Eye feasts

On Sunday afternoon we decided to take the kids to the museum of art. We'd had a rather lazy morning, and then I start to get itchy feet to get out. The previous afternoon we'd wandered off to the exhibition centre to see the magician expo and show - which R was particularly entranced by - particularly since he volunteered and was accepted to do a stint on stage.
As we walked along the promenade, N asked "why do we do this?" I asked what she meant. "Well, this, like yesterday we went to the magician and today we're going to the museum."
I asked "do you mean as opposed to just staying at home all the time?"
"yes" she replied.
Oh, I thought. Does that mean they'd rather just stay home all the time.
"well, do you enjoy going out?"
"Oh yes, its just not everyone does these things"

Was that faint-hearted praise?

Anyway, the Art museum had a bit on Otium Ludens . The kids thought the movie of the eruption of Vesuvius was 'cool', and enjoyed the 'play' area with a game and puzzles. Then we went up to the 4th floor window where they had paper and pencils and the invitation to visitors to sketch the sky-line. There was also a very nice exhibition of HK Landscape in the inks of Huang Bore, where the kids could practise using a calligraphy brush and water, and as it was nearly closing time we did a quick rush around "Story of the Horse". Total time in museum was about an hour - just about right for the kids, and home to home including 2 star ferry rides, an ice-cream and a pop around the bakery was 2 hours.

Why indeed do we take them? Well, because we want to go. And since they're ancilliaries to our lives now, they come along. I'd never really thought about it in any other way. Certainly we don't go since we think it would be 'good' for them. Although after seeing the Huang Bore exhibition it did cross my mind that it is really nice for N (who is so interested in Art and drawing) to be able to see different media here (particularly ink) to what she'd have been exposed to in Europe, and to gain an appreciation of it all.
I guess having kids later in life, we are more of the view that they need to fit into our life than the other way around. Even if our lives are at a far slower pace than before.

On Monday night I went to the Hugo Tillman "Mind Games" exhibition in the Louis Vuitton shop. Great photography. I'd have liked to have seen examples of the art work of the artists he photographed next to the prints (maybe in miniature) perhaps. That way I'd feel I was killing 2 birds with one stone - learning about photography and artists and associating the artist with the work of art.

How wonderful it is to live in a city with all its eye feasts.