Subject:

art

One of my favorite ways to view art is in a house museum, a collection of art that is in the home of it's original owner instead of a museum. The home itself can often be a treat with original furnishings and period decor. More importantly, you get the privilege of seeing art on a real scale, as it was meant to be displayed. Instead of seeing art in a sterile white box, you get a unique and highly personal display of a collector's treasures. The next time you're heading to a new city, don't overlook a house museum.

Public art can be, well, bad. If you've had a chance to visit any major American city in the last few years, you've most likely seen the city's attempt at public art geared for tourists. Every summer, they roll out a cast animal sculpture, ask local artists to decorate it, and place them around town in heavily visited tourist attractions. Washington, DC had the pandas, Seattle had its pigs, and Berlin even had bears. While these may have given local artists a chance to express themselves, all-in-all they were pretty uninspiring.

Instead of checking out what the local tourism board has deemed good art, Seattle has plenty of public art to inspire you....for free.

When we're in a new city, I always want to check out its artistic treasures. Instead of always turning directly to the museum, I like to look outside of the big white box. After my eyes (and my wallet) have had their fill of art on the wall, I like to seek out lesser known venues. Public spaces always offer a wide variety of art to see, often for free, regardless of what country you are visiting.