Tag: art

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FLW and Saarinen, Too

Part IV – Road Trip Endings

We left Canada in the morning and headed back into Michigan. We had tickets for a tour to see Frank Lloyd Wright’s Smith house, the Cranbrook House and Gardens, and Eliel Saarinen’s art deco house on the Cranbrook Academy campus the following day.

Problem was that since staying more than one night in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, (where the Cranbrook Academy is located) would be prohibitively expensive, we decided to stay further away. Which is how we ended up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, a town we had never been to.

Gerald Ford Presidential Museum

We got there later in the afternoon than planned (border crossings, traffic and a lackluster fast food lunch contributed to the delay) but ended up at the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum with just enough time left to tour the museum.

Was it coincidental that we ended up there exactly 50 years to the day (August 9) that he took office? Perhaps. What was particularly interesting for me is that since I was living in Munich at the time (and a teenager), there was a lot of American history and goings-on that I didn’t know about. I mean, yes, I knew about Vietnam, Watergate, and Nixon, but not much more than that. Consequently, I thought the museum was fascinating and they even recreated the oval office. Plus, they also had the famous needle nose pliers, and the screwdriver used to break into Watergate on display.

Both Gerald Ford and his wife Elizabeth (Betty) are buried on the property and there are statues of them, too.

Downtown Grand Rapids

After the museum we drove through downtown Grand Rapids. There were quite a few people walking around and some sort of downtown festival. What we noticed, however, were the stores and the restaurants! Apparently, we had stumbled back into civilization; that was the good part of the afternoon. The bad part was we checked into a Homewood Suites that occupied a certain number of floors of an old building. We have stayed at properties like this before and I find it disconcerting not knowing where to check in or park your car.

After finding the “front desk,” we were upgraded to a bigger suite with a window and a view of the downtown. We started to unpack and as I went to pee, I found out that the toilet wouldn’t flush. So, we called downstairs and one of the managers came up with a key to a different room on the same floor. This room had one window that looked at the interior of the parking garage and nothing else. The room was dark and depressing. I decided to ignore the situation and figured I would just politely complain in the morning.

Dinner at Leo’s

There has been a trend lately of restaurants texting me nearly 30 minutes before a reservation to tell me my table is “ready.” If I made a dinner reservation at 7:30, why would I possibly want to show up 30 minutes earlier? This has a profound negative effect on my mood before I’m even there. Primarily because it signals to me that 1) the restaurant is not crowded (bad sign, especially if it’s a Friday or Saturday night), and 2) the kitchen wants to close so everyone can go home.

We arrived at Leo’s at exactly 7:31. The place was not crowded and the interior of the restaurant left something to be desired. (Think hotel dining room anywhere in the world). I had picked Leo’s because it was known for its seafood. Even though we had spent the last four days eating fish, when you are as land-locked as we are now living up in the Mohawk Valley of Upstate NY, you eat as much fish as you can when traveling.

It technically wasn’t warm enough to have soup (I’m finicky that way about seasons and soup eating), but for some reason the salmon chowder that was on the menu appealed to me. A combination of both smoked and fresh salmon with chunks of potatoes and some corn, this chowder was really good. It doesn’t look like much here, but it was tasty.

Mussels were next. The tomato broth was really fresh and tomatoey, but I was so captivated by the beautiful plate it was on that when I was done, I actually turned it over to see if I could find out where it was made. (No clue.) And finally, another round of perch. We had two more days left in Michigan and I knew that tonight would be the last fish we’d eat on the trip. Sigh. The perch was just okay. And we passed on dessert.

Calder Plaza

Afterwards we walked around downtown Grand Rapids a bit – primarily to see if we could see the Alexander Calder sculpture, “La Grand Vitesse,” which we did. I also liked the way the town had renovated some of the old buildings but kept a few interesting architectural elements. (Think gas lighting.) It was a fun walk after our meal.

Back on the Road

Before we left the hotel in the morning, I did mention how unhappy I was about the room and the parking and the toilet situation. We must have gotten lucky because the general manager was actually working the desk and comped us not only the room, but the parking as well. Thank you for that!

Our architectural tour started at 1 p.m. and would last roughly four hours. I really dislike any event that interrupts a meal but figured we could grab something for a quick, early lunch somewhere.

We drove about two hours southeast and reached Bloomfield Hills. If anyone has ever visited Bloomfield Hills, do you know what’s missing? SIDEWALKS! We headed towards the commercial strip first and got a turkey wrap to go. And since I was adamant that I couldn’t leave Michigan without having a slice of cherry pie, we just happened to find a pie store. Did you know pie stores even existed? I didn’t. Fortunately, they did have slices of cherry pie. Was it the best pie I’ve ever had. No, but that’s not the point.

Cranbrook Art Museum

We met in the courtyard of the academy to check in at the Cranbrook Art Museum and to get our bearings. Founded by George Booth in 1927, he was instrumental in starting the arts and crafts movement in the U.S. and teamed up with Eliel Saarinen (father of more famous architect Eero Saarinen) to develop plans for the campus. The museum was completed in 1942, and unfortunately, we didn’t have time to walk through the exhibition. But I loved the gardens and all the fountains.

A Three House Tour: Cranbrook First

We started by seeing the Cranbrook house first. While it was grandiose (think Tudor) on the outside and had some interesting features, I’ve come to dislike this kind of architecture and furnishings. Everything seems old and musty. I did like their library, and they had an interesting German wood carving that reminded me of Munich. Also, some painted ceilings that gave the place a European je ne sais quoi. When I looked through my photographs, it seemed that I took more pictures of the exterior of the house (grounds, etc.) than inside.

The Saarinen House

Eliel Saarinen designed a house on campus where he and his wife Loja, lived for over 20 years (1930-1950). The Cranbrook Art Museum’s website describes it as a “beloved architectural treasure,” and I couldn’t agree more. This house appealed to all my senses – the clean lines, the modern furniture, even the paint colors they chose for the walls, as well as the floor coverings.

And don’t even get me started on the furniture. Look at this photograph of a bedroom with the original womb chair and ottoman designed by Eero Saarinen. Notice anything that kind of looks Ikea-like? Yep, he was the guy who did it first. And a closet with pull out shelves? (I had a version of this when I was in Munich; it’s very practical.)

I couldn’t resist sharing this photograph of our tour group, all wearing booties, and extremely enthusiastic about the houses and the architecture.

Finally, Frank

I wanted to like this Frank Lloyd Wright house, but I found it underwhelming and cluttered. What I did love about it was the back story. Melvyn and Sara Smith met Frank Lloyd Wright in 1941 and commissioned him to design a house. Frank, in his customarily dismissive attitude when potential clients would approach him, told them to find property first and come back when they found it. Apparently, even though Melvyn and Sara had absolutely no money and were earning paltry salaries as teachers, if you split a hot dog for dinner with your spouse and save every last penny that you earn, you too, can buy land. This property eventually became a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian house that the Smith’s then had to build themselves. (And I thought renovating the Red House was difficult…)

In true FLW fashion, this kitchen is compact and designed for people who don’t cook. And look at the twin beds and the ugly green bathroom!

There was also an extension that was added on at some point. I did like the dining room and thought the chairs were fun.

After the Smith’s built the house, they also became avid collectors of things. (Think borderline hoarders.) That’s why the house felt cluttered to me because there was a lot more stuff in this FLW house than others we’ve seen. I guess the moral of the story is to be careful what you wish for. You might end up with it.

The Town With No Sidewalks

We spent the night at a Hilton in the town with no sidewalks. When I inquired from the front desk clerk about this strange phenomenon, it was explained that the residents wanted to make sure that people who weren’t supposed to be there weren’t walking around making themselves “feel at home.” I assumed he meant people of color and since he himself was black, I took this to heart.

However, since we were having dinner across the street, we wondered, how would we actually get across the street? With all the traffic? And no crosswalks or lights? Answer: very carefully. We had our last dinner of the trip at an old school steak restaurant where I was so relaxed that I didn’t take a single picture of our meal! And that’s okay. We were heading home tomorrow, an 8 hour plus drive back to New York.

In case anyone is curious, my most recent short story on Substack was inspired by the visit to Cranbrook and the town with no sidewalks. Here’s the link if you haven’t read the first part of the two-part story.

The Town With No Sidewalks – by Julie McCoy (substack.com)

Until our next “Let’s Go” adventure.

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Field Trip: Two Museums in Massachusetts

Since Lynn retired from MoMA we don’t visit as many museums as we had in the past. However, now that we live in Central New York, it’s much more convenient to get to places in Massachusetts and Vermont than when we lived on Long Island. Case in point a few weekends ago we decided to have a short overnight road trip to Wiliamstown, MA. We had never been to see The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown and if we had been to Mass MoCA in nearby North Adams, MA, we didn’t remember it.

The morning of our departure, we woke up to an ice storm that made even venturing out of the house difficult (slippery stairs and a car coated in a sheet of ice).

This gave us a later start than we wanted but eventually, after scraping off the ice and navigating some pretty slippery roads, we were on our way.

The Clark Art Institute

I didn’t expect the building to be modern nor the campus (140 acres) to be so large. Besides the museum itself there is a research center and some hiking trails. We were there specifically to see “Travels on Paper” since we are active travelers and like to see where others have been.

Had I paid more attention to the literature on their website I would have realized it was not a contemporary show but rather artists from the late 1770’s to 1880’s! Not wanting to discredit early attempts at photography or charcoal drawings, I was impressed by how difficult it was for people to travel back then. Often getting to such exotic places (Africa, Hawaii, Egypt, Italy) before decent means of transportation was not only lengthy but arduous and often dangerous.

I found myself focusing on the photographs or drawings of places I had been primarily because I was interested in what certain landscapes looked like 100+ years prior to when we had been there. Hence, this charming watercolor of the famous cliffs of Étretat in Normandy by French artist Eugène Edouard Soulès.

Since Lynn and I had been to see the cliffs and the Normandy beaches with our children one year (2003), I was delighted to see that the artist not only had a blue sky, but also a blue ocean view that day! I suppose he could have fudged a little; maybe it had been a gray day then, too, but isn’t it lovely the artist painted these scenes in various shades of blue?

This was our view that day:

A pink and gray sky with some moss-covered gray rocks and gray water. It was perfect.

Even the title of the show, “Travels on Paper” made me think of all the traveling we have done together. And most importantly, how we capture the trip both photographically and often with the written word in blogs such as this one.

As we walked through the show, I found myself repeatedly captivated by places that somehow looked familiar. Had we been there? Or was it a place that looked similar to other sites we had seen.

I loved this watercolor by a British artist I had never heard of, William Gawin Herdman (1805-1882). The piece is titled “Fantasy Archway with Strolling Couple.”

The arch looks almost like a stage set, a prop. Where does the arch lead to? What do the couple see on the other side besides the trees in the distance? The closest I came in my many travels of seeing a similar-looking arch was in Les Baux, in the Provence region of France.

I remember walking around Les Baux one very hot summer day overwhelmed by both the ruins and the heat. Truthfully, I would have preferred to be the woman in the painting, strolling leisurely through the archway, holding the arm of my beloved, even with the long dress!

MASS MoCA

From The Clark we stopped for a bite to eat at a local restaurant then headed into North Adams to visit MASS MoCA. We thought we had been there before but truthfully didn’t remember the building perhaps confusing the venue with Dia Beacon on the Hudson River. I was impressed with the use of the old factory buildings and wish in the town I live in now (on the Mohawk River) that some of the similar-looking factory buildings could be converted to art spaces, too.

Rainy, gray days are perfect for visiting art museums. I love walking through gallery spaces, looking at the often vibrant art on the wall only to peer outside and watch the rain fall or the wind blow things around. There were also old passageways the museum had retained when designing the space that led from one building to another.

One of its first tenants was a company called Arnold Print Works, a manufacturer of printed textiles. The floors we walked on and the big rooms that now house art held large scale equipment back then. We were often reminded of the people who truly labored here. After all it was a factory and accidents often happened with sometimes grave consequences.

We had come specifically to MASS MoCA to see the Annie Lennox show, “Now I Let You Go…” If you are not familiar with Annie Lennox, she is the Scottish singer-songwriter of Eurythmics fame. But first we wandered through some of the galleries. Here are some Sol LeWitt pieces which I’m fond of not only for the use of his bright crayon-like color palette but his geometric forms.

Then we walked into a large hall and got to look at the amazing sculptures of South African artist Ledelle Moe. Her large forms were so engaging and life-like (even in their reclining mode) that even though I know you are NOT SUPPOSED TO TOUCH THE ARTWORK, I struggled to keep my hands in my coat pockets. I wanted to not only feel the forms but run my hands over these figures in hopes of emotionally capturing the incredible strength of her work.

Her work in this exhibit entitled “When” reminded me of the countless monuments we would see not only when we traveled through Europe, but statues with water features we discovered closer to home. This funny looking guy is from a visit last summer to the Sonnenberg Gardens and Mansion in Canandaigua, NY.

And then I saw the heads. They were just hanging on a wall, similar to death masks and looked to be randomly placed. I’m sure the artist wouldn’t welcome my thoughts on “random placement” but I liked this evocative piece immensely.

I thought of our own meager “head” collection at home. Simple clay or wood faces we had picked up along the way when traveling through Italy.

Then there was Jenny Holzer. Lynn was familiar with her work from MoMA but I was not. I found myself mesmerized by her repetitive texts in various languages. Particularly when she writes that “change is the basis of all history.” I love that line. Along with “stale food is repellent” which speaks to my love of cooking.

When we finally got to the Annie Lennox show, I had to walk around it a few times. First to really understand it. The obviously easy part was looking at the “trophy room” filled with awards and copies of her platinum and gold albums.

The more intellectually challenging component was to understand her “mountain” of collective things. There, assembled on what looked like a mixture of sand and gravel, were important pieces from not only her childhood but her children’s too.

The fact that the title of the show “Now I Let You Go” references our inability as humans to discard “things” that often have emotional significance wasn’t lost on me. Lynn and I have moved six times since 1985. Each time we have moved we have managed to throw a bit more away of our “significant things,” thereby reducing our clutter. Except a few boxes that are in the attic right now – our son’s Hess trucks, his wooden train set, our daughter’s favorite stuffed animals plus the dress she wore for her first Christmas. I haven’t been able to “let go” of their childhood just yet even though they are now both adults.

Case in point: how could we ever throw away this note our daughter scribbled on hotel stationery when we were traveling in Florence one summer? The answer is, you can’t.