The rain had stopped and so we decided to walk to the Art Museum. Getting outside without any rain was a nice change of pace. We saw funky signage and street art along the way. Frida Kahlo had an exhibit that we were interested in but since it was the first nice day in a while and a Saturday, too many people were interested in going. So we looked through the rest of the museum and left Frida for another day. One thing about this museum was different. They had rainbow borders around the notes when the content of the note pertained specifically to the LGBTQ+ community. For instance a note discussing the Italian Girl painting mentioned her haircut and her traditionally male attire and how that went against political and sexual conventions. It discussed how radical this was for that time in Italy, 1922, and how the impending fascist regime turned back the progress that Italy had made towards inclusiveness for the LGBTQ+ community. There were many more rainbow bordered notes sprinkled throughout the galleries, especially in the "Masculinity and the Male Form" gallery. At first I thought it was a good thing bringing insights to a culture too long suppressed and denied, and it is a good thing. Our hope is that soon we will live in a world where the LGBTQ+ community is completely accepted. Like any good museum experience we came away learning about the world and a little more about ourselves.
The Sky Tower
We did not get any protein
The corner of Sumthin Dumplin and Sumthin Dumplin
But what do they sell in here?
Another day another unibrow
This logo was at the stand that gave out umbrella covers
In many of the Māori portraits from the early 1800's, the subjects were in western clothing
While it was historically accurate it seemed a weird juxtiposition
A more recent portrait of a Māori elder from 1939
This 2007 piece is titled "Dandy" and the Māori man here wears the garb of the 1800's to celebrate the takatapui of old. Takatapui were "intimate friends of the same sex" and they were the first liaisons between the Māori and the European arrivals. The chiefs though that since the takatapui already had insights into thinking beyond just male and female, they would be better equipped to navigate the challenging encounter with the Europeans
Pare Watane, a cheiftess from 1877 with her ceremonial weapon
A very nice mustache
A flat canvas with a distinctly 3-D look to it
The Italian Girl
An odd take on a married couple
Bright glass panels on the top of a staircase
At the entrance to the masculinity gallery
Oscar Fingal O'Flaherite Wills Wilde
A sculpture of a man and a rock drill
You can se the rainbow border on the note for this 1924 painting, "Companions". This painting has only been displayed only four times 1981, 2004, 2014 and 2022. The subject matter was provocative and the painting was "hidden from history" as the queer narrative silenced as well.
Crabs anyone?
The galleries were quite beautiful
Even the door panels are works of art
A big clear Māori canoe at the entrance
Some funky street art
Fight the power!
Featuring the featureless
A cool square with a McArthur statue
A funny shop
A bite of sushi
It was medicinal
To keep up our strength
Peace doves strung up across the pedestrian walkway
A huge eyeball
If the walls could talk they would be saying something in braille
