Few capital cities on the earth are quite like Austin. It’s a kind of oasis in the middle of Texas — from the air, it seems as if you’re passing stretches of dry, desert-like territory, then there’s a sudden infusion of greenery and water and life; from the ground, the city may sprawl a little, but its heart is downtown, where you’ll find Austin boutique hotels , the Capitol building, and the fine museums of the University of Texas.
One such museum is the Blanton Museum of Art , an art museum and research cetner at the university under the auspices of the College of Fine Arts. This particular university museum is one of the largest of its kind in the United States, containing about 18,000 works of art from Europe, the U.S., and Latin America. Established in 1963, 47 years ago, the museum has changed its name as it grew, moving from space to space at the university, first to the Harry Ransom Center in 1972, renamed the Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery in 1980, then moving again in 2006 to a 155,000 square foot building and renamed the Blanton Museum of Art after the Houston Endowment, chaired by Jack S. Blanton, gave the museum a donation of 12 million dollars.
A number of intriguing exhibits are available throughout the summer and into October of 2010. Presently, until August 22, you might see Matisse as Printmaker, which presents works from the Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. There are 63 prints here by Henri Matisse (who lived from 1869-1954), which were made by a number of techniques: etching, aquatint, monotype, woodcut, linoeum cut, and lithography.
Through October, you’ll be able to see WorkSpace: Anna Craycroft: Subject of Learning/Object of Study . This installation was conceived by Anna Craycroft, an artist based in Brooklyn, which changes the WorkSpace gallery into a series of educational spaces with sliding chalkboards, modular furniture, computer displays, educational books, all of which is meant to explore the various defintions the individual has in order to understand the structure of our institutions, and how the mechanics of that institution affect the persons within it.