so i took the GRE yesterday… and it was ok. i think the “rice” in me was disappointed by my performance, but the “real life” part of me was glad it was over and realized that not only did i do fine, but this test has little to do with who i am or where my life goes. i try to tell kids the same thing about their SAT’s, except the rice admissions office doesn’t necessarily agree with me. sigh. at least now i’ve got a bit more personal empathy for kids who aren’t super confident about their scores.
however, the GRE was wiped from my memory today in the middle of the walker art center and the sculpture garden (!) here in minneapolis. some of you may remember my delighted first encounter with the sculpture garden, including the jenny holzer marble benches and the big ole’ spoon and cherry. this year i actually went INTO the museum and had the MOST marvelous time. the walker actually collects quite a few modern artists that are prominent at the tate in london (i.e. danny’s kewl hangout, lucky girl) so i was pretty, uh STOKED. especially when i found their FLUXUS COLLECTION. i almost had a heart attack. it wasn’t as well curated as the tate’s collection, but still.
if you don’t know, fluxus was this funky, funny, inventive collective of artists who rebeled against the commodification of art. they strove to make art out of every day things, and then produce it for cheap and easy distribution. the walker had a GREAT quote from Dick Higgins (fluxus member) that resonates so well with my ideas about art (and, ironically, a certain language pattern of mine):
“coffee cups can be more beautiful than fancy sculptures. a kiss in the morning can be more dramatic than a drama by mr. fancypants. the sloshing of my foot in my wet boot sounds more beautiful than fancy organ music.”
damn straight dick! anyhoo, besides fluxus, they had an amazing temporary exhibit of photography, including works by cindy sherman (i lurve her) and charles ray (who also had a sculpture piece in their permanent collection: he bought a crashed-up pontiac, made molds of every single piece of the car, then put together the molds, like a model car, to create this amazing sculpture that looks like he just poured paint on a crashed car… but it’s a model. ok, so it doesn’t sound as cool when i describe it, but believe me. i mean, it took him 2 years to make the molds and put them together. wow!).
ah, how art soothes the soul. once again, i wish you all could have been with me, especially to frollick in the sculpture garden with children, autumn leaves, cool breezes, sunshine and art all breathing together in one great sigh.
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