North Carolina Museum of Art

Taxidermy!

Signed on for the UNCP field trip to the North Carolina Museum of Art last Saturday, and finally got to tour a pretty great collection of art in Raleigh, NC.  As I might have mentioned before, I think very highly of museums that offer free admission to their permanent collection.  I certainly understand how small non-profit museums struggle to pay staff, but it is really a great thing when a state has enough vision to offer an opportunity to view the arts to the general public.  When I was growing up, my home city (Nashville is no small town), lacked a real art museum and my first exposure to art was from a [paid] traveling show that included a very nice late Monet waterlily painting.  Suffice to say it set me on my current path, showing me that art can have a real physical presence that no flat image from a book can fully describe.

I am thrilled to know that a great museum such as the North Carolina Museum of Art is so close to where I teach, and that is has a substantial collection of historical and contemporary works that includes major works by some of the biggest names in the textbooks.   To name a few, there's an excellent Anselm Kiefer, a few giant Motherwells, and even a Ribera.  It also boasts great works by North Carolina artists that easily stack with the rest.  There is also curiously large amount of Rodin casts in the West building, extending outside as pictured below.  I regret to say that I didn't have time to tour the grounds and surrounding sculpture park, but it's safe to say that I'll be back soon with my dog. 

Footnote to the taxidermy pic:  I was thinking something like "North Carolina spreads its wings," or state that NCMU simply has everything, but readers should note that I simply love taxidermy and actively seek it out. (I'm also fairly certain that most of it isn't copyrighted.) My nose led to this one in a relatvely tiny Audubon diversion currently on display in the East building.  If anyone want to donate any fine specimens, I guarantee it will work its way into a painting someday...

Anselm Kiefer rocks

Lamb of God, literally

More Rodins than you can shake a stick at