First Museum Day of my Seminary Years

I have been riding the Metro, the DC subway, since I was a pre-teen, so I wasn't expecting the hardest part of my museum day to be the Metro.  Yesterday morning I walked to the Tenleytown Metro and tried to figure out how to get down to it because the escalator was under repair.  There was an elevator, but I didn't want to ride down in an enclosed space with breathing unmasked strangers if I could avoid it.  Happily, I could walk down one of the non-working escalator.

And then I had to take the longer working escalator down.  It was steep, and there was no place to look into the distance so that I could fight my rising anxiety.  The elevator felt a bit rickety, so I hung on and focused on breathing.

The farecard machine didn't want to take my cash, but happily, I had a credit card which worked beautifully.  Finally I was on my way downtown to make my appointment with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.  I signed up for a timed ticket my first morning in town, and September 14 was the earliest slot available.

I got downtown early, so I walked over to the National Museum of American History, another Smithsonian.  I didn't go into any galleries, but I was able to take this great shot of a Greensboro lunch counter with the reflection of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the exhibition screen, and me in the exhibition screen where John Lewis was talking:

Then it was time to head to the main attraction.  

I went to the top floor and worked my way down.  In the end, the first gallery I went to was my favorite, the one with the visual art.  I loved this quilted Harriet Tubman:

I did go down and do the winding history gallery, me and hordes of people.  

Here's another lunch counter:

I was pleased that most of the history wasn't unfamiliar to me.  I was impressed by the way the material was put together, but I didn't feel the need to read every panel.

After I went through all the galleries, I felt a bit exhausted.  I thought about getting lunch, but the cafeteria in the museum was crammed full, and I didn't want to be around those people.  I thought about going back to my seminary apartment.  I thought about how much I enjoyed the art in the upper gallery.  I decided to go over to the Hirshhorn Museum, which is often one of my favorites.

I had read about the Yayoi Kusama exhibit, so I was happy to see that it was still here, and even better, I could get a timed entry ticket.  Since it wasn't crowded, I didn't have to wait.  The infinity rooms were like not much I've experienced before.

Although it was a bit dizzying, I loved this one with the changing lights.

I also went through the exhibit that was devoted to the work of women and non-binary artists.  What a treat.  My eye went to the more sculptural art, like this collection of Virgin Marys.  

The author did plaster casts of each one and then painted them; here's a close-up:

There were also intriguing 2 dimensional works; this one was created from bits of silk, instead of paint:

And combinations of flat and sphere:

After the Hirshhorn, I was ready to head back.  I popped down into the Smithsonian Metro station and my trip back was fairly easy.  As I walked back from the Tenleytown Metro, I saw a labyrinth being constructed at the local Episcopal church--a promise of art to come!