ase: Default icon (Default)
ase ([personal profile] ase) wrote2010-03-26 12:06 pm

O'Keeffe at Philips

Moving is maybe a test of what you care about: how much effort you're willing to put into keeping material goods. This move proves I am still pretty bad at recognizing the ephemeral and impermanent nature of life and the material world. Twenty-four boxes, two suitcases, a backpack and a laptop bag I demand Delta recognize as a purse later, I am done. The clothes, the class papers, the peripherals and the wall art are shipped or sold or trashed or recycled. I tried to throw out half my work tchotchkes and two gift cards with the hangers. Nine years of tax records are in a box between DC and SF. The interview suit is taking a chance in checked luggage, with half the clothes and various expensive hair care products. The passport, family pictures, earrings, external hard drives and laptop? Carry-on, and likely to spend seven hours in my sweaty palms.

I have an excel spreadsheet detailing which numbered box holds what, and I think I forgot stuff. I had minor hysterics Tuesday morning, and then I had breakfast. My playlists are Muse, Eninem, Three Doors Down, Kanye West, Metallica, and acapella pop covers, but the Song of the Move is "Bad Romance".

I had occasion to be on the metro today, and reflect on my impending departure. I am filled with joy and no regrets. Okay, I never made it to Wegmans, or the war memorials. They aren't going anywhere! I am 100% okay with leaving DC right after the health care bill has been rammed through the House. People ask when I am coming back to visit, and honestly, it's not happening before 2011, and I'd really rather get people to see me. I am filled with positive adjectives about this move (despite the occasional box-related trauma), and look forward to living somewhere with fog and no snow. I intend to celebrate this on Thursday by making plans for Thursday evening,

Tuesday I went to the O'Keeffe exhibit at the Philips Collection with [livejournal.com profile] cathydalek and it was awesome. Half a floor stuffed with O'Keeffe's abstracts, plus occasional letters and Stieglitz nude photography. The letters were more interesting than the pictures: I was there for the O'Keeffe, not the O'Keeffe as posed by Stieglitz. The paintings were best of all: a lot of what I love about her art is in how she handled the paint, the texture and the canvas of it, and that doesn't translate to a shiny, printed small-scale reproduction. Some of the organization choices were, um, interesting, but they did reassemble some of her series of paintings on a particular subject and show the evolution of her approach in different paintings. (Best example: jack-in-the-pulpit series.) The focus was on O'Keeffe's abstracts, so it was interesting to see what snuck in from non-abstract phases as examples of abstraction impacting her approach. I liked getting to see some of her canvases that don't get as much press, and would totally suggest other people go see this.

After seeing the exhibit, [livejournal.com profile] cathydalek and I wandered through the rest of the museum, and found (in addition to many other paintings) an easter egg O'Keeffe elsewhere on the third floor. Go us.

Post a comment in response:

This account has disabled anonymous posting.
If you don't have an account you can create one now.
HTML doesn't work in the subject.
More info about formatting

If you are unable to use this captcha for any reason, please contact us by email at support@dreamwidth.org