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I’ve been lucky enough to take in three awesome exhibitions in the last week. Maybe it’s good timing, maybe it’s just that now, more than ever, people need an escape from the everyday humdrum and economic stress, but I’ve definitely been craving more stimuli for my soul of late. The goodness started with the Chagall exhibit at the Contemporary Jewish Museum. I didn’t know a lot about Chagall as an artist, but it was a fascinating look at his life and early collaboration with the Russian Jewish Theater. There were huge murals covering walls, tiny detailed prints and frankly, lots of very macabre characters. I have a tendency toward the macabre, as does my boyfriend, Rick, and we were both drawn to the work of a Chagall collaborator, Robert Falk, who drew some scary skeleton people (an old lady still sticks in my mind, terrifying as she was, i kind of want her on my wall) for the play, The Wedding Feast. Not just a look at an artist, but at a movement that was stymied and ultimately crushed by an oppressive regime. Like i said, fascinating.

A few days later and for a complete change of pace, it was off to the SF MoMa for the Georgia O’Keeffe/Ansel Adams double header AND the Robert Frank ‘The Americans’. I can’t really do either exhibition justice, as they were amazing. Suffice to say, i came home with one Georgia print (a beautiful cream and grey abstract rose) and a wish list as long as my arm for more. To me, the best thing about the Georgia/Ansel exhibit was its demonstration of the abundance and power of nature, much of it local to Northern California, which sparked some interesting conversations about how helpless all humans ultimately are when faced with it. Hmm, tsunami discussions on a Saturday afternoon? We must have been inspired by something! And at the end of it all, it was just stunningly beautiful.

Onto ‘The Americans‘, Robert Frank’s unflinching, photographic look at American life. All black and white, immaculately themed and sequenced, with a story behind each series. Again, this exhibit sparked some serious conversations and some serious emotions, as we were faced with a mirror into the way we live. I still want to cry remembering one of the loneliest photos i’ve ever seen in my life. Go see it and you’ll find out which one i mean. 7×7 seems to know what I mean.

I won’t forget either of these exhibits, as each of them provoked thought, emotion and sheer wonder. And what better can you ask for from a $20 ticket? Get down to the MoMa while you can.