Dali, Warhol, and Chihuly: A Trifecta of Arty Awesomeness in St. Petersburg, Florida
If you even have a passing interest in the arts and you're in downtown St. Petersburg, make time in your schedule for these these art museums: the Dali Museum, the Chihuly Collection, the Fine Arts Museum St. Petersburg, and the Morean Arts Center.
They are all within walking distance of one another, and they are the perfect way to spend a culture-filled day in the Tampa Bay area.
I did receive free entrance to the Dali Museum and the Chihuly Collection as part of a partnership with St. Pete Beach/Clearwater CVB, but have returned to these same locations for further research and to update this post on my on dime.
As always, all opinions are my own.
The Dalí Museum
I love all things modernist and post modernist, so you can imagine my glee when I discovered that St. Petersburg had one of the largest collections of Salvadore Dali's works outside of Spain. My husband, who minored in Spanish in college, is also a huge fan of Dali, and both of us were looking forward to experiencing the museum.
The museum absolutely did not disappoint. From the moment that we walked up to the building, we knew we were in for a treat, since it combined elements of nature, concrete, glass, and geometry into a unique, Dali-esque structure.
Once inside, we wandered around the Dali portion of the museum, learning about his paintings and changing philosophies. I learned several things while listening to the audio guide:
Dali had an older brother who died before he was born. Creepily, the brother's name was also Salvadore Dali, and Dali's parents often treated the living boy as if he was the same person as his dead brother.
Dali is known for his surrealist works, but he actually broke with the Surrealist group due to their political differences.
His later works reflect his growing interest in science and religion. The paintings from this period are still very symbolic, but don't have that dreamlike quality of his early works (i.e. he'd left the dripping clocks and oozing figures behind at that point).
Oh, there were a million other things that I learned, but I will spare you the full on art lecture. (Unless you're interested...)
My favorite painting was called "The Holographic Toreador" which had this trompe l'oeil quality to it, since the subject shifts between Venus de Milo and a bullfighter when you stare at it. It's also a giant painting, and, for some reason, I really love huge, room dominating artwork.
After our jaunt through the wild mind of Dali, we headed over to the Andy Warhol exhibit on the other side of the museum. When Landon and I were first putting this trip together, we were disappointed to find out that the Warhol exhibit was closing before we would get there--BUT! we were delighted to see a billboard as we drove to the Dali Museum that said that the Warhol exhibit had been extended!
I found it exceedingly odd that Warhol and Dali knew one another and ran in the same social circles in New York in the '60s and '70s. Plus, I found out that Dali was only 24 years older than Warhol--for some reason, I thought Dali was MUCH older than Warhol.
We enjoyed looking at collection, which included sketches from his Pop Art period (including the Campbell's soup can and the U.S. dollar bill), videos he shot, excerpts from his T.V. show, personal photographs, and prints.
Warhol (in the chair) and Dali (standing)
I love interactive exhibits, so I had to participate in the screen test part of the exhibit. It was reminiscent to the three-minute-long screen tests that Warhol recorded: he even had one for Dali! Warhol would slow down the final tapes so that the pieces had a dream-like quality.
After we'd tinkered with all of the fun bits at the Warhol museum, we took a quick run around the gardens outside the museum. I would love to go sit out there, next to the water and the marina, and just read or write. It was so pretty!
The Chihuly Collection
Next up on our jaunt of culture was the Chihuly Collection. I LOVE Chihuly's works, and I was so excited about seeing some of them up close. If you've ever been to the lobbies of the Bellagio or Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, you've seen just a taste of what Chihuly can do.
The Collection was pretty great--and I was allowed to take pictures, which was even better.
The Morean Arts Center
The Morean Arts Center, which runs the Chihuly collection, also runs a Hot Shop that does daily glass blowing demonstrations (which we had to do, of course!).
I loved seeing how these skilled glassworkers turned a lump of molten glass into a gorgeous red bowl.
The demonstration lasts for about half an hour and is $8.95 per adult. The glassblowers were personable and explained every step of their process, which made the experience much more in-depth. You'll also get access to the hot shop store to purchase some of the works of these talented artists!
Even if you have smaller children, the museums would be interesting. The Dali had cute art backpacks that the young attendees could use, and the Chihuly has so much color that any kid would enjoy it (just don't touch!!). The Hot Shop would be especially cool (ha--not literally!) for kids to see since the process is quick and gratifying for short attention spans.
Have you visited St. Petersburg's art museums? Which would you be the most interested in?
Want even more St. Petersburg tips, tricks, and travel suggestions? Check out these posts!
First Timer's Guide to St. Pete/ Clearwater
St. Pete Eats: Bella Brava Review
It's All Greek to Me! Visiting Tarpon Springs, Florida
The Coconut Inn, Pass-a-Grille, Florida
