Portland Art Museum
Today Julien and I decided to get out of the house a bit. We stopped off at the library for my latest exchange, and attempted to buy the necessary stockings for my wedding outfit, only to be told by the clerk at Nordstrom that only "specialty" stores sell the kind of item I need. Hey, it's not my fault that the free underwear that came with my dress has garters, and I need to buy garter-compatible stockings. Sigh. I guess there will be more such shopping in the future.
Anyway, after that failure, we decided to go to the Portland Art Museum and make the best of a grey day. It wasn't cheap, at $12 a person, but I found it quite worthwhile. We started off in the Asian arts section, with a particularly interesting collection of snuff bottles. There was also quite a selection of paper screens, chests, and all sorts of household items from Japan and Korea. This was my second-favorite wing of the whole museum.
We explored the new photography wing, which was interesting because of Julien's narration about technique, but not that impressive in and of itself. The museum also had a pretty wide selection of art from France and Italy from the 18th and 19th centuries, but neither of us are big fans of that period. We did enjoy the exhibit on American Impressionism, which showed clear derivation from its French influence.
Our final visit was to a wing dedicated to Native American art. This was by far the most impressive section of the museum, and I would recommend visitors to go just to see it. They have a selection of art work, from clothing to baskets to masks, and everything in between, from tribes all across North and Central America. My favorite was the art of the Pacific Northwest Indians, probably because it's so familiar from my childhood. Yet those pieces were also exemplary and stood out stupendously among all such similar art that I've ever seen. I can't rave enough about it -- Julien and I scampered eagerly from case to case, and decided to leave on that high note.
Afterward, we took the street car home and drove across Sellwood Bridge to go back to the Jade Teahouse. This time we tried a lychee black, which I enjoyed just as much as the lovely green we had last time, and we tried a fried sesame ball and a slice of Vietnamese wedding cake. Yum!
Anyway, after that failure, we decided to go to the Portland Art Museum and make the best of a grey day. It wasn't cheap, at $12 a person, but I found it quite worthwhile. We started off in the Asian arts section, with a particularly interesting collection of snuff bottles. There was also quite a selection of paper screens, chests, and all sorts of household items from Japan and Korea. This was my second-favorite wing of the whole museum.
We explored the new photography wing, which was interesting because of Julien's narration about technique, but not that impressive in and of itself. The museum also had a pretty wide selection of art from France and Italy from the 18th and 19th centuries, but neither of us are big fans of that period. We did enjoy the exhibit on American Impressionism, which showed clear derivation from its French influence.
Our final visit was to a wing dedicated to Native American art. This was by far the most impressive section of the museum, and I would recommend visitors to go just to see it. They have a selection of art work, from clothing to baskets to masks, and everything in between, from tribes all across North and Central America. My favorite was the art of the Pacific Northwest Indians, probably because it's so familiar from my childhood. Yet those pieces were also exemplary and stood out stupendously among all such similar art that I've ever seen. I can't rave enough about it -- Julien and I scampered eagerly from case to case, and decided to leave on that high note.
Afterward, we took the street car home and drove across Sellwood Bridge to go back to the Jade Teahouse. This time we tried a lychee black, which I enjoyed just as much as the lovely green we had last time, and we tried a fried sesame ball and a slice of Vietnamese wedding cake. Yum!