Met DrummerWench at the Tolkien Exhibit at the Morgan Library
That tapestry behind the fireplace is called The Triumph of Avarice. So overwhelmingly appropriate--lest we should forget this is the palace and private museum of the Morgans, pre-eminent among the robber barons and capitalists of America's Gilded Age (inadvertent? or conscious choice of the tapestry?). The entire thing is a temple to greed! Imagine this was private? Not made public until after the death of the man who built it. It's been open to the public since then.
I told DrummerWench that the place both horrifies and fascinates me. You gotta see it to believe it. It's like they went around the Old World with a shopping cart filling it up with whatever appealed (of course, they had quite knowledgeable "personal shoppers' to help them.
The hallways and entrance to the original wing are reminiscent of a cathedral--a gaudy one. The place is a mixture of commissioned decorative artwork and priceless world treasures, an example of the over-the-top architecture of the ascendancy of American Capitalism--rightly called the Gilded Age. Over-the-top Fantastic as it is, it is one of my least favorite NYC Museums--I guess it triggers my moral outrage. I'll go back though, as soon as my knee and feet are a little better!!
THE TOLKIEN EXHIBIT ITSELF
Exquisite! I came away thinking he is a much better artist than I had realized from viewing only online pics and poor reprints in books. (Speaking of that, the companion book to the exhibit published by the Morgan is amazing--the most wonderful reproductions of so much of the art and calligraphy and family photos presented throughout the galleries. Really worth the price.)
Bring your magnifying glass. Almost all of it is tiny. Although there are some wall-sized reproductions which are gorgeous--notably Smaug and his treasure! I used my reading glasses with their huge magnification to hold up in front of a lot of the smallest pieces or larger items (maps and tables) made up of tiny components. Fortunately, I did not suffer from being unable to read a lot of the excellent descriptions since I already knew what they said--I could skim and get by. Although, finally, my eyes did ache and I almost felt dizzy. (I do have serious vision issues.)
His art is amazing, the colors are vivid (after all of these years!), his calligraphy is stunning beyond what I expected and I had high expectations, his handwriting tiny, and the details mind-bogglingly meticulous. Both of us learned a lot and our prior knowledge of what we were looking at was not too shabby, to say the least!
I loved the family photos and there were a number I do not recall seeing anywhere before. Seeing all the pieces together and arranged so well was truly a memorable experience--once in a lifetime--I do not exaggerate. I could have spent much longer going over and over it (if my feet did not hurt and DrummerWench did not have a plane to catch). On a weekday, it was busy, but not unbearably crowded. They do limit how many people who are allowed into the exhibit at any one time. We did not have wait though and I felt no pressure to move on as one often does in special exhibitions.
I learned that Rumil's script is usually written vertically in columns from top to bottom. Did you know that Elves are ambidextrous? I didn't but I am not surprised.
I cannot recommend this exhibition highly enough. I will definitely try to go back again before it closes--maybe take Laura and Alex.
Thank you so much again, DrummerWench, for inviting me to meet you there. You were a wonderful companion.
If any of you plan to be there, check with me and I may try to meet you.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth
.
I told DrummerWench that the place both horrifies and fascinates me. You gotta see it to believe it. It's like they went around the Old World with a shopping cart filling it up with whatever appealed (of course, they had quite knowledgeable "personal shoppers' to help them.
The hallways and entrance to the original wing are reminiscent of a cathedral--a gaudy one. The place is a mixture of commissioned decorative artwork and priceless world treasures, an example of the over-the-top architecture of the ascendancy of American Capitalism--rightly called the Gilded Age. Over-the-top Fantastic as it is, it is one of my least favorite NYC Museums--I guess it triggers my moral outrage. I'll go back though, as soon as my knee and feet are a little better!!
THE TOLKIEN EXHIBIT ITSELF
Exquisite! I came away thinking he is a much better artist than I had realized from viewing only online pics and poor reprints in books. (Speaking of that, the companion book to the exhibit published by the Morgan is amazing--the most wonderful reproductions of so much of the art and calligraphy and family photos presented throughout the galleries. Really worth the price.)
Bring your magnifying glass. Almost all of it is tiny. Although there are some wall-sized reproductions which are gorgeous--notably Smaug and his treasure! I used my reading glasses with their huge magnification to hold up in front of a lot of the smallest pieces or larger items (maps and tables) made up of tiny components. Fortunately, I did not suffer from being unable to read a lot of the excellent descriptions since I already knew what they said--I could skim and get by. Although, finally, my eyes did ache and I almost felt dizzy. (I do have serious vision issues.)
His art is amazing, the colors are vivid (after all of these years!), his calligraphy is stunning beyond what I expected and I had high expectations, his handwriting tiny, and the details mind-bogglingly meticulous. Both of us learned a lot and our prior knowledge of what we were looking at was not too shabby, to say the least!
I loved the family photos and there were a number I do not recall seeing anywhere before. Seeing all the pieces together and arranged so well was truly a memorable experience--once in a lifetime--I do not exaggerate. I could have spent much longer going over and over it (if my feet did not hurt and DrummerWench did not have a plane to catch). On a weekday, it was busy, but not unbearably crowded. They do limit how many people who are allowed into the exhibit at any one time. We did not have wait though and I felt no pressure to move on as one often does in special exhibitions.
I learned that Rumil's script is usually written vertically in columns from top to bottom. Did you know that Elves are ambidextrous? I didn't but I am not surprised.
I cannot recommend this exhibition highly enough. I will definitely try to go back again before it closes--maybe take Laura and Alex.
Thank you so much again, DrummerWench, for inviting me to meet you there. You were a wonderful companion.
If any of you plan to be there, check with me and I may try to meet you.
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth
.