The Artist in His Museum by Charles Willson Peale

From the exhibition The Great American Hall of Wonders at the Smithsonian American Art Museum 

Has it been unrelentingly hot where you live? Too hot to walk? Too hot to bike? Too hot to…ok, we won’t go there.  Are you on the hunt for other stimulating, but cool, activities?

Inside a mall is refrigerated and deadening. You’ve already seen the one great summer blockbuster worth watching. Another trip to the supermarket? Uh. We don’t think so. When was the last time you went to a museum? Trust us, nothing is cooler than the thrill of a curated collection.

From Bitches on a Budget:

Admit It

You mean to go to the museum. You read about the blockbuster Tintoretto or Chuck Close show that’s coming soon and make a mental note to get your a** over there. But what happens? It’s raining and surely the museum will be crowded, it’ll be hard to park, you don’t want to get wet. Or it’s gorgeous outside; why go to the musuem when you can ride your bike or play Frisbee? But then the day slides by with no Frisbee, and you become increasingly bored and desperate. You end up arranging to meet a friend for lunch and a quick shop.

But the restaurant’s crowded and mediocre. You spend good money for that extra pound you didn’t need and see through blouse you really didn’t like. Your ‘friend’ fills you in on your ex-boyfriend , how he’s found eternal happiness in the arms of some bimbo. You feel overweight, broke, rejected. And you could have gone to the museum. What were you thinking?

Chill out at your local museum.

 

Almost a year ago today we wrote this piece during a scorching heat wave. (Sound familiar?)