Wordless Wednesday: Line 'em up!

The Big Enchilada...and cake!

I recently had the opportunity to see our architecturally fabulous central library from a different angle than usual.

 Isn’t it a wonderful building!? Love that "Enchilada Red."

 I was on my way to pick up a DVD to take on a trip that I’ll be telling you about shortly. But the reason I got to see it from this angle is that I was parked to attend a pre-wedding luncheon at a downtown club. My niece’s wedding was the next day and it was so much fun…as well as an amazing showcase of good eats.

The star of the show was the groom’s cake, which was literally sinfully rich.

 This wedding was definitely the union of two dog lovers; they even honored their friends on the cake. Congratulations, Laura and Ned! And thanks for providing such a fun and delicious weekend for us relatives!

Wordless Wednesday: baby wedding finery

A pretty big, and a big, pretty campus

The main object of my trip to Austin last week was to spend some time babysitting my fabulously amazing little granddaughter.

But I did have time for some other A-town activities...

...like eating at Korea House...

...and strolling around campus on an absolutely gorgeous day.

The occasion for the stroll was a baby-free couple of hours spent museum-ing and then meeting Sally for lunch.

The museum was the Blanton, which I have had on my to-visit list for some time. I enjoyed it very much, especially their collection of contemporary Latin American art. This actually came as a surprise, the kind of surprise that makes you love museums. I went there planning to be most impressed by their old masters collections, and they were very nice. But I was blown away by the contemporary stuff. 

I started my tour in their special exhibit on "Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties," and noted a no photography sign. Unfortunately, I didn't realize when I moved out of that space, that I could have taken photos in their regular collections. Next time I go I'll be able to show you some of my favorite pieces. But for now, you'll have to be content with some of their public areas...

...like this architecturally fabulous stairway...

...not to mention their elegant loo (I'm a big fan of museum restrooms, as some long-time readers might know).

Not being able (as I thought) to snap photos in the museum, I made up for it on my stroll down Speedway to Sally's building (which is plenty scenic in and of itself). The UT campus, in addition to being astonishing over-crowded when classes are in session, is a smorgasbord of public art. One of the newest and most unusual pieces I featured in my last Wordless Wednesday post. Here are a few more long-lived examples:

artistic touches on a McCombs Business School building

there's even art on the power plant building!

sculpture outside of the Texas Memorial Museum

It was such a gorgeous day, I couldn't help admiring nature's handiwork as well. Killing some time outside the Law School, waiting to be reunited with the precious baby, I enjoyed these fabulous old live oaks. Don't they look like works of art?

Wordless Wednesday: too many boats?

Wordless Wednesday: Baby paleontologist!

Home on the Range

Isn't this a fabulous piece of sculpture?! I recently visited the building that it graces, one of our city's newest and most interesting museums. 

The Briscoe Western Art Museum is downtown and I'd been wanting to visit ever since it opened and just hadn't found the time. Then, a Texas Public Radio volunteer opportunity there came up on the the calendar and I jumped at this excuse to finally see the place.

We didn't have the time to look at all the exhibits with as much care as I would have liked, so a follow-up visit is definitely in the cards. But we saw plenty of neat stuff, starting with this impressive and thoughtful piece in the museum's lobby:

This is just one side of the monumental bronze. It's called Visions of Change, and it summarizes a sizeable chunk of Texas history eloquently. The other side contrasts the cowboy and longhorns with a Native American and buffalo, as you can sort of see on the left here. The piece is so big it was hard to get a good shot that conveys its entire message. You should go see it in person!

I realized when going through my photos, I must have been much more taken with the sculptures and artifacts than the paintings, since I don't have any shots of the latter! But the sculptures were all pretty cool. Here's another one I really liked:

I don't remember the exact title, and it's not featured on the museum's website, but it was something about being "upstream." An artistic expression of an event that we've had to deal with in reality occasionally: keeping a hold on your boat in a strong current.

The artifacts were also impressive, from ceremonial swords, to an amazing collection of spurs that looked really painful! to some really gorgeous saddles, like this one:

One of the major pieces is this beautiful stagecoach:

But I like the little gems just as well, like this charming pipe:

The building is an appropriately fine setting for these wonderful pieces. It used to be the Public Library, built in 1930 on the site of the original Carnegie Library that was severely damaged in the great flood of 1921. In 1968, the Library relocated to a larger building a few blocks away, and I think of that as the "old" Library. (It moved to its current location in the 1990's.) But Henry still thinks of the building housing the Briscoe as the old library. But I have to call it the old-old one.

After the Library moved out, the building became  the Hertzberg Circus Museum, and housed this extensive collection of circus memorabilia and circus-related art for many years. The city relinquished control of the collection in 2001 and the materials were passed along to the Witte, our fine natural history museum. The building was vacant for several years, and who knows what establishment might have ended up in that prime real estate (it's right on the River, for gosh sakes!).

Fortunately, it has a tenant worthy of its interesting history and its architectural dignity. I spent most of my volunteer time in the lobby and was intrigued by its gorgeous ceiling. The museum staff told us that it was the original ceiling from the 1930 structure. Later I was able to get a closer view from the mezzanine:

You might notice in this photo a row of circular medallions just below the ceiling, all around the walls. Here's what they look like:

Aren't they neat? We asked the staff if they were added when the building was remodeled to make it the Briscoe, since they have that western art vibe. But, no, they are orginal, just like the ceiling. So back when this space was where people brought their library books to check out, and now where people come to see western art, the old buffalo nickels are still keeping watch.