Technical talk about the opening: The artwork was either hung in frames or in glass display cases according to character or artist. I really appreciated that the museum had different musical talents throughout the building so that visitors were never without music. There was even a high school rock band that paraded around and stomped some cool rhythms before playing their electric set at the end of the show. They were rather eccentric, like the museum's new marketing director. The other musicians were much more classical, like the beautiful violinist in the front foyer. In the lobby was a snack table laden with cheese and crackers, grapes, and other finger foods while the drinks were set in a bucket of ice. I liked that an attendant stood at the drink table to serve visitors; I thought that was very classy. I don't believe any of the artists were present (not surprising since this is a large traveling show), or if they were I never saw them.
After the main events, I toured the museum's other galleries (European and American paintings (which are truly spectacular), Chinese and East Asian, Greek and Roman and Egyptian, among others). Another traveling exhibit was Aerial Photography by William Garnett. I'm very disappointed that this exhibit hasn't received more press because I found it FAR captivating than the graphic novels. It isn't even mentioned on their website! SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE, PEOPLE!* It seems to me that Garnett's photographs should be appreciated almost as much as those of Ansel Adams (and I loooooooooooooooove Ansel Adams). Do yourself a favor, people, and go see this exhibit. I think it will be up through January, but then again, I can't find out because it's not on the museum's website! GAH! Or you can visit William Garnett - An Aerial Aesthetic for a few samples of his work.
In a nutshell: graphic novels are OK (I certainly appreciate the skill required to draw characters in mass quantities), but unique aerial photographs that defy our perceptions of nature are AMAZING!
*Update 10/11/11: Garnett's exhibit at the Fitchburg Art Museum is mentioned in a slideshow on their homepage, and also under "press releases." But seriously, who's going to click a link to go read a press release?
