El Museo de Arte Contemporáneo

On Tuesday, Alex, Andrea and I had the day off. We spent the morning collaborating with the graduate students assisting our class to plan our Wednesday lesson (the scientific method and a Bernoulli's principle experiment using a funnel and ping pong ball).

In the afternoon we took the metro to Quinta Normal where many of the city’s museums are situated around a large beautiful park. On this afternoon we decided to go to el Museo de Arte Contemporánea (Contemporary Art Museum).

I am not well-versed in contemporary art (sometimes finding it a bit too "out there"); however, it was actually a great window into modern Chilean cultural reflections and movements. In particular, the focus on gender fluidity.

Here are some other pieces that I liked for more simple aesthetic reasons.

These were part of a larger wall mural; however these paintings in particular were my favorite.

An interactive and growing installation. Each new viewer can select a small object from a fish bowl and pin it to the wall.

This long row of small stoppered bottles filled with different green things remind me of potions in Harry Potter.

This is part of a larger series of framed squares of green with descriptive definitions. I enjoy reading the flowery color names on paint chips at the hardware store, so very much enjoyed this piece. This description translates to: "...A mix of the color of newly sprouted leaves in the spring and the green of stoplights, with a pinch of the green of a laser."

A collection of green objections, also part of the larger green themed installation.

The bottom three are all from a larger green themed installation that I really loved. The long row of small stoppered bottles filled with different green things reminds me of potions in Harry Potter.

The frame in the middle is part of a larger series of framed squares of different shades of green with descriptive definitions. I enjoy reading the flowery color names on paint chips at the hardware store, so very much enjoyed reading the descriptions. This description translates to: "...A mix of the color of newly sprouted leaves in the spring and the green of stoplights, with a pinch of the green of a laser."

While walking around the park we came across a rap battle! This consisted of audience of about 30 middle schoolers observing as 3-4 of their friends faced off lyrically. They took turns saying punchy things to a beat (we inferred the punchiness from intonation and audience reaction because unfortunately the speed and concentrated use of slang words overwhelmed our Spanish abilities - the highest level of language fluency should be defined as rap battle comprehension). While listening we tried some cuchuflí from a street vendor. These are a chilean dessert/snack - essentially a harder rolled crepe filled with dulce de leche (called "manjar" here).

Cuchuflí en el Parque Quinta Normal

Overall I was glad to check items off of both my Santiago museum and Chilean dessert must-try lists! Stay tuned for more of both :)