“Visitor experience” is a phrase one hears a lot these days when museums are the topic of discussion. Now, more than ever before, many, as a direct result of cuts in government funding for the arts, are focusing on how to make changes that keep people coming back to the museum because it is an enjoyable place to be. This can also mean that museums must now find ways to … [Read more...]
Flagler Museum’s tropics show intimate, inviting
A "Wow!" is heard in the first room of the Flagler Museum's second-floor gallery. It's uttered in response to Martin Johnson Heade's massive The Great Florida Sunset, one of the highlights of the Flagler's winter show, New World Eden: Artist-Explorers in the American Tropics, running now through April 18. It won't be the last. In the mid-19th century, the German explorer … [Read more...]
Morikami’s kettles, prints evoke classic Japan
Readers of Yasunari Kawabata's novel Thousand Cranes will have some idea of the significance of the tea ceremony in Japanese life, of how each element of the ritual, from kettle to the tea itself, is fraught with meaning. An exhibit at the Morikami Museum west of Delray Beach offers a glimpse into the rituals of tea over the past few centuries through a display of more than … [Read more...]
Butcher exhibit at Boca offers insight into our wild places
Many of us may never wade into the alligator- and snake-infested swamps of South Florida or hike into the mountain wildernesses of the West. But through Clyde Butcher’s photographs, we can get a feeling of what we would see and of the great beauty that awaits in our natural environment. Through November 8, visitors to the Boca Raton Museum of Art can vicariously travel from … [Read more...]
Flagler show a deep look at American Arts and Crafts style
In what better venue to showcase an exhibit of American Arts and Crafts creations, known for its simple lines, minimalist approach, no-frills, no-excess, back-to-nature aesthetic, than in Whitehall, a remnant from the Gilded Age and the Beaux-Arts style former home of Henry Flagler, the railroad magnate. They are polar opposites and the contrast is striking. Whatever your … [Read more...]