OK, I love museums. I know...I am such a nerd. But it's true. Museums and books (among other things) really float my boat.
A good museum can really peak your interest in a subject. It can spark your imagination in a topic you've maybe never thought much about before. Or it can bring history to life in a way nothing else can.
Museums can spark creativity and help you make those all important connections between synapses, or something like that.
Anyways, I was thinking, just for fun, we'll spotlight different museums on the blog from time to time. Some will be museums I have been to; others are on my goal list.
We'll start today with the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. The High was founded in 1905 as the Atlanta Art Association. It found its first permanent home in a donated house on Peachtree Street in 1926.
Recently, in 2005, they opened expanded facilities, including three new buildings designed by renowned Italian architect Renzo Piano, doubling the museum's size to 312,000 square feet.
Today the High is the leading art museum of the southeastern U.S. and houses over 11,000 works in its permanent collection alone. They have an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American art and decorative arts; significant holdings of European paintings; and growing collections of African American art, photography, modern and contemporary art, and African art. As the leading museum in the Southeastern United States, the High is dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists and is distinguished as the only major museum in North America to have a curatorial department specifically devoted to the field of folk and self-taught art.
In addition, the High always has several special temporary exhibitions on view. They are in the middle of a special three-year Louvre Atlanta project with several exhibits on loan from Paris' famous museum moving in and out.
The High's current exhibitions include:
- Louis Monza: From Politics to Paradise. Through August 19, 2007.
- Louvre Atlanta: Kings as Collectors. Through September 2, 2007.
- Louvre Atlanta: Decorative Arts of the Kings. Through September 2, 2007.
- Annie Liebovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990-2005. Through September 9, 2007.
- Cecilia Beaux, American Figure Painter. Through September 9, 2007.
- Malick Sidibe: Photographs. Through November 18, 2007.
Upcoming exhibitions include:
- Harry Callahan: Eleanor. September 8-December 9, 2007.
- Inspiring Impressionism. October 16, 2007-January 13, 2008.
- Louvre Atlanta: The Louvre and the Ancient World. October 16, 2007-September 7, 2008.
- Louvre Atlanta: The Eye of Josephine. October 16, 2007-May 18, 2008.
- Embodying the Sacred in Yoruba Art. December 22, 2007-April 20, 2008.
- Street Life: American Photographs from the 1960s and 70s. December 22, 2007-April 20, 2008.
- Georgia O'Keeffe and the Women of the Stieglitz Circle. February 9-May 4, 2008.
- TRANSactions: Contemporary Latin American and Latino Art. February 9-May 4, 2008.
- Louvre Atlanta: Houdon in France and America. June 7-September 7, 2008.
- Road to Freedom: Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement, 1956-1968. June 7-October 12, 2008.
- The First Emperor: China's Terracotta Army. November 15, 2008-April 26, 2009.
Events at the High include free daily tours; the weekly Art in the City on Thursday evenings; Friday Jazz every third Friday of the month, featuring great live jazz in the atrium; and occassional gallery talks, lectures, films, and family programs.
Tickets are currently $15 for adults; $12 for seniors (65+) and students with ID; $10 for children ages 6-17; and free for children age 5 and under. You can purchase a CityPass that gets you into six Atlanta attractions; cost is $64 for adults and $45 for youth ages 3-12. Or get in free anytime by becoming a member. Membership levels vary from $35 to $10,000; a family pass is $90. Don't forget that you will have to pay for parking either at the Woodruff Art Center parking garage or at one of the other garages or lots around town. The High is closed on Mondays.
We joined on the family level at a special cost of $75 a year ago and have thoroughly enjoyed membership. We've only taken our 8-year-old a couple of times. There are a few things for kids but this is mostly a grown-up environment. By the way, be careful not to touch any of the art!
If you're ready for an elegant experience and interested in art at all, don't miss the High!
