Reno and more: Day 11: Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV July 2, 2022

I got up at 8:32, but my husband K was already gone. I spent a nice lazy morning in the room, knowing I'd have time to pack later.

I left the hotel at 10:48 with 25505 on the odometer. Just eleven minutes and two miles later, I was in the parking lot of the Nevada Museum of Art. I liked the modern architecture of it, but black seemed a little impractical in the desert.

Outside of the building was an interesting piece by Celeste Roberge called Cairn, which was made of steel and river rock. I got the impression of a person weighed down in pain. On a non-art note, I've seen walls along the road in Germany and a counter at the shop of a lava tube tour in Iceland use these same materials.

Inside, I paid the senior rate of $13. I was immediately taken by a piece that extended all the way up the staircase, which was called Someday When We're Dreaming by Rachel Hayes. The light coming through the colored parts definitely showed that stained glass was one of her inspirations. If you were in just the right spot, the lines holding up the panels disappeared and the panels seemed to float in the air. I really liked it a lot.

There wasn't really a museum map, so I just went up a floor and started roaming.

There was an exhibit on  Work Ethic in American Art. Here, I found Watering the Horses by Grandma Moses. There were the very Western Herding Them Up by Charlie Dye and Trail Drive by Dale Nichols. The latter reminded me of the style of Thomas Hart Benton.

There was a special exhibition from Judy Chicago's "Dry Ice, Smoke, and Fireworks" Archive. There were photographs of her work, but, when the artist's medium is dry ice, smoke, and fireworks, I fear a lot was lost in translation, so to speak.

This sign reminded me of some signage about Native Americans down at the Nevada History Museum, as well as a statement from the University of Denver about which native tribal lands it is on.

There was a special exhibit devoted to the work of architect Paul R. Williams. There was a film in the exhibit and I sat and watched most of it. Since he was a successful Black man, who nonetheless experienced racism, it was not a happy film.The exhibit consisted of photos of architectural elements and descriptions of the buildings they were from. One was a house on California Avenue and I made the decision to look for it, when I left the museum.

Did you know that besides painting, Picasso made items from clay? Neither did I. A special exhibit of some of these items was interesting. Below is Pitcher with Birds (1962), Head Pitcher (1953), Bullfighting Scene (1954), and Hen (1954).

Exhibits ended on the third floor. On the fourth was meeting space and a ballroom, but also doors that led outside. It was rather windy out there, but the sky was gorgeous and there was almost a 270° view. I even got a shot with a plane shortly after takeoff and a picture of Peppermill.

This was an art museum, so, of course, there was a sculpture out there. It was Kendall Buster's 1996 piece Double Chalice: Joined and Separated. I particularly liked the view from an end.

 

 

 

 

It was now just after 1 and I'd finished the museum. When I came in, I'd noticed that they had a café. We are big fans of museum food. It rarely disappoints. So, I went down to the ground floor. Ordering is done at a counter, but they bring the food to your table. Real silverware here. I ordered a Diet Coke ($4-ouch!) and Roasted Vegetables ($17). The dish consisted of grilled carrots, sweet potatoes, marcona almonds, apricots, ras el hanout labneh ( a spicy North African spice blend and strained yogurt), crispy chickpeas, and cilantro-citrus zested chimi churri. It was delicious, of course.

After lunch, I stopped in the gift shop, which was also expensive. The stuff was interesting, but not interesting enough for the price. I did get a museum logo button.

I was out at 2:02 and went off to find that house that was mentioned in the exhibit. As best as I could tell this was the house in question.

I also went in search of Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church. My time to get there this afternoon for the vigil Mass would be tight and I didn't want to get lost getting there. It was not very fancy on the outside.

I got back to the hotel at 2:28 (25511) and when I got down into the lobby, I noticed that the shop was open. I thought that it would be a good idea to look at it before heading home tomorrow. It had snack food and such, plus postcards. I got 2 large ones for 75 cents each. I then went upstairs to pack.

I went downstairs to hear K's afternoon concert. He was part of a clarinet quintet, one of the members of which was a former student of his and another was the composer of what they were to play. I noticed that this ballroom had a chandelier that would be at home in a fancy house and interesting wall panels.

They were excellent, of course. However, they were to be done at 4 and yet they didn't even take the stage until almost 5. I took a photo of the group afterwards and went upstairs to get ready for church.

I was on my way at 5:48 and finally parked at 5:57 (25514). There was still a greeter to open the door for me as I hurried in for 6 pm Mass. It was a good Mass with a good sermon and fine music, plus it was done by 6:50. It was not packed, but there was a decent gathering for a Saturday evening in summer. I took a few minutes afterwards to snap photos. Mary was well represented. I thought that the stained glass panels of the Stations of the Cross with lights behind them was a cool idea.

 

I left church by 6:55 and parked back at the hotel at 7:09. I'd saved half of last night's huge salad and the cake for tonight's dinner. Then, it was back to packing.

I felt that I didn't have great sunset photos from Nevada. So, at 8:52, I took these. I even got the moon!

Today, my phone said that I'd walked 4,485 steps for 1.7 miles. It's going to be a lot less tomorrow.