It’s probably a good thing that we didn’t read about the museum in the Michellin Guide before we went, because I’m not sure I would have gone if I had! As it was, we gave ourselves about two hours, which is our maximum tolerance for standing around quietly staring at other people’s interpretations of “Sunset” or “Infinity” – and that’s just the adults. : ) We planned to be there right for the 10 a.m. opening in order to escape the hordes of people that we were sure would show up. However, owing to our usual inability to get everyone out the door in a timely manner (Mark says it’s like herding cats), we arrived at the museum about 30 minutes after opening. We had a bit of trouble getting in – we weren’t sure how the door worked, and there was no one around so we didn’t really know where to go. Once we got in through the cool circular entranceway, however, were treated to our free tickets and an almost empty museum through which to roam.
The museum holds both temporary and permanent items. We saw a photography exhibit; theatre, travel and newspaper posters from 1890-1910; paintings by Gustave Doré, who was born in Strasbourg; and many strange contemporary art installations including some dirty dish towels hanging from a rack, and an almost full-sized but completely empty house. Here are our favourites:
Cameron: a large installation of fluorescent lights tacked up on scrap plywood and two-by-fours that spans three rooms in the museum.
Mark: A copy of Rodin’s The Thinker. When we visited France two years ago, Mark was disappointed not to be able to go to Calais where he thought The Thinker was housed. (I find out now that it's at the Musée Rodin in Paris). He’s had a yen to see it ever since he read a book about Rodin’s life many years ago. It might not be the real thing, but it was neat to see anyway!
Meghan: A large contemporary painting.
Chris: It’s a toss-up between the stained-glass window panels and the tiled walls. Both of them appeal to the geometer in me.
We spent just over two hours at the museum and went home in time for lunch. It was a good morning. Part of the charm was that it was free, but we were all happily surprised by the interesting variety of art that we saw.
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