Month: December 2023

Cincinnati

The main attraction in Cincinnati, for us at any rate, was the American Sign Museum, which “is devoted to the art and history of commercial signs and sign making,” according to their website.1 And it was pretty awesome. There were signs from the early 20th century up through the heyday of neon and molded plastic signage, as well as collections of sign makers’ tools. We highly recommend visiting here.

All of the signs are originals. There were some old favorites among the gems, and I prefer the above Pepto Bismal campaign to what they’re doing now.

After that, it was a stop for Cincinnati chili, a move that I will regret at some point.

Last, the Cincinnati Art Museum, which featured murals that Saul Steinberg and Joan Miró painted for the Terrace Plaza hotel. I photographed some of the panels, but there is no way my camera will do the work justice.

1There, President Claudine Gay, is that so hard?

Hello, Cleveland!

And we’re off!

We have a few months free, so we’re driving across the country. First stop, Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

First stop: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. We start with the roots of rock and roll—mostly memorabilia, but also a listening station where I could have spent the entire day, if there weren’t so much else to see.

All of the big names … and the big hair.

Display cases dedicated to specific genres and time periods, as well as a celebration of 50 years of hip-hop, and a room dedicated to midwest acts and hometown heroes.

Surprisingly, some very big stars had very few pieces of memorabilia on display. James Brown had only a few outfits; Elton John, even less.

It was a bit of a thrill to see lyric sheets written by the artists themselves, though.

And there was this:

On the second day, we visited the Cleveland Art Museum which, despite not having a large collection, is considered one of the top art museums in the U.S. because of the quality of the collection. For me, the highlights were Jackson Pollock’s Number 5, 1950, Stuart Davis’ Composition Concrete, and an entire exhibition based on Edgar Degas’ and other artists depictions of Parisian laundresses.

Next: Cincinnati

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