Today was cleaning day at our apartment so we left at 8 am to go for coffee so that the cleaning woman could do her work. We sat in the sun in a coffee shop and talked politics and Augusta and her boys video chatted a bit with us. We arrived home to the smell of clean that we have come to associate with any Central or South American country that we have visited. LAVENDER! Or at least the smell of lavender floor cleaning solution. It is STRONG. But strangely when I am away from it and then catch a whiff of it I am always nostalgic. I think it always brings me back to our time in Guatemala (and then of course all the other times we have been in these southern countries).
Today we decided to venture to the Museum of Modern Art. It was about a 45 minute walk and we managed to get there without losing our way (at least not very much). By the time we we were there we were hot and thirsty so stopped for some freshly squeezed juice and shared a sandwich plate.
We didn’t know what to expect and was hard to appreciate some of the art. Is it really art just because it is in an art museum? Here are a few weird pieces that we saw. They are all some sort of comment on technology. The centre one is done by a Canadian. This is proof that we too produce strange art.
One massive room was totally dedicated to an artist named Juan Fernando Herran. He is a local artist and most of the stuff was interesting, but sometimes hard to appreciate. The exhibition was called materials (as in construction materials) and constellations. There was a huge structure that was all about stairs. Aside from the huge structures, there was a wall that chronicled the photos, drawings, and models that he made in exploring the idea. For someone like me it helped put context to the idea and actually made it much more accessible. I actually liked the concept and loved the exploration of materials and lines.
He also made a film about motorcycles and power and gangs. In it he interviewed individuals and they told about the allure of power and how they accessed it through motor bikes and drugs and violence. It was actually fascinating to get an insight into the adrenaline that comes from power. And then the addiction to that power.
Another gallery exhibition was about women and I found that interesting.
The last exhibition was art that was produced during one (of many) period of incredible government corruption.
After bettering ourselves and expanding our intellect :), we headed home. It was still early so we chose to continue our artistic education and watched the movie, The Brutalist. Adrian Brody won an Oscar for best actor and it certainly was powerful and also an education into Brutalist architecture and the social pressures of that time.
Tomorrow we will probably take a down day.