Nerman

My old buddy from Mr. Wright's portfolio art class (Olathe South H.S. Class of '95), SL, found me on Facebook last winter. And while Facebook seems to be more and more of a liability (for me) these days instead of a fun, narcissistic way to waste time, SL is one person that I am really glad I'm back in touch with.

He's now a professor at MSU and a very talented artist. SL has clearly developed and honed his talent while I have completely wasted mine. So when he told me he would be in town this weekend and suggested a trip to the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art I knew it would be a trip.

I still know a thing or two about art - I did work at the Nelson-Atkins for two and half years not to long ago - but I'm really out of touch with who is who and what is trendy these days. But the great thing about art is that ANYONE can enjoy it. You don't have to have a PhD in Art History to appreciate it. AND because it is so subjective, you can like ANYTHING and not have to validate your opinion. You can simply say: "I like it because it's purple" or "I like birds and this one has a bird in it" or even "I really get off on pig carcasses in tanks of formaldehyde" - whatever floats your boat.

Of course, visiting a gallery with an artist - or better yet PROFESSOR - who actually knows a thing or about what you are looking at, all you can do is nod and pretend you know what he's talking about.

I'm kid, I kid. I was able to follow about 80% of what he was talking about. (note to self: must pick up latest edition of ARTNews).

Allison Schulnik's "Skipping Skeletons"

Oil on canvas 1"-2" thick with amazing results

Besides looking at the the AMAZING collection (the Nerman really is a gem in the midst of a suburban wasteland) we were able to catch up over lunch - which amounted to us both concluding we are surrounded by crazy people.


This day proved to me once again that it's all about quality and not quantity when it comes to friends and experiences.