Today I got an email from a client telling me he hadn't finished the article he was writing and was planning on sending me today before I headed off on holiday. Seeing as we were going to have to push everything back until next week I found myself with 5 hours on my hands before going to pick the BF up at work and speed off to the beach.
So here I am, finally sitting down to post something on my blog. I know I should be getting back to my American adventure -there are so many things I want to jot down and save for posterity, but I have a backpack to pack and a dog to drop off with the dogsitters before I get going so... Hopper it is!
I'd had my eye on the Hopper exhibition since it opened here in Madrid, but I'd been waiting for the perfect time to go. If it were up to me, I'd obviously have gone on a random Tuesday morning before school was out, so I could have wandered around at my leisure, but the BF is also a bit of an art buff and wanted me to wait for him. Then I read that the Thyssen was going to stay open until 11pm for the duration of the show and I thought that would make for a perfect night out (remember I'm the girl who walks into to Ikea at 9.30pm through the check outs and is out of there at 9.58pm).
Apart from the actual show, the Thyssen also have a Hopper-related film cycle on for the summer and last Saturday we decided to check out the film. Despite the fact that we got there early, it was already packed out and they'd locked the doors (this is Spain, people might not be big on culture but they certainly are big on free stuff that they can enjoy in the comfort of an air-conditioned film theatre).
Seeing as we'd made after-art plans in the area, we decided to stick around and bought tickets for the exhibition. What a huge mistake.
Picture me, surrounded by people chatting away about anything and everything under the sun as they leisurely fanned out around the paintings for eons. There were some ladies having a riveting conversation about a banister (in the museum, NOT in a painting), a couple who clearly needed to get a room or get their PDA under control, and a guy babbling away on his phone. Not to mention the kids.
Hey, I'm all for people introducing the young'uns to the arts, but come on, can't you also teach them to keep a lid on it?! There are ways to keep kids entertained that don't involve me having to put up with you merrily playing I spy with your kids in a loud voice and getting them all so worked up they end up kicking each other "'cos I saw it first!!". Jesus!!!
You never know when you might encounter your kryptonite, so I always keep my antidote within arm's reach. I rummaged around my bag, found my beloved headphones, plugged myself into my phone and Wilco-ed the exhibition away, occasionally fishing the earplugs out to whisper a comment here and there.
I loved the show, I love Hopper, I love going to museums... but never again will I go to a Spanish museum on a Saturday afternoon.
PS. If you're in Madrid and you're into art, get yourself over to the Thyssen, but make sure you pack some headphones. Better to be safe than sorry!!
