Museums to keep us busy

I recently bought an annual museum pass to all of the area museums. Basel has an incredible amount of museums to explore -- over 30 in the immediate area. I'm excited to be able to not only see exhibits that the kids enjoy like the dinosaurs at the Natural History museum, or teddy bears at the Puppenhaus (Doll House) Museum, but also take time to experience art and history museums that I am interested in.  There are many smaller museums in Basel that also focus on various subjects such as music, cartoons, paper and pharmaceutical history (Basel is a pharma capital with Roche and Novartis headquarters). Something for everyone!

The art museums are expansive and often have changing exhibitions. I recently went to the Fondation Beyeler Museum in Riehen that showcased artists from Vienna in 1900. I found that I recognized the artists from art classes long ago, and really enjoyed learning about the time period and their styles. I also started a tour of the main Kunstmuseum in Basel (Art Museum), and I was excited to see Picasso, Klee, Manet and others. I only scratched the surface of their collection and plan to visit again soon. An interesting note: I plan to see the upcoming exhibition on the artist Konrad Witz, a German-born painter who was an artist in Basel in the 15th Century. Perhaps we're related? I'll have to work on the family tree quite a bit to go back that far. Another side note -- "Witz" translates to "joke". So, my Facebook page often translates my maiden name to be "joke". On the other hand (or side of the family if you will), my grandmother's maiden name is Schoen, meaning "beautiful". Perhaps my German heritage is coming through as I learn the language -- for instance, German is easier for me to learn than the French that I encounter. Just don't call me a pretty good joke. :)

The Tingueley Museum is another major museum with contemporary exhibits -- we visited their recent "Destruction" exhibition that really made you think about objects and the art of their destruction. For example, there were two cars that were slowly crashing together to symbolize the downfall of American car production. The exhibits made us contemplate the use of objects and their eventual destruction. Maybe I'm making this sound more "deep" than it really was -- it was also fun to look at the exhibits like an automatic jelly spreader or a bedroom that was like a tumble-dryer, making everything inside shake up.

My cousin Katie, a recent graphic-design grad, was in town last week, so I took her to the Vitra Design Haus and Museum. It is located in Weil-am-Rhein, just over the border in Germany. Frank Gehry designed a building for Vitra, his first in Europe, and the museum currently has an exhibit on other Gehry buildings. Katie could appreciate the models that were on display that he created for his buildings. I loved seeing the Vitra Design Haus as well, which offered a tour of furniture rooms combined with history. I learned about Charles and Ray Eames, who "revolutionized" chair design. It was really interesting to learn about the start of plastic and aluminum chairs, and also see chairs made from cardboard.

Until next post...ciao!