Results tagged “philadelphiamuseum”

If you are looking for a fun (and free!) attraction in the historic section of the city, be sure to check out the recently opened museum at the Chemical Heritage Foundation. Does anything with the word "chemical" in it scare you away as being a bit too brainy? Well don't let it, because CHF has done a marvelous job of creating its permanent exhibition Making Modernity, which includes "scientific instruments and apparatus, rare books, fine art, and the personal papers of prominent scientists. Topics range from alchemy, synthetics, and the chemical-instrument revolution to chemistry education, electrochemistry, chemistry sets, and the science of color." Trust us, it's cool to see the evolution of modern technology as exhibited through the installations of Making Modernity. The gorgeous main hall features an interactive tower screen that will have you learning more about the periodic table than you ever thought you would again after tenth grade chem class.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's exhibition of American artist Bruce Nauman has been selected to appear in the US Pavilion of the the 53rd Venice Biennale, "one of the most important art gatherings in the world."

While I would hate to date myself…oh, what am I saying, I date myself just about every time my wife leaves the house for 15 minutes: I am a member of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Being a member of the Art Museum has many benefits. Tops on the list includes getting to see tons of filthy rich white people doing their best Rocky impersonation, the privilege of being serenaded by a sketchy guy selling water out of a cooler while singing a ridiculously loud version of Jodeci’s “If You Think You’re Lonely Now,” and the honor of hearing umpteen jokes from your wife regarding the word “member.” “Wow, there are a lot of members here.” “That member gets priority status.” “Is that where the members enter?” The list could go on forever.

Did anyone else see where September went? It was Labor Day, we went to the closet to pack up our white shoes, and suddenly it's the terminal week. Next year, September, give us a little more transition time? Also, knock it off with the 90s.

The Philadelphia Marathon is fast approaching (ha!), and those fleet-footed folks are looking for volunteers to help support the thousands of athletes who will converge upon the Art Museum on November 18. Tasks range from stuffing runner bags two weeks out to distributing blankets and Gatorade on race day. You can sign up for a specific job or offer your services as a general volunteer to be dispatched where you're needed most. You can also form a team and sign up together for one of the larger jobs. For more info, contact Terry at GP Cares (215-564-4544).

Architecture of the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the nearby competition.

As part of Sunoco's Welcome America! series, you'll be able to watch Rocky go the distance tonight on the steps of the Art Museum. And you'll get to watch it for free! This now annual event is a good time for all-- just be sure to bring a blanket. Those steps are hard whether you're pounding 'em or sitting on 'em.

Meanwhile, the Ada H. Lewis Middle School in East Germantown might be voted closed on June 20th by the School Reform Commission, due to declining enrollment and a $38 million repair estimate. But parents and teachers are fighting to keep the school open, especially since it sounds pretty clear that $38 million is a ridiculously inflated number.

This week's quote is an explanation of the theatre once given by Beatrice Wood, pictured here with the inimitable Marcel Duchamp (who's got a lot of work in the Philadelphia Museum of Art). Now, on with the listings!

The Philadelphia Art Alliance's New Music Mondays series presents works by Jan Krzywicki, Professor of Composition at Temple University.

Reader F. Lennox Campello tips us off in his blog that our favorite unibrowed artist, Frida Kahlo, will be featured in an exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art sometime in early 2008. It will be "the first American exhibition solely dedicated to Kahlo’s work in over a decade... [and] will explore the relationship between her art and her life by examining hauntingly seductive and often brutal self-portraits in addition to works that amplify her...

Ah, Valentine's Day: refuge of the uninspired lover and bane of the singleton's year. Fear not! We present our annual offbeat V-day guide, guaranteed to add some flair to the red-heart holiday (whose idea was it to put a celebration of love and relationships smack in the middle of the great gray beast February anyway, we ask you?).

… and we’re back! Classical music is in full swing this week. From Vivaldi to Ligeti, Philly is popping with all sorts of concerts, including two Philadelphia premieres and several free concerts.

30th Street Station, the Cira Centre, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art stand over the Schuylkill to create one of the river's most picturesque areas.

Don’t say I didn’t warn you - holiday concerts begin this week. But if you’re already sick of Christmas carols blaring at your nearby mall, there are other options for you as well.

Choral season is upon us! With both Choral Arts Society and Singing City opening on the same night, it's a tough call. You'll just have to read the descriptions and decide for yourself.

This week’s classical music events seem to cluster during the weekend, but no matter. There’s plenty to see and hear with the Opera Company of Philadelphia’s La bohème and an assortment of chamber music concerts.

Rejoice local soccer fans! We might have an official Major League Soccer team in Philadelphia in the next couple of years.

This weekend, this Phillyist (along with my wife, co-editor Star, and her sister) had a ball running around the Philadelphia Museum of Art on a Watson Adventures scavenger hunt. Watson doesn't run traditional scavenger hunts, where you have to find and bring back certain items (the Watson people were careful to point out that we should not pick up any vases or paintings while we were in the museum). Instead, their hunts consist of a series of riddle-like questions which can only be answered by visiting specific places and examining your surroundings carefully. In this case, the theme was nudity (woo hoo!) and the stuff we were examining was pieces of fine art. Before the hunt begins, you break up into small teams and come up with a team name (which can be important, too - but more on that later). Getting a good combination of folks with different talents and areas of knowledge on your team is a good idea (hopefully you'll also have compatible personalities - being able to work together is also important!). Although you don't get extra points for being first to get done, you do lose points for being late to the finish line, so speed and ability to navigate is important. Answering the questions requires an observant eye, clever thinking, and knowledge of various types of trivia (you'd think art trivia would have been the most important for our hunt, but there was also stuff about TV shows and Christian saints). You might have to work through a bit of wordplay in your head, then crouch down to read something at the base of a statue, then run on to the next room and look for a naked man in chains.

Phillyist loves the Philadelphia Museum of Art in the summertime. It's airconditioned, quiet, and a great place to go when we want to feel smart. (Take one friend who knows less about art than you do -- even if you don't know much -- and it's amazing how intellectual you'll think you sound!) On top of all that, it's a great place to stay dry on rainy weekends like this last one. The one thing that never occurred to us, though, is how frightening the Museum can be if you've been doing anything, er, recreational, before heading over. Fortunately, it occurred to someone else. And now we know what we be doing before taking a trip (no pun intended) to the PMA.

Organized by FightHunger.org, pedestrians the world over will be putting their feet to pavement to help raise funds and awareness for the number of children who go hungry; which Walk the World estimates to be about 300 milliion. Their goal: to end child hunger by 2015.

Try not to panic - but the dreaded pink, red and doily-clad holiday, St. Valentine's, is only a week away. If you're on the lookout for something to do other than you traditional dinner and a movie, Philly's got some less-than-ordinary Valentine themed attractions going on. (And to our single brethren, these events are also singles friendly):

Shamisen musician Hiromitsu Agatsuma will be performing tonight at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as part of their "Art After Five" jazz program. The Shamisen is a traditional Japanes instrument; however Agatsuma's popularity comes from his ability to use it to perform in the what are traditionally considered Western musical styles: rock and jazz.

Benergy? Is that like Joe-mentum or Bennifer?

So maybe you went out last Wednesday, Wednesday being the new Saturday, and perhaps you met someone special in between drinks at Striped Bass... or just someone worthy of a few hours of your company. And maybe you want to take them out and act all classy before they figure out that your idea of a good time actually involves air conditioning, your underwear, two six packs of Yuengling and the weekend marathon of Best Week Ever. Phillyist’s got your solution: Art After 5 presents Philly Jazz.

Wagers are being placed as to whether or not the museums, businesses, and residences along the Ben Franklin Parkway and surrounding areas will survive Live 8. Some of us are betting on looting, perhaps a plague of locusts, and some of us just think the crowd will erupt into a swarming crowd of miscreant arsonists. Whatever the case, we can all assume that the Parkway will be awash in urine. City officials are guesstimating a crowd of one million. We at Phillyist hear Managing Director Pedro Ramos plans to put out only 300 port-a-potties. Like it's not enough that the city subways smell like a zoo and the Parkway is a major
homeless destination, now we have to deal with Keith Urban and Jay-Z fans urinating against the Please Touch Museum and into the Logan Circle fountain? Not to worry, though -- beloved mayor, John Street, has made this pledge to Philly residents: "The Live 8 concert will happen on July 2, and at 8 a.m. on July 3, I
will be on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and it will be clean. Do you
hear me? It will be clean." Mayor Street may be standing amongst the rubble of what used to be the main branch of the Philadelphia Library, but hey, it'll be clean! Considering only 400,000 people [max] can fit between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Love Park, we're not sure where one million people are going to congregate. Or relieve their bladders. Good news for those living in Center City and the Art Museum area. On a positive note -- if there's looting, I think we can all count on the Franklin Institute's giant heart being passed around the crowd like a giant beach ball. Who wouldn't want to see that? Then again, perhaps Live 8 will come off without a hitch, 300 port-a-potties will be plenty, and a good time will be had by all. We'll keep our fingers crossed.