National Portrait Gallery: "American Cool"

American Cool: so cool I walked it twice. Backward and forward.

The National Portrait Gallery is part of the Smithsonian Family, which means you know it's good. Located in Chinatown at 8th and F getting to the NPG is easy, there are at least 5 metro stops within a mile, so save yourself money and interact with the locals in the underground world. The NPG shares a home with the American Art Museum in a beautiful historic building named after someone who gave a lot of money (Reynolds). 

Once outside the museum take a moment to look around; the area is alive with activity. If you have any food or drink be sure to finish that before going inside. I sat among the middle schoolers and finished my coffee and enjoyed a few minutes of mindless people watching (don't worry, I was wearing headphones, didn't have to listen to middle schooler gossip). 

After you have finished whatever beverage you have, make your way inside. To the left is the American Art Museum, to the right the Portrait Gallery.  The exhibit I went to see, American Cool, was on level two so I wandered aimlessly until I figured out where I was going. I walked through Dancing the Dream (now through July 13, 2014). An exhibit chronicling dance in America. One room had Beyonce performing "Single Ladies" on a projector screen. Not your average snooze fest museum. (By the way I love museums, so don't get offended.)

Down the hall was a permanent exhibit of old Americans (not the official title): Benny Franklin, TJ, etc. Portraits you see in your high school history books. Not gonna lie, it was pretty cool to see those in person. History comes to life! (Or ya know portraiture.) Around the corner was the Yousuf Karsh American Portraits exhibit (now through April 27, 2014 and May 2 through November 2, 2014). Lots of recognizable faces in there: Einstein, Hemingway, Eleanor Roosevelt...Finally figured out where American Cool was and took the elevator to level two. 

My heart was pounding with excitement, I had been wanting to see this exhibit for several months now. The neon sign beckoned me in and there was Jay-Z. I don't read everything, but I always make it a point to read the introduction written on the wall at the beginning. What I loved is they did not claim to be cool experts and that the word itself was subjective. To be considered the person had to fit into three of the four criteria: 

• 1.) an original artistic vision carried off with a signature style

• 2.) cultural rebellion or transgression for a given generation

• 3.) iconic power, or instant visual recognition

• 4.) a recognized cultural legacy

• After I read the introduction I was feeling especially inspired. The exhibit was broken up into four time periods of cool. At first I walked in the wrong order (oops, but really come on there wasn't a sign or anything). I started in the Cool and the Counterculture: 1960-79. This was the sex, drugs and rock and roll area. It had Andy Warhol, Bob Dylan, Muhammad Ali, Jack Nicholson, John Travolta, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Marvin Gaye, to name a few of my favs. I took a secret picture of Jimi (shhhh...no photography allowed).

Next up (again I'm going backward) The Birth of Cool: 1940-59. The jazz era cats, the likes of Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Humphrey Bogart (Casablanca is still one of the best movies ever made) Elvis and Audrey (my favorite actress; I could and often do watch 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' on a loop) and James Dean aka the epitome of cool.

The Roots of Cool: before 1940 was my next step (supposed to be the first). Ernest Hemingway, Dorothy Parker, Georgia O'Keefe and Fred Astaire were featured in this section. They existed during prohibition and even earlier eras, and began the "cool movement" before we even had a word for it.

In the main hall was The legacies of Cool: 1980 to present. This had a little bit of everything. From Jay-Z to Jon Stewart, Johnny Depp, Madonna, Michael Jordan and Missy Elliott, oh and Tony Hawk skateboarding in his kitchen while his family enjoys breakfast. This one, naturally, had the most recognizable faces. I spent the most time reading in here. Willie Nelson had a beautiful color portrait at the end of the hall wearing his iconic red bandana. Somewhat hidden right beyond that was their list of Alt-100. The people that could have made the cut, but didn't for whatever reason. Again they remind you they aren't cool experts.

Noticeably missing from all this is Marilyn Monroe. Just a quick side note.

Two last thoughts as to what made this exhibit so...cool.

1. It made me take my headphones out (at least until the people near me got loud and annoying) because each gallery played iconic songs of the eras they portrayed. And they had an interactive station in a few rooms where you could watch clips of the cool people featured.

And 2. Photographers Richard Avedon and Annie Lebowitz are two of my biggest inspirations and they were responsible for many of the portraits featured. If you aren't familiar with either of their work, look it up!

Like I said I walked through twice. The second time around I had figured out my mistake and walked in the proper direction. Honestly though, it didn't matter, the exhibit was impactful whichever room you started in. To see all that "coolness" in one area was an afternoon well spent. Go see this before it goes away in September!

The Introduction

(It's also on the website)

My "secret" photos

http://www.npg.si.edu

The Freer Gallery

The Freer Gallery is part of the Smithsonian's massive empire. However this gallery, unlike the Smithsonian's that we think of, is quiet and peaceful. No children's field trips, no crying babies, no dopey tourists (expect for me of course). It is a perfect afternoon trip.

Located on the mall right across from all the craziness, it doesn't look like much from the outside. But once you step inside this magnificent gallery you are transported to Asia. Well the Asia of the past with sultans, samurais, geishas, and magnificent palaces only the truly lucky ever got to see.

The rooms flow nicely in a square around a central courtyard whose main exhibit is a rather small fountain surrounded by lots and lots of foliage. Each room tells a different story. I imagine the weapons were used by great Samurai's in an epic battle over an Asian princess (my imagination tends to wander...). The screens from a geisha house or perhaps a huge palace of some noble sultan.

The Peacock Room was my favorite. It had more art in it than any of the other rooms combined. It was blue in color (peacock blue) and had all sorts of china, pottery and other small artifacts. The walls were masterpieces in themselves. You felt like you were in the Forbidden Palace. There was so much to look at, it was fantastic!

When I walked out of the Freer Gallery it felt like I had been to yoga, I was calm, relaxed, zen-like.

Right next to Freer are beautiful gardens. The Enid A. Haupt gardens are a paradise in the middle of the mall. Vibrant colors come from all sorts of plants and flowers. The best part is it is right on the street, any unknowing stranger could stumble upon this while walking around DC.

Connected to Freer is also the Sackler Galleries. This hosts more modern Asian art. I wandered through here for a few minutes, and I stumbled upon real Buddhist monks mediating. I couldn't tell if they were part of an exhibit or not. But they looked very comfortable. I moved along quickly just in case they were there on their own accord and not an exhibit.

The Sackler Galleries were more of a cave you dig deeper and deeper into. I am sure I didn't see everything. Not quiet the flow Freer had, but again it was nice and quiet where you could lose yourself in the setting and not worry about the crowds pushing you on.

If you have a chance on a lazy afternoon this is a fantastic place to open your mind and feel a little more zen.

The Samurai's tools.

The Peacock Room.

The fountain in the center of the gallery.

Screens from a palace.

The gardens.

*I made up most of these descriptions to what I imagined they were. Meaning most of it is not accurate. But hey, it's more fun to make a museum what you want it to be.

http://www.asia.si.edu/

Smithsonian Orchid Exhibition

The Smithsonian Orchid Exhibition: Orchids of Latin America.

Of course no DC trip is complete without stepping into the Smithsonian. My favorite is the natural history museum. That's the one with the dinosaurs, jewels and gems and butterfly exhibit. 

On this particular Friday it happened to be field trip day (I recommend not going on the weekend). But also it was one of the last days for this orchid exhibit.

Courtney and I walked in not really knowing what exhibits we wanted to look at and immediately this one caught our eye. It was located right off the rotunda  and somehow in the mass of school aged children in matching t-shirts we spotted the sign for it.

As soon as we walked into the somewhat small exhibit we were delighted. It was beautiful. So many vibrant colors to look at. I am not one to read a lot at museums, I tend to just wonder around and take it all in visually. This exhibit was perfect for me in that aspect. Don't get me wrong, there was plenty to read about the different species, I just chose not to.

The lush foliage was intoxicating. It smelled heavenly without being overpowering. And luckily for us the school kids did not seem interested in this exhibit so we were safe from the chaos for a few minutes.

Sadly this exhibit has an expiration date. However the moral of the story is sometimes you don't need a plan; let the museums surprise and delight you on their own.

http://www.gardens.si.edu/whats-happening/orchid-exhibition.html