arttravelbug

I posted a few stories about what museums were doing initially during the pandemic over on my personal blog .

Time just published a timely piece: 5 Ways to Bring Art Into Your Home While Museums Are Closed . A few highlights: As part of widespread efforts to contain the spread of coronavirus, many of the world’s major cultural institutions have closed their doors... these institutions’ closure brings a reminder of the importance of the museum’s place in society during times of need. Research has shown that viewing art can reduce stress and anxiety, increase motivation and serve as a mood booster... And museums also play a crucial role in creating a more empathic world. They preserve the past, remind us of our place in the present and give us hope for the future. But the inability to set foot in a museum for the foreseeable future need not be synonymous with the absence of art from people’s lives. Under the Instagram hashtag #MuseumFromHome , cultural institutions have shared several informative posts about their collections and other artworks in an effort to continue to share knowledge

Browsing in the library today I stumbled across an interesting book: Art Towns California: Communities Celebrating Creativity: Festivals, Galleries, Museums, Dining & Lodging, by John Villani . Beyond interest in the book itself, it struck me that it might be part of a series. And, indeed it is. Although it is a very short series. No matter, it's still a good one. The 100 Best Art Towns in America: A Guide to Galleries, Museums, Festivals, Lodging & Dining, by John Villani This is Villani's best known book. The DEL-100 Best Small Art Towns in America: Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, and Affordable Living, by John Villani Another version of this book, with the words The DEL in front of it, but I haven't quite yet discerned the difference. The main ones seem to be a focus on living in creative communities (versus just visiting art collections) and the inclusion of some Canadian cities (yeah!). I have no idea what 'The DEL' refers

I have been a fan of the Opera Garnier since I stumbled upon it early into my month in Paris in 2009. I was already blown away by the building when I looked up and first set eyes on Chagall's remarkable ceiling. I gushed at the time , and have since acquired a tremendous print of the ceiling (yet to be framed) and a book or two. Yet, despite learning that construction began in the 1860's, I never really thought about how that Chagall got there. Then, this morning, reading an old copy of a Sunday NY Times left over from a vacation (I buy a copy and read it front to back over a week, and unfinished sections set aside... one of which just surfaced), I had a major ah ha moment: "Among the theater's most famous fixtures are the chandelier and the painted ceiling that surrounds it ~ originally by Jules Eugène Lenepveu, then replaced in 1964 with a new sprawling work by Marc Chagall depicting scenes from operas by Mozart, Wagner and more." Behind the Curtain at