Lots to See at the Nevada Museum of Art

I can't decide whether this pose is "I dropped my contact lens" or "Someone just punched me in the stomach" or "Your Highness I am at your service".

For those who missed it, Reno became our destination thanks to an exhibit now showing at the Nevada Museum of Art.  Photography is not allowed in the galleries, so some of the photos shown below will be borrowed from the museum's and artist's websites.  The outdoor sculptures were all ours to goof around with though.

selfie alert!

Once inside the museum we got the 411 from museum staff and started climbing the stairs to the 3rd floor.  We loved the 48 foot tall scale model of the Transamerica Corporate Headquarters Tower in San Francisco made from laser-cut stainless steel and ball chain.

But on to the main event.  Upon Kahlo’s death in 1954, more than 6,500 personal photographs and items belonging to her and husband/artist Diego Rivera were sealed and put in storage. For more than half a century this great collection of personal memorabilia remained hidden from the public. In 2007 this collection was opened and Mexican photographer and curator Pablo Ortiz Monasterio inventoried and catalogued 240 images to create the Frida Kahlo: Her Photos exhibition.

Their website puts it nicely: The collection of photographs in this exhibition reflect Kahlo’s tastes and interests, the experiences she shared with those close to her, and her complicated, but also thrilling, personal life. Viewers get an insider’s look, not only through who was behind the camera, in front of the lens or the anonymous nature of some of the work but also through the annotated writing found on the back of many of the photographs.

What I found most interesting was that Frida grew up with photography.  Her father, Guillermo, was a professional. He was born in Germany but emigrated to Mexico in 1891.  In 1901 he set up a photographic studio, working for El Mundo Ilustrado and Semanario Ilustrado. He was commissioned by the government to do architectural photographs, probably his best work. He also took photographs of churches with other photographers for a six-volume survey in the 1920s.  There were a few portraits he had done of Frida in the collection, explaining in part why she was so comfortable with herself as the subject of most of her own work.

There was lots more to see, including a great view of the city and the Sierra Nevada.  The 8000 square foot space is available for rent and people have weddings there.  Oh, and there was a sculpture too!

Double Chalice: Joined and Separated by Kendall Buster

Other exhibits we enjoyed included one by Ashley Blalock entitled Keeping Up Appearances.  I was pretty excited to actually "get" a piece like this.

teaser photo from Ashley Blalock's website

Here's the interpretation: The doilies themselves represent a certain desire to keep up the appearance of gentility to the outside world expressed through the arrangement of objects in the domestic setting. Inherent is a compulsion to arrange and place and decorate in order to control or influence a perceived outward appearance. The red color gives away the futility of such an act and hints at the unease that lurks below the surface of an obsessive need to control and arrange. 

Cory seemed to really enjoy Emilie Clark's Sweet Corruptions. The work in this project includes the collection and preservation of the artist’s family’s food waste for one year; an interactive Research Station sculpture that includes an audio piece, specimens, a dissecting microscope (for the public’s use) and terraria; a book; and, drawings and paintings.  It was like science turned into art.  Pretty cool.

My favorite part was the watercolor paintings, Cory dug the display of food waste.  There was even lobster!

               

Either she's incredibly talented or I've been looking at the wrong watercolor paintings because I really enjoyed her work.

But probably our favorite exhibit was Patricia Chidlaw's Realm of the Commonplace. From the website: Chidlaw is an American realist seeking, and finding, profundity in the realm of the commonplace. She takes aims at dignity and a durable beauty amidst the rubble, ruins and soon-to-be-obsolete side routes of America. 

Something all us travelers of the nooks and crannies of America seem to gravitate toward as well, am I right?  

            

Want to see them bigger?  Go to the link above and you can click on her paintings on the website.  Not the same as seeing them in person, the paint really glowed and seemed almost hyperreal.  

Don't know how it happened, but that was paintings by two different artists that I enjoyed MORE than the sculptures.  I'm starting to think I just have really specific taste.  Speaking of painters I like, don't forget to check out Frida's paintings!

More from Reno tomorrow, we're heading out to Carson City and South Lake Tahoe today and we'll get to those petroglyphs and Sparks on Saturday.

Unmarked Trails Lead to Unplanned Adventures

Ever since we got to Reno I've been eyeing those hills!  After we ran a couple of errands and had some lunch yesterday we moseyed on over to Hidden Valley Regional Park to pick a hike.  Here's me below doing just that.  Like my new haircut?

Okay, here's the downside to the county's regional park setup.  No directional signs once you enter the park, dirt roads that you don't know if they are parking lots or what, and no markers of any sort on the trail, not even a sign at the trailhead.  So, we asked a gentlemen out with his dogs and he pointed in the vague general direction we wanted to go and said "It's pretty hard to get lost, just pick a spot and start walking".  Like fools we took his advice.

Cory couldn't figure out how to open the gate so he climbed over.  I took a minute to mull it over and figured out their high tech system.  Score one for patience...or maybe laziness.  Notice Cory's lack of proper hiking footwear.  I was almost as guilty since I was wearing my running shoes and not my hikers.

We kept an eye out for rattlesnakes, and Cory talked about a video game he plays where cougars jump out and attack you.  He concocted an amusing tale to go with his pictures for his friends based on that.  I didn't have to work hard to make up a tale to go with our pictures, our attempts at finding the trail we were looking for did the work for me.

Cory couldn't resist scrambling up the hillside and looking for "stuff" instead of sticking to the trails.  Normally I'm the one off trail while Wayne urges me to "come on".  It was interesting to be the one trying to coax the photographer out of the bushes.

From Cory's vantage point he spotted a wild horse!  Pretty cool!  This was the only one we saw, though we saw a lot of evidence of chewed brush...not to mention plenty of piles of horse poop.

We also got a pretty good view of Reno from there.  It would look a lot better without the haze of pollution trapped in the valley.  Sometimes wind is a good thing, right?

Every time I passed close to a juniper tree I gave its leaves a pinch.  Man, that smelled so good!

Back on the trail we started what we assumed was the loop we saw on the map in the parking lot.

It got pretty steep in some spots, but mostly meandered gently up and down.  Where are those hiking shoes when you need them?  Today they're going in the car just in case.

Before things got steep I looked around and asked whether maybe we should head back.  It was one of those things where you get that feeling maybe the trail wasn't going where you thought it was.  We were still a long way from "looping" back around, and time was sailing by pretty quickly.  Being stuck in planes and automobiles for a whole day will make you crazy and our eager outdoor spirits urged us upward and onward.

At the top we got more concerned.  The trail suddenly became a road.  I had a sneaking suspicion we were way off course at this point, but we followed it down a little ways just to make sure the "loop" didn't suddenly reappear.

Right before we admitted defeat Cory spotted a hole under a sage brush.

Snake?  Small mammal?  Identification help appreciated!

Daylight was starting to fade so we turned around and headed back the way we came.  It took a steady hour to get back, mostly downhill, so I figure we probably did around 5 miles altogether.

Me on "the trail" - mostly just following footprints in the loose dirt

As we retraced our steps, somehow we lost the trail TWICE!  The first time we ended up scooting down an incredibly steep incline on our butts.  Like sledding but with loose dirt instead of snow.  The second time we ended up out in the nearby subdivision.  The sun was almost down by then so we were glad to walk on pavement before turning around the bottom of the mountain and following the fenceline back to our parking area.

As we approached our car the caretaker drove up, got out of his car and yelled at us that he was locking the gates.  Sorry, I shouted back, we were just a little lost since the trails aren't marked out here.  From now on we're sticking to state parks or clearly marked paths on this trip...I hope!  But today it's all about exploring Reno's downtown, including the Nevada Museum of Art.

Chilly Morning Walk in Reno

We made it to Reno, Baby!  We're staying at a condo that I found using the www.vrbo.com website.  I was looking for a rental that didn't use air fresheners, scented candles, strong cleaners and that was pet and smoke free.  Much like the last time I tried this experiment, the place is darling, the price cheaper than a hotel room and includes a full kitchen, but the scent-free situation isn't what was promised.  Whatever the cleaning lady used to clean the floors (I suspect Pine-Sol that I found in the cupboard) the smell is so overwhelming I had to sleep on the couch in the living room.  We're heading to Whole Foods soon for a bottle of unscented dish liquid and I'll be spending my evening washing every surface that smells suspicious until I get rid of all the odor.  My sinuses aren't too happy with me this morning, but at least I didn't get a migraine.

Our digs

Truckee River

The condo is right on the Truckee River and steps from the Riverwalk, but Reno has been suffering through a drought for the last three years and the river is very low.  I was up at 7:00 am Reno time this morning and decided to go for a walk to acquaint myself with the neighborhood.  My end goal was the  Co-op only a block away, but I had 40 minutes to kill and it was a balmy 30F.  Sound cold to you?  It was only 8F in Twin Lakes at the same time this morning and the high will only be 14F there all day.  It's going to get up to 58F here today, I feel like a kid on the first day of summer vacation!

Besides the mural I saw from my living room window this morning, the first thing I saw was the Lake Mansion.  Built in 1877 in the Italianate style, it has been moved twice.  I think it looks pretty good for all that moving around!

  

After walking past the Lake Mansion and the Co-Op I headed back toward the river district.  The sidewalks were starting to fill with pedestrians on their way to work.

The pink glow was a reflection from a pink building across the river

I spied a few large buildings that looked like government facilities and made my way over.  It wasn't hard to spot this art deco charmer.

When I got around the corner I was thrilled to discover the metalwork on the entryway, but a little less thrilled when I saw the "closed" sign taped to the door.  Turns out this was the "old" post office and the new one is elsewhere.  Maybe I can find someone to unlock it and give me a tour like I did in the Smokies?

Interior door shot through the exterior door's glass -
can you see my reflection?

After passing the old post office I started noticing a variety of wind sculptures on the lamp posts.  Reno is an artistic community, and I also saw quite a few sculptures and murals in the section I walked.

But, I can't show it all to you now!  Have to leave something for later.  I got a couple of shots in great morning light of the Washoe County Courthouse too, pictured above behind the lamp post.  I'm planning on taking a peek at the inside later so we'll come back to that.

The Co-Op was small but had a good selection for their size.  I picked up a couple of pieces of fruit, some butter, and a loaf of Truckee Sourdough Company Bread.  Best sourdough toast I've had in a long time.  I had to stop myself from toasting two more slices when I was done!

I was drooling as I sliced that red pear!

I had to take a picture of my breakfast for my mom, who financed most of this trip for Cory and I as a gift and is resting up right now at St. Luke's Hospital in Milwaukee.  She recently discovered that she'd had a minor cardiac infarction at some point and they went in this morning to see if a stent was needed.  Good news is they discovered damage was very minimal and no stent needed.  I'm sure her first stop will be for a cup of tea as soon as she's released later today!

Now I'm trying to find a hike to go with the beautiful day ahead of us.  Skies are going to be clear tonight...thinking about heading out east of the city and checking out the stars.  Cory's never seen them in an area where the light pollution is low.  So much to see and do!

Grand Tetons Flashback - Go for the Mountains, Stay for the Moose

Our stay at the Colter Bay Campground in the Grand Tetons in 2009 was short but sweet.  The sites were generously spaced compared to our stay in Yellowstone, laundry facilities were reasonable priced, hiking was fantastic, and those mountains! (Click on photos for sharper image)

Jenny Lake, formed by melting glaciers

The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.

The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children round a sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor.
                                                  - Emily Dickinson

 On one of our drives we spotted a crowd along the road and stopped to see what was going on.   We spoke to a ranger at the scene who told us about this Mama Moose.



She was limping, and a biologist had observed her and said most likely she had been hit by a car.  He said she should heal up in time for winter as long as she kept to the valley and away from the wolves.

While in the Tetons we saw moose near the roadside at dusk a few times.  Watch out for them in moose country while driving.  On dark roads they are impossible to see until too late and they are fast and BIG!

Today Cory and I are leaving for Reno.  I can't wait to see what we'll discover in Nevada; it's my first time that far west since we left California to move to Illinois when I was 8 years old!

Power of the Union of Women

We saw one more thing while driving around Madison.  A really cool mural on the side of a co-op grocery store.  I loved the use of color, it was especially uplifting on a gray, snowy day.

I borrowed a panoramic shot from the Willy Street Co-op's website.



"Utopia", the name of this mural, refers to a distant myth about a strong woman who lives in a free society. This world - of Utopia and Fantasy - is created with a palette of vibrant colors. It inhabits a dream atmosphere – an ideal future – that is yet to become a reality, but is not impossible to be realized.

Enacted in Brazil in 2006, the Maria da Penha Law on Domestic Violence against Women was named after a woman, severely beaten by her husband, who was left paralyzed for life. The law granted legal protection for women, giving them the tools they needed to combat violence against women. To bring awareness to this new law, Panmela organized a group of women who would use art to teach women and girls in Rio about women’s rights and to build a strong consciousness about women’s worth.

Panmela works to empower women and bring about meaningful and positive change. In Berlin, Paris, Istanbul, Prague, Johannesburg, New York, Toronto, Washington, D.C. and now, Madison, WI, Panmela’s art and message of empowerment has reached far beyond the streets of Rio.

Linking up to Monday Mural.