More art & goodbye

Another early day. Another bike ride... this time to the north of the island.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Miami_Beach,_Florida

North Miami Beach is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Originally named Fulford-by-the-Sea in 1926 after Captain William H. Fulford of the United States Coast Guard, the city was renamed North Miami Beach in 1931. The population was 41,523 at the 2010 census.

It was sad to say goodbye to the beach.

The north of the island looks different from the south with its big condominiums. 

More newer and taller buildings.

The only thing left to do in my list was the Perez Art Museum Miami, so I made sure I left my last afternoon in Miami to see this well known art place.

The astonishing building was designed by Herzog & de Meuron.

(https://www.herzogdemeuron.com)

FROM WIKIPEDIA: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pérez_Art_Museum_Miami

The Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary artmuseum that relocated in 2013 to the Museum Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Center for the Fine Arts, it became known as the Miami Art Museum from 1996 until it was renamed in 2013 upon the opening its new building designed by Herzog & de Meuron at 1103 Biscayne Boulevard. PAMM, along with the $275 million Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science and a city park which are being built in the area with completion in 2017, is part of the 20-acre Museum Park (formerly Bicentennial Park).

In 2014, the museum's permanent collection contained over 1,800 works, particularly 20th- and 21st-century art from the Americas, Western Europeand Africa. In 2016, the museum's collection contained nearly 2,000 works.

Since the opening of the new museum building at Museum Park, the museum has seen record attendance levels with over 150,000 visitors in its first four months. The museum had originally anticipated over 200,000 visitors in its first year at the new location. At its former location on Flagler Street, the museum received on average about 60,000 visitors annually.

Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM) is directly served by rapid transit at Museum Park Metromover station.

The vertical gardens - designed by Patrick Blanc - are the signature of the museum. 

People might not remember its name, but will say "that museum with the trees hanging."

I got a chance to have fun swinging like a kid in one of the many swings as part of an installation named Netscape by Konstantin Grcic, outside of the museum. 

The artist has created a calm and relaxing atmosphere, on the shade, facing the water. If you are visiting the Perez Museum, plan at least half an hour to enjoy a swing or one of the Muskoka chairs outside.   

Moving inside...

This was my absolutely favourite piece in the whole museum. Unfortunately a photo is never the same as looking at it right in front of you. The scale, the colours, the texture, the look... It really touched me. 

Artist: Firelei Baez

Art: Sans-Souci

FROM: https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/firelei-baez-joy-out-of-fire-1348094

“When I was I was growing up, I’d be the one who’d be drawing the paper dolls for everyone in the neighborhood,” the artist Firelei Báez explains to me over refreshing San Pellegrino Aranciata Rossa drinks in her live/work atelier in upper Manhattan. “Like these really gorgeous gowns—Aretha would’ve been proud.”

Báez’s space has the cool colors of the Caribbean flowing sweetly throughout: Sunny yellows, soft pinks, and watery sea greens permeate both the canvases on the walls and the decor of her home. On a hot early August afternoon, in the artist’s multi-room abode on a quiet block in Inwood, we discuss her artistic roots and the many prolific projects she is currently juggling.

Báez was born in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, in 1981, to a Dominican mother and father of Haitian descent. She remembers her upbringing as involving “busy moms who have like 3,000 jobs. I was there with my abuelas and my tias.”

She was raised in Dajabón, a market city close to the Haitian border. “My idea of landscape and sunlight, everything came from growing up there,” she says. Her family moved frequently, with the future artist attending a different school every year in the Dominican Republic and then Miami, where she moved when she was nine.

The main exhibition call Elemental was by Teresita Fernandez,  an American artist born in Miami, with a Cuban background.

FROM: http://www.artnet.com/artists/teresita-fernández/

Teresita Fernández is a contemporary American artist best known for her large-scale public sculptures and her innovative use of materials. Throughout her practice, Fernández focuses on natural science phenomena and altering the viewer’s perception through changing the light or space of the gallery or location in a direct way. Born on May 2, 1968 in Miami, FL to a Cuban immigrant family, she went on to study at Florida International University and then at Virginia Commonwealth University where she received her MFA in 1992. During a residency in Japan, Fernández was struck by the elegance and utility of the traditional Japanese lifestyle and architecture, an experience which left a profound impact on her artistic process and work. The artist was the recipient of the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2003 and the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 2005. Her work can be found in many collections worldwide, and has been exhibited at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art in Washington, D.C., among others. Fernández lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Here are other pieces that caught my attention at the PAMM:

Artist: Derek Fordjour

Art: Worst to Be First (2019)

FROM https://www.artsy.net/artwork/derek-fordjour-worst-to-be-first-ii

Derek Fordjour is an interdisciplinary artist whose work grappes with race, political insubordination, inequality, and American society. Fordjour explores these complex themes through imagery from carnivals, parades, and other celebratory settings.

Goodbye, PAMM!

Right beside the Perez Museum its the Frost Science, a science center in this magnificent building. Unfortunately I didn't go inside, but I enjoyed walking around it. 

I would've definitely brought the girls to visit this science museum, if they were here.  

FROM:www.frostscience.org

The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science is a leading science museum dedicated to sharing the power of science, sparking wonder and investigation, and fueling innovation for the future. Located in Downtown Miami’s waterfront Museum Park, Frost Science is divided into four buildings: the Frost Planetarium, Aquarium, and North and West Wings. Here, guests can learn about the core science behind living systems, the solar system and known universe, the physics of flight, light and lasers, the biology of the human body and mind, and much more. Guests can explore the world of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in an experiential setting with interactive exhibitions and unique shows. Frost Science is also dedicated to education, earning national awards for its summer camps and after-school programs.

Solar trees.

Going back to the hotel...

One thing that really made me confused here was to see all these motorcyclists WITHOUT a helmet. I knew the use of helmets is not mandatory for everyone in Florida, still it blows my mind to see people riding potential danger machines with hardly ANY protection. I feel uncomfortable riding my bicycle without a helmet, never mind a motorcycle! 

Basically, if you are over 21 years old and have some money for a decent insurance, you can get hurt!!

"Riders over the age of 21 can ride a motorcycle without a helmet if they can prove they are covered by a $10,000 medical insurance policy to cover any injuries that may arise as a result of a crash."

Oh well... I guess it's nice to feel the ocean breeze going 100 km/hour. 

There goes the day. 

There goes the trip. 

Here I am waiting for my ride to take me to the airport to catch a flight back home. 

I have mixed feelings. I miss the girls and Mike, but I also wish my trip didn't end so soon. I had fabulous five days exploring a new city, as much as I was learning about myself. Myself different than the "Gabi backpacker" that used to travel alone two decades ago. I have to say that I still have the same drive and curiosity for different places and cultures as I used to have when I was much younger. 

Practically, I actually liked to make my own decisions and not have to compromise with anyone else. I liked the fact that I was moving faster, and also that I did 100% what I wanted to do. 

The downside of it is not having anyone to socialize at a bar or restaurant. I think my 20 years old version would've done a much better job about that. But lets be honest... I felt like being in bed by 10 or 11pm, anyway. 

Over all, it all went as planed. 

I feel much more energized and happy.