owlmoose: (Default)
KJ ([personal profile] owlmoose) wrote2005-10-16 08:53 am
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midnight museum madness

(More lines here. Just one song left. C'mon you guys, this is a classic! Someone must know it. Update: And someone did. All songs answered! Wow.)

Last night, T and I dropped by the grand re-opening of the de Young Museum. This art museum was closed for several years so that they could construct a new building -- the old one was seismically unsound. Before the old building shut its doors, they opened it for a twenty-four hour museum marathon. We had attended the farewell party, so we thought that it was only appropriate to attend the welcoming as well. We left the house around 11pm and, after some parking adventures, arrived at the museum perhaps fifteen minutes before midnight.

It was a mob scene. Literally. The line to get in extended into the night and out of our sight. We didn't even bother finding the end of it. We took a glance into the galleries through the picture windows and they weren't visably crowded, so they must have been enforcing some sort of "one-in one-out" policy. So we spent some time walking around, looking at the grounds and the building. I'm looking forward to getting a closer look at it someday -- the new building is highly controversial, the design provoking wails of agony from San Franscisans everywhere. For a city that takes its identity from a reputation for open-mindedness, the design sense of the populace is amazingly stodgy. I found the tower, the main source of complaint, to be quite striking, lit up at night. Apparently the galleries are well designed. We'll probably go check it out in a few months, after the buzz dies down a little.

The crowd was an odd mix of art types, people looking for a party, and the merely curious. I wonder if there will be a backlash from the art community -- "those club kids ruined our opening!" Only time and op-eds will tell.

[identity profile] grue23.livejournal.com 2005-10-16 04:04 pm (UTC)(link)
You are really, really smart to have not stood in the line. I wish [livejournal.com profile] mister_sunshine and I had come at the gallery from the direction you did so we could have seen exactly what it was.

[identity profile] angeltaisha.livejournal.com 2005-10-16 04:13 pm (UTC)(link)
Why is it controversial? I bet it does look lovely at night. Too bad you didn't get to go in, but as you said, it's prolly better to go when there aren't so many people around. Then you can take your time and really enjoy what you're looking at instead of feeling like you're rushed.

Did you notice one of your friends got the last answer? I was staring at it, throwing it around in my head cuz it was on the tip of my tongue, but once I saw the answer I was like, I would have never remembered that.

[identity profile] owlmoose.livejournal.com 2005-10-16 04:44 pm (UTC)(link)
The tower is controversial mostly because of its height. If you look at this picture, you can see that it's notably taller than anything around it. All kinds of complaining about "a skyscraper in the park" -- never mind that it's only eight stories tall. Also, people weren't wild about the exterior, which is copper. Some critics compared it to a rusty aircraft carrier! Myself, I find it fascinating and look forward to getting to know it better.

I did see that the song was answered. This is the first time you guys have gotten all the answers! I'll have to make it harder next time. ;)

[identity profile] coco-keesses.livejournal.com 2005-10-16 08:56 pm (UTC)(link)
whoa! I love the copper skin!! Herzog and de Meuron are all about letting buildings age (K's friend worked for them in Basel, so at some point she showed us a bunch of their local stuff. Not sure I totally agree with the philosophy. But they do have great textures -- went to the Funf Hofe in Munich all the time -- it is gorgeous.) What do you call the style -- swiss-mayan brutalist modern? :) just joking -- I don't get any real arch. history classes so wouldn't know myself. The place looks friggen HUGE. WalMart style huge.

[identity profile] owlmoose.livejournal.com 2005-10-16 09:18 pm (UTC)(link)
swiss-mayan brutalist modern?

Joke or not, that's not too far off. :) Interesting that the gracefully aging building is part of their philosophy. I do wonder how it will look once the copper starts to take on a green patina.

It is huge, but so was the original building (which was a more typical stucco Mission-style thing). I don't know if it's going to feel big on the inside, though -- apparently the galleries are more intimate. Or so the reviews suggest. I hope I get a chance to see them for myself soon.