With Baltimore being such a creative city, I had to go see what all the hype is about at the biggest museum in Maryland, the (BMA) Baltimore Museum of Art. So on a chilly Friday afternoon earlier in November, I went alone to appreciate some artwork for myself. For some reason my Uber did not drop me off at the real big steps of the museum that you would see in pictures, so I walked in through the visitor entrance, which is what I think is in the back of the building. I walked through the glass doors into the lobby and was greeted by the security guard and a lady at the front desk. Unaware, I asked how much it costs to look through the exhibits and found out it was free! Now that’s something that can’t be beaten.
There were families, some with strollers, and it looked like a class trip was taking a tour of the museum as well. Everyone was pretty quiet and talking really low to each other, almost like they were whispering as they admired the art. I will say I think art is cool, especially for interior decorating a home, but I don’t usually go to museums, so I was confused as to whether or not the level of noise was normal. To be honest, I thought there would be a lot of communication going on in museums. Who knows, maybe I caught an odd day or maybe the BMA is just a more quiet museum. Either way, I found the quietness to be pretty peaceful.
I was wandering around without a plan. I noticed that there were different sections that were distinguished by continents and regions such as Asia, Europe, Africa, and so on. The first thing that caught my eye was in the Asia gallery, which looked to be a buddha sculpture. I like what the idea of the Buddha stands for, especially around peace, which resonated with me. While I was looking at the detail put into the sculpture along with the material of it being tarnished, I caught myself doing that thing that people do in museums; their thinking face on as they stand with one arm crossed, the other resting it on with your hand on your chin, and head tilted. Yeah, I caught myself doing that pretty often throughout this trip.
Walking throughout the rest of the museum, I came across some interesting paintings and sculptures. In my opinion, most of the artwork and sculptures were confusing. I was staring at them, trying to figure out what they were. Some paintings looked random, which many people do appreciate, but that’s not necessarily something that impresses me. For example some of them are just shapes and designs colored in. Not to discredit or sound like that person, but I feel like I can do that. However, there were other paintings that caught my eye like the European art of kings, emperors, and others. Moreover, I was impressed by the sculptures. One being a greyhound catching a hare. Some relevance there, as we are Loyola Greyhounds. Another being the attention to detail on a lion and then the statue of a man sitting on a stump in a corridor. I have to say I impressed myself with the picture I took of this sculpture. I really have no explanation why, but seeing this reminded me of the movie, Night at The Museum, with Ben Stiller. However, my favorite piece in the museum was the statue of The Virgin Mary and Jesus.
This visit gave me a better picture of the diversity in Baltimore. By the time I left, I felt like I understood Baltimore a little better. It’s not just a city with crab cakes, but a city where global art, local art, politics, and diversity combine. The BMA does a great job of displaying this. In one area, I walked through galleries of African American art, turn a corner you can find yourself looking at local or political art, turn another corner and you may end up in the European gallery. That’s what made the experience feel valuable to me as more than just a “things to do” checklist item.
Should you visit the BMA? I would say you should. First things first, it’s free. It’s also an easy place to go with friends, family, or even alone like me! You can wander around, appreciate the art, and take a short walk after to Charles Village and grab a coffee or a bite to eat. The BMA won’t tell you everything about the city, but it will give you a glimpse of what Baltimore is about in terms of creative energy, diversity, and history!
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