Ward and I recently went to Reading, PA, on a genealogy expedition for his family. The beginning of the trip was described in this post. Since I'm sure you found that post riveting, I will continue with our travels.
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| After piecing together a few more bits of information, we started our morning in the cemetery looking for a marker we hadn't found during our first visit. With some good map skills, we found what we were looking for. (BTW, the cemetery is older than 1944. We're guessing that is when a new wall was built around it.) |
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| We hoped to learn some local history by a visit to the Reading Public Museum. Unfortunately, it didn't open until later in the day. However, we did enjoy the park and arboretum around the museum. The park contains many sculptures including the one of the guitar player you see in front of the museum. |
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| The group was fascinated by this sculpture as we tried to figure out the physics of how it was balanced. |
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| There was also much discussion as to why deer hadn't eaten all of these hostas. |
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| The paths through the arboretum followed along the Wyomissing Creek. |
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| The ducks in the creek liked this protected area to search for food in the mud. |
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| This statue was titled, Efflorescence II. In my simple mind, it looked like a giraffe. |
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This was also a subject for discussion. The conclusion was that it had
something to do with a dam that used to go across the creek. |
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| I understood the name of this sculpture. It was simply titled, Bronze Root. |
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| But I didn't quite get the meaning of the title for this work-Troy. |
Soon we were on our way home. Next time, I'll show you some of the sights we saw along the way.
I don't think we always have to understand art, but just enjoy it for the sake of it.
ReplyDeleteI wish the museum had been open, so we would have been able to get a guide to the sculptures. Knowing an artist's meaning behind what they create always makes the pieces more interesting to me.
DeleteBronze Root reminds me of blood vessels. :) I had to Google the word efflorescence. One of the meanings was something coming in to flower. Maybe that was where the artist got their inspiration?
ReplyDeleteGrand Rapids, MI, a city near where I live, has had an art event called Artprize for several years now. It has continued to change and evolve but was begun as a way to make art more accessible to the people, as well as to showcase different artists. It's a huge event and fun to see the many, many different art representations. The artists are often present and can talk with you about their work. The art is displayed throughout the city (the hospital where I work usually is one of the venues--not sure how that will change this year with all the covid concerns). https://www.artprize.org/
It said roots to me but I can see where you could get blood vessels.
DeleteI looked at Artprize and it looks like it's a go for this year. What a fun way to support local artists and bring the community together. I would definitely attend if I lived closer. (Said with all of the COVID qualifiers.)
Interesting sculptures! I like the roots sculpture, although I can also see it as blood vessels!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to locate the marker you were looking for in the cemetery. Looking forward to seeing what you spotted on the way home. :)
We all thought it was roots and wondered how they dug it up and preserved it. However, a closer look revealed it was made out of bronze. :)
Deleteso I wondered if that bridge had a ratcheted draw up or something, at one time? I don't know. Bronze Root has the easiest name. The ducks must be finding something good in that mud.
ReplyDeleteWe weren't quite sure what that thing was, but there was another one on the other side. It moved something whatever it was.
DeleteI hadn't really seen ducks in the mud like that before, but apparently they like to do that to look for worms, etc.