Fresh Art Friday a day late: DMA Late Night Review

We attended last night's Late Night at the DMA and had a great time! Here were my 4 favorite things, plus one caveat:

1. Free admission! Technically, free admission doesn't start until Monday, but I mentioned to the ticket guy that I'm a docent/member at the Modern in Fort Worth and he let us have tickets. Hooray!

2. The Brave Combo band was AWESOME! On paper, they sound maybe just a little bit crazy, I mean who dances to polka regularly?? But the dance floor was full and people were genuinely having fun. I even managed to get the Mister out to TANGO with me for a few minutes. Success!

                                          

3. Visiting new work: The show Variations on a Theme is on view through January 27th and features many works complimentary to the Modern's Collection. It was really nice to compare their viewings to some old favorites (please note their Francis is a bit darker than most) and to view some new artists. I particularly enjoyed the Japanese artists represented in 1 room. I was spellbound by this Shozo Shimaoto:

                                             
This is Untitled- Whirlpool, Shozo Shimamoto, 1965. It actually lives in the Rachofsky House, although I don't recall seeing it installed last time I was there. Shimamoto was bori in Osaka in 1921 and was a member of the avant garde group called Gutai. As a docent and art lover I am thrilled that Japanese works are finally making their way into big name collections and museums. Our world has so much beauty to gain and so many opportunities to be challenged by Asian works that I can't wait to see what crops up over the next 10 years.

4. The Late Night activities: We didnt' participate this time, but I did follow #latenight to check out the twitter scavenger hunt. It was hard! I love the idea of getting the general public off their rumps and exploring the collection or exhibits in an interactive way.

Overall, we had a great Late Night experience this go around. The crowds were manageable and I think Brave Combo alone would have made it for us. We did however have one rough patch- the dining.

Our experience this time was less than stellar and I'm sharing it not to be complain-y, but that we genuinely don't want you to be as disappointed as we were. We waited about 45 minutes for a table, then another 20 before being acknowledged by a waitress. Actually, we were never acknowledged by our waitress and just asked another waiter to take our order after waiting for the 20 minutes. The gnocchi, soup and cheese plate were generous portions but my husband reported the gnoocchi was tough and my soup was so salty it was inedible. The waiter never noticed an uneaten full bowl of soup and never asked how the food tasted. For a $40 meal we were really disappointed. Next time we go back we'll err on the side of caution and eat somewhere else.

I hope you enjoy the review of the DMA! The next event is February 15th.

- DBC