I know nothing about American history. None. I’m a bit illiterate in this regard. It’s a bit understandable given that the Oxford history of India is so large and detailed I could never get the names or dates right. I just remembered the colourful kings’ pictures and a few battles here and there.
There is another thing I don’t know anything about: art. I studied science for 27 years of my limited 31 year old life so it’s also understandable why I had no time or opportunity to barely comprehend or appreciate art like a conniseur or understand the thematic elements and philosophy of artistic expertise.
From the point of view of artistic people I am worse than a layman. Hence it so happened that one of the prominent places to visit in Philadelphia is the Museum of Art. I found myself there serendipitously (the same way I found myself at Longwood gardens). I roamed around the whole museum looking at things I have limited vocabulary for. I could probably describe a statistical histogram in better detail. I basically just walked and stared and walked and stared for most part of the day.
Perhap it’s the fact that got lost thrice in the Prado Museum (Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid) that I have an uneasy connection with huge art galleries. I make sure to stick to the crowd and follow where everyone is going to be certain I am not lost. It was an unpleasant experience unable to find the exit when your getting late for your next flight home. So I chose to swiftly skim through the art and stay in the flow of the crowd.
Some things were super complex with many angels and eagles on them, “nice” stuff. I know the eagle is usually represented in American art because the bald eagle inhabits the North American continent (I know that from biology!)
I seriously doubt people have enough time to actually go through the name and works of each and every curated artist in the museum and understand their art philosophy and style. There must be plenty of blank brains like me, who just enjoy the mere visual aspect, and can somehow only come up with the word “nice” for every priceless item. I hope I am right.
There was plenty to see in the museum, but my eyes couldn’t intake all that complicated information and history. I resorted to finding colourful flowers and pretty furniture.
I loved the paintings of flowers, and there weren’t many which I believe makes them even more special. The furniture was all good. Really good. I enjoyed staring at that very much.
The tapestry (I think it was a tapestry) seemed like the most enormous carpet I have ever seen, and I was wondering whether it was woven in such a way with single single threads or was the carpet painted on. The detail on it was indescribable. Not humanly possible to make such a thing it was beyond perfect the way their clothes were shining. Yep! Not humanly possible indeed!
There were numerous other things to study and enjoy too, most of which were beyond my scientific brain. All in all it was a total break from studying biology and a fulfilling experience. I do hope I am not the only art-illiterate around, there must be others too! The museum was worth it. There were far more curious galleries to visit which I skipped here. If you find yourself there it is a must visit, even if you have no taste for art, it’s well worth the exploration.
