Skeletons, Art, and GPS systems, oh my!
It's been a bit cooler here in Houston than I expected. Today peaked at sixty degrees, which was fine as I walked around from museum to museum for the majority of the day. I started out with the Lucy exhibit at the Houston Museum of Natural History. It was an amazing exhibit, developing the idea of Ethiopia as the cradle of civilization and developing the context in which Lucy was found in 1974. The rest of the museum was freaking amazing as well - I spent about three hours walking around the dioramas and the experiments.
The rest of the day was spent at The Museum of Fine Art, Houston, primarily to hit up the Pompeii: Tales from the Eruption exhibit. The exhibit itself was huge, containing over five hundred artifacts including body casts and an extensive collection of jewelry. I also took in Miwa Yanagi's photography. Her pieces were surreal and vibrant and, aside from Pompeii, my favorite discoveries this trip. She had one series of photographs that recreated fairy tales that were instantly creepy but insanely beautiful... Definitely happy I happened upon her. I was also introduced to Nan Goldin, whose photographs were raw, thought-provoking and remarkably human.
Yanagi, Grandmothers: Shizuka
Yanagi, Sleeping Beauty
Nan Goldin
Nan Goldin, a photograph she took after being beaten by her significant other to remind her of the damage.
Kelly's back late tonight so there will be even more adventures in the morning. Other accomplishments of the day: I navigated Houston on my own, even braving the insanity that is I-45. I definitely need a GPS system of my own... totally helped the travel today.
Off to write post cards...