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For our next outing, we went to the Museu de Arte Contemporânea (“Museum of Contemporary Art”) and the Museu de Arte, Arquitetura e Tecnologia (“Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology”). While the latter was disappointing in terms of what it had on display, the architecture of the building itself was really impressive.
One of the things to keep in mind about Portugal is it has few, if any, “world class” pieces of art. It’s not like Florence, where you can say “Let’s go see the statue of David today!”1 or spend some time in the Uffizi to see some Botticellis2. Portugal, while it had an empire in its day, wasn’t a big enough player to generate that kind of “power”.
But the country does offer a lot of beautiful art. It’s just not as well-known. The Museum of Contemporary Art is full of pieces that can hold their own anywhere.
Visiting the museum also taught us something important: while you can just walk into many Lisbon museums, there are also many that only allow access through a guided tour. The Museum of Contemporary Art is one of these.
Fortunately, we arrived right after the morning tour had started, so we were able to join it. The first thing we were treated to was a collection of colorful vases.
There was also this impressive character.
As well as this little musical quartet.
Our guide was quite knowledgeable…and I remember almost nothing of what she told us. Not her fault! I tend to “consume” museums by stopping to focus on things that grab my eye, rather than trying to absorb what the curators are trying to tell me through how they’ve organized the exhibits. A more stream of consciousness approach, perhaps.
As always, I was drawn to, and very impressed by, all the furniture on display. It felt very Scandinavian to me (which is my favorite type of furniture — I love its relatively simple lines).
Our tour guide told us the face of this cabinet was composed of a huge number of small, radial slivers of wood. Truly an amazing piece of work!
And the leopard on top is pretty cool, too 🙂
There were also a number of rooms decorated to display what a completely contemporary art based room would look like. I could feel right at home in this one. Which is probably why there were stern warnings not to sit on anything :).
There were quite a few small statues scattered throughout the exhibit.
One of the things I’ve noticed about contemporary art statues is, on the one hand, their lines and design are quite simple (and remind me of ancient/primitive works), but, on the other hand, they are usually executed using sophisticated materials and techniques. A marriage of the old and the new, as it were.
My favorite small statue was this one. No doubt a representation of something from an ancient myth…which I’m sure our guide told us all about, and I wish I could remember.
There were, of course, a number of larger statues, too.
There were also a good number of paintings. Or at least things you’d put up on a wall :).
And then there were things that didn’t quite fit into a recognizable category.
Like this item. Is it a nut dish? An ashtray? Whatever it is, I thought it was quite clever.
This neat little ying/yang clock would be a fine addition to our living room.
Even if it is old-fashioned analog 🙂
After leaving the contemporary art museum, our next stop was the Museum of Art, Architecture & Technology.
The building itself is a very attractive and very different design, kind of like a giant clamshell when viewed from the river side. You can walk all over its roof and admire the panoramic views before you enter the museum itself.
But as I mentioned earlier, the contents of the museum itself were kind of a letdown. Most of it was a single, albeit very large, light and audio sculpture occupying an immense space.
