Institut Valencià d’Art Modern Redux
A good thing about many of the museum here in Spain is that they are big. The bad thing about many of the museum here in Spain is that they are also big. A paradox, I know. The great thing about most museums in València is that most of them are free (at least for now) and returning to them to see what you missed the first time is both enjoyable and also free. Hence, my return to Institut Valencià d’Art Modern or IVAM, this time with Ewa who has not had the pleasure yet. This is what Sundays were made for, I do believe …
The German interwar erotica exhibition was not open on this day, but the Julio González show (matèria, espai i temps) was still on so I took another look at it and, I hope, ended up with a slightly different collection of photos. I could go back and check but I’m too lazy and if you think they’re duplicate shots, you have a better memory than I do. Yay you. I have to admit that the second look endeared me to Julio more and I no longer find his works as more depressed versions of Miró … to the contrary, I found them quite aesthetically pleasing this time around and wished I had some of those pieces in my (future) house. See how much your opinions can change in just a short couple of months?
The main point of coming here, at least for me, was to see the second floor’s exhibits. The first one was Glacial Decoy, Robert Rauschenberg – Trisha Brown, which included dance video and photography. The second one was something called 48 publicacions which was a little confusing because it looked like it was a collection of mock-ups of 48 publications of some sort but the gist of them totally escaped me. It’s probably why I don’t have any photos of them. Though the guy (docent?) in charge was very friendly and clearly enjoyed having someone to talk to at last. The final exposition was also the largest and covered a number of large rooms: Quina és la nostra llar? (Where is our place?) where the various artworks and installations are meant to show how stories, experiences, and narratives influence how we feel in space. The sheer variety of the spaces and pieces within them made for a very positive experience indeed, and the creativity of the artists, when able to expand into such large spaces, was quite impressive.
What I really like about this museum is that even the restroom indicators were artsy and the way home full of murals … It’s never visually boring in this town! On the way home, after looking at a bunch of places to eat, we ended up at a very nondescript restaurant named Góndola with a few tables outside just on the edge of Plaça del Tossal and ordered the menú del día. This, in itself, is nothing special, of course. There are so many restaurants here that it’s impossible not to find places to eat. However, it is still surprising how excellent the food (and, often, its presentation) is in places you’d never think were capable of such quality. And at these prices, even if they’re a bit higher on weekends, one can eat like a queen and still not break the bank to do so.
