Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Mirrors at the Hirshhorn Museum

If you live anywhere near D.C. and haven't heard about the new Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Hirshhorn Museum, I'm not sure what you've been doing. Hopefully not trying to make sense of the insane, daily political saga that is Washington right now. Or, if that is what you have been doing, then I highly suggest getting to Infinity Mirrors to immerse yourself in another world.

Ragnar Kjartansson at the Hirshhorn Museum

It's no secret that the Hirshhorn Museum is one of my most favorite museums in DC. And we've seen some seriously cool exhibits move through there (you can find lots of our past visits here). But the Ragnar Kjartansson exhibit was truly like nothing we've ever seen. It was so interactive and, just, alive—we were all completely mesmerized. I had heard plenty about the "gold lady" ahead of time and a few whisperings of another cool musical installation, but I wasn't really prepared for the whole experience. I knew it was going to be a lot of performance art, but knowing that and experiencing it are two totally different things.

The Hirshhorn Museum: At the Hub of Things

I couldn't wait to get the kids in school for longer periods of time and now it's driving me a bit mad that we have no time during the week to do anything. Especially since it's getting dark out so early. Granted, as soon as they're home for the summer, I'll be lamenting the loss of school time. But, that's just how it goes, I guess.

Keep It Local: Gravity's Edge at the Hirshhorn Museum

Back on a snow day in February, we took a trip down to one of our favorite museums to check out the Gravity's Edge exhibit at the Hirshhorn. Part of the museum's series of exhibitions drawn from it's own collection, Gravity's Edge does just as it suggests: it explores the force of gravity in artwork. Since we'd done drip paintings before, mom thought we would find it interesting. But neither of us were really in the mood -- even for the really fabulous installation "Corner Piece, 1969" by Lynda Benglis, which reminded mom so much of our sidewalk chalk art from a few years back. Mom, on the other had, loved the exhibit and made us sit and observe for a while even though we just wanted to get out in that snow. We got out there and tested gravity ourselves. Remember snow? Don't worry -- it's only April, surely it will be back.

Gravity's Edge will be at the Hirshhorn until June 15th -- mom says it's worth the trip.

Keep It Local: Hirshhorn: "Over, Under, Next," and "Here & There"

oh, the humanity.

From the files of "this was so cool, too bad it just closed," we bring you our visit to two of the Hirshhorn's fab summer exhibits. Actually, I'll qualify that. One of them is still technically open, BUT the museum is closed during this fabulous display of government cooperation (aka the "government shutdown"). In the event that Congress gets their S together before October 6th or the Hirshhorn does you a solid and extends Peter Coffin's exhibition, you still may have a chance to see "Here & There." See? We're not totally useless (unlike others mentioned hererin, uhemm. uhemm).

Actually, we were both pretty useless the day mom took us to see "Over, Under, Next" and "Here & There." Mom thought I was faking a bad ankle sprain, so she insisted we still get out of the house. I insisted I couldn't walk, so she rolled out the old stroller and put me in it. Cam developed a sudden nostalgia for the creaking hulk (I am mos def over the weight limit) and cried, sulked, and pouted the entire time we were at the museum because she wanted to ride. Mom smirked as she remembered shopping for the stroller with daddy and asking the sales clerk what they were supposed to use when their wee babe reached the 40 lb. weight limit. His response? "Then the baby will be 4 and it shouldn't be in a stroller." It all made sense now.

Despite our best efforts to exude serious tudes, we still enjoyed the exhibit of multimedia art from the Hirshhorn's collection in "Over, Under, Next." I even developed a sudden ability to walk in Ann Hamilton's installation of fluttering notes and beeswax (Cami seized that opportunity to jump in the empty stroller). I liked some of Peter Coffin's work in "Here & There," but we both freaked out at his lighting projections on other works from the museum's collection, which of course is where mom really wanted to spend more time. His ginormous and incredibly velvety looking doggie sculpture, however, finally put smiles on our faces. We really, really want one. Like to sleep on.

So maybe use this post as a reminder to check out what the museum has cooking -- we're definitely excited about the upcoming exhibition "Damage Control: Art and Destruction since 1950." Chicago's Museum of Contemporary Art had a similar exhibit when we visited last spring and it was one of my all-time favorite art trips.

p.s. after mulling over the fact that I'd been pulling myself along the floor for two days and considering the notion that perhaps I was actually hurt, mom took me to an emergency care clinic that very afternoon. turns out I actually really sprained it. badly. nice, mom. nice.

Keep It Local: Out of the Ordinary at the Hirshhorn

Kane is nursing the last few days of a cold (oy, this winter) and no one's been getting much sleep, so momma decided we could extend our holiday weekend another day and all play hookey (I've now started calling mom "momma"). Well, not daddy. Daddy headed out of town for work. And accidentally took mom's keys with him, including her car keys. A nice little surprise she discovered as we were trying to leave to head down to the Hirshhorn to check out the new "Out of the Ordinary" exhibit.

After eventually locating a spare set of house keys (there is no spare car key as they cost some ridiculous amount of money, which mom knows because she lost hers before), we headed out to the metro. In the rain. Without a stroller for me. Because the stroller is in the locked car, obvi.

We were still optimistic and perked up when we came above ground at L'enfant and eyed up the food trucks. We've been on a serious mission to track down the Dangerously Delicious Pies food truck -- our last attempt found a parked, running truck that appeared to have no one inside it? No pie today, but we spotted a good selection for lunch. Now, on to the art.

I've been to see the Ai Weiwei exhibit several times with momma (check out our previous post here), but Kaney had never been. We showed him the Zodiac heads first and then headed inside. And we could tell almost immediately it wasn't going to be the best day -- it was crowded, Kane clearly still didn't feel good, and it had been a while since momma had had both of us in an art museum by herself. We actually listened very well and sat carefully outside the lines roping off the sculpture. And we were still warned by the security guards not to lean over them, which we hadn't been. Being an old pro, I rolled my eyes and then laughed as an adult walked right into the rope around the tea leaf exhibit and actually jacked it up a bit. Then I stopped laughing as I quickly realized it really wasn't funny (OK, we might have still been smirking. but we moved on).

We were both happy when we came to what we call the Hirshhorn's chill room -- a long couch along a long line of windows overlooking the Mall, which was overcast and soaked. We sat and told stories for a while and then headed all the way to the basement floor to see "Out of the Ordinary." It's a small exhibit of works in the Hirshhorn's collection that make art out of (shocker) ordinary items. There was a big tour group going through the exhibit and we had a hard time checking things out. But we really came to see one piece: Robert Gober's oversized stick of butter. In our house, a stick of real butter means one of two things: (1) mom is baking; or (2) we are getting butter noodles. Both of which we consider to be incredibly good news, so mom thought we'd get a kick out of the artwork. We did. But we didn't like the crowds, so we moved on.

Momma also wanted to show Kane the piece "Ser y Durar [To Be and To Last]" by Democracia, a Madrid-based artist collective. We've seen the work several times before, which is part of the Hirshhorn's Black Box moving-image art space and, while it's a little dark (in mood and subject matter, not just in that it is shown in a blackened room), momma thought Kane would like the work's local parkour street artists -- it's kind of right up his alley. And he did. He was sort of silently stunned by them. We both sat quietly until almost the end and then I started asking questions about the cemetery in which they were performing.

"Out of the Ordinary" is at the Hirshhorn until May 19th. I don't know that we'd make a special trip down there just to see that, but if you want to see the Weiwei exhibit before it leaves on February 24th, stop down in the basement to see that stick of butter. The Black Box is also located on the basement level and Democracia's piece is on exhibit until May 19th.

And, btw, we hit up the Halal Grill food truck on the way back for some seriously delish gyro over rice. It was still raining, so we had to metro it home with us. But it was still super yummy.

Keep It Local: Ai Weiwei at the Hirshhorn

Ai Weiwei's "According to What?" at the Hirshhorn Museum is full of art sure to catch the eyes (but hopefully not the hands) of all littles and at the same time provide some politically thought provoking works in a city full of politicos. Mom and I have been twice so far and I loved helping mom spot the various daily objects Weiwei has transformed in sculpture (backpacks, stools, tea leaves -- to name just a few). And while this exhibit isn't technically interactive in the sense that the museum's recent Suprasenorial exhibit was, we enjoyed the large scale installations just as much. I spent lots of time sitting (as close as I could get) to the wired off sculptures and just trying to figure them out (others are delineated with a "sparkly line," which was super helpful to a sparkly girl like me).

"According to What?" is on exhibit at the Hirshhorn until February 24th - put it on your list!

p.s. don't miss the cube light on the third floor or the animal/zodiac heads out front, which heads are part of a different Weiwei exhibit, but also a sure bet with the kiddos.

loving this room wallpapered with construction photos of the Bejing National Stadium

an unfurling snake of backpacks

smells like tea

hopping to the bunny

You Can't Touch This: Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space

Oh but you can.  And that's a whole lot of fun for toddlers who are used to being constantly told NOT to touch things -- especially in art museums and galleries.  A few weeks ago my cousin Jack and I went to check out the Hirshhorn's "Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color and Space." We'd been waiting to go ever since our last trip to the Hirshhorn -- during which I repeatedly set off sculpture alarms.  And this time I was lucky enough to get to go with my fave cousin Jack.  We had a blast -- particularly running, swimming, and peakabooing our way through "Blue Penetrable BBL."  If you've seen an image of the exhibit, it's likely of this installation.  It entails hundreds of blue strings hanging from a rectangular frame and takes up a large portion of a room.

Many of the other installations were over our head (and not literally this time).  Although we were both a bit intrigued by "Chromosaturation," which requires you to don special footgear to enter the entirely white space that is then lit by different colors.  You know I love a new pair of shoes.

After we wore out our welcome (even though we were ALLOWED to touch the art, mom could tell the guards were getting a little on edge with our inability to not run), we hopped across the street to the Hirshhorn Sculpture Garden -- we've been spending a lot of time there lately.

Suprasensorial is at the Hirshhorn until May 13th.  If you get a chance to go, you might want to go later in the day.  Until May 13th, "Doug Aitken: Song 1" will also be illuminating the entire outside of the museum from sundown until midnight.  We haven't had a chance to check that out yet, but hope we do!

uh oh, jackie.  how do we get out of here?!?

Starlight in the Sculpture Garden: Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden

Mom and I have one day a week where it's just the two of us.  We like to do girly things (shopping, nails, lunch), things that are difficult for mom to do with both of us (there are lots of those), or things that will give me a chance to get out of that stroller and explore.  Last week we spent that day exploring the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, which fit the bill for 2 out of the 3 categories listed above.  After dropping Kane off at school, we headed downtown and arrived just in time for the 9:30 a.m. open parking time around the Mall.  We spent about 45 minutes in the Sculpture Garden first -- it was chilly, but the sun was really bright and I loved exploring the different ways the sun hit the sculptures.  By far my favorite was Dan Graham's "For Gordon Bunshaft" -- an interactive, two-way mirror sculpture that was doing some really cool things in the sunlight.

We eventually made our way across the street into the Museum, but we spent a total of only 26 minutes inside (good thing it's free).  It was really hard for me to keep my hands off of the sculptures inside (many of which don't have a clear line indicating that it is not something to be touched -- the sculptures in the Garden do) - I actually touched only one and set off one other alarm.  But mom figured that was enough.  I also liked Picasso's "Woman With Baby Carriage" (I was able to make out the "baby," but I pointed to the "woman" and said "eh?") and the room with Alexander Calder's mobiles.  We had some bonus time to run across to the National Air and Space Museum for a quick flight.

We are also really excited to check out the upcoming exhibit: "Suprasensorial: Experiments in Light, Color, and Space."  Mom spoke to one of the Museum docents about it and it sounds like an interactive, "very tactile" exhibition -- it opens February 23rd and looks super cool for kids.  I think that will be a two chaperone trip for us, though.  And keep your eyes peeled for the next Hirshhorn After Hours -- plan on getting a babysitter and venturing down sans kiddos for drinks, dancing and some "late night" art viewing -- the website doesn't yet list the next event, but mom and dad are watching!