Not as much as the first, because I could only take so much about this subject, but if you were into rocks and gems, it was great. Lots of interactive things to do and some beautiful specimens to view. I'd have enjoyed it more, but most of the interactive things were in Portuguese, so I couldn't really get into it. There was a fantastic 3-D journey down a gold mine, which I loved, even though I couldn't understand much of what was said in the presentation.
Anyway, on to the third museum, which was in the old Bank of Brazil building. This museum presents exhibitions of art from around the world. This time it was from an old favorite, Le Centre Pompidou Mondern Art Museum in Paris. Women artists were the highlight at this exhibition, and some were great, other's bloody (and I do mean bloody) weird.
One was a video which caught my attention. By Regina José Galindo, it was called Blind Spot. It was of a woman, standing on a pedestal, naked in a museum.
Blind people were led in and told what was in front of them. It was interesting to watch the reactions. Women were leery and only patted her shoulder, but the men... Let's just say they were a little more pro-active. LOL In fact, there were times I flinched as I watched the woman (who is the artist) get groped. I'm not sure I'd consider it art, but it was an interesting experiment. If the video won't play, here is a link to watch for yourself. http://vimeo.com/channels/296810/28024870 (Couldn't check the preview before I published.)
Another video was of a woman, again naked, on a beach, using a hula-hoop. Not so interesting, except the hula-hoop was made of barbed wire. WTF???? As you watched, the barbs bit into her belly, and by the end of the video, she was all bloody and torn. Sorry...that is just weird.
After that, I was really glad to go to the Cemig Centre of Popular Art. It is a small museum that shows handcrafts of all types. Pottery, wood sculptures, papercraft and textiles. It was wonderful. I loved the pottery. One of the artists, Noemiza Batista, does some of the most amazing figurines. Both mythological or true to life, I've seen her work all over Brazil. I'd love to purchase a piece if I can, but I haven't found the perfect one yet.
I'll be going back there next week to see a new exhibition. They're in the process of doing a new wall of graffiti art as well, so I'll be jazzed to see it finally done.
Anyway, it was an awesome day! One I really enjoyed. I hope the pics showed you a little of what I got to see. For more info and pics, look up the museums. You may find some other things you like as well.
Hugs to you all,
Another video was of a woman, again naked, on a beach, using a hula-hoop. Not so interesting, except the hula-hoop was made of barbed wire. WTF???? As you watched, the barbs bit into her belly, and by the end of the video, she was all bloody and torn. Sorry...that is just weird.
After that, I was really glad to go to the Cemig Centre of Popular Art. It is a small museum that shows handcrafts of all types. Pottery, wood sculptures, papercraft and textiles. It was wonderful. I loved the pottery. One of the artists, Noemiza Batista, does some of the most amazing figurines. Both mythological or true to life, I've seen her work all over Brazil. I'd love to purchase a piece if I can, but I haven't found the perfect one yet.
I'll be going back there next week to see a new exhibition. They're in the process of doing a new wall of graffiti art as well, so I'll be jazzed to see it finally done.
Anyway, it was an awesome day! One I really enjoyed. I hope the pics showed you a little of what I got to see. For more info and pics, look up the museums. You may find some other things you like as well.
Hugs to you all,
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing CJ. I really felt sorry for the nude model. Wow!
The look on the model's face was, "What have I gotten into?" She did not look happy. Still it was her idea.
The picture of the metals museum reminded me of a show they had at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg VA. You sit in seats that give you a sense of movement as an ore car goes, down, down, down into a mine shaft on rails. It was fun, but for those who get carsick it would not be their choice of entertainment.
I know, Phylis. I did too. I have no problem with nudity, but the whole feeling up thing.
Creepy.
Back in the old days, Ray, I remember a ride at Disneyland that made you feel as if you were riding a glider even though you were standing upright. Parts of that gave me motion sickness.
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