A Couple of Museums

During the holiday break my wife and I decided to finally visit the newly-remodeled Detroit Institute of Arts on January 2. We are members of the Founders' Society, so we have free entry, but it turned out to be a poor choice of dates. Midtown was packed! There was absolutely no place to park-- anywhere. Even the parking structure at Wayne State two blocks away was full, since classes had apparently started again, and there wasn't an on-street spot anywhere. The Science Center was jammed with the Bodies exhibit (held over for the last eight months, at least). It was a nice problem to find, I guess, but frustrating, none the less. We ended up driving to Dearborn and visiting the Arab American Museum, which we had never visited before, so the day wasn't a loss. Actually, the Arab American Museum is actually a little gem of a place on Michigan Avenue in east Dearborn, right across from Dearborn City Hall. They have a really interesting collection of silver jewelry from around the Arab world, and a multimedia display that chronicles the history of Arab immigration to the United States. That part of the museum just reinforced in my mind the senselessness of the anti-immigration sentiment we see so often these days. The pattern is the same one the US has witnessed for centuries: hard-working people immigrate to our country, and their children work hard, study, are successful, and become significant contributors to our society. Why would we want to keep them out? Everyone is enriched by their contributions and by the energy they inject into our communities.

We ended up trying the DIA again on Saturday. It was, again, extremely busy in that part of town, but we decided to use the valet parking so finding a spot wasn't an issue. The museum was great. The art is presented in a totally different way, thematically rather than chronologically or by artist (with some exceptions). So, for instance, modern art isn't divided by decade, but abstract expressionism is together, installations are together, and themes are developed as you walk through. Decorative art and furniture are included with the artwork to give a sense of how these themes played out in other art forms. Landscapes are presented together, and a flow of how they changed over decades is pointed out. The new, larger gallery space allowed them to put out lots of works that weren't displayed before. There was much more African and Native American art, which was really interesting, and plenty more. I saw a Stuart portrait of George Washington that I don't recall seeing before, and there were several American Impressionist paintings that seemed new to me. I highly recommend a visit, or two. We just did a quick run-through, which is not how I like to visit, so I'm sure we'll be going back soon for another look.

As we left, and we waited for the overworked valet to literally run to get our car, we noticed that a line of at least 200 people were lined up outside of the Science Center to see the Bodies exhibit. Knowing what the inside of the building is like, I'd guess at least that many more were in line. All of the surface lots and street parking appeared to be full again.

I felt really guilty about giving up on finding a parking spot on our first try. I hate to think of myself as someone who is so dependent on my car that if I can't find a parking spot, I bail out. But, face it, that is not that far from the truth. I don't have a problem walking for a few blocks to park, but the problem is that everyone else who came to the area that day did the same thing. By the time we gave up looking for a space to park, the museum only had a couple of hours left on their schedule for the day. We wasted an hour on our quest for parking. And, there was no option. There's no rail we could take downtown with a transfer to a Woodward line to get to the DIA. Instead, we had to join a hundred thousand other people who all wanted to spend a day in midtown, all looking for someplace to park their car. Our bus system is a joke, so that was out. All of that needs to change. Then I wouldn't have to feel so guilty when I want to visit a museum for the afternoon.