During our stop in Cleveland, I was curious to know more about the city. I have to admit, I didn’t know much about it. Being from Miami the first thing that comes to mind is Cleveland’s very own, Lebron James. I started reading a little about the city and something caught my attention: The Cleveland Museum of Art. While talking with one of the locals, he recommended I should visit the museum.
Luckily, we offer a trolley, that took me from the port to the museum, a short 13-minute ride. It was great to see the city, the beautiful buildings and green areas while riding to the museum. The people in Cleveland are warm and happy, we all felt welcomed. When I arrived at the museum, I was surprised by two things: the size of the structure and that the entrance was free. They only charge for special exhibitions.
The huge building is the space of a wonderful and memorable collection. As their mission, “The Cleveland Museum of Art creates transformative experiences through art, ‘for the benefit of all the people forever.’
When I visited the museum back in August, I saw “Kerry James Marshall: Works on Paper,” an impressive collection showcase the narratives centered on African American experiences. I loved the technique, colors, and silhouettes of his work.
The Museum
The Museum is a vanguard in technology and the ArtLens Gallery is the perfect place to create, share and explore. They have the ArtLens wall—”a 40-foot interactive, multi-touch, MicroTile wall, displaying in real-time all works of art from the permanent collection currently on view in the galleries, between 4,200 and 4,500 works of art at any given time.” It’s a great place to take students and kids to learn more about art.
I was amazed by a few Picasso paintings that I never encountered before, not even in books. My favorite was La Vie (Life), part of his Blue Period and a painting that Picasso created while depressed over the suicide of a close friend. The colors, expressions, and figures in the painting made me stare at it for more than 20 minutes.
More Art
Monet, Paul Gauguin, and Renoir are some of the residents of The Cleveland Museum of Art. The “Art of The Americas Collection” is mind-blowing, their collection includes around 750 objects and textiles representing most of the major ancient cultures of Central America and western South America. The representation of Mesoamerican art is impressive. I wanted to stay in the museum for two days.
They also have “Art from Islamic Lands,” a collection of 178 works from Iran, Egypt, Syria, and Turkey during the 8th through 17th centuries. Anything I write about this museum will not give it justice. This is a must-see while visiting Cleveland, and a place where art and life lovers will rejoice.
A Little Bit Of History About This Structure
According to their website: “The Cleveland Museum of Art opened on June 6, 1916, after many years of planning. Its creation was made possible by Cleveland industrialists Hinman B. Hurlbut, John Huntington and Horace Kelley, all of whom bequeathed money specifically for an art museum, as well as by Jeptha H. Wade II, whose Wade Park property was donated for the site. The original neoclassic building of white Georgian marble was designed by the Cleveland firm of Hubbell & Benes and was constructed at a cost of $1.25 million. Located north of the Wade Lagoon, it forms the focus of the city’s Fine Arts Garden.”
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