Lunch break, Wednesday 9/9/09

At lunch today I stopped in at the Des Moines Art Center. There is an exhibit there that's ending soon and I had heard it was sort of interesting. The artist's name is Tara Donovan. The Art Center is a very good art museum and well worth a visit anytime you are in Iowa. The exhibit didn't take much time to view, but I didn't get photos of everything. And with all the guards around, I didn't want to try to get fabulous photos...I just wanted to get something.

You see, I didn't want to get kicked out. I hadn't asked about photography and had never before considered taking photos in the museum. So I did my best to be stealthy. As you can see for yourself, I will probably never make it as a private investigator. My photos are too blurry to be used in court!

This is a bunch of Scotch tape on the floor. No, I'm serious. Look: I will go to the art museum, but I am rarely in awe of what I see. I enjoy going, but I don't really get it. I once worked with a woman who was an artist (sold a painting for a down payment on a house-dang) and when I said, "But I could do that!" She so wisely pointed out, "Ah, but you didn't."

I have always figured that's really the goal of the artist's world. To do it. And if you do it first, why then, I suppose you're the one who gets to have exhibits in museums all over the country so people can say, "Really? Scotch tape?"

The title of the taped floor is Nebulous, 2002. I assume 2002 is when the idea was created because, uh....that certainly can't be the SAME Scotch tape from seven years ago, eh?

Does anyone notice how I am not violating trademark laws on my blog? Can I get some props, please? I would like a trademark protection attorney to comment with a "You go, girl!"

You're welcome. I always liked the ads in Writer's Digest that said, "Kleenex says, "Bless you!""

Arg. Crappy photo. Blurry. Guard staring at me. This is hanging from the ceiling. It is mound after mound of styrofoam cups that look as though each one has been chewed around the edge. Seriously. Chewed. I even looked for coffee stains, but all I saw were tooth marks. Creatively enough, this bubbly mess is titled: Untitled, 2008.

She needs a writer.

Also blurry, but pretty. They were little rings of metal. In the little booklet I got from the museum this piece is not described. I thought at first it was a map.

This was pretty neat and I like what the photo did to darken it (yes, I am the master photog who deliberately made it dark). The actual sculpture was gleaming and clear in the sunlight. Those are people outside the door eating lunch and enjoying the weather. Seriously, you should visit. The food is good. This piece, made of buttons and glue and is called Bluffs, 2006.

What I didn't take a photo of (because it would never have come out) is a piece called Haze, 2005. It was the reason I went. She stacks millions (that's what it says, folks) of clear plastic drinking straws against a wall. The effect is pretty cool. There is no adhesive, the entire thing is held in place by the corners of the room. Well, put her name and Haze into the google images machine and see it for yourself.

It was a nice lunch break.