Washington DC–July 11, 2017

I headed down to the National Mall and spent most of my time in the East building of the National Gallery of Art, which houses the modern art collection. I’m one of the first people to look at modern art and ask, “You call this junk art?” but the curators have been able to put together art so well that it was very, very pleasant to look at—even though I certainly do not understand the deep philosophical meaning behind the art.

One room was devoted to works by Monet and Picasso. The first one is Saltimbanques, one of Picasso’s more famous works, followed by a closeup of the brushwork, the closeup of brushwork on a Monet.

This next one is called Tiger, by Ellsworth Kelly. I think I get the idea behind it.

These two Swamp Maple and Isaac and Oliver by Alex Katz are sufficiently representational that I didn’t feel confused by what they meant.

OK, this next one was just crazy, but magnificently crazy. The work is titled Stains by Ed Ruscha, and it’s a book where each page is stained with some substance, including the artist’s blood.

I was quite taken with this one: Donna che indica (Woman who points) by Michelangelo Pistoletto; the woman is a silkscreen print on polished stainless steel.

There was a room devoted to works by Matisse done with cut-out paper; this was toward the end of his life, when he wasn’t able to paint.

This one is really insightful: Synecdoche, by Byron Kim, who uses a person’s flesh tone to represent the person.

These two caught my eye: Girl on Globe 2 by Yinka Shonibare and Auvers-sur-Oise (Crow in the Wheatfield) by Robert Colescott.

Some long views of galleries, the last of which consists of works by Alexander Calder.

On the roof of the East building is this large blue rooster by Katarina Frisch; it apparently is quite polarizing—people either love it or hate it. I think it’s great; my brother thinks it’s stupid. The second picture is a closeup of the feathers.

Here’s a small sculpture by Nam June Paik, who is one of my all-time favorite artists: Ugly Buddha and Ugly Television. I lay flat on the floor to get the second shot; the guard looked at me sort of funny, but I wasn’t touching the sculpture, so there wasn’t anything he could do.

The museum also has The Stations of the Cross by Barnett Newman. From what I have read, it is one of his most famous works and, if I understand correctly, has very little to do with religion.

More works; the first being a collection by Mark Rothko. The second is an untitled work by František Kupka. The last one is Passport by Robert Rauschenberg.

A gallery of works by Giacometti:

Cakes by Wayne Thiebaud is one of the more popular items in the collection.

I thought the first one of these was a Claes Oldenburg artwork, but no, I was wrong. It is Pink Pearl and Pencil by Vija Celmins. The flag and the pies, however, are by Oldenburg. The pies, by the way, are burlap soaked in plaster, painted with enamel.

One room was devoted to works by a young artist named Theaster Gates.

...and more artworks. If the image has a thick green border, you can hover over the image to see the name of the work and artist.

This work, Truisms by Jenny Holzer, has pithy sayings scrolling by on LED displays. Here is a short video.

Here is a video of a work named Sweet Suite Substitute by Bruce Nauman.

And more miscellaneous artwork to round things out.