A visit to the Renwick Gallery

I'm staying with Chris right now because Wednesday we'll go up to Heather's for my grandson Johnny's graduation ceremony.  So since Chris was off work today, he suggested we go to the Renwick and I was fine with that.  We've been several times over the years and I've enjoyed all of the "installations" we've seen there.

The one that's there now is "No Spectators: Art from Burning Man".  And I don't know if anyone is familiar with Burning Man - I certainly wasn't but it's an apparently huge event that started out on a San Francisco beach in 1986 and has been growing ever since.  It's now held in Nevada at Black Rock City, Nevada - a huge area that was established just for this event.  All year long artists and craftsmen of all sorts gather and build and create unbelievable structures, mechanical objects, costumes, etc.  That's about all I understand about it.  Oh - and also at the end of it they burn a huge wooden statue of "man" (it's the same every year but gets bigger, is sometimes on a base, etc.)  I found this TIMELINE that was kind of neat - shows the "man" from each year, the number of attendees, etc.

So...about all I can do now is post the pictures I took!

This is the basic "man" and it apparently remains essentially the same.  I really don't understand the actual even OR the installation at the Renwick very well but I very much enjoyed seeing the incredible work people are capable of.

 The next three are some of the costumes that were exhibited.  That's become another part of the event - people spend the year making elaborate costumes for the coming event.

 This was all handmade - it's embroidered, beaded, appliquéd, and the sleeves are links of very thin metal - just fantastic

The first room had a triumphal type arch covered with fantastic shapes and figures, plants, and whatever else they could imagine.  Each side wall of the arch (on both sides of the arch) had a small eyehole you could look in and see what was inside.  This was what I saw when I looked in one of them - a little boat with 3 guys in it - made me think of the Beatles.  That little reddish circle in the background is the hole that looks in from the other side to its little scene.

Next is a fantastical mode of transport.  It has three wheels with pedals and Chris figured out that it had a place for a fuel tank so that it could blow out flame.  The people in some of these pictures can give you an idea of the size of the exhibits.

 Below is a "temple" made entirely out of wood.  Apparently one is built at the even every year and then burned down at the end.  This was really beautiful and there was no way my phone camera could do it justice.

 A close-up of a small section of one of the pillars and below is a sort of altar at the front.

 This and the one below were two of three that were in a smaller room.  I think this was probably my favorite exhibit.  The patterns on the wall, of course, are reflections from the lights in the spheres.

This floor to ceiling woman was created with a wire framework covered with a fine silvery metal mesh.  Really stunning and apparently at the even there is normally one of these (in different but similar poses) and they stand 50 feet tall.

 This was a small hexagon shaped room that had an installation of brass gongs hung on four of the walls - they were computerized so that metal levers would tap them at intervals to make a very soothing music.  They weren't really a good subject for a picture so I took a picture of the Chihuly glass creation hanging in the center of the room instead.

 And finally, a room with three of these mushroom shaped creations.  They were lit from within and when you stood on the circular pad, the tops of the mushrooms expanded and then the next step would make them deflate again.  Fun for kids (and me too!)

We finished up there and were ready for lunch.  Stopped at a new-to-me restaurant and had a delicious chicken, mozzarella cheese, pesto, and olive oil on a wonderful bread.  And I indulged in a glass of cold Prosecco.

 Just a bit more to see - throughout the area around the Renwick there are several temporary art pieces that somehow tie into the Burning Man exhibit.  This was one and another is below.  We also saw two  large ironwork crows nearby and somewhere there is a standing bear but I didn't see that.

And this is my tired legs and feet once we got home. :)  If you'd like to learn more about the actual Burning Man event there's lots of information on the internet.