bday68 trip to the jepson!

"Hooray! You've taken your sweet bippy time about that this year!"

 

I have, and it actually was a spur of the moment thing. I suggested it as a place to go and she said she hadn't been in over a decade. Off we went downtown! And when we got there, a parking spot magically emptied as we arrived!

 

"Fabulous! Right place, right time!"

 

I concur wholeheartedly! And we were able to cut through the shade of Telfair Square, avoiding the summer heat. I'm so glad I recently renewed my membership! That allowed me to treat her to admittance, just as she had treated me to our luncheon. I really loved that I was able to do that!

 

"Marvelous! And I could swear I've seen that painting before. Isn't it one of those from the Monet exhibit a few years back?"

 

Good memory, as that was back in 2015. And you are correct! That's "The Garden Umbrella", by Frederick Frieseke, an American who did most of his works in the first third of the 20th century. This time, the piece owned by the Telfair is part of the "Impressionism And Modernity: French And American Painting" exhibit. This one opened in May, for my birthday, but I've just not made it there until today.

 

"That means you missed the opening reception for it, didn't you?"

 

Sadly, yes. I'm just glad to have made it this afternoon! All total, we probably spent 40 minutes in this exhibit. And, of that time, we sat and talked about this one painting for at least fifteen minutes!!! I have to believe the bench in front of it was so placed to encourage discussion.

 

"This is definitely not an impressionism work. I take it that it was one of the 'modernity' pieces borrowed from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC? What a detailed look at life by a busy waterway! There's even the two ladies in the foreground, stopping while walking their dog so the little boy can play with it! Very nice!!!"

 

That's exactly why we sat and talked about it! Sadly, neither of us made note of the title or artist for the piece. I guess I'll have to make a follow-up trip for that information! 

 

"I guess you will. And what's this exhibit?"

 

It's the one that opened in March. "Off The Coast Of Paradise: Artists And Ossabaw Island, 1961-Now" has a wide variety of pieces. Some are metallic sculptures, many are photographs, and a few are paintings. I really liked this quartet of photographs by Ellen Lanyon.

 

"I bet I know why!!! Three of those photos taken at a beach bear a striking resemblance to the Raman spectroscopy images you obtained for linear polyethylenes during your doctoral studies at Florida State University."

You're absolutely right! I very much liked seeing these. We spent probably 25 minutes exploring the exhibit until we stumbled upon a film being shown in the last room. Guess what it was? "Venus of Ossabaw", that short movie that was part of the talk I went to back in January of 2025!

 

"How very cool! Wait, I thought this was being screened on the outside of the Jepson, in the evenings, so everyone could see it. Right? Wasn't the Jepson offering that as part of the Juneteenth celebration?"

 

That's right, but that stopped two weeks ago. I'm glad we happened to catch most of it. The short is a little over 18 minutes, and we saw 13 minutes of it. The historical fiction followed 'Venus' for over a month, as she travels from her home as a slave to the marshes of Florida, eventually being taken in by a group of Catholics. There was no sound, and no subtitles, either, other than those denoting the passage of time. Still, we both were captivated by the young woman's travels and struggles in the wilderness.

 

"You keep saying 'we'. You and the mouse in your pocket?"

 

Hahaha! I haven't used that phrase in so long! No, no mouse but Rhonda, an old friend that I've recently made new contact with. She and I had a luncheon today and then, as she had free time, we'd wandered to the museum. What a wonderful time!

 

"And I see you captured her in front of Joe Guy's "1000 Cranes"!"

 

Yes, it's one of my favorite places to photograph visitors to my house. It really came out very well, didn't it? We'd visited for a while, with me giving her the history of every piece on the walls. Then we went to Kayak Kafe Midtown, where she'd never been, and both greatly enjoyed our choices! She had the Cilantro Lime Fish Tacos, and I had the Tuna half-sandwich and the West Indies Trader half-salad. Good energy for our museum trip later as it turned out! (smile!)

 

"I'm so glad y'all had such a good time today!"