Uphill for Art

February 13, 2011

After completing all of my meetings it was time for a little exercise and some non-science activity. One block from the hotel there was a bicycle rental shop (apparently cycling across the Golden Gate bridge is a very popular tourist activity). I wanted to see the new de Young Museum, which had been built long after I graduated from medical school. The man in the cycle shop assured me that the hills weren't that high (I beg to differ!) Thus, in ignorant bliss I pedaled off to the de Young Museum via Golden Gate Park. At first, I pedaled along "bike friendly" Market Street, where I stopped to take a picture of the Medical Marijuana dispensary. Only in California! After climbing some hills and feeling very out-of-cycling shape I finally made it to Golden Gate Park, where I saw the beautiful glass aviary shown in the next photo. A bit further on was the de Young, which was completely re-built after the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, and opened in 2005. At first I thought the crack in the stone walkway to the entrance was natural, but then a sign alerted me to the fact that it was a work of art called "Drawn Stone," by the English artist Andy Goldsworthy. Goldsworthy's works emphasize creation, transformation, and change. This work highlights California's geography and also acknowledges the earthquake that led to its commission. Inside, the de Young has a fabulous collection of American art. In the contemporary section I particularly liked this church made of bullets and rifles, a brilliant commentary on how religious differences account for most wars. There is a human spine inside the doorway that equally calls to mind religious relics and the human sacrifice that war demands. Unfortunately I forgot to write down the artist's name.