A Trip to the Renwick

I had some extra time one afternoon a couple of weeks ago and decided to spend it at the Renwick.  The gallery is a bit far for a lunch time visit, and I was able to take my time and see three shows.  I was surprised at how crowded it was - you'd think WONDER was still on.

When: closing January 28, 2018

The only way to describe the number of people at the "Murder is her Hobby" show is as a mob scene.  It was actually difficult to see the dioramas, as there were so many people to contend with.  These are murder scenes, based on actual crimes, created by Frances Glessner Lee, for use in training homicide investigators.

They are an interesting blend of womanly craft and manly crime solving, so quite modern.  A macabre hobby certainly, but also a way for a woman to make a serious contribution to police work, in a time when that was not generally possible.

Apparently, there's a thought that Lee was the basis for Jessica Fletcher, the crime solving inhabitant of Cabot Cove, Maine, played by Angela Lansbury on "Murder, She Wrote."  Not sure if that's true or not, or what Lee would have thought of the show, which I'm guessing was not a realistic depiction of police procedure.

When: closing January 28, 2018

This is an installation that looks like a subway stop, except the train never arrives.  All it needs is a Metro sign, and it could be the Red Line.  I caught myself looking for the third rail, in an effort to avoid it. 

It's intriguing, when you stand by the side of the tracks, you can really imagine yourself waiting for a train, but I think the effect would have been enhanced if you couldn't just turn around and walk down the stairs back into the museum.  If they'd made it more of a tunnel to get to the installation, that would have been better I think.  As it is, it's quite good, so I'm nitpicking.  There's also some "peepholes" on the other side of the installation that make it appear that you're looking at staircases in the station - very clever.

Large drop-off in crowd size from the crime scene dioramas, which rather surprised me.  It's just one item to see, why not stick around and give it a look?  I was happy to have a bit more room on the "platform," so this is not a complaint, just an expression of confusion.

When: closing February 11, 2018

Before the Renwick was renovated, the Grand Salon upstairs was just that: a room where artwork covered the walls.  Now, most of what's happening is on the ceiling.  The Grand Salon is now a place where people lie on the floor.

I wish they had chosen a different room for this activity.  I don't know of another museum space with art displayed salon style here in DC (of course, I don't go to every museum, so perhaps there are many rooms like this, and I just don't know about them), and it would be nice to see a show set up this way.  But, there aren't any other rooms to lie on the floor and look at art on the ceiling either (again, so far as I know), so I'll appreciate the opportunity to do that.

This show is the winner of the 2016 competition "ABOVE the Renwick," and it's interesting enough.  The photograph is typical of what you see - if you move about, you see a slightly different angle and thus, a different work of art.  I liked it fine, but I didn't walk away in awe.

Verdict: All three shows are worth a look; if you can find a time when it's less crowded, that would make the Lee dioramas much easier to examine.