Sweet Saturday

Usually it's not very often that I get a Saturday off. November, however, is a bit of a different story than usual. I had last Saturday off, today off and I have all of next weekend off (first one in ages, which is why I'm using it to go to Chicago!). Last Saturday I went to the Phillips, but spent most of the earlier part of the day at home because I was waiting for my Mom who had to push it back like 2 hours. Today, I was set on spending my Saturday doing great Saturday things. Especially since it was 70 degrees and sunny today (so much for fall).

I hadn't been to Lettie Gooch in ages, so after leaving my apartment, that was the first place I headed. I promised myself I was just looking and that I wasn't allowed to buy anything (mostly because I bought a plane ticket yesterday). Of course that obviously didn't happen, because well I am me. But I did get a really cute top/dress, that was relatively inexpensive, so not a tragedy. Then I headed toward 14th St since it had been ages since I had been in any of those shops. At Home Rule I found a fabulous black tea candle and a red dish towel (to replace the one I set on fire). Now I just need some form of fire starter so I can actually light that candle. At Pop I found a Cielo Blu journal. A little surprising considering the studio told me they didn't have anyone who carried them in DC, and I ordered one about a month ago from a shop in Boston. But I had been planning on stockpiling them if I found them from now on anyway, so no harm done. I was also told they were about to get another shipment in, so I will have to head back and check it out one more time. I stopped in to Redeem the new shop at 14th & S. They had nice stuff, but it wasn't really my style and definitely wasn't in my current price range, so I held back. I finally checked out Candida's World of Books. Whoever it was who told me they didn't just have guidebooks was wrong. But they do have a really nice selection of guidebooks, so I bought one for Chicago. So much for not spending money. Now you all know the real reason I spend so much time at home. Because if I actually go anywhere I just can't help myself. I am totally uncontrollable.

After my somewhat unexpected spending spree, I headed down towards the Corcoran. I got off the bus right around the corner from my Dad's office. It being Saturday I figured, pretty good chance he's there, and gave him a call. Since he's my Dad, he was there, so we had a quick lunch. One of the fun things about having moved out is that I get to do a decent amount of stuff with just one member of my family at a time, which is nice. I obviously really enjoy seeing them all together as well, but it's fun to get to spend time with them one on one.

Once lunch was over, I walked to the Corcoran through the seas of tourists threaded to or from the White House. The thing about tourists is that even though I obviously despise them, since I grew up here and we all do, I also kind of love them for reminding me that I really do live here. I know where I am going. I walk faster than a casual stroll. I don't have a camera anywhere on my person. They're being around reminds me that this is my city. That might sound strange, but it's true. They somehow serve to remind me that I love it here.

The Corcoran had a nice exhibit called "redefined: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collection". It is apparently the largest exhibition of modern and contemporary art from the museum's permanent collection since it was founded. There were a number of really nice pieces. One by Morris Louis, and we all know I'm obsessed, so no need to say anymore about that. There was a really nice photograph by Cindy Sherman. I knew about her self portraits, but didn't realize she did works that didn't include her. There was a really incredible piece by Maggie Michael, who is local, called Crest.

It's obviously a little hard to see from this tiny picture the real depths of the piece since the original is at least 9 feet wide, but you can at least sort of see it. The art you're really missing form the photo is the intricately drawn lines that interplay with the paint, especially around the bubbles. It's incredibly beautiful in person, and if you have the possibility to go down to the Corcoran and see it before the exhibit ends in January, I would recommend you so. Other pieces I really enjoyed include Salut Tom by Joan Mitchell and Judith #1 by Doug & Mike Starn.

In addition to "redefined", "The Paradise Institute" is up right now. It is a multimedia installation that takes place in a small theater that seats 16. The Paradise Institute is supposed to examine the relationship between reality and fiction. In front of the real seats in the theater, is a miniature model of a theater and a small screen. You don headphones and have the experience of watching a short film, while listening to sounds that might come from the audience of a theater at the same time. There are interesting ways in which the film and the noises not from the film's soundtrack, but from the theater's soundtrack interact. It is really hard to explain it effectively, and I can't even begin to explain the sensation it gives beyond that it is very disorienting at times. Again, this one is worth a visit if you can swing it.

All in all it was a really wonderful day in DC. I love days when I am just out in the city by myself, taking advantage of what it has to offer, and it had been awhile since I had one. So I suppose I was successful in my days mission.