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This is a random pic of me in New York City. I like it so I just wanted to post it here on my blog. It was taken in the MoMA (Museum of Modern Art--for all you gentiles out there, ahem.) The museum is awesome because large parts of the exterior walls are cut out as window space so that the wonderful surrounding architecture can be enjoyed just as equally as the art in the gallery space.

Ok- Back to DC. Here's some highlights of the last couple of weeks.

The Phillips Collection:

This has become my favorite museum in DC. I'd love to work there. It is America's first Modern art museum. It's part restored home and part gallery space. The collection is superb.

This is the Mark Rothko room. It is a small room with a painting on each of the four walls. It creates a peaceful, contemplative atmosphere. I now understand why there is a chapel adorned with his works in Texas. Though there, all the paintings are black. Interesting, huh?

A well known masterpiece! Renior's Luncheon of the Boating Party

Cute!

I somehow managed to forget that the Cezanne piece I wrote my Senior Thesis on, Mont Sainte Victoire with Large Pine, has a twin at this museum. This is not the exact piece I wrote on but it's close enough. It looks almost exactly like it. I was in awe looking at it in person. The guy who took this picture wanted me to teach him a little about the piece so I told him the gist of my thesis. 

This was one of those classic days where I thought I looked fine, but when I saw a picture of me I realized I looked awful! But oh well. It was still a great day!

Here's an interesting Matisse. I think I love his work because of the linearity of his compositions. They are very architectonic and seem to create an interior space, divided into rectangles. I'm a sucker for patterns too. And gold, gaudy frames. 

I've always loved Degas' ballerina series. This piece is beautiful and I can imagine it was a cherished piece of the Phillips family collection. This is one reason why I love the Phillips Collection: Part of the museum is the restored home of the family that once owned the collection. We can walk through the music room, dining room, east parlor and west parlor and see the art hanging as it would have been.

This is the exterior of the Phillips home in Dupont, surrounded by beautiful embassies.

LOUISE BOURGEOIS:

This was the moment I had been waiting for...JERRY! Whitney this photo is for you!

The opening of the Louise Bourgeois retrospective was wonderful. It was the fanciest thing I've ever done. My name was on a list to get in. Everyone was dressed up (I felt underdressed :(). There were caterers walking around with hors d'oeuvres and drinks. It was really a fun night. I ran into some other interns from both BYU and the U of U, so we ended up hanging out.

Fancy huh? yeah I work there.

Friday after our briefings, I took Ashley and Kristen to the Hirshhorn and we found this cool sculpture in the sculpture garden.

Everyone...I'd like to announce that Spring is on the way. Here is the indisputable evidence:

MY FIRST CHERRY BLOSSOM! 

within a few weeks the city will be in full bloom. CAN'T WAIT!

Here's some more cute flowers between some of the Smithsonian Buildings.

Next we went to the East Building of the National Gallery of Art. The east building was designed by I.M. Pei. We studied it in my Modern Architecture class. LOVE IT. 

The underground concourse is amazing. Here I am on a moving walkway and all those lights around me blink on and off forming patterns and movements. It's really cool!

Here's my own version of the Mona Lisa Smile admiration of Jackson Pollack's Lavender Mist.

Next I went to the National Portrait Gallery and the American Art Museum. Same complex.

Here's the Sheperd Fairy poster. It is way cooler in person. There is tons of texture, patterns, and its sprayed over newspaper articles. You can read the words still. Very interesting. In case you haven't noticed I'm kind of obsessed with this work. Not so much Obama, of course, just some of the concepts this work introduces. That's a whole other lecture.

I was happy to see my two homeboys representin'

The Hall of the Presidents was really awesome. I mean- it was kind of one of my favorite things here in DC- awesome. Each work tells so much about that president's era. I have a huge crush slash fascination with JFK so OF COURSE I fell even more in love when his portrait is all modern with arbitrary uses of color. It's so perfect for his era and for the fact that he was a promoter of the arts. This was painted by Elaine de Kooning, wife of Willem, the great American Abstract Expressionist painter. They share many similar techniques and characteristics.

Look how beautiful the enclosed courtyard is between the two buildings that make up the SAAM and the NPG.

Saturday morning I went with some friends to the Crime and Punishment Museum. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to go because I hate violence and graphic stuff. I close my eyes during almost every movie I watch, even movies like Transformers and Iron Man. I'm just really sensitive. But it turned out to be a SUPER fun museum. I only had a few bouts with my sensitivity.

It's set up like a tour through the history of crime and punishment. You go through all the eras and learn about infamous criminals. My favorite was probably the 1930s mobster era with the jazz music playing and the shot up car and stuff. It was really interesting.

We are definitely AMERICA'S MOST WANTED :) This is also where they film the show.

Whoops. We got busted.

Learning how to crack a safe!

Busted again.

Marie Antoinette is one of my heros. I think she was wrongly accused and wrongly executed. I think she was a good person. I want to be like her.

After the Crime and Punishment Museum, I eventually made my way across the mall. Here is the ice skating in the National Gallery Sculpture Garden. How CUTE! The view straight on is of the Hirshhorn.

I went to the Museum of Natural History to see a special orchid exhibition. They were having an Orchid Festival. Orchids are my favorite flower so I HAD to go! They were giving away potted orchid plants and temporary tattoos and all kinds of stuff! I was like a little girl again.

Aren't they BEAUTIFUL!

This is what my wedding flowers will look like. :)

Also at the Museum of Natural History, I went to see the Butterflies! There's a butterfly house where you can dance with live butterflies! I loved it so much! I seriously reverted back to my little girl self. The best part was that they just so happened to have this week the two species I studied for an art history paper. It was rewarding to see the two South American species in person.

This volunteer was releasing some newly emerged (newborn) butterflies.

These are Monarch chrysalises. They are crazy! They look like Jade and have gold ridges lining them. They look like they could be a necklace charm.

This is a swallowtail-one of the species I wrote about. The Blue Morpho is my favorite but it was too hard to photograph. They didn't keep their wings open long enough and when they did some other chick with her big ol' camera took up all the space so I couldn't get any pictures. She was kind of annoying me actually. But I was was still super happy. Butterflies and flowers are the best!