Haight homes...

"Architecture is the learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light. "
Le Corbusier- Swiss architect 1887-1965

Hidden Chamber

The very best part of the sculpture garden at the DeYoung was this weird chamber... out along the edge of the garden it looks like you're about to head out into some sort of service exit. I am not one to be put off by being places I shouldn't be...
First you look down a corridor that looks like this;

and once you've crossed through this door you will find a big cylinder surrounded by wall... walk around it and you'll find another door (phew... this is "art")

through the door is a hidden chamber with benches and ambient light and a hole in the ceiling.
This is my attempt to photoshop several photos together to make a long one but my camera insisted on changing the colors on each of them even though they were taken in succession. Hopefully you get the idea anyway...


It was delicious finding this room on a rainy day. The sculpture garden was almost empty because everyone was trying to stay dry. Sitting in this isolation it was tempting to just pull out my book and hope that no one else would find it... the sound inside was amplified so that even the drip drip drops of the rain coming through the ceiling were impressive.


This odd cement and stone structure did what good art is supposed to do... it transports you, it changes your perspective, it makes you aware of that which you would otherwise overlook. It was moving.

The Crocker Art Museum

On Tuesday I also visited the Crocker Art Museum, which was small but surprisingly good for a modest museum. Most of the works were part of the Mrs. and Mr. Crocker's personal collection donated to the city. The building alone was worth the price of admission...
Here's the front of the mansion;

The foyer;

They had a display on nude figure drawing. I did a nerdy jump for joy when I spotted this original sketch by Albrecht Durer;
There was a room of dishes... I Really don't get why every museum seems to have a room or twelve dedicated to plates... so not interesting.

a sketch by Peter Paul Rubens (also really impressive to see in a small collection)
They had a modern art wing with pieces that weren't your standard MOMA fare... I liked this one, titled "Crowd Control"

... and this cool walk through sculpture mirror house

I also loved the salon style hanging of the genre paintings... although the lights weren't hung very well (there was a lot of glare and they weren't pointed in the proper directions for the paintings)

Mostly it's a neat little art museum that was worth the visit.

Capitol building that...

The California State building as viewed from behind has this three part public art display(part 2 is shown,the other two may come later) This is called the "zone of Discovery"

all of the round drum-like sculptures have different murals representing the peoples of California (from all eras) and are supposedly arranged to represent the way the stars were alligned over Sacramento on September 9th 1850 (the day California became the 31st state)
Here is a cheery one of the Spaniards conquering the new world and getting the natives to bring them all their gold and harvest before killing or enslaving most of them.... yay.  They need to do a bit of a cleaning because this was one of the few not totally covered in bird crap.
I think this golden ball represents the sun... but I'm not sure.  The Skate-ramp area is painted with a portrait of Edwin Hubbel when you look at it from just the right place... still looking for that (maybe in the reflection of the golden ball... further investigation is required).


And here is the front of the Capitol building...

I plan on taking a tour on the inside later on.  Hopefully they'll let me take pictures.

Summer Stock

Today I arrived in Sacramento for my summer stock job. After a nice brunch with my friends...




I finished packing and drove to Sacramento.
As soon as I got here I went on walk-about (as the Aussies say) and after locating the theater,


... I turned around and promptly forgot where the hotel was... Eventually I gave in and called my friend who has an iPhone and looked up the address for me. (sigh)



Sacramento has some beautiful architecture.
This is the youth Hostel (ooh pretty)






... and the hotel they've got me put up in is pretty sweet.

the pool;

my room;

That's it for today, but I think it's safe to say that being in a new job in a different town will lend itself to much more blogging.  Yay!  

Glasgow