Well thanks to a healthy dose of whatever bronchio-virus that was going around I haven't been able to get out much to take photos as much as I'd like. I took photos of the 2013 Leg Lamp 5K/10K run in December and earlier this month I paid a visit to the newly opened West wing of the Cleveland Museum of Art (which has the Indian, Chinese and Southeast Asian galleries). Many of these works have been in storage for several years until construction of the new galleries was completed.
First up, the Leg Lamp 5K/10K was a fun run/race sponsored by 'The Christmas Story' House and Museum. If you're not familiar, the home depicted in the movie is in Cleveland's Tremont neighborhood and was used in many exterior shots. It was opened as a museum and has attracted thousands from around the world. I also happen to live in a three minute walk from it and love the movie so I figured I'd get some photos.
It was an interesting race that attracted both *serious* runners and those out to have a good time:
Wait a sec, is that Scut Farkas? Nah, he didn't have *yellow eyes*
Balloon archway en route to the finish line:
So there were serious runners and then... the first of many pink nightmares (and leg lamps, Black Bart and his marauders, the Old Man, you name it!)
"It was ... soap ... poisoning!" - I told you not to use Lifebuoy!
Alright, enough running around, let's head over to the "soft glow of electric sex".
Quite a few of the neighbors go to town decorating for the holidays:
There it is, good old Cleveland street, err - West 12th and The Christmas Story House. If you like the movie, and happen to be in Cleveland, I highly recommend a visit - it's a lot of fun:
I think they had over 10,000 runners?
And the nightmares continue:
Enough of the low-brow silliness, next up is the newly opened West Wing of the Cleveland Museum of Art, containing Indian, Chinese, and Southeast Asian art. Many of these used to be squirreled away in a cramped area back in the day until the recently completed expansion. They're now displayed properly and it's just an amazing collection and in a setting fitting of such high caliber work. Oh, and it's FREE - one of the things I love about Cleveland is so much of the world-class cultural amenities are so easily accessible to all. Before we delve into the West Wing, I've had a handful of pics of downtown Cleveland lying around so we'll take a quick detour first:
Poor guy could use a scarf:
Walnut Street - 200 Public Square looks like a beast from this angle, imho:
Euclid Avenue - I haven't worked downtown for a few years; there's a lot more pedestrian traffic than I remember, even in the frigid temps we've had lately
The Colonial Arcade:
Key Tower and 200 Public Square from Huron Road - I'd love for this view to be blocked (aka infill construction on the parking lot)
Don't worry, I would never omit the Terminal Tower:
Okay *now* we're heading over to the art museum - en route, the Industrial Valley:
Downtown from I77 north - again, it'd be nice to see that gap filled with a decent-sized tower but ah well:
Alright, we made it - the new atrium is an amazing space, larger than a football field but it really helps orient visitors to the new museum layout. Viñoly did a great job here:
The atrium also does a nice job of framing the original building built in 1916:
Here we are at the entrance of the Indian galleries:
This artwork is just amazi... oooh! DEER!!!
One area has a group of small-scale illustrations - if you're able to visit, I highly recommend grabbing one of the magnifying glasses to really appreciate the details. One rather jarring illustration depicted a woman who betrayed her husband and tried to frame another woman... she ended up decapitated and sure enough, they drew it!
http://www.clevelandart.org/art/1962.279.73.b
Over to the Chinese gallery:
This scroll is HUGE:
This is about the size of a baseball - look at the detail:
Time to head out, one last shot from the Japanese gallery - hope you enjoyed!