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Perhaps you heard that we had a 3-day heat wave? I, for various (rational and irrational) reasons, was feeling peak anxiety around this time, so decided to use my Summer Friday museum hopping from one air-conditioned space to the next.

First stop was The Jewish Museum, which had been on my list for a long time. Hope to go back sometime soon. I learned what a Torah pointer is and was mesmerized by the one pictured above. Zoom in if you can — the detail is unreal.

Next stop was The Met. I spent about three hours here, and despite the heat wave, it was not nearly as mobbed as I thought it would be. I had one of my most pleasant museum experiences ever here, in fact. It was probably a good idea to come on a Friday afternoon.

Another tip: Check out the museum’s open-storage section in the American Wing. It was very peaceful here, and there was much to admire (see previous post).

I enjoyed this one by Horace Pippin, painted in 1945.

“While Victorian Interior I is sometimes described as a still life, he felt otherwise: ‘If you look carefully you’ll see that She’s left her knitting, and He’s left his pipe. They’ll be back at any moment.’”

This style reminds me a little of Becky Suss.

I communed with the section of trompe l'oeil paintings for a long while. I remember loving these as a kid — I’ve always enjoyed art that messes with your mind. My favorite here was William Michael Harnett’s The Artist’s Letter Rack. It’s oil on canvas, but the woodgrain details are unbelievable.

And finally, after a not-bad walk across Central Park, I took the train down to the Rubin Museum, in time for their free Friday admission. By this point, I was quite tired, so the smaller, circular-oriented museum was a welcome break from the never-ending labyrinth of The Met. I adored the Death Is Not the End exhibit. As well as the interactive exhibit two floors below where visitors could hit gongs and submerge them in water to release their anger.

When was the last time I interacted with an exhibit apart from taking pictures of it? This reminds me of how much I adored visiting children’s museums and science museums when I was growing up.

Communed with Green Tara. Then went home.