I Return
I'm back from Chicago! And it was fun. The museums were great. We stopped first at the Oriental Institute. Unfortunately, I had packed up my cameras, and I couldn't get to them, so I got no pictures there. But it was still awesome. I got to see things like this guy:
That's a "giant, human-headed, winged bull" called a lamassu by the Assyrians. For reference, I stood about up to its flank *, and I'm about 5'7" (170 cm).
After we left the Oriental Institute, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which currently has an Andy Warhol exhibit. I still didn't have my camera, but they didn't allow photography anyway, so no big loss. And there's not much to say about it, really. I'm not a big fan of contemporary art. Honestly, it was kind of boring. And it was a long day, so I was glad to finally go to the Hotel.
That night I went with a bunch of friends to look for Gino's East, where deep-dish pizza was supposedly invented. We didn't find it. We kept asking, and people kept telling us to go to different places. So, we walked about seven blocks down Michigan Avenue, started to make a circle following the directions we'd been told, and finally decided to find something else. We ended up at California Pizza Kitchen, where they had some of the strangest pizza I've ever seen. I tried the Thai Chicken, which was a little weird, but good. Expensive, though…
When we got back, some of them decided to have a party, where I learned just how amusing drunk people can be. I didn't drink-because I just don't-and I guess I was the only one. But most were wise enough to moderate their drinking, and only a couple got truly drunk. For his sake (and yours) I'll spare the details, but one of them was pretty bad. It was unlike anything that any of us had ever seen before. Summary: we had a hard time getting him to calm down, and he had to stay behind at the hotel the next morning while the rest of us went to the Art Institute. He eventually made it, though, and he's okay now.
The Art Institute of Chicago is a grossly huge place. I only brought in one of my single-use cameras, and used most of it in one gallery. I had my other camera, but it started acting up early on, so I wasn't able to get nearly as many pictures as I had hoped. I only got about 14 on that roll before my camera jammed. But I should have plenty of pictures of Renaissance arms, and a few of Japanese Buddhist figures. I hope. I'll scan whatever comes out.
Anyway, their main exhibit was Girodet, apparently from the Louvre. And they had nice historical collections. There was a wing devoted to the Americas, one for Asia, and another for ancient near eastern and classical art. I was disappointed, though, that they didn't have a single Jomon piece.
* flank - the place where the front edge of the back leg meets the body
That's a "giant, human-headed, winged bull" called a lamassu by the Assyrians. For reference, I stood about up to its flank *, and I'm about 5'7" (170 cm).
After we left the Oriental Institute, we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, which currently has an Andy Warhol exhibit. I still didn't have my camera, but they didn't allow photography anyway, so no big loss. And there's not much to say about it, really. I'm not a big fan of contemporary art. Honestly, it was kind of boring. And it was a long day, so I was glad to finally go to the Hotel.
That night I went with a bunch of friends to look for Gino's East, where deep-dish pizza was supposedly invented. We didn't find it. We kept asking, and people kept telling us to go to different places. So, we walked about seven blocks down Michigan Avenue, started to make a circle following the directions we'd been told, and finally decided to find something else. We ended up at California Pizza Kitchen, where they had some of the strangest pizza I've ever seen. I tried the Thai Chicken, which was a little weird, but good. Expensive, though…
When we got back, some of them decided to have a party, where I learned just how amusing drunk people can be. I didn't drink-because I just don't-and I guess I was the only one. But most were wise enough to moderate their drinking, and only a couple got truly drunk. For his sake (and yours) I'll spare the details, but one of them was pretty bad. It was unlike anything that any of us had ever seen before. Summary: we had a hard time getting him to calm down, and he had to stay behind at the hotel the next morning while the rest of us went to the Art Institute. He eventually made it, though, and he's okay now.
The Art Institute of Chicago is a grossly huge place. I only brought in one of my single-use cameras, and used most of it in one gallery. I had my other camera, but it started acting up early on, so I wasn't able to get nearly as many pictures as I had hoped. I only got about 14 on that roll before my camera jammed. But I should have plenty of pictures of Renaissance arms, and a few of Japanese Buddhist figures. I hope. I'll scan whatever comes out.
Anyway, their main exhibit was Girodet, apparently from the Louvre. And they had nice historical collections. There was a wing devoted to the Americas, one for Asia, and another for ancient near eastern and classical art. I was disappointed, though, that they didn't have a single Jomon piece.
* flank - the place where the front edge of the back leg meets the body