Tag Archives: fairmount park

Léger: Modern Art and the Metropolis At The Philadelphia Museum Of Art

FLegere

This interdisciplinary exhibition will shed new light on the vitally experimental decade of the 1920s in Paris when the great French modernist Fernand Léger (1881-1955) played a leading role in redefining the practice of painting by bringing it into active engagement with the urban environment and modern mass media. This will be the first exhibition to take as its inspiration and focus Léger’s monumental painting The City (1919), a cornerstone of the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s collection and a landmark in the history of modern art, placing it in dialogue with the urban art and culture of modernity.

The exhibition will present a core group of Léger’s exceptional paintings on the theme of the city, along with film projections, theater designs, architectural models, and print and advertising designs by the artist and his contemporaries. In a multi-media installation of more than 120 works, including loans from American and European public and private collections, this exhibition will demonstrate the varied strategies through which artists and designers of the European avant-garde, with Léger in the lead, sought to participate in the complexity and excitement of the metropolis. The exhibition will also feature work by Cassandre, Robert and Sonia Delaunay, Theo van Doesburg, Alexandra Exter, Abel Gance, Le Corbusier, Piet Mondrian, Gerald Murphy, Francis Picabia, Man Ray, and many others.

The exhibition runs from October 14, 2013 – January 5, 2014. Click here for more information

The Nation’s First Zoo in Philadelphia

Located just outside the city limits in West Fairmount Park is a Victorian Garden filled with rare, unusual and exotic creatures from all corners of the Earth. This may sound Picture 8like the beginning of a fairy tale, but we’re really talking about The Zoo. The Philadelphia Zoo is the nation’s first zoo, opened in 1874, and remains a touchstone of Philadelphia culture and tourism. The Zoo is easy to navigate and great fun for children – especially the Treehouse, which showcases larger-than-life habitats for kids to roam and explore (like the gigantic honeycomb to hang out in). The Children’s Zoo has a baby zoo for the tots and farm animals that like a little more interaction.

New exhibits include the PECO Primate Reserve with 11 different species, and the Carnivore Kingdom that houses the rare white lions, snow leopards and jaguars. The Reptile House and Jungle Bird Walk are both newly renovated and give up close and personal experiences.

Insider’s Tip: Parking is a hot commodity, so either get there early or choose a more overcast day to hang with the furry friends.