In the past two months the Cincinnati Art Museum (953 Eden Park Dr., Eden Park) set a record in attendance with 42,849 visitors from the beginning of September to the beginning of November (compared to 32,272 last year). Out of acknowledgement and gratitude, the CAM is offering a day of free parking this Sunday. Paired with the always-free admission, it is the cheapest (but also among the most enriching) thrills to be found in Cincinnati this weekend. The museum credits the popularity of their current special exhibitions for the high attendance, all of which go beyond what one might expect.
In the Arms and Armor exhibition, 17th-century weaponry is paired with a current-day crossbow and set against a Flemish tapestry of hunted prey (including a hysterical looking unicorn). Wedded Perfection embraces the sentimental fairytale fantasies that are many people’s wedding days, but not without pairing the sensibility with examples of incisive contemporary art pertaining to the subject from local Anita Douthat, the renowned Christo and a number of others. The Yohji Yamamoto gown is my favorite; it deconstructs the white gown into a planar experiment.
CAM's hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday. Go here for exhibit and museum details.
