Sue and I went to the grand opening of the new Bechtler Museum of Modern Art here in Charlotte today. I'm not much of a modern art fan, being more receptive to the traditional landscape artists and early impressionists. But art is always interesting in any form- even if I don't "get it" I can usually have a good time. And art should have a funny side, so laughing at some of it is, in my opinion, a valid reaction.The place is large- 4 levels including the Lobby area. The main route takes you up a cage like stairwell with an annoying metal sculpture at the base. The annoying part of it was the electronic beeping at variable intervals and tempos. The flashing lights were just tacky.
The third level was interesting- I remarked to Sue that it was nothing more than a living room set from IKEA. When we got home and read about the exhibit, guess what? The furniture is from Mr. Bechtlers Swedish home! Who says I don't understand modern art?
There were some things by Degas and other more traditional artists as well as the modern works. Of course the Andy Warhol stuff was cool to see. It's so prominent in our lives- on posters, in movies, etc. It was even on the shirt of a guy in line to go down one level to sculptures. His shirt was a print of the old artist himself- Andy Warhol. It drew as much attention as the exhibits- people were even taking pictures of it.
The shirt was worn by George Terry of The Zealots, a band out of Asheville, North Carolina. We had a pleasant chat on the way down. He got the shirt as a gift 12 years ago and still wears it regulary. See how art brings people together? We will be going to see him play on the 15th at the Muse here in NoDa.The place was crowded for opening day- it was free. We'll have to go back again when it's not as frenetic to give it a fair assessment. But all in all it was an enjoyable experience and it's nice to have an Art Museum downtown where it is accessible to all.
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