Museum Hill

Having decided to go to see the museums in the area called Museum Hill where there are four museum, we decided we could walk it there and headed out. We stopped at the tourist information on the way and for a short breath catcher in a park along the way but it took us an hour and we were hot by the time we got to the first museum. The key word in this is hill!







First we stopped at  Journey’s End, a collaborative artwork by sculptor Reynaldo “Sonny” Rivera and landscape architect Richard Botkovetz, positioned at the top of the "hill". The hill is a deceptive incline. The artwork commemorates the struggle, drama and history that was and it the Santa Fe Trail. The 56 foot long bronze monument portrays the lead wagon of a typical caravan as it makes it final approach into Santa Fe and incorporates numerous life size figures of men, women, children and their pets greeting the caravan’s arrival. We related to the feeling of relief as we topped the steady incline of the hill. It was also a struggle to get a photo that didn't include modern power lines and buildings.





Luckily they had a coat rack where we could leave our coats. It was an interesting place. The Museum of Spanish Colonial Art  it was established for Hispano Arts from the southern Colorado and New Mexico region. Now the collection has been enlarged and  includes Spanish Colonial objects from around the globe dating from Medieval Times to the modern world. The weaving and the embroidered shawls were/are beautiful.










We left there carrying our coats and walked along a path through some snowy remnants to the Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. By this time it was lunch time so we thought we'd pop in for lunch and then go on into the The Museum of Indian Arts & Culture. However there was a huge crowd and we'd learned from our restaurant walk that we should leave our name and come back in half an hour.








So we went into the museum and really enjoyed the stories of the peoples of the Southwest told through Native American art and some of the collection of statues and pottery, baskets and artifacts.




Lunch was soup and fortified we headed into the Museum of International Folk Art . Its advertised as an exciting and colorful look at cultures from more than 100 countries around the globe through their folk arts. Featuring a diverse array of artifacts ranging from masks and ceremonial dress to sculptures and furniture, the collection of the Museum of International Folk Art is the single-largest museum collection of international folk art in the world. All of which is true but it didn't prepare us for the Multiple Visions: A Common Bond the long-term Exhibition in the Girard Wing.










The exhibition was designed by the collector and donor, Alexander Girard and we were indeed delighted by the richly varied displays in numbered cases- toys, and traditional folk art from more than 100 countries. Thousands of folk art figures enthralled us for ages and then there was the Japanese kite exhibition and the chocolate and the AIDS quilt. We left there at around 4.








  Looking at the works reminded me of Damian Meehan's (my brother) work.






 I think it is the capturing of every day life and people that were reminiscent for me along with the use of clay, the often bright colours and the sometimes quirky nature of the works.
These terracotta pieces I loved the simplicity of and hope to actually draw at some stage- their bold and simple lines appeal.











We walked home down hill this time but still had to walk along the verge of the road as the footpaths gave out part way there. Obviously people weren't expected to walk there :)