A Virtual Gallery Hop Like No Other: The Louvre, Guggenheim and Local Art, Too

Sitting Bull X 4

On one level it may seem like house arrest. On another level it might be a blessing to have to slow down, to catch one's breath after years of frenetic rat race life.

What I've observed, however, is that even within only a couple weeks of lockdown we're finding ways to fill up our time with busy-ness rather than getting laid back about it all. Those on social media have discovered storytelling, and via Zoom and other technologies we're getting invited to meetings and all manner of live events.

A Post-Modern Man

If you don't mind, I'm trying to stay away from most of those events because being busy all the time--at least for me--is not what I'm looking for out of life.

Nevertheless, I don't mind sharing a few things with you if you promise to take this in moderation.

This article in Hyperallergic had links to some of the world's great art museums. For example, you can tour the Guggenheim in New York, the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, or the Louvre in Paris any time you want, any time of day or night. In fact, now that we're social distancing, this is the perfect time to visit the Louvre. No lines. No fees.

The one thing I do miss about living on the East Coast is access to the art galleries in New York, Philadelphia and the National Gallery in D.C., where I saw Vermeer's Girl with Pearl Earring many years ago when it was on loan there. In that moment I understood what Dali was striving for in his efforts to channel the Dutch master.

LOCALLY, artist talks are one of the regular features of the Duluth Art Institute, but with quarantines these talks have now gone virtual. You can see some of the work via video on their Facebook page, though it's nothing like being in person any more than a Polaroid camera can capture the Grand Canyon.

The Tweed Museum of Art on the UMD campus is closed for now but rumor has it there will be a virtual component for their collection.

Duluth Downtown Art Walk has been taking baby steps in that direction. Amanda Hunter of Joseph Nease Gallery made this video of Esther Piszczek's Zentangle Art that is on display at Duluth Fine Pianos. You can follow DDAW here on Facebook.

Somehow, I stumbled on this event and thought it looked interesting. If you're not sure what to do around mid-morning any of the next few days, the Roberta and Bob Rodgers Gallery of Omaha, Nebraska has been featuring a series of events titled Wanda Ewing: Prints.

For me personally, when I was a young art student, the whole purpose of looking at art and books about art was to get inspired to make art. I've been seeing a lot of new work displayed on Instagram by numerous artists from the local community. If you have some favorite artists, and are also on Instagram yourself, seek them out and follow. There's a lot happening out there, you just need to know where to look.

Meantime, art goes on all around you. Get into it.