Event 1, 2 &3 - San Francisco Museum visits: De Young Museum, California Academy of Arts and Sciences, and SF SOMA exhibit + More

Over this Memorial Day weekend, I flew back home to San Francisco and made a trip to Golden Gate Park. Golden Gate Park is home to dozens of attractions like the Botanical Gardens, the Japanese Tea Garden, and the Amphitheater. Scattered throughout the park is beautiful statues, some even moved from SF SOMA (which is currently being remodeled). During this trip, I paid a visit to two famous Museums, the DeYoung Museum and California Academy of Arts and Sciences, as well as other attractions.

 Event #1: De Young Museum

The overall structure of DeYoung Museum is extremely interesting. Its tallest structure looks like an inverted triangle, involving the use of the Golden Ratio and mathematical measurements to ensure the building’s survival during an earthquake. The entire building is made of copper — therefore, when it oxidizes, it will turn green and blend in with the trees surrounding it. This clever use of chemistry ensures long term aesthetic appeal.

My favorite part of the Museum is somewhat hidden. It is on the 9^th floor observatory deck, known as the Nancy B. and Jake L. Hamon Tower. In the picture above, it is the very top floor of the inverted triangle. From the Tower, you get a 360˚ view of San Francisco. The view is astonishing and the architecture is marvelous. 

Untitled, ca 1955-1959
Copper Wire
Gift of the Artist
2005.90.2

If you are an abstract or American art enthusiast, I highly recommend the DeYoung Museum. It features many unusual artworks with twisted shapes. The following statues are from Ruth Asawa, a San Franciscan native. This overall reminds me of neural networks. Their floating, biomorphic nature evokes organic beauty and the intricacy of the natural world. Their complexity cleverly captures light, creating shifting shadows and dancing lines in the space outside the structure. I am quite impressed that fine copper wires can transform into something this beautiful.

 Event #2 California Academy of Arts and Science

I remember when the California Academy of Arts and Sciences reopened in 2008 and people from around the world lined up around Golden Gate Park to enter one of the largest museums in the world; the entire Amphitheater in the picture below was filled with people. This weekend, the line was nowhere nearly as long, but nonetheless, the exhibits did not fail to impress.

First, I would definitely recommend the Academy of Arts and Sciences to everyone. Like C.P. Snow would agree, it is definitely the best of two cultures; its name itself already unites the arts and sciences. Therefore, it will cater to many people’s interests. From the underwater fish exhibits and touching the sea creatures to admiring the large planetarium, it would take hours to thoroughly enjoy every exhibit. As a huge animal lover, my favorite, without a doubt, is the animal exhibits. Although everyone comes for the albino alligator, Claude, I enjoyed watching Lemondrop.

Lemondrop, a lavender albino reticulated python, belongs to the constrictor family. It coils around their prey until its breathing stops, and swallows it whole. The record meal for these reticulated python was a 51 pound Malayan sun bear that took nearly 10 weeks for the snake to digest. It is interesting to study Lemondrop’s genetics: Lemondrop lacks a pigment called melanin that results in albinism. Therefore it would struggle in the wild. Biotechnology could actually alter these genes by either turning the pigment on or off. It is extremely rare for it to be found alive in nature, but under extensive care, it could thrive in a sheltered home.

My height compared to the 15ft long Lemondrop

 Event #3 SF MOMA + Little Gems Hidden in Golden Gate Park 

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is currently closed for expansion. However, it is currently launching its On the Go programming, with exhibits scattered across San Francisco and educational events on selected dates.

SF MOMA located near Yerba Buena prior its reconstruction. (Photo from www.cntraveller.com)

Personally, I am not the hugest fan of modern art, but if you are, I highly recommend attending MOMA when it reopens early 2016. The exhibit I saw was relocated from the Moscone Center near Yerba Buena to the front of De Young Museum.

Untitled (Three Dancing Figures), 1989
Keith Haring

Keith Haring was a political artist who expressed his concepts of birth, death, sexuality and war through graffiti and contemporary art. His sculpture uses bold and contrasting color, with each figure connecting with one another at jarring positions. Although this greatly differs from my taste of art, it does have a weird feature to it. Haring enjoyed creating raunchy-dancing figures, crawling babies, and squiggly lines. His artwork reminded me of the ones I saw during the robotics week. Although it is unusual, it does get his point across — he clearly is not pleased with the political system and wants to show its horror in an eerie manner.

As I wrap up my museum visits, I also entered the Japanese Tea Garden, the oldest public Japanese garden in America, hidden next to De Young Museum. It is decorated with traditional stone lanterns, native Japanese plants like the Cherry blossom, a zen garden. My personal favorite is the arched drum bridges, which reminds me of serenity and harmony.

Lastly, as I exited Golden Gate Park, I ventured through the Botanical Gardens. This garden is the perfect location for picnics next to gorgeous flowers, trees and a peaceful atmosphere.