Monday, May 16, 2011

Outing in Baltimore

We ended our Baltimore adventure with lunch at Cross Street Market.
It's an urban market with veggie stalls, flower vendors, cell phone shops and a variety of food options. I had tacos. Benjamin had French toast and Jeff and Claire shared ribs and mac and cheese.
Jeff also bought a hand twisted soft pretzel to enjoy on the way home.

But before that, we visited the American Visionary Art Museum. (I didn't take time to upload my pictures in order or fuss with rearranging them. That doesn't bother you, right?)

It was fantastic. No pictures were allowed inside, but I took plenty outside.

The museum celebrates untrained or self-taught artists. I looked on their website for a description or mission statement. Maybe you really just have to go to see what it's all about.
The outside of the building is covered in fantastic mirrored mosaics. Here's a self-portrait...
The current main exhibit is "What Makes Us Smile." It was really wonderful and quite interesting. You know, there's a notable difference between what makes a smile and what makes us laugh. There was an entire room devoted to farting including a bench covered with whoopie cushions that automatically re-inflated after being sat upon. Guess who loved that?
There were several pieces by Chris Roberts-Antieau who is an extremely prolific applique artist. Her work certainly makes me smile!
The vibe and the style really reminded me of the City Museum in St. Louis and you know how much I love that place, right?
It was a fun day with my little family of four.

1 comment:

Gale Wrigley said...

I love all the pics but the mosaic grabbed me! Wonderful!