Out and About: Blanton Art Museum

Blanton Art Museum at the University of Texas

200 E MLK Blvd, Austin

Much to my delight, Blanton Museum of Art is FREE every Thursday. Come on, how awesome is that? In my experience, most museums have a free day once a month or so, but once a week? Very cool. Additionally, if you park in the garage across Brazos street and take your ticket inside to get validated, you pay only $3 for parking.

A lovely afternoon spent at the art museum for only $3? Sign me up! (As an aside, on the third Thurs. of every month, they extend their hours, so if you are a regular 9-5 working stiff, you still have the opportunity to take advantage of their free day.)

When the husband and I went last Thursday, the whole second floor was open for our enjoyment. The museum has a contemporary/modern wing and a classical wing. I must admit that neither of us are big fans of modern art. We're both of the opinion that if it looks like a 3-year-old did it, it's not really art.

However, I was very pleasantly surprised by their modern art section. While there was some of the type of art mentioned above, there was far more modern stuff that was actually very interesting. I particularly enjoyed a large, mixed-media piece that represented a small portion of the galaxy. There was also a phenomenal piece from an African artist made up of small strips of flattened beer cans. It was like a gigantic metal wave on the wall. Cool stuff.

I was sadly a touch disappointed by the classical wing. This was probably largely due to personal preference, though. Much of the art in the classical wing was portraiture from the 18th & 19th centuries, in particular with Christian religious themes. There's only so much of that I can look at without getting a trifle bored. I prefer landscapes and still-lifes.

This wing did also include several rooms of wonderful ink drawings, however. I was also delighted by a small section of Greek pottery. And I think my favorite display may have been the one of Greek coins that depicted each of their famous leaders.

Overall, we had a fantastic time. I could definitely see myself going back several times a year. I highly recommend it!