Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art
08 April 2005 | filed under Arts & MusicI checked out the exhibitions at the stunning Johnson Museum yesterday. You’ve just got to love free admission!
Aside from the apparently-very-popular Rover Landings: Cornell on Mars exhibit, I really wanted to see the Twice-told Tales images, an exhibit made up of photographs from Cornell Alumni collections. Judging by the scale of what I saw, I’d say those Cornellians have some great taste (not to mention fat pocketbooks)! Some well-known photographers on display are Man Ray, Robert Frank, and Bert Stern (a print from the infamous last-ever session with Marilyn Monroe).
My favorite piece was definitely this camera obscura image by Abelardo Morell. To create it he covered the windows of a Manhattan studio with heavy black tarp, cut a half inch hole in it and did an eight-hour exposure of the studio interior. The effect is somewhat like using the studio walls as the inside of a giant pinhole camera. Brilliant! Check out Times Square in Hotel Room, and pick up a print of your own from his rep for only $4-15k! Worth every penny for sure…
On the museum’s lower level is Cars and Ketchup: Photorealist Images of the American Landscape. Usually I’m not such a fan of paintings made to look like photos but there were some mind-blowing works there. Naturally, Chuck Close’s Phil III (handmade paper in 24 grey values) was a highlight.
David Parrish’s Idol is an awesome depiction of Elvis all shiny and plastic-like. Also a fan of: Guy Johnson’s Step Grandfather Frederik… (oil on paper on aluminum!) and John Salt’s Arrested Vehicle.
Here’s a few pics I took inside the museum, which I think must be the best-designed modern building in Ithaca (by architect I.M. Pei):
I once read an interview where the curator there was asked which was the most valuable piece in their collection. She answered that it was their building.
comment by Katie on 08 April 2005 at 3:00 pm