Explore in Cool Comfort at the Tampa Museum of Art

Tampa Museum of Art | Downtown Tampa

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A museum can be an oasis when the weather outside is frightful. And if you don’t think sunny skies are frightful, you’ve not experienced 100 degrees in the shade with 95 percent humidity. We decided to visit the Tampa Museum of Art to escape the sauna and get a bit of culture with our cool.

Modern museums were born of rich people’s desire to show off their rich people stuff to win rich friends and influence rich people. But all that swag requires climate control to keep it from turning to smut. Their expense is your gain because HVAC makes museums cool places to visit when the heat is on and warm places to visit when the freeze is deep.

Don’t mention the heat

It was hot in Hillsborough County. Too hot to go for a hike. At least, that was my wife’s opinion. I would gladly slog through the humid mosquito-infested wilderness and thereby transfer my precious bodily fluids into my polyester activewear. But as attractive as that prospect may be, this was a day to spend together.

I knew together wouldn’t happen outdoors with the current barometric state so I suggested visiting somewhere indoors with air conditioning. Malls were right out and I was striving to not sit on my butt; it’s getting big enough from writing all day.

People have been flocking to Florida’s warmer climes since before the invention of air conditioning. We could certainly survive, but sitting inside with the windows open, shades drawn, fans churning, and a sweating glass of ice water was not going to cut it as a something fun to do.

We need to get cool and cultured

I had been wanting to visit the Tampa Museum of Art for some time now, but until recently the out-of-doors seemed too golden to waste. Now that an effortless walk around the block was sure to produce an instant glaze of perspiration, this seemed like the right time for a stroll amid the works of art.

I love various kinds of museums, but we don’t visit art museums anywhere near as much as I’d like to. Granted, we’ve never lived anywhere within walking distance of anywhere one could spend the day getting lost in the aesthetics. Still, especially as a dabbling amateur myself, I regret not making more efforts to enjoy the visual arts.

And we still don’t live close enough to a large museum. In fact, Brandon / Riverview has zero art museums or galleries. Unless you count flipping through the stacks at Pier 1, the Tampa Museum of Art is our nearest one. And, though it’s not in comfortable walking distance, at thirty minutes away (during non-peak traffic periods) it’s not too far for frequent visits. So I suggested a first look and Christa agreed.

On the bank of the river

We hopped in the sporty little runabout and took Causeway Boulevard (BUS US 41) into Tampa and wound our way via the map app to the Downtown goiter. Street parking was available on N Ashley Drive and paid at the parking kiosk around the corner (where I noticed Eddie & Sam’s NY Pizza—too bad we already had lunch plans).

We wedged the windshield shade into place and turned to scope the scene. Across from us was the Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park which bordered the Hillsborough River and the Downtown Riverwalk linear park.

The landscape was concrete and modern with manicured fields of grass gridded by walks and terraces. The skyline gradually rose in our peripheries to envelop and enclose us from behind with great towers. In the depths of the park at the river’s edge was the glinting metallic box of the Museum of Art.

There’s a lot going on here

A cross at the walk landed us at the Louver Fountain where children made heroic charges into the eye-high phalanx of vertical jets. I was tempted to run through but thought better of it. Squishy shoes and museums don’t mix.

We continued past the Glazer Children’s Museum—whose chartreuse and tangerine accents made it look as a piece of IKEA furniture assembled on site—I’d like to see those giant hex wrenches—and into the Tampa Museum of Art.

The museum facade was a glimmering cube of perforated metal sheets. It was bold and modern but subtly reflected the centuried shining onion domes of the University of Florida across the river.

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Tampa Museum of Art

Cornelia Corbett Center
120 W. Gasparilla Plaza
Tampa, Fl 33602
Phone: (813) 274-8130
Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday* – 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Thursday** –  10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday – 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
*Fourth Fridays open 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
**Art on the House on Thursday evenings from 4:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. Pay-as-you-will admission
http://tampamuseum.org/

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Gleaming the rectangular cuboid

The collections are on the second floor which we accessed via elevator and stepped first into the Antiquities gallery.

The Exhibits

The Classical World in Focus: Contests, Combat, and Commemoration

You know the stuff: jugs, ewers, hairpieces, handles, potshards, and sarcophagi decorated with goats and naked dudes giving battle or enjoying…sport. There were figures and artifacts from 3000 BC to around AD 500.

When you realize that an object inches before you (under glass) shared an existence in time with Sargon of Akkad or the wooly mammoth, well, suddenly it’s more than just a piece of broken pottery. And when considered as art, it’s all very impressive if rutted in the same color palate. Though I wonder if future generations will house broken shards of Wedgewood or Corelle.

Vapor and Vibration: The Art of Larry Bell and Jesús Rafael Soto

The museum presents the artwork of both Larry Bell and Jesus Rafael Soto together in three sections: Cubes and Structures; Vapor and Vibration; and Light and Transparency. Each section is a grouping of the works by dimension and media.

Through paint and mixed media and sculpture, the two artists navigate light and space, thus causing distortions in time as the minutes tick away while we marveled at the colors, shadow, depths, and illusions.

Glass sheets and cubes infused with patterns and tints play with our vision to create new dimensions in space. It was an interesting experience not only for those present but for the camera as well. We were encouraged by the security guard to take photos using the installations as filters. The results were rewarding and the engagement made the experience fun.

From Muse and Myth to Figure and Gesture: 50 Years of Prints from the Permanent Collection

Composed of works that explore the human figure, many well-known artists are represented. It was a pleasure to view the creations of such luminaries as Kenny Scharf, David Hockney, and CRASH.

The interpretations of our common form by such diverse artists was interesting to see in one space.  The vision and focus of each artist juxtaposed against the others’ made for an enjoyable study on a common theme.

[Note: As of publishing date, this exhibit is no longer on display; please visit museum website for current and upcoming exhibits]

Kiss and Tell by Wolfgang Flad

A centerpiece of the Tampa Museum of Art is a sculpture suspended over the central stairwell: Kiss and Tell (2015) by Wolfgang Flad. The work of wood, paper mache, and paint hovers and extends into the atrium. Its mass a deception, a trick played through the eyes.

From the second floor, the abstract skeletal pieces fill the optic frame and rigid space. It is at the same time light and crispy as it is voluminous and roiling.

From the ground floor Kiss and Tell is a looming occurrence; suspended and suspended. It is fluidity frozen in time in a half-tone void.

And it was pretty neat to look at as we descended the stairs on our way out.

 

The Tampa Museum of Art building itself is a fine work of art. Designed by architect Stanley Saitowitz, the structure exists as rigid geometry against the rolling abstract treeline across the Hillsborough River.

It mirrors the projecting concrete and glass structures of the skyline while contrasting the Byzantine form of the University of Tampa that rises from the leafy canopy.

The perforated steel plates that sheathe the cubic structure continue into the interior giving alternate vistas of depth, color, light, and shadow to ingest both in and out of doors.

The subjective value of art and fun

At fifteen dollars, the price for admission can be a bit daunting to those of limited means and trim budgets. Art is subjective and without knowing if the collections and exhibits would appeal to us, I was a bit apprehensive. Paying thirty dollars for a smallish museum seemed risky.

Some major city museums like the Metropolitan Museum of Art operate on a pay-what-you-like basis for local residents (TMoA offers this discount option on Thursday evenings). Odds are there’s something therein to please you with collections as large as they have.

Of course, the Met has funding superior to the TMoA. Still, a small museum like Tampa might leave much to be desired. We decided to take the risk for the price of a case of beer and two large pizzas and were pleasantly rewarded with an enjoyable time in the cool air among beautiful works of the creative human mind.

The time had come to spend further monies on sandwiches—although, I don’t think I need to defend that decision. Art is stimulating, both mentally and gastrically. There is a cafe in the Museum, but it seems more a service than a culinary destination. Besides, we had other plans.

Once more unto the heat…

Ugh, back into the wretched outdoors. We failed to walk around the building, though the waterfront was attractive and nice to look at. But we’d be back. It will give us something else to see next time we visit the riverwalk.

I’d like to walk the place at night anyway to observe the Sky (Tampa), a 14,000-square-foot LED installation by Leo Villareal. I have seen pictures of the Tampa Museum of Art lit up at night and it is impressive, like a floating shoebox glowing with vibrant color.

It looks better than that sounds

We crossed back over to the car. The sunshade may have prevented the steering wheel from becoming a branding iron, but climbing into it was like entering a preheated Weber.

Windows down, we shot across the River to South Tampa and our second visit to Wright’s Gourmet. It had only been a few months, but we craved another ‘wich and a thick wedge of cake. It was as good as we remembered and more than satisfied our grumbling tums.

An affordable luxury

When money is tight, it’s difficult to find things to do indoors when the weather starts getting rough. Movies are simply putting bums on seats; I can do that at home. Indoor fun centers are not cheap. Museums aren’t necessarily cheap, either, but there are ways to save.

 

Here’s a shallow breakdown of some indoor entertainments and prices:

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• Tampa Museum of Art – $15, open to close, perambulating your butt at a leisurely pace
• Movie (non-matinee) – $13.00, 90+ minutes, sitting your butt still
• Indoor trampoline – $15.00, 60 minutes, bouncing your butt off
• The Mall – Your $oul, forever, slogging your butt through the muck of mindless materialism
• Bowling – $13, 120 minutes, moving your butt from seat to lane to bar, from seat to lane to bar, from seat to…
  

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Okay, bowling is actually a pretty fun indoor activity, providing you’re decent at it. I mean, El Duderino abides it, so how bad can it be. But, man the price has shot up; I used to bowl strictly because it was pennies a game. But I digress; we’ll do bowling another time.

 

For some of these, there are ways to save some dough. Plan ahead and go during reduced rate times.

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• Movies, matinee – $10
• Movies, twilight – $8.00
• Tampa Museum of Art, Thursdays, 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. – Pay-what-you-will 

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Suddenly, (granted, with time restrictions) The Tampa Museum of Art becomes the affordable choice.

 

Museums are no longer housed in the palatial abodes of the rich; at least public ones are not. They rely on endowments, grants, and donations, as well as ticket sales. We may as well enjoy the fruit on our downtime and offer what we can in reasonable exchange.

Just like most else I experience in life, I find myself wondering why I don’t engage in these activities more often. The obvious answer is the shortage of time. Still, there are certainly those days I let slip by doing nothing when I could be in a museum, nature center, or theater.

But the knowledge that time is short becomes the motivation to make the most of it. I need to mark the calendar for future trips to the Polk County Museum of Art, The Ringling in Sarasota, and returns to the Tampa Museum of Art for the next installations. (I’ve been to the Dali Museum twice before, though it is a fave.)

Maybe we’ll do a monthly Thursday Night Art Date.

In closing

We got out of the house and into the cool. The collections of the Tampa Museum of Art are enjoyable. The Vapor and Vibration exhibit was particularly rewarding and memorable. This visit to the museum was a perfect way to spend the day staying cool without feeling like you wasted the time, which is how I would feel if we had simply gone to a mall or the movies.

Museums were invented for rich people to make friends by having the socialites over to look at their crap. (I horde too, but no one’s coming over to see my old hand tools, ‘90’s comics collection, or scratched vinyl.) That ancient trend sparked the collecting and preservation of art and antiquities and as long as wealthy folks continue keeping these curiosities and purdy things archived, we may as well take advantage and escape the heat in style.

Heck, you might discover a new artist or style that appeals to you, or a work that really speaks to you, or the inspiration to create your own works of art. And that’s pretty cool, too.

If you open your own gallery, make sure there’s ac and I’ll be down for a visit.

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• How do you escape the summer heat (or winter chills)?  
• What are your favorite museums in the Tampa region?  
• Do you know of any art museums or galleries in eastern Hillsborough County that I’ve overlooked?

Please comment with any questions, critiques, or greetings. I’d love to hear from you.

Thanks for Reading!