3rd House Journal: Knock on Wood

[Atrium roof at the PEM; 1/20/07]

Yesterday's best-laid plans to go to the Montserrat Gallery at the Montserrat College of Art didn't pan out as we arrived to find the gallery closed and we were left to peer into an unlit, locked room at the intriguing exhibit (Electric Wasteland: Urban Art from L.A.). The day's brilliant sunshine was equally deceptive as high winds stole whatever heat there was from air and body, so a quick change of plans was necessarily made quicker standing on the street corner. Off to the Peabody Essex Museum, a few miles away in Salem.

I can't say I was all that interested in seeing the Inspired by China furniture exhibit, but it was enjoyable. I'd never heard of zelkova, zitan, or tieli - all among the woods used to make the furniture on display (and great Scrabble words, no?) which included historical Chinese furniture that served as inspiration for new work created by leading furnituremakers after a PEM workshop in June 2005. See the online exhibit here, which seems to include everything in the exhibit.

Also currently on exhibit were works by M. F. Husain, contemporary Indian art that I quite liked. I'm sure it would have helped if I'd read the Mahabharata, on which several of the works are based, but I liked their vitality and I was intrigued by the stories depicted in them. Some of them vaguely reminded me of the urban art we spied in the Montserrat gallery, perhaps in their energy, size and storytelling.

The final exhibit we saw was Intersections, an exhibit of contemporary Native American art that was installed within the museum's existing fine collection of Native American works. The website says that the new exhibition will be there indefinitely, and it's a wonderful addition, bringing new life to the collection and emphasizing that the traditions are being carried on today by contemporary artists while incorporating new materials and present-day themes.

Museum-going, not to mention bone-chilling weather, tend to make a person hungry and thirsty, so it was time to saddle up and head out to local watering holes. Cilantro makes some of the best margaritas and authentic Mexican food in the northeast, but it doesn't open until 5:30. With an hour and a half to kill, we headed over to the Salem Beer Works, which was hopping (no pun intended). I had a tasty fried haddock sandwich with their most excellent sweet potato fries. They really know how to make fries there - crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside. Yum. Unfortunately, we'd misunderstood the opening time at Cilantro and left too early (it's right next door), which meant more freezing time outdoors and then in my car with the heater blasting. We mulled over the options for long enough that 5:30 came around and Cilantro and its margaritas beckoned, lucky us.