Theme Song: "La Llorona" - Chavela Vargas
For the first time in all my 3 years @ gBurg, three out of my four classes this semester are offering field trips this Spring. Presented with the opportunity, I leap at the chance to go to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, which is about 3 hours away door-to-door. Little did I know that not only is this where they shot the training sequence for the original Rocky film (and sadly, those steps are NOWHERE near as steep as I imagined), but currently, the Frida Kahlo exhibit's national tour has stopped in Philly.
I've gotta admit, before stepping foot in the museum, the only things I knew about Frida Kahlo were that she had a unibrow, a mustache, and was married to Diego Rivera. Once I received my ticket and wandered into the FRIDA wing, I was immediately spellbound. As I walk from room to room, the audio tour talks about each period of Frida's life from birth to premature death. With every step, I feel my heart breaking more and more, because I see how all these traumatic events directly influenced her paintings--with every work, you can see a piece of her tortured soul splattered on the canvas. The ability to express such vulnerability and let the world see it is just AMAZING. If I had functioning tear ducts, I'd be bawlin'. ;-)
Once the rollercoaster ride comes to a halt, I find myself in the gift shop, and when I turn the corner I see my absolutely FAVORITE painting of the day staring at me from the shelf. "The Two Fridas," or the epitome of loneliness (a woman in a barren desert, holding her OWN hand), just calls to me and given its $30 price tag, I try my damndest to ignore it. But RESISTANCE IS FUTILE! I pick it up, put it back, pick it up, put it back, until finally, I say to myself, "James, you'll probably never come here again, so just buy it now and have no regrets." That's right, I bought it! Along with a hardcover coffeetable book... XD
Forced to lug this 3-foot tall framed painting around all day, I flit around the museum, absolutely enthralled by the artwork. For a while, I seize the chance to get to know Prof. Reitma's loving partner who, similar to Prof. Wedlock's longtime partner, is into antique teapots, cabinets, and such. Personally, I most enjoy the Impressionist and Surrealist exhibits, as well as the Japanese tea room. All I can say is, WOW, NOW I understand how people can just go to an art museum and spend HOURS staring at one painting; there are so many layers of interpretation... well, at least, when it came to everything but the Pop Art, LOL. As much as I like Warhol, the Pop Art was pretty damn tacky. So, of course, the guards allowed photography in THERE!! Yeeesh.
And this semester more than ever, I keep getting the same question from people, "Are you an art major?" It's getting ridiculous when over ten people ask you in a matter of months, but that said, I'm incredibly flattered. Unfortunately, I think most people don't view Film Majors as artists per se, but see as them as film buffs, critics, theorists, and/or scholars. But above all, I would like to be seen as an artist; this semester, more than ever, I've had the chance to express myself through art (mainly in my Theatre Arts & English classes). But I would definitely like to attribute a lot of it to Kyle's good influence. Being a History/Art History major, I found myself at various moments in the trip saying to myself, "Kyle would've loved this."
But APPARENTLY, I was NOT saying this to myself! XD That's right, the next day, we're all back in Gettysburg, and the Pagans and I are lying under a tree on the quad when a woman who was on the Art Museum field trip yells from across the lawn, "KYLE!!" Kyle and I smile at her and wave. I turn to him and ask, "How do YOU know her?" and he responds, "I've never seen her before in my life! Maybe it's because you're next to me." AWK-WARD... "I swear, I didn't mention you THAT much!" *chuckle* I must point out that this was a couple days before I even told him that I liked him, much less started dating him. And a few days later, I tell Prof. Berg all about my adventures in Philadelphia, and she lets me give an impromptu presentation of Frida Kahlo's life and artwork with a laser pointer and everything. SwEEt. =D
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