Glassworks

Spotlight on Seattle Series: Part 3

Dale Chihuly is a big name in the art world. His glass sculptures have been featured in exhibits around the globe: the Corning Museum of Glass (NYC), the de Young (San Francisco), Franklin Park Conservatory (Columbus, Ohio), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), the MCM Grand Casino (Macau), and the Tower of David (Jerusalem) to name a few.

However, being well-known comes with a fair degree of criticism. His works have been noted for walking the line between art and craft. Some, like Kenneth Baker of the San Francisco Chronicle, claim his glassworks are too showy, that they lack the substance of serious art: “Perhaps dreamy color, glossy surfaces and flamboyant design – the signal qualities of Chihuly’s work – should be enough. But in a culture where only intellectual content still distinguishes art from knickknacks, they are not.”

Another commenter suggested that there is something vital in Chihuly’s work: “I’m not going to make a case that Chihuly is a great artist (how many deserve to be called that?) but I do make the case that it’s of some importance to consider his art seriously. Why? Because Chihuly is a leading proponent of the idea that art is still about beauty — that the search for the pure, the ideal, is still essential to the role of the artist.”

For what my opinion is worth, I think Chihuly’s work is captivating. Is there some deeper meaning behind those vibrant colors, impossible shapes, and glistening glass? Maybe yes, maybe no. Although  Navajo baskets, Italian art deco, and Japanese glass fishing floats have all been sited as inspiration for various series. But his sculptures are appealing like a bright, shiny object, and there is something to be said for art that appeals to your inner raccoon or magpie. There is definitely a place for distraction and the blatantly beautiful in the art world – it’s not earth-shattering, but it’s worth a look.

Love him or hate him, here is a little more information on Dale Chihuly:

• 1941: Chihuly was born Tacoma, Washington.
• After beginning his college life at the College of the Puget Sound, Chihuly soon moved on to the University of Washington, the institution from which he received a BA in interior design in 1965. Subsequent degrees followed, including a Master of Science in sculpture from the University of Wisconsin and a Master of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design.
• He studied under Studio Glass movement leader Harvey K. Littleton.
• In 1971, he founded the Pilchuck Glass School near Stanwood, Washington. Legendary Seattle art patrons, John Hauberg and Anne Gould Hauberg (daughter of Seattle Art Museum architect Carl F. Gould), provided the necessary support.
• A serious car accident in 1976 left the artist blind in his left eye. Three years later, Chihuly found himself unable to blow glass on his own following a bodysurfing incident. Hiring others to do the glass blowing, he described his new role as “more choreographer than dancer.”
• His various studios include The Boathouse (an old racing shell facility) and buildings in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood and Tacoma. These studios serve as meeting places for artists, work spaces, and museums unto themselves.

SAM I Am

Ladies and Gentlemen, please allow me to introduce SAM. SAM is a rather handsome octogenarian that has three homes in the Seattle area: a lovely 1933 Art Moderne building in Volunteer Park, a somewhat industrial looking complex on the western edge of Downtown, and an airy waterfront space in Olympic Sculpture Park. He counts Robert Venturi and Carl F. Gould as his favorite architects, and while his particular interests include Asian, African, and Native American art, he always loves when his interesting American and European friends pay him a visit. His favorite restaurant, TASTE, features a revolving seasonal menu with a focus on sustainability and fresh-from-the-market ingredients. Also, SAM is the proud owner of an impressive research library. If you’re in the area, you should pay SAM a visit – he loves new and old visitors alike – all he asks is a suggested donation.

By now, I am sure that you know that SAM is actually the Seattle Art Museum. In 1931, Dr. Richard E. Fuller, a member of the Seattle Fine Arts Society brokered a partnership with the city of Seattle: if the city promised to maintain the facility, Fuller would donate the funds and a substantial portion of his Japanese and Chinese art collection in order to create the Seattle Art Museum. Two years later, the museum, designed by architect Carl F. Gould (that Art Moderne building we mentioned above), opened to the public. Fuller would go on to serve as director of SAM until 1973, never once collecting a salary.

In 1986, the museum put forth $35 million, which joined a $29.6 million levy agreed to by the city’s taxpayers, toward the construction of a new 150,000 square foot facility. The new building, designed by the firm Venturi, Scott Brown and Associates, was completed in 1991. Described as “seriously whimsical,” Venturi claimed, “We want [the museum] to be pretty…and appeal to children.” Now, whether it is pretty or appealing to children is a matter of opinion, but one thing that catches every Downtown visitor’s eye is the iconic “Hammering Man” sculpture in front of the museum. With its opening, SAM played a significant part in revitalizing Seattle’s downtown.

As the Downtown location opened, the old location in Volunteer Park closed for renovations. It re-opened in 1994 as the Seattle Asian Art Museum. As the name would suggest, SAAM is home to the museum’s extensive Asian art collection, including Japanese screen prints, Chinese marble sculptures, and beautiful ceramics. SAAM also houses the McCaw Foundation Asian Art Library and the Ann P. Wyckoff Teacher Resource Center.

The Olympic Sculpture Park, SAM’s third location, opened in 2007. The nine-acre park, which is enough to qualify as Seattle’s largest green space, occupies the northernmost portion of the city’s seawall and boasts magnificent views of the waterfront. Significant sculptures like Alexander Calder’s Eagle and Richard Serra’s Wake reside here.

Here are some noteworthy numbers and events in SAM’s history…

• 300,000 people visited in the museum’s first 6 months in 1933.
• 1940: SAM’s first “blockbuster,” Japanese works from the collection of Manson F. Backus, draws 73,000 visitors.
• During World War II, 650 of the museum’s most precious works were transported to Denver for safekeeping.
• 1944: First large-scale traveling exhibition, “India: It’s Acheivements of the Past and of the Present.”
• 1959: An exhibit of paintings and drawings by Vincent Van Gogh sees 126, 110 visitors.
• 1978: “The Treasures of Tutankhamen” charts 1.3 million visitors.
• 1997: “Leonardo Lives” brings in 236,000 visitors.
• SAM opened with 1926 items in its collection. As of 2008, the collection was totaled at 25,000 items.

Some exhibits you should definitely not miss…

• Everything Under the Sun: Photographs by Imogen Cunningham – through August 29, 2010. Cunningham is one of the Northwest’s most well-known photographers.
• Fleeting Beauty: Japanese Woodblock Prints – through July 4, 2010. Katsushika Hokusai’s iconic In the Well of the Wave off Kanagawa is just one of the incredible works featured in this exhibition of 18th and 19th century ukiyo-e artists.
• love fear pleasure lust pain glamour death: Andy Warhol Media Works – May 13, 2010 through September 6, 2010. It’s Warhol, should be interesting.
• Kurt – May 13, 2010 through September 6, 2010. The grunge music movement is intertwined with the identity of Seattle. This exhibit examines how the life and work of Kurt Cobain influenced the creativity and processes of artists.
• Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee National Picasso, Paris – October 8, 2010 through January 9, 2011. In a real coup, SAM has scored this one-of-a-kind exhibit of works from Paris’ Picasso Museum, which is closing for renovations.

It’s Raining Culture in Seattle

Photo by wonderlane.

Oh, April. Month of many rainfalls. What better way to celebrate this damp month than by highlighting a city known for its rainy reputation: Seattle. That’s right, throughout the month of April, Museumist will cast a spotlight on the exhibits, events, museums, cultural organizations, and the people that make the arts come alive in the Emerald City.

Let’s begin with a brief look at Seattle…

• Despite its reputation for being perpetually rainy, Seattle receives less rainfall per year than New York City, Atlanta, and Houston. It doesn’t even make the Top 10 Rainiest Cities in the US list! However, while rain might not be falling, it often looks like it’s about to. On average, there are 201 cloudy days a year in Seattle. Strangely enough though, Seattle natives are the greatest purchasers of sunglasses per capita of any American city.
• Perhaps its all those overcast days or the prevalence of coffee shops, but folks in this city are a literary bunch. The Public Library system here boasts the highest percentage of library card holders per capita in the entire US. Also, a study named Seattle the most literate city in the country.
• Of course, we’ll have to wait for the 2010 Census numbers, but by the most recent estimation, Seattle counted 602,ooo people as residents, enough to qualify as the 15th largest city in the United States.
• Notable Seattlites include: Jimi Hendrix, Bruce Lee (buried here), Paul Allen, Bill Gates, Carol Channing, Sir Mixalot, Ron Santo, Adam West, Rainn Wilson, Gypsy Rose Lee, and many more.
• The National Register of Historic Places claims 150 Seattle sites on its list, including the Ballard Avenue Historic District, the Pike Place Public Market, Chinatown Historic District, various Public Library branches, and a healthy handful of historic homes.

Seattle is a city famous for many things: coffee, grunge rock, technology, environmentalism, and great food to name a few, but here at Museumist we are mainly concerned with the City of Goodwill’s cultural offerings and artistic personalities. So, stay tuned for a deeper look at the museums and related people and places that make this town tick.

Up this week…

The Seattle Art Museum

Dale Chihuly

The Wing Luke Asian Museum

Who Dat?

Photo by smoorenburg.

With a Saints Super Bowl victory in the books, a bet made between the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art has been settled. The prize? IMA will be sending their Fifth Plague of Egypt by Joseph Mallord William Turner to NOMA.

The Turner, however, is only the latest in treasures to be found among the Big Easy’s cultural offerings. After stopping in at NOMA, here are some of the museums you should check out on your next stop in New Orleans.

The Ogden Museum of Southern Art is home to the most comprehensive collection of Southern art in the world, cataloging the region’s history and visual culture starting from the early 1700s. Current exhibits include New Southern Photography and the Andrews-Humphrey Gallery shows art is a family affair. April 22 marks the opening of Where They At?, an exhibit exploring “New Orleans bounce and hip hop in words and pictures.”

Animal Kingdom: Walk through a 30-foot Caribbean Reef tunnel or see if spotting a white alligator really brings good luck at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. If you’re more interested in land-based creatures, head to the Audubon Zoo. Animals have called this site home since the 1884 World Exposition. Current residents include King Rex and King Zulu (white tigers and brothers), performing sea lions and elephants, and a Komodo dragon.

National World War II Museum is the United States’ official WWII museum. Higgins boats (made in New Orleans), Spitfire planes, and Sherman tanks join exhibits about life on the home front and plenty of information about D-Day and the events leading up to it. A must see for history buffs.

Mardi Gras is more than just a wild party. Explore some of the history behind the celebration at the Backstreet Cultural Museum, where the city’s largest collection of Mardi Gras Indian costumes are housed. The museum, built in an old funeral home, also explores other unique New Orleans traditions like Jazz Funerals and Social Aid and Pleasure Clubs.

Again, this is just a sampling of museums and cultural institutions in the Crescent City. No matter what sites you visit, just remember “laissez les bon temps rouler.”

Among the Masters: A Journey to the Frick

It was a beautiful January day in New York City. With only a light wind blowing down Fifth Avenue to contend with, I left the quirky little boutique hotel that served as home for the weekend, and set off toward the Frick Collection. Momentarily flattered when a woman stopped me to ask for directions – there’s something strangely satisfying about not being seen as a tourist even if I was unable to answer her question – I was in a decidedly good mood when I reached the steps of the imposing mansion on East 70^th.

The Frick Collection, arguably one of the finest assemblies of Old Masters paintings around, is a museum created from the artistic treasures of robber baron and steel magnate, Henry Clay Frick. The museum is housed in the Frick mansion – built on an entire city block – that was constructed in 1913-14. Strolling through the home/museum, it seems impossible that people once lived among art of such caliber and quality, but it would sure be fun to try it out for a little while.

Admission – $18 for adults, $12 for seniors (62+), $5 for students – includes an audio tour, which I highly recommend. Simply punch in the number of the painting into the little handheld device, and you will be rewarded with enlightening information about the artist, the subject, how the painting fits into the Frick collection, or perhaps a bit about Frick himself. For instance, from the audio guide, I learned how Whistler was the only American artist deemed worthy enough by Frick to be included in his almost exclusively European collection (Stuart’s portrait of George Washington is the only other painting by an American artist, and was most likely chosen for patriotic reasons rather than some commentary on his standing among the European pantheon). It also brought certain paintings to life, like when it provided greater context for Reynolds’ paintings of “very beautiful women in very important hats.”

In the galleries of the Frick Collection you will find the gigantic canvases of Veronese, elongated El Grecos, a room full of frothy Fragonards, the quiet beauty of Vermeer, a gentle landscape by Corot, figures emerging from Whistler’s black backgrounds on one wall opposing the same artist’s studies in pink and white on the other, a healthy handful of Gainsborough, Rembrandt’s self-reflections, and much more.

Can’t make it to New York? Well, lucky for you the Frick’s stocked collection is searchable through their online database. Holbein’s Sir Thomas More may be breathtaking in person, but it’s still pretty darn impressive on a computer.

Although my journey to the Frick Collection lasted just over an hour, it was an extraordinary glimpse into the mind of a collector (even if he was the most hated man in America). The Frick succeeds not because of the quality of their artworks, which doesn’t hurt, but in the stories they are able to tell through their collection.

I set off back down Fifth Avenue in an even better mood than when I started. I had seen great art, the weather was beautiful, the wind was at my back, and when the next person asked me for directions I was able to tell them where to go.

A Postal Post

So, still seething from the information that my rent check got lost in the mail (I mean, come on, I even paid it early!), I popped into the Charleston Post Office to pick up a change of address form. The wonderfully pleasant man behind the counter did quite a bit to put me back in a good mood, but what really turned my frown upside down was the unexpected surprise of a postal history museum.

Complete with diorama and artifacts of postal service days past, this little gem of a museum was well worth the trip. Here you can learn about a brief history of the P.O. Box (apparently “pigeonholes” were being used as early as 1800) and look upon some Confederate letters and stamps.

Upon leaving the historic post office on Broad Street, I couldn’t help but echoing the exclamation of the individual who wrote in the museum’s guest book: “Hurrah for the Postal Service!”

Here are a few images…

Scenes from Museums Past

I’ve been learning a lot about the great history of Charleston, South Carolina, lately, and have been delighted by its colorful characters, extraordinary events, and generally rich culture. However, being the museum nerd that I am, I was pleasantly surprised to see the contributions Charleston has made in the development of American museums.

Most significantly, the Holy City is home to the first museum built in the United States. The Charleston Museum was founded in 1773 and still stands proud along the city’s Museum Mile. However, it is the story of Joel Roberts Poinsett and the little known National Institute for the Promotion of Science that we’ll be exploring here today.

Joel Roberts Poinsett, proud son of the South, was a man who wore many hats. Below are just a few of the accomplishments of Poinsett’s life:

• Fluent in English, Italian, French, Spanish, and German.
• Educated in medicine, the law, and military science.
• Became the first ambassador to Mexico in 1825.
• Served as Secretary of War from 1837 – 41.
• Was both a South Carolina State Legislator and a member of the U.S. House of Representatives.
• During his time in Mexico and South America, he was charged with exploring the potential of various revolutionary groups and even acted as an advocate for Greek independence.
• On a trip to the Middle East in the early 1800s, he was shown some petroleum, which he believed could have a future as a fuel.
• An avid botanist, Poinsett, during his time in Mexico, came across a winter plant that had been popular as far back as the Aztecs. Sending samples back to the U.S., the plant, which would become known as the poinsettia, has remained a holiday favorite ever since.

In spite of all of these noteworthy accomplishments, it is Poinsett’s role as co-founder of the National Institute for the Promotion of Science that should be of particular interest to museum lovers.

In 1838, the United States successfully secured their right to a bequest from the British chemist and naturalist, James Smithson. The money was to be given “to the United States of America, to found at Washington, an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men.” With money in hand, Congress began the debate about the creation of a national museum.

Poinsett – a botanist, as we have already noted – was a strong advocate for a national museum. During his tenure as Secretary of War, he had naturalists accompany soldiers on exploratory expeditions. He believed that a museum would be the perfect venue for accumulated specimens, and an opportunity to showcase that America, though young, was fast on its way to becoming Europe’s cultural equal. Having put his ideas before Congress, Poinsett went about trying to find a way to secure the Smithson bequest to make his museum dream a reality.

In 1840, he co-founded the National Institute for the Promotion of Science. This organization was the force behind the collection of specimens and items on display at the Patent Office Building in D.C. The collection lacked appropriate funding and was perhaps a bit disorganized, but it put the idea of the “Nation’s Attic” into the minds of politicians and the public alike.

Eventually, the National Institute for the Promotion of Science failed to secure the funds of the Smithson bequest. However, by setting the precedent for a national museum, Poinsett’s group was the predecessor to the Smithsonian Institution as we know it today.

This Pickpocket Will Leave You (Culturally) Richer

About a week ago, I stumbled across an interesting program at SFMOMA that had the potential to put a whole new spin on both cultural education and museum learning. Known as Pickpocket Almanack, this program is billed as “an experimental school without walls.” Curious to know more about the school and about the implications for museums, I posed some questions to Joseph Del Pesco (more info here and here) – SFMOMA independent curator and creator of Pickpocket Almanack. Here are his responses, hope you enjoy them as much as I did…

1) Why is it called Pickpocket Almanack?

The title means, roughly, “stolen calendar.” It’s because the program borrows and compiles event calendars from all the venues in the Bay Area to make a sort of meta-calendar—which is subsequently used by the faculty to create courses. The word “pickpocket” was actually suggested by artist Anne Walsh as a more provocative way of naming an experimental school. I think her suggestion was “Pickpocket Academy,” which I liked, but ultimately I decided not to use the terms University, Academy, School etc after talking with artist Brian Conley. I told him I wanted to try to break the teacher-student hierarchy, or at least disrupt the conditioned roles inherent in formal education. He suggested one way to send this signal was to use different language. I took his advice. When I was was first thinking about the word “Almanac” I was looking at Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s Almanack, which was his most populist publication. The extra “k” is in homage to him. As is some of the typography of the website, designed by the brilliant Scott Ponik.

2) Can you tell me a little bit more about Pickpocket Almanack? What was the inspiration for the program?

For the last couple of years I’ve been compiling research into artist initiated schools. This includes Amy Franceschini’s Playshop, Tsuyoshi Ozawa’s University of Sodan Art, The Center for Urban Pedagogy, Jon Rubin’s Independent School of Art, Ted Purves’ Momentary Academy, The Mountain School (not to be confused with Black Mountain College), Fritz Haeg’s Sundown Schoolhouse, and Pablo Helguera’s School of PanAmerican Unrest. All of these excellent and extremely varied approaches to education serve as markers of a changing artworld, and informed my thinking about the Pickpocket Almanack.

3) What is the most interesting event you have featured in this season of Pickpocket Almanack? What sort of events pique your interest or what criteria is used to select events for the school?

The way Pickpocket is set-up, I’ve collected a master calendar of about 100 events, including lectures, panel discussions, workshops, screening etc. I subsequently presented these to the five faculty member’s we’ve asked to organize courses. These cultural experts living in the SF Bay Area will undoubtedly each have a uniquely different selection process and criteria, and I won’t attempt to speak for them. However, I can say that the program is less about picking favorites and more about constructing an alternative narrative. Of course I expect that they’ll pick events that are worth going to, but as the selection is happening this week, I’m not yet sure how things will turn out. I’m as excited and curious as any of the hundred or so people who have already expressed interest in singing-up. Ultimately, I think the most interesting event will be the final group meetings with the faculty at the end of each course. (Thanks go to legendary Bay Area curator and my friend Renny Pritikin for suggesting this aspect of the program).

4) Why did you choose to operate Pickpocket Almanack through a museum? Would it be successful/unsuccessful if it was not conducted through any organization?

I first started discussing the rough ideas for Pickpocket Almanack with Dominic Willsdon who was working on some plans that involved connecting various institutions in the Bay Area. It was a proposal germane to an ongoing conversation and was developed within that context. Dominic is the Curator of Education and Public Programs at SFMOMA, and he has been a huge help in pushing the program as far as it could go. I couldn’t have done it without him.

5) Do you hope that people go through the program and to events alone or do you see this as a more communal learning experience?

That is one of the big questions, and we’ll have no way of knowing how it’s going to work for individuals until the courses start. Everyone signed-up for a particular course will be connected via email groups, but wether they’ll decide to become “communal,” to use your word, is still one of the great unknowns. We’ll do a few things to help make this possible, to break the ice, but that’s as far as we’ll go. The rest will be up to them. It’s also interesting to note that while the five key events that make up the course will be made public via the website (for anyone to “audit”), there will be other events and readings available only to the participants who’ve signed-up, sent out via email by the faculty.

6) Since this is an “experimental school,” are you aiming to create a new way of learning, or are you hoping to enhance people’s experience with Bay Area culture, both, or something else altogether? Essentially, what is your goal with this program?

I’ll answer this in a personal way. I tend to go to events (lectures, screenings, symposia etc.) either when I already know of the artist or writer or filmmaker or at the recommendations of friends and colleagues. If no one points out a particular person or event to me, I rarely go. And while I have some affinities for certain institutions in the Bay Area, and do occasionally read the papers and websites, the rarity of recommendations means I get stuck in routines and don’t typically go to things I know nothing about. I suspect this is true of most people interested in culture living in big cities. That they’re willing but don’t tend to go to unfamiliar events without some nod or pointer. PIckpocket is, at its most basic, a structure for guiding these decisions, through taking the advice of those respected in the field. In compiling the master calendar for this Fall, it became obvious like never before just how much I’ve been missing.

7) Do you see Pickpocket Almanack, or some variation of it, taking root in other museums? Or do you feel that there is something distinctly Bay Area about the program?

I do think the idea is portable, but I think it’s best suited for cities that have too many interesting things happening. It’s a good problem to have, and Pickpocket is just one way to address it. To develop the master calendar we’ve partnered with Happenstand.com, the best listing of art related events, places and people in the SF Bay Area, hands down. Websites like Happenstand are invaluable resources for tracking the pluralistic landscape of contemporary art.

Enrollment for the Fall Season of Pickpocket Almanack (October 1 – December 11) begins September 23.

Somebody’s got a case of the Mondays

Twitter. You might be addicted or simply a casual user. Even those who don’t use it have at least heard of the microblogging platform that has taken the social networking world by storm over the last year.

The idea that Twitter is merely a collection of banal naval-gazing observations in 140 characters or less – “I am sitting on the back porch” – is not unfounded. Plenty of people tweet about the most mundane aspects of their lives. Thankfully, there are those Twitter-folk who realize the true advantage of the medium.

Twitter, along with other social media platforms, is about providing value-added content. When you give people a reason to follow you – whether that is by being funny, linking to interesting articles, engaging in worthwhile conversations, etc. – you soon discover that Twitter is much more than a status update.

This isn’t a post about Twitter and its importance/impact/uselessness (fill-in whatever word you see fit). Rather this is about those museums and their fans that have combined Twitter and value-added content to make Mondays a little more enjoyable. What am I talking about? Why, Museum Fact Mondays (or in Twitter-speak #museumfactmonday) of course.

When you type #museumfactmonday into the search box on Twitter, you will be taken to a page full of fun facts about museums from around the world. Here are just a few examples:

• MissionSJC #museumfactmonday: During filming here, a young Mary Pickford secretly wed fellow actor Owen Moore in the Mission’s Serra Chapel.
• MuseumChildhood #museumfactmonday The plot of land the Museum was built on was bought by local gentry (in 1690) so that peasants could graze their cattle!
• TheWomensMuseum The Women’s Museum building was built in 1910 and was used for livestock auctions, opera performances and the ballet. #museumfactmonday
• NortonSimon Did you know ‘Madonna and Child with Book’ is the only painting by Raphael on the west coast? http://bit.ly/y5lNK #museumfactmonday
• anahuacalli Diego Rivera exchanged ideas with the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, in order to design the Anahuacalli Museum. #museumfactmonday
• museofridakahlo The easel we keep in Frida’s studio was a gift from Nelson Rockefeller. #museumfactmonday
• Belautel Enjoying #museumfactmonday. Have learned there are over 7 miles at the V&A. Who knew you cld combine fitness & culture!

These facts are certainly not life-altering discoveries, but they are interesting glimpses into museums, which have not always been known as the most approachable of institutions. These tweets give museums an opportunity to share their history, to bare a little bit of their souls to a public that is showing more interest than ever before in being a part of museums.

So, come Monday, pay a visit to Twitter and type #museumfactmonday into the search box or contribute a museum fact of your own. (Note: you do not need an account on Twitter to see these tweets.) The fewer tweets about the mundane and meaningless that we have to read the better. If you are going to be on social media at work, why not learn something, right?

May Flowers

As a museum-lover, I would argue that any day is a good day to visit a museum. However, there are days when spending your time inside is not altogether desirable. Thank goodness someone invented botanic gardens and arboretums (apparently the first true botanic garden was the University of Pisa physic garden in 1543).

May 3rd was one of those beautiful spring days in Chicago where people break out the shorts (and the skin that hasn’t seen the sun in months) and head to the nearest beach/lake/park/beer garden/ice cream parlor/or back porch. My roommate and I were no exception, we hopped in the car and headed north to Glencoe and the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, which consists of 385 acres, is one of the most visited public gardens in the United States. On their website they describe their location as on the “outskirts of the city,” which is apparently one way of describing the suburb of Glencoe that lies about 21 miles north of the Chicago. A scenic way to get there is to drive up Sheridan Road and explore the city’s northern suburbs. However, there are two Metra train stations that serve the garden if you would rather not drive. Another note on driving, while admission to the gardens is free, parking is $20.

Once at the gardens, you can wander among the 23 distinct display gardens and a variety of natural habitats. These include a Bulb Garden, Model Railroad Garden, Prairie, Fruit and Vegetable Garden, Japanese Garden, Dwarf Conifer Garden, and Rose Garden. Some areas are more crowded than others, but with so much space to explore it is quite easy to find some peace and quiet.

One thing that I particularly enjoyed about the Chicago Botanic Garden was their labeling and signage. Throughout the gardens there are small handwritten signs that are both informative and entertaining. These signs do much to make the collection come alive for visitors, creating new ways of looking at what just appear to be pretty flowers at first glance.

For those interested in becoming more than just a visitor, the Chicago Botanic Garden offers plenty in the way of events and opportunities to get involved with the work of the garden. For instance, you can volunteer with tending the gardens, be a research assistant, staff the membership and information desk, lead garden tours, or lend a hand at festivals. The Wellness and Lifestyle Program gives visitors an opportunity to sign up for yoga and tai chi classes in addition to fitness walks through the gardens. The three-day plant sale beginning on May 15 will not only serve as an opportunity to buy some plants or flowers to take home, but it will also serve as an opportunity to learn about growing your own produce and small-space gardening in order to help us all be a little more green. Take classes at the Joseph Regenstein School of the Botanic Garden or do a little horticultural research of your own at the Lenhardt Library. There are also events like wine festivals, concerts, farmers’ markets, an Italian cooking weekend, and a kite festival. Long story short, there is a lot more than plant growing going on in these gardens.

There are currently around 1775 botanic gardens and arboretums in 148 countries. So, next time you are faced with one of those beautiful days drop by your nearest botanic garden or arboretum for an educational and entertaining afternoon in the sun.

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