As promised in my previous post, below are the two sites that impressed us the most. Obviously, New Orleans has more to offer; but there's only so much one can do in four days.
The National WWII Museum is unabashedly didactic. Not that I blame them; they state their educational mission right on the front page of their website; it is a huge undertaking, in partnership with Arizona State University. It is anything but "merely" a museum.
Personally, I didn't come to learn more about WW2; I came to see how that complex period is displayed. The management and the designers went to great lengths to make the concept of war and the reality of this specific war as tangible and explicit as can be, without actually scattering disfigured dead bodies around... It is aimed mainly at the younger generation, and is intended to be visited several times, by students accompanied by teachers. I hope it is accomplishing its purpose.
As it happens, I wasn't dressed for the occasion. By which I mean that I wasn't prepared for the icy air-conditioning. So I couldn't bear to spend much time there. I hurried through "battle scenes", trenches and weapons, aiming for the more open pavillion, which was also closer to my heart: the "Warbirds" display of old aircraft. Can't help it -- I'm partial to fighter planes of every sort. As I mentioned in one of my Alaska trip posts, my father worked for the Israel Air Force most of his life, and used to take me with him to "his" air-force base occasionally, where I got to see IDF aircraft up close and personal, from old Pipers and Dakotas to the French Mystere and Mirage. So I like old airplanes, and took more pics than you care to see, so I'll be brave and limit myself:
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| B-17E-BO Flying Fortress "My Gal Sal" |
The museum has a world-class collection that contains something for everyone; whatever your preferences are in art, you're likely to find some "nice stuff", to put it mildly. The docent who took us on a short tour, for instance, chose to concentrate on the Photography category. Sorry to say I don't remember a word of what she said. After the tour, left to our own devices, we wandered, gaped and gawked until we were dizzy and needed some fresh air.
Wise move.
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| Mirror Labyrinth, Jeppe Hein |
Even without the statues, the garden is beautiful; as it says on the website, it "... is located within a mature existing landscape of pines, magnolias and live oaks surrounding two lagoons".
As you can see from this map, there's no way you can do it justice in one visit. (What else is new...)
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| History of the Conquest, Hank Willis Thomas |
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| Diana, Saint-Gaudens, Augustus |
Whether you prefer modern, abstract art, mind-blowing original creations, Greek/Roman looking torsos, or intricately decorative works, you'll find them all here.
Naturally, we took pictures like there's no tomorrow. Even though our mobile-phone photos aren't as good as the ones provided by the museum. Nonetheless, we were enchanted by this sculpture garden, and I'll just upload a very few favorites, in the hope of whetting your appetite.
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RIACE WARRIORS, I,II,III,IV |
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| Overflow, Plensa, Jaume |
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