happy birthday america

i fully expected to spend the entirety of today recovering from a hangover. unfortunately, my liver ate it's wheaties and i woke up feeling pretty ok. so time for plan b- check the internet. luckily yelp had a thread about free museums- the de young and the legion of honor to be specific. i'd been to the legion, so i packed my bags and headed to golden gate park and the copper twisted monolith that is the de young.



i really liked the de young. it is a beautiful building, with little gardens and courtyards in odd places. the art ranged from early american to african to more contemporary collections- which i liked. it lacks the stuffiness of the legion.

for instance, here is some sort of mayan thing from guatemala. if i had bothered to read the sign, i could tell you what it is, but i couldn't be bothered (had to save my reading for the next trip)



here is a more modern piece from mexico. thought it was purty.



this was purty too. i think it was a boat.



this, though, was one of my favorite pieces. it is called "anti-mass" and it is made from the charred remains of a church.




the outer skin of the de young is made from copper, so with time it will turn green and "blend" into the scenery. i'm looking forward to watching the evolution.