When you stare into Don Miguel de Castro’s eyes.
Last night, we planned how to visit museums today. While we had good pho at pho 75 for dinner. The name was super strange but the pho was amazing delicious. First off, we wanted to visit the National Museum of African American History and Culture, but we couldn’t book to enter there. So many were lining in front of the museum. We walked to east and enter the National Museum of American History. They exhibited a lot of things in a lot of exhibitions. The signs which used in past protests, the toothpaste which the person who is crossing border with and so on. At this museum, Mai and I had a quarrel. We split up and head out another museums by ourselves. We made up in the Art Sculpture Garden. We wasted time. The plan would not go as it was…
At the National Gallery of Art, I saw the exhibition, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” has so progressive concept. In aside, to me as an East-Asian, it has pros and cons. Anyway, totally it smacked me. At first, I thought thats concept made by this institution. But it was not true. The original exhibition had held by MASP in 2018. I know MASP through the exhibition, “Histories of Dance” catalog. Hmm. Perhaps, contemporary art is more developed in Brazil today than the U.S. I’m longing for Sao Paulo.
This exhibition has so many black artist’s works but not only theirs. Yes, this is complicated very well. I was fascinated by the one portrait. That painted by Dutch in 1643. It said just “unknown” about the painter, but it told me who was painted. Don Miguel de Castro, Emissary of Kongo. I’ve never felt anyhow like this. Today, I also saw Da Vinci, Chardin and so on in this museum. You know, you often can not know who is the person in painting. So, this is unusual and refreshing feeling. Of course, I even want to know who painted that painting. Yet first, I have to stare into Don Miguel de Castro’s eyes.
Jun. 04, 2022