Day 2: Cincinnati

Day 2: Cincinnati

THB's fave piece, with better color

Book of the Day: Duchamp by Calvin Tompkin

Weather: Overcast and drizzly, mid 50s

Department of Amplification: The attributions with each 21C work are an extremely articulate description of the artist’s intentions. THB is not including the attributions or the blog posts would either be huge (i.e., really huge, just not the normal huge) or have very few pictures; you’ll have to take his word that they are well worth reading and amplify the meaning of each piece to an extraordinary level. And, all the work is from at least 2000, making each museum (as the displays at the hotel are referred to) near the best you can find, really only competing with each other for consistently top level art. For example, THB and DB just visited the new photography exhibit at SFMoma and the work at the 21Cs is easily as good or better when it comes to recent photography. We were extremely lucky to make the docent tour in Nashville, and the guy leading the tour was terrific. He had worked at a museum here in Nashville as an assistant curator and both knew the background of each artist and their work and was passionate about the art.

Each hotel/museum has very few permanent pieces. The exhibitions do travel between museums (seven as of now, with several more in process of coming on-line), and are generally up for 6 months or so. Three of the four museums had mostly 2D work on display (the Future is Female in Cincinnati was the exception); per our docent this was a bit unusual, the owners are buying edgy art in all forms.

Back to the Cincinnati 21C!

Breakfast of eggs and toast for DB, eggs, toast, potatoes, roasted tomatoes and goetta for THB, decaf coffee with hot milk for two, $35. Goetta is (per our waitress) a very local delicacy: sausage with oatmeal, served as a patty. Turns out to be a very ungreasy sausage patty. Seems healthy, not quite as much umami.

Goetta patties

These tiles are for sale; you see them embedded in the bathrooms, don't photo well in situ

THB misreported about the art on the second floor: it is a continuation of the The Future is Female, not part of a permanent collection, and just as strong as what we saw yesterday on the first floor.

Leslie Dill

Carrie Sieh

Nina Katchadourian; this is actually a video with lip-synching 

Valerie Belin

Naomi Safran-Hon

Hark-Hark (a collective)

Kiki Smith

Bettina von Swahl

Zanele Muholi

Gaela Erwin

Mickalene Thomas

Inner well within hotel, complete with an art piece that must light up at night

Gaela Erwin

Carrie Mae Weems

Peregrine Honig

Peregrine co-owns a lingerie store in KC and was a reality show contestant

Julie Blackmon

Laila Essaydi

Penny Slopis

Bill for stay at 21C Cincinnati: $415 for one night including parking, taxes, and a bit extra which ended up being deducted off dinner.

Our Sonata for the week