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Tag: Rothko Chapel

A Weekend of Contrasts: GOP, Turrell, and Rothko

A Weekend of Contrasts: GOP, Turrell, and Rothko

Morgan Robertson

This past spring, I was nominated as an Alternate Delegate to the Republican Party State GOP Convention hosted in Houston this year. The convention was held June 16-18, and I was fortunate enough to attend on Saturday, June 18. Due to an opening in my Dad’s schedule, he was able to accompany me to the convention! 

We left from Huntsville bright and early in the morning and headed south to the George R. Brown Convention Center in downtown Houston. The convention hall was filled with patriotic booths advertising for campaigns, merchandise, and there was even one with antique maps and flags! The first session began with the National Anthem and speeches from several different leaders in the party. 

While the Chairman of the Party, Matt Rinaldi, was leading the GOP in the 15 priorities, I was asked by Walker County’s Republican Chair, Linda McKenzie to move forward to a voting position . Seated next to others from my county, I cast my first vote at the convention by selecting my top priorities. 

The GOP reconvened after a quick break, and we were back to work! This time, we had until 5 p.m. to get through the proposed platform, which had almost 300 items listed. Thankfully, before we got too far into the platform, a convention-goer made a motion to reduce the time per section from 25 minutes to 2 minutes, making it possible to get through the entire platform. This motion was met with some disdain, but ultimately did pass among the GOP.

I cast my vote on each item during the discussion, and my dad even snuck up to our section to snap a photo! 

Even though it was the last day, the convention was buzzing with energy and excitement for the weeks hard work. I’d like to thank Republican Chair, Linda McKenzie for her hard work and for mentoring me through my first convention! 

Dinner at the Grove

One thing is for sure after a political convention, you’ll be hungry! Because we were in Downtown Houston, my dad and I knew that the options were limitless. After a brief online search, we set off on foot towards The Grove. The restaurant was surrounded by (what we thought were ancient) beautiful trees with bending limbs that matched the surrounding park, Discovery Green. 

My Dad chose the red snapper, which was highly recommended by our waitress, and I had the filet mignon. It was so big that I needed help finishing it! We thought we had no more room for anything else… but we decided we couldn’t leave without trying the cookie butter gelato. It was the perfect dessert to conclude our meal! 

After dinner, we meandered through the park while we waited for the sun to set (a necessity for our next stop) and came across a pop-up flea market! Vendors lined the road selling everything. Leather goods, handmade razors, apparel, and baked goods. My dad and I window-shopped for a little while and enjoyed the summer evening weather before heading to our next site. 

James Turrell

Because of my involvement with LEAP, I’ve learned more many things, one of which is art! Keeping with our weekend’s theme of firsts, my dad and I ventured to James Turrell Skyspace called Twilight Epiphany at Rice University.

Although my dad was a bit skeptical about public art when we first arrived, he slowly began to enjoy himself as the sun set. Turrell’s Skyspace is best viewed at dusk, and the unique design of the space is an excellent display of colors. We wandered in and around the space but enjoyed sitting inside the most.

While the lights are changing color around you, the interior square appears to change as well.  However, it is actually just the night sky viewed in comparison to the colors in the space. 

Rothko Chapel

The second day of our trip was dedicated to art! Our first stop was to the Rothko Chapel. Rothko is best known for his abstract expressionism and muted colors. The chapel was commissioned in 1964 by the Menils and was intended to be a place of reflection for followers of all religions. Unfortunately, pictures were not allowed inside, but the experience was not lessened. The interior chamber of the chapel is in the shape of an octagon and adorning each wall are massive paintings. At first glance, it is simply a white room with black paintings, but upon a closer look, each painting is distinct. The muted canvases each have a different draw to them, as if they have their own story or personality. There are diptychs, and triptychs each with slight hues of maroons, greys, greens.

The exterior, which was designed by Philip Johnson, Howard Barnstone, and Eugene Aubry (separately), and features Broken Obelisk, by Barnett Newman in a reflecting pool designed by Johnson.

Overall, we enjoyed the new and different experience, and, upon reflection, stands out as one of many highlights over the summer.

Author mikeyawnPosted on August 10, 2022August 10, 2022Format AsideCategories Art, Civic Engagement, PoliticsTags GOP, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Rothko Chapel, The Grove, Turrell SkyspaceLeave a comment on A Weekend of Contrasts: GOP, Turrell, and Rothko

Houston Retreat: 2.0

The Leap Ambassadors started off the second day of their retreat by holding a productive refresher meeting that especially benefited those of us who are new to the position. We discussed etiquette, professionalism, and overall expectations for how to represent Sam Houston as best we can. After the meeting, we all agreed that it was lunch time.

Although it is a hidden gem, Andes Café is a must try when you are in Houston. It is a South American kitchen named after the Andes Mountains, because they unite Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, and Chile. We were excited, as most of the Ambassadors had never eaten at a South American restaurant before. After we settled into our table, we ordered our drinks. A few of us were adventurous and ordered a chicha morada, also known as the purple corn drink. After tasting it, we agreed that it was similar to a berry juice but lighter and more refreshing. As we looked at the menu, it was interesting to see that next to every menu item it had the country or countries abbreviation from where the plate originated. To start, we ordered the La Colombia, a trio of Colombian sausage, beef empanada and “arepita” corn patty, and the Super Jalea, a bowl of fried shrimp, white fish, and plantains.

 

Some of our entrees included a Peruvian ceviche, calentado con huevos, a mix of rice, beef, pork belly, sausage, black beans, and two sunny side up eggs…

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Andes Cafe

…and a Columbian hamburguesa with a beef patty, bacon, ham, and a pineapple sauce.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Andes Cafe

Needless to say, it was all overwhelmingly delicious.

With full bellies, we decided that we’d pay a visit to “Soaring in the Clouds”, an art installation done by artist Ed Wilson, who had recently done “The Raven” at SHSU.   The piece is a sixty-two feet tall hanging sculpture in the entrance of the George R. Brown Convention Center but hangs from the ceiling, which is ninety-two feet above the floor.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Ed Wilson

If you looked at it at night, you’d see birds and clouds made of perforated steel suspended by wires with colorful lights dancing off of them creating a beautiful glow throughout the room. After admiring the art piece and taking a few photos…

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Ed Wilson

…we headed across the street to wander around Discovery Green – a beautiful park filled with sculptures by various artists and even a small lake where people can rent kayaks.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Discovery Green

After seeing the sights at George R. Brown and taking a brisk walk around Discovery Green, we hopped in the car and headed over to Montrose to check out the Rothko Chapel and the Menil Collection.

The Rothko Chapel was originally meant to be designed by Philip Johnson who designed St. Basil’s Cathedral, which we visited on the campus of St. Thomas’s University just the day before. He was also part of a joint team that designed Williams Tower, which stands among other skyscrapers in  Houston.  For the interior, Mark Rothko, a favorite artist of John and Dominique de Menil, was commissioned to fill the chapel with fourteen paintings, and due to Johnson’s and Rothko’s differing artistic visions, the task of completing the building was eventually turned over to local architects Howard Barnstone and Eugene Aubry.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Rothko Chapel, Barnett Newman, Broken Obelisk

Even though the chapel’s creation was a bit tempestuous, the mood there was tranquil and solemn, as the space was intended to create a mindful and reflective experience to all who enter.

After a brief time in the chapel, we went outside and strolled next door to the building that houses the Menil Collection. Located on the lot adjacent to the Rothko Chapel, the Menil Collection consists of over 16,000 pieces of art from the private collection of the Menils and is free to the public. Victoria was the only one of the ambassadors that had visited the museum before, but she was eager to see how many more artists she could recognize since her last time there. Photography wasn’t allowed inside any of the galleries (only the hallways),

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Menil Collection

…so we were unable to take pictures of our favorite pieces.  Well, with the exception of Alexander Calder’s, whose sculpture is in the hallway!

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Houston Texas, Menil Collection, Alexander Calder

Something interesting is that the museum has an entire section devoted to Claes Oldenburg and his Geometric Mouse sculpture, which we had seen a larger scale version of outside of the Houston Public Library while traversing through Houston.

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The LEAP Ambassadors also saw a Claes Oldenburg sculpture on our trip to Denver last Spring, as well as in Marfa, Texas; Philadelphia, Dallas, and many other places.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Claes Oldenburg, Denver
SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Claes Oldenburg
SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Claes Oldenburg, Philadephia
Nasher Sculpture Garden, Claes Oldenburg, LEAP Center, SHSU

At the Menil Collection, those among us that are not too familiar with art had a nice collection from which to begin learning! We discussed a few of the pieces that we found to our liking and ones that we thought were odd (of which there are many!) on the way back to the van. Our next and final stop was the Cloud Column by the Glassell School of Art!

The Cloud Column is a two-story tall oval shaped structure by artist  Anish Kapoor, who is most famous for “Cloud Gate” in Chicago.  The highly polished stainless-steel material creates a vivid reflection which, coincidentally, was the exact purpose of the piece – reflection. The idea is that the concaved center of the cloud allows for the reflection to bend, creating a blended image in which the clouds meet the Houston skyline.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Cloud Column, Anish Kapoor, Houston

We admired it for a more-than-brief moment before moving on to the rooftop garden which overlooks Downtown.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Cloud Column, Anish Kapoor, Houston

After an exciting and fulfilling trip to Houston, thus concluded the LEAP Retreat, and the Ambassadors were ready to return to Huntsville for class the next day.

SHSU, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Cloud Column, Anish Kapoor, Houston

Author mikeyawnPosted on January 30, 2019Format AsideCategories Art, Civic Engagement, Food, Fun, TravelTags Andes Cafe, Anish Kapoor, Claes Oldenburg, Cloud Column, Discovery Green, Ed Wilson, Geometric Mouse, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, Menil Collection, Rothko Chapel, SHSULeave a comment on Houston Retreat: 2.0

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