İzmir CRF: Pablo & Andy

This morning’s final stop of the Culture Route Festival [the CRF in the footprint title] was two exhibits at the İzmir Resim ve Heykel Müzesi [Painting and Sculpture Museum].

The beautiful weather made for a pleasant walk through Kültürpark … sunshine, blue skies, warm-for-November temps. Unexpectedly, the Kaskatlı Havuz [Cascade Pool], which is usually drained by this time of the year, was filled with water. Lined on all sides with orange and yellow flowers, it made for a beautiful photo op.

First we checked out the Pablo Picasso Exhibit where we were greeted by one of his quotes … “Everything you can imagine is real.” On display we found a selection of his graphic works, which he considered to be an important part of his artistic career as he did not believe this form of art to be inferior to any other form. The info panel indicated that between 1899-1973, he produced over 2,000 sketches and engravings using a variety of techniques. They formed a personal diary of sorts.

From the Picasso Exhibit, we walked to the next building to see the exhibit of Andy Warhol’s iconic pop culture art. Our path took us by the Uzun Havuz [Long Pool], which served as a mirror for some of the sculptures on either side of it. Of course, I had to pause momentarily for some photos.

Andy Warhol began his career as a commercial graphics illustrator in the advertisement industry. When his works began exhibiting in art galleries, they revealed his interest in depicting everyday life objects in a simple and illustrative manner … his famous “Campbell Soup” series being a prime example.

The Picasso and Warhol exhibits could not have been more different from each other … and yet, they were both interesting and fun to check out.

We have one more CRF event that we will be going to today, but we have to wait until nightfall for that one. In the meantime, we are going to visit another museum … but it requires an hour-long drive to get to it. more later …Read more