Happy Museum Day! Basking in a Bastion of Art: The Perez Art Museum
Field trip! No two words can make any kid more excited to ditch mundane lessons for a day of adventure. Trips to the museum evoke memories of days where your imagination could run rampant, sensors on overload as you reveled in the lifelike exhibits and colossal paintings with wondrous curiosity.
May 18th marks International Museum day, highlighting the place museums have in our hearts, preserving histories from cultures past, and producing art that generates the legacy of humanity.
From the Louvre in Paris to the Carnegie Mellon Museum in Pittsburgh, museums are an integral part of every city far and wide, a tapestry for the culture that the communities are built upon. As I continue to explore Miami, museums have served a guiding force, exposing me to the history, creativity, and unique aesthetics that make the city a cultural gem.
As I began to jaunt along the deck of The Perez Art Museum in the above Clueless inspired, ASOS plaid blazer/skirt combo and cream beret atop my newly golden locks, I was a gasp at the museums sheer size and architecture.
A beautiful 200 square foot bastion overlooking Biscayne Bay, PAMM’s exterior alone is a masterpiece designed by the award winning architectural firm Herzog & de Meuron. The massive elevated deck, decorated with 100 columns of lush tropic vegetation and immense sculpture garden boasts not only beauty but practicability, with sustainability to withstand the Miami elements.
PAMM’s current exhibit, “Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Perez Collection” showcases an array of powerful narratives across the globe. In the below video, PAMM Director Franklin Sirmans gives an inside look at the Allied with Power Collection.
As you first walk in, Kara Walker’s “Securing a Motherland Should Have been Sufficient” below, conjures powerful images of the violent origins and evolution of society. Highlighting our nation’s gritty beginnings in thought provoking manner, Walker depicts a black woman hammering an arch atop a mass of dead bodies, generating reflection from the audience early within the museum experience.
In contrast, the colorful, geometric “Protractor Variation 1” below, by artist Frank Stella illuminates with its exuberantly precise art deco features inspired by Western Asia, particularly Iran.
PAMM honors Haitian heritage month with a range of Haitian artists in their galleries, from Myrlande Constant, to Naudline Pierre, Viktor El-Saieh and more. Naudline Pierre’s “Close Quarters”, below, is a captivating melancholic synergy of light and dark, resulting in an enigmatic harmony on canvas.
PAMM is not only a host of fine art, but host to many a philanthropic event, bringing out Miami’s elite for soirees with a cause, like the Art of the Party: Presented by Valentino, the biggest fundraiser of the year.
What's your favorite museum?