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| Terrain becomes hilly |
Driving to New Mexico results in yet another terrain change. The wide open flat grasslands are now more hilly. I have to love the fact that Exit 0 is the last exit in Texas. Exit 0 ???
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| Exit 0 !!! |
New Mexico wins the prize for state welcome signs. As can be seen below, a large banner sign over the road proclaims that you're crossing into New Mexico.
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| Welcome to New Mexico |
We're in New Mexico, set the cruise control to 80, lay back and enjoy the ride.
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| Relax and enjoy the scenery at 75 MPH |
Route 66 icons are everywhere in the Southwest. Shopping centers capitalize on their association with "the Mother Road". On any segment of the old Route 66 business is a mixed bag. Some diners and motels seem to be thriving while others are rapidly fading into oblivion with only deteriorating skeletal remains, reflecting an era of travel that has passed along with tail fins and whitewall ties.
The descent into Albuquerque is quite picturesque as the road winds and turns through the mountains.
New Mexico road bridges are some of the prettiest I have ever seen. Each one is decorated as a work of art.
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I-25 interchange Painted Bridges in blue and pink
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| Bridge Ornamentation |
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| Ornamentation |
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| Artistic roadside landscaping |
Once in Albuquerque I had some time to explore while I waited for Libbie's plane to arrive in the evening. I proceeded to Old Town Albuquerque to visit the New Mexico Museum of Art. It's a nice building, has lots of sculpture on the grounds but is lacking any major art inside.
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| NM Museum of Art entrance |
The great news was a major art show was in the museum, "From Turner to Cezanne" art from the Davies Collection of the National Museum of Wales. This is a dazzling collection of art rarely seen outside of Europe.
The Davies sisters were daughters of a Railroad baron in Wales, UK. From 1908-1923 they collected art in an attempt to enhance the cultural life of Wales. They managed to collect major pieces of art from most of the European impressionists. Works by Cezanne, Corot, Bonnard, Millet, Monet, Morisot, Manet, Pisarro, Renoir and van Gogh among others are on display in this collection valued at almost one billion dollars. Albuquerque Museum lacks the facilities to properly display this collection in my opinion. They did the best they could which was to basically hang the art on the walls of a large room the size of a gymnasium. That said, the art wasn't any less enjoyable.
My favorite was a large floor to ceiling Renoir painting, "The Parisienne". Beautiful! The blues were vibrant, the sheer size of the painting dominated and overwhelmed everything in the room. Renoir's parents were a tailor and a dressmaker. The detail in the dress of this painting probably reflects some of that upbringing. Even though this is an impressionistic painting, having been exhibited in the first impressionistic exhibition in 1874, the details in her face are very sharp and well defined. By making the face so clear in contrast to the nebulous nature of the background and dress, she stands out or "pops" to use a term from the current vernacular. Besides the size and color, this fact is probably what draws people into the artwork. A very sharply defined face staring at the viewer from amongst the hazy and patchy but bright colors of the rest of the painting grabs your attention. Of course, I'm somewhat prejudiced since Renoir is one of my favorites of all time. This work just reaffirms his genius for me.
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| La Parisienne (1874), Pierre-Auguste Renoir |
Outside the Museum of art is an incredible collection of sculpture. All the following are sculptures by Glenna Goodacre who is rapidly becoming my favorite sculptor. I keep crossing paths with her sculptures from the Regan library, Cowboy Museum and now at the Albuquerque Museum.
