A tiny dose of force fed culture

Ok, I love art.  That should be said from the very beginning.  I have loved art for as long as I can remember.  I love all the different forms, but painting is maybe my favorite genre.  (Just as an FYI, Monet...aaaah...my very favorite of all time.)

When I went to Europe I eventually got tired of castle after castle and even (to a lesser degree) cathedral after cathedral, but I never tired of the museums.  Seeing the GOBS of thick paint on a canvas crafted by Van Gogh was ethereal to me.  Having only one day to tour the Louvre was disheartening to say the least (but the Mona Lisa...not so much impressive to me if I am honest).

Anyway, so when I heard that the art of Norman Rockwell -- another of my favorites -- was being displayed at the BYU Museum of Art, I knew I wanted to take the fam.  

After all, his works are a little more kid oriented than many other artist (seriously, those Saturday Evening Post covers are engaging and hilarious and heart string pulling if you give them a chance).

So I reserved tickets online (they are free, but you do have to reserve tickets), invited my parents to tag along, and off we went.

We got the added bonus that my parents also asked my brother, Joel, and his wife to come (Joel needed to see the exhibit for a class anyway) and they also brought two of my cutie pie nephews.  Bring on the fine arts fun!

My kids were impressed with the cool, wire rainbow in the entry of the building, but that was only an itty bitty taste of what they would experience.

Ok, I was totally enthralled by the exhibit.  I learned a TON about Rockwell in general, who was much more a historian than just a mere artist. 

      

I couldn't believe the notes he took on temperatures and times of sunset and what insects were in the area and the weight of people he painted so that every fragment of the image would be just right.  I loved that as he became more experience he moved from using professional models to pose for his pieces to instead using everyday people.  

I loved the texture of his works (tomatoes with three dimensional "seeds" and deep, heady brush strokes). 

   

This exhibit was incredible to me.  I love watching art jump off the pages of a book and come to life.

Probably my favorite of his works.

And my kids survived.  Some liked it more than others, most enjoyed pieces of the evening.  Many laughed and searched for one more silly picture with me in the hundreds upon hundreds of Saturday Evening Post covers.

It was a great experience for all of us...some of us just may not realize how great for a few years more.

We finished the evening on the food court (dinner out always impresses the peeps) and slapped a stamp of approval on the whole adventure.

Go Cougars!

And if you are interested in experiencing this exhibit for yourself, it runs until mid February, and I think you would really enjoy it.  Click here to reserve tickets.