Day 14 - Exploring Baltimore

Yep, Baltimore is the place to be. Why I don't know, but there must be something that I've missed that makes this town livable. I've been in three areas: The Inner Harbor, Johns Hopkins Medical Campus and Johns Hopkins Main Campus; and of course my shitrag hotel. Other than Ft. Wayne and Billings, I don't think I've been in such an ugly place. OK, Newark. So why is everyone so friendly? I have not come across one surly person anywhere around here. Go figure.

Now, the art museums are a whole different thing. Today I went to the American Museum of Visionary Art and the Baltimore Museum of Art. I also walked around the Inner Harbor. I'm sure the Inner Harbor is fantastic around the Fourth of July but in late February it's nothing. People bundled up with their heads down trying to get on to wherever they're going. I ate at a deli at Harbor Place. Another dud. I saw hundreds of brand new harbor-side condos sitting empty. What a mess the real estate market is.

You didn't know Jimi was an art museum kinda guy did ya? I am. And the cool thing about being older - let's avoid just plain old - is that I've grown out of trying to appreciate art just because someone says it's good and I don't have to say shit like "My granddaughter could have done that!" So what? If you like it, fine; if not, move on. I know what I like and I'll say more about that.

The AMVA was something like I've never seen before. It displays art by people who have no training as artists. There are amazing pieces of art and none of them are that garish shit you see where Billy Bob covers his 1973 Dodge Coronet with Bud bottle caps. I was astonished by the display of carvings in pencil leads. Short stubby little pencils had the tips carved into things like Elvis, a boot, the letters of the alphapbet, and other amazing stuff. It's the only display I ever saw where the museum supplies magnifying glasses for you to view the art. There was a small sculpture of a high rise skyline made of slide rules that caught my eye. There was an ocean liner maybe ten feet long sculpted out of 193,00 toothpicks and 5 gallons of glue. It was marvelously detailed. The annex housed some amazing pieces. Lots of mechanical wood sculptures that you could operate. And a twelve foot high pink poodle standing over a pink golf cart. Even though I wouldn't want 95% of it on my walls at home, it was fascinating and not tacky at all. It was some remarkable art.

The Baltimore Museum of Art is next to the Hopkins Main Campus. It's free which was amazing although I paid my fare to see the special circus art display by Picasso and many others. The classical art rooms have little interest to me except Rodin's the Thinker. But the Cone Collection and the Contemporary Art collection made me flip out. Really, I turned cartwheels right there! The Cone Collection - named after, who else, the people who donated it - had a ton of French impression which I love. There were a bunch of colorful paintings by Matisse that really appealed to me - love those bright colors. The contemporary stuff was stunning mostly in it's size and boldness. Regrettably I fucked up the pictures I took because in my stumblebumedness I switched the camera to video. I have lots of 10 second videos of my feet and shit. I was mightily impressed by the art. Standing in front of a painting that's maybe 20 by 25 feet with intense contracts is pretty cool.

Another word or two on Baltimore. On the way back to the shitrag hotel I stopped for gas. Of course I was the only white guy. no problem, I like that. But the clerks were behind inch thick Plexiglas and you handed them stuff through one of the lazy susans. Nothing like driving a BMW and wearing Polo from head to toe in the ghetto. What the hell, I like an adventure. There's little else to say. I had dinner at the hotel bar for the third straight night - I'm not going out in this city at night alone! - and chatted up Ivana from Poland the bartender. Lovely lady.

I said I'd do better today but I don't have any material to work with. As I said, the people are so damned nice I can't rip them apart for anything. The city is awful but not funny.

Thanks for reading.