Home Sweet Museum

The couple hosting me and my roomy, Rebecca, are more than just avid art collectors.  It is more accurate to describe them as museum curators.  In fact, they call their (penthouse) apartment "home sweet museum".  They have such an amazing collection that they regularly have scholars visit and even stay here at the apartment (so they can have enough time to attempt to get through even a small portion of the collection.)  Their collection is so big that even the hallway of the penthouse level of their building as well as another penthouse apartment next to this one (!!!) are both full of art.  And when I mean full, I mean every square inch is used.  Seriously, folks, this is one amazing art collection!  I would be shocked if it weren't the largest collection of its kind (text based art) in the world.

I asked if I could take pictures and was given an enthusiastic "yes"!  Unfortunately, I really don't know much at all about modern art, so I don't even know where to begin here.  I've just taken some random shots of things that looked interesting.

First some wider shots of the apartment:

the hallway going to my room

looking from the kitchen to the living room

There used to be a fish pond under the stairs.  They took it out and commissioned an artist to create something for the space.  She filled it with large white letters.  

This is the hallway that leads to their apartment from the elevators.  They got permission to fill it with art.

These are probably my favourite pieces that they have.  The artist has taken an old novel and blocked out all of the text with the exception of a few words.  They must be so fun to make!  (Click on the image to see them larger.)

"The whole of the
 one very simple thing:
for years
for Jill--

score
a ring of music

play lady play
As to your enclosure
a heart of stone
alarming.

I like this one, too.  It looks like it might be back lit when plugged in.

lol

Amazingly, these were only shots of the downstairs.  There is a whole other collection upstairs!