Art, Death, and a Train
On our recent super warm but wet day, my friend and I decided to see some of the current exhibits at the Renwick Gallery. The Gallery is just a few steps from the White House on Pennsylvania Ave at 17th St.
We saw “Murder is Her Hobby: Frances Glessner Lee and the Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death.” Frances Glessner Lee (the first female police captain in the US) made detailed mini crime scene dollhouses that were used to train investigators, and are still used to this day! Each of the dioramas showed true crime scenes, and the level of detail was absolutely amazing. Here is one of them:
The exhibit was so much fun. The room is dark and you use mini flash lights to evaluate each scene. I highly recommend you stop by before the exhibit closes at the end of the month.
We also waited for a train that never came at Rick Araluce’s “The Final Stop.” This is an immersive experience where you walk onto an abandoned underground subway platform. You can see the tracks in front of you and going off into the distance. You see the lights and hear the sounds of an approaching train, but it never arrives. I’m not sure if I “got it,” but it was definitely a strange feeling seeing the lights approaching and no train coming.
The Renwick Gallery itself is beautiful and free to the public. If you haven’t been, it’s time to add it to your to do list!
