Last week we made a trip as a class to the De Young Museum in the beautiful Golden Gate Park. It fits great in its surroundings being built of natural materials including copper, stone, wood and glass. The interior is welcoming visitors from all directions; having four great entrances, also large windows stretch across to have very broad view of the outside light and beauty. The texture and dramatic copper of the exterior represent the impression of light filtering through the trees. Also the copper was applied in order to change in color over time due to oxidation to create an aged look eventually. The architects of Fong & Chan worked with designer Herzog & de Meuron from Basil Switzerland creating one of the largest art museums in the United States.
Theres a collection of American paintings and even sculpture and decorative elements ranging the 17th century until today. Also displayed are collections of ancient american cultures a main theme to be found in the works are human and divine rulership, the importance of ritual life, relationships between this life and the afterworld, religious healing, and adoration of or curiosity about the natural world. A really cool exhibition was the iconic and sophisticated style of the Olmec's Colossal Art from Ancient Mexico which is our country's oldest civilization. The giant heads carved from boulders were discovered in the mid 1900s and are considered beautiful masterpieces today. Another interesting collection is the oceanic art, as well as the textile art from all over the world.
