The new UMMA

As promised, here are some photos from my visit to the University of Michigan Museum of Art. They did a great job with the building in that it looks beautiful, though it is a bit hard to navigate the newer section. I was really surprised at the things I was drawn to. I have to say that I haven't been to a museum in quite some time and artists that I have seen before and not thought much about, really intrigued me here. Interesting.

I was greeted by this lovely Helen Frankenthaler piece when I entered the new wing.


Giacommeti is always one of my favorites.

I loved all of the little seating nooks the museum has created with this fantastically comfortable yellow-y leather chairs — not just your standard bench in the middle of the gallery.

I loved the collection of Yoruba pieces like this staff that had octopus-like strands of cowrie shells hanging down in huge clumps that would rattle and shake when shaking the staff. You can see a glimpse of a tapestry in the background, too, that I really loved. These photographs were interesting in that the negatives are hand-drawn and then photographically printed. Great to see in the context of today's digital photographs. Unfortunately, I didn't take note of the artist's name.

And lastly, I fell in love with this painting by Jenny Holzer (this photo is just a detail from it). I have seen her work many times before, but for some reason yesterday it really spoke to me. I love the line work, the layering and depth of it and the splashes of color.

If you read my post yesterday, you know that I set off to the museum to try to jog my creativity in working on a poster project. I am happy to report that, yes, in fact, it did.I only have a rough sketch on paper at this point, but I think it's a solid concept. I'll share with you when i get it fleshed out.

AND, last but not least. I have an exciting announcement that I will reveal in the coming days. Stay tuned…