the national gallery & the national gallery

My favourite thing today: going to the National Gallery with Joel and the kids. Carol had recommended the Wanda Koop exhibit, some of my students had recommended the nineteenth-century British photography exhibit, the kids love doing Artissimo, the weather was wretched, and so it seemed the perfect thing to do on a Saturday afternoon. We went to the Wanda Koop first. I liked it, especially the studio room and the human hybrid exhibit, but I didn't love it. As we exited from the series of adjoining rooms which housed the exhibit, I did see something that took my breath away: Louise Bourgeois's "Cell (the Last Climb)." There is a spiral staircase in the centre of a rod iron cage, blue glass balls are suspended in the cage and look fragile and magical against the dark grittiness of the iron. Tiny threads, almost invisible, also connect to a tear drop shape in the center. And there are two wooden balls on the floor that the descriptive card "explains" represent the artist's parents. When we told the kids this they were dumbfounded. But I found the display evocative in a stop-me-in-my-tracks sort of way. (Needless to say, the picture here does not do it justice.) The nineteenth century photography was great in an entirely different way and definitely worth seeing.

I just consulted the list, thinking I would add other art gallery recommendations, but I had forgotten that there are, in fact, two mentions of the National Gallery itself as a favourite thing. And so, for a change, my favourite thing coincides with the five-favourite-things list. Here's Judith's description: "The National Gallery. My favourite building in Ottawa, in part for the art, but mostly for the beautiful soaring design, the pinkish granite walls and all the magical little places to sit from the garden to the fountain area to the restored chapel. It also has a quiet, attractive cafeteria with decent food and great views onto Nepean Point and the Parliament buildings." Remarkably, Laura, who also lists the National Gallery, singles out the same Louise Bourgeois exhibit that I mention above.