Museum Review // Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme CT
https://florencegriswoldmuseum.org/
This isn't so much of a "Museum Review" as it is an "Exhibit Review", but I'd never been to the Florence Griswold Museum before so this also counts as that (kind of). This exhibit about Leo Jensen was something I wanted to see as soon as I found out about it. It started back in February and, yes, it took us until literally the day before it ended to get out there to see it. I had actually thought about taking a day during the week to go by myself, but I'm glad I went on this Saturday with Quentin instead because I think he really enjoyed it.
Leo Jensen feels like more than just art. Leo Jensen has this type of art where you couldn't imitate it if you tried because it is so unique and exclusive to him. In that way, I feel like we have that idea put into our heads that it's okay to be different and that sometimes we don't think like everyone else or see the world like everyone else and that's okay. The individuality in the creation of this art and how it should leave you wanting to do that which only you can do with your own voice is something special.
There were two specific pieces that were games in this exhibit. They were meant to spin and then balls would land in a spot and that was how you played the game. Museums are typically always hands off and this was no different, but we were lucky enough to be there at a time where we were able to see someone from the museum spin these two pieces and tell us about them. The one piece which I absolutely love and drew me to Leo Jensen in the first place is the baseball piece he has, which is called "Baseball Machine".
I wish someone out there would recreate "Baseball Machine" in a scaled down size, so it could fit in your hand, and would release it as something that you could purchase. Why there isn't more merchandising of sorts for Leo Jensen is strange to me as well, but it is what it is. I think just to have that weird mind, put so much work into the art and have it come out being so fun is what makes the work of Leo Jensen so special.
At the same time, I feel like there's this part of people where there are certain things they want to do and they're going to do them no matter what. If Leo Jensen makes a piece of art and likes it, from what I can assume only based on seeing the art, he wouldn't care if no one else liked it. It's that type of thing where he created it for him. It's that same idea of people who tell jokes and as long as they think they're funny they don't care if no one else laughs (I do this) But again, this is all just assumption on my part and I've not been told this or read this anywhere.
Quentin and I literally only went to the Leo Jensen portion of the Florence Griswold Museum, but it is a big place. There are even parts where you can visit outside, but as it was kind of rainy on this day so we decided to come back and get the full museum experience on another day. But I do recommend going to The Florence Griswold Museum as it feels like a place you could spend your whole day and really just leave feeling like you're smarter than before you went there. I will continue to follow Leo Jensen exhibits, wherever they go, but I also want to revisit The Florence Griswold Museum sooner than later as well.
What I didn't find out until after the fact is that Saturday was also International Museum Day, which felt like an even better reason to be out there. Through the CT Art Trail there is also this passport which exists that takes you across 24 museums. There are a lot of museums in Connecticut and sometimes it can feel overwhelming, so to use this passport as a guide to exploring new museums just seems like a great reason to buy it. But, it also gets you different deals at each museum you go to, as The Florence Griswold Museum gave 10% off in their gift shop, which we definitely used.
One item that the Florence Griswold Museum gift shop did have that was for Leo Jensen (and the only item of his for sale) was a signed print by him. It looks kind of like the folk singer art piece and I just knew that if I walked away without buying it I would regret it for the rest of my life so I had to pick that up. Whether you're buying art in the gift shop, using the Art Trail Passport or just out there appreciating the world of art, I for one am not going to look at Willimantic the same way ever again. This visit gave us a whole new meaning to it all.
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