museum – Dreaming Reality

Well, it’s been a couple of weekends since we had a real adventure, so I bribed the Navigator with a bacon and eggs breakfast to go with me to Cartersville to the Booth Western Art Museum located in Cartersville, Georgia. Someone who works there recently told me about it and kindly gave me a complimentary pass. If you go to the link, there is a nice virtual video that is a perfect short version walk through of most of the interior.

From the official website:

Open since 2003 and located just north of Atlanta along I-75, the Booth is the largest museum of its kind in the Southeast and an Affiliate to the Smithsonian Institution. At 120,000 square feet, the Booth is an architectural wonder – designed to resemble a modern pueblo and constructed from Bulgarian limestone. The Booth’s permanent collection of Western art, Presidential portraits and letters, and Civil War art allows visitors to “See America’s Story” – the land, people, struggles, dreams, and legends – in paintings, sculpture, photography and artifacts. Sagebrush Ranch is an award-winning, hands-on experience and interactive children’s gallery.

Booth Museum was started by a family who call Cartersville home and have been Western art collectors for many years. It was their wish to share their art with the community, particularly young people who might not otherwise be exposed to art. The Museum was named for Sam Booth, a good friend and mentor to the founders of the Museum. Booth Western Art Museum is operated under the umbrella of Georgia Museums, Inc., which also includes Tellus Science Museum, Bartow History Museum and, coming soon, Savoy Automobile Museum.

While the affiliate museums are in close proximity to the Booth, we spent so much time enjoying the exhibits there, visiting another would not have been possible in one day for us. There simply is so much within the museum walls to appreciate, from traditional Western lore, historical rendition and education, to contemporary interpretation and photography of nature, blues and country legends and fans. There is a wonderful collection of Indigenous Sculptures, most based on famous paintings by George Caitlin.

The very first thing we saw was this, Dan Antion.

All made of stainless steel

It really was an impressive sculpture based on the painting

Well, we saw this live version when we stopped in Acworth for food

The paintings were truly amazing in all forms of expression, from those that looked like photographs to the modern art interpretations. There are too many to share individually here but below I will post a slide show of my favorites, most of which are sculptures. This giant sculpture was perhaps my favorite in the museum. From the front it is moving and impressive….

I truly was mesmerized

But when I stepped behind the sculpture and saw the back of the figure, I was overcome with emotion.

Later, when we stepped outside to view the panorama of sculptures in the rear of the museum, I looked up and was struck by the stark symbiotic nature of the image I saw.

I will also feature separately my second favorite sculpture, The Eagle Catcher. The detail is amazing and the effect of living action is perfect.

The Eagle Catcher

Look at the detail and character accuracy

I have very mixed emotions when viewing the history of the Civil War. I value the dedication of the human beings who fight for what they believe in while also feeling it is the greatest shame of our country to have fought amongst ourselves so much as to go to war, often killing their own neighbors’ children and one another. That we valued controlling lives more than preserving life is our greatest shame. I fear the same sentiment rising within the people again and it breaks my heart. History can’t be erased but it should be learned from.

I did find these paintings to be amusing, being from Louisiana. Leave it to those guys to add flair to the fight.

The Civil War dedicated room

I loved this museum and recommend to add it to your list if you have the time. Your children should experience it as well. There is an interactive ranch room on the ground floor designed just for the little ones. No adult is allowed in it without having a child in accompaniment as well. I hope you enjoy the slide show and the music. Clicking on any photo will produce the full size render and holding over any photo will show any captions I added. Hope you are all enjoying your #Free48! See something new, have a happy thought, be free.