The Sounds of art at Glenstone Museum

"A baby, a baby crying

A woman, a woman screaming
Gun fire, marching soldiers
Horses tripping all over each other
Horses running, running faster
screams of colonization
a church
a chapel
an invisible chapel
amongst the woods
in the woods
in the heavy woods
in the forest
walk up towards the sound
the sound of war
not the sound of music
the sound of crickets
there is a spider
under the bridge, in the shade
there is a big snake
the snake flicks its tongue as it looks up
up at us
on the bridge, looking down
there is a stream
on a hot day
amongst the art
amongst the sculpture
butterflies,
butterflies fly fly everywhere
here and there
on a yellow flower
and then a leaf
Monet, where art thou?
Your spirit is here
amongst the waterlilies in the shade of the building
Brutalist architecture
clean architecture
white marble, gray marble, light wood
Strong, clean, minimal walls with abstract art
Here is a Pollock, there a Warhol, over there a De Kooning
Keep going under the shade
towards the trees
in the heavy forest
follow the path
a woodland trail
to the sounds
the sounds of a baby crying
the sounds of water streaming
the sounds of the wind through the leaves
the sounds of art
the sounds of prayers
the sounds of chants
the sounds of meditation
the sounds of an invisible chapel
in the forest waking up the imagination of a yestertime
of a thousand years
of colonization, of war, of screams, of guns, of cannons
of babies crying and women screaming.
Wake up! Wake up!
Wake up to the sound of the forest
Wake up to the sound of art
and listen intently."

This poem is derived from my take of my visit to the modern minimal art museum in Potomac, MD. Glenstone museum is not only an architectural modern masterpiece, but engulfs and incorporates nature to play a major role in the visitor’s experience and enjoyment of the museum and its grounds.

The poem is mainly derived by the audio installation titled “Forest (for a thousand years…), 2012 by Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller which I feel is the strongest of art-form within the museum.
An audio piece that ignites the imagination and creates much ponderment on life itself.

Glenstone museum is located at: 12100 Glen Rd, Potomac, MD 20854