Local tourism: Oakland Museum
Summary: The Oakland Museum may not be world class but it's a proper museum, focused on California history & California artists. Depending on your tastes, it might not be worth $12 and the drive to Oakland, but I really enjoyed the visit.
The new exhibit (see: http://museumca.org/exhibitions) is really fun - basically some guy got to rummage through the entire collection & pick a bunch of cool pieces to put on display. It gets a little "meta" - especially the text about curating, the crates, the fake desks, etc. The pieces range from Gold Rush Era artifacts (including daguerrotype photos & landscape paintings) to postmodern sculpture. Big names: Diebenkorn, Dorothea Lange. It's open through 3/6/2011.
My favorite piece, an Arts and Crafts masterpiece by Mathews featuring classically clad dancing ladies
The museum entryway - this is a concrete palace, but the best I've ever seen for riotproof!
Whimsical outdoor sculpture: spinach cans!
Concrete ornaments - inspired by Spanish & Japanese gardens
I was too late for the Pixar exhibit
Outdoor sculptures
Koi pond and sculpture
I loved these steel stones, which somehow symbolized Chinese immigration to California, though I'm not remembering how
Stained glass, Arts and Crafts style
2 photos by Dorothea Lange: migrant worker and Japanese children being sent to internment camps
Abstract cityscape by Diebenkorn
Metal mesh sculpture
I guess this dates from around the time of Cesar Chavez' protests
Decorative aluminum panel
These dishes reminded me of Picasso
I loved the body poses on the cable car operators
The nude in a box - I loved the story about how the photo came about ... the photographer had just received new equipment and discarded the box. The model came in and inspiration was born.
The orphaned snuffbox collection? Or just some wicked cool bottles?
This photograph doesn't do the teapot justice
The new exhibit (see: http://museumca.org/exhibitions) is really fun - basically some guy got to rummage through the entire collection & pick a bunch of cool pieces to put on display. It gets a little "meta" - especially the text about curating, the crates, the fake desks, etc. The pieces range from Gold Rush Era artifacts (including daguerrotype photos & landscape paintings) to postmodern sculpture. Big names: Diebenkorn, Dorothea Lange. It's open through 3/6/2011.
My favorite piece, an Arts and Crafts masterpiece by Mathews featuring classically clad dancing ladies
The museum entryway - this is a concrete palace, but the best I've ever seen for riotproof!
Whimsical outdoor sculpture: spinach cans!
Concrete ornaments - inspired by Spanish & Japanese gardens
I was too late for the Pixar exhibit
Outdoor sculptures
Koi pond and sculpture
I loved these steel stones, which somehow symbolized Chinese immigration to California, though I'm not remembering how
Stained glass, Arts and Crafts style
2 photos by Dorothea Lange: migrant worker and Japanese children being sent to internment camps
Abstract cityscape by Diebenkorn
Metal mesh sculpture
I guess this dates from around the time of Cesar Chavez' protests
Decorative aluminum panel
These dishes reminded me of Picasso
I loved the body poses on the cable car operators
The nude in a box - I loved the story about how the photo came about ... the photographer had just received new equipment and discarded the box. The model came in and inspiration was born.
The orphaned snuffbox collection? Or just some wicked cool bottles?
This photograph doesn't do the teapot justice