I think all of us are born with a love of art. But somewhere along the way we get busy, we get stressed, and we forget to simply enjoy the world we live in. That’s why this week I decided it was time to rekindle my love of art at the Knoxville Museum of Art.
It’s been years since I’ve visited the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA). And I think when I did, I was dragging around two very reluctant middle school sons. Their objective: get through this place as quickly as possible so we can go on to something “fun”. Consequently, it wasn’t the best of circumstances to rekindle my love of art. And then I got busy with life and totally forgot about the Knoxville Museum of Art.
It was only as I’ve begun “Exploring Knoxville” that I’ve even thought about the museum. Last week, when I visited the Maker Exchange, I thought about checking it out, but it was closed.
So, this week when the forecast looked like rain, my friend “D” and I decided the Knoxville Museum of Art was just the place to spend a rainy afternoon.
Here’s the Details
First off, I’m totally excited about the fact that admission to the Knoxville Museum of Art is absolutely free. This makes it the perfect place to spend a rainy afternoon. KMA is located at 1050 World’s Fair Park and has abundant parking. They are closed on Monday, but open Tuesday – Saturday from 10am-5pm and Sunday from 1-5pm.
They are closed for some holidays, and home UT football games, so make sure to check out their website when planning your trip. For those of my readers with mobility issues, KMA is fully accessible to wheelchair users. In addition, they have wheelchairs available for loan at the information desk.
What You’ll Find at the Knoxville Museum of Art
The Knoxville Museum of Art encompasses three floors of art exhibits. The first floor (Garden Level) encompasses the Thorne Room Exhibit; the Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass; and the Richard Jolley exhibit: Cycle of Life, and the Sculpture Gardens.
The second floor (Street Level) holds the Higher Ground Exhibit. Finally, the third floor (Upper Level) is the home of Contemporary Art from the KMA collection and the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition which runs from November 29, 2024- January 12, 2025. The third floor also hosts the Museum Gift Shop.
If You Love Dollhouses, You’ll Love the Thorne Rooms
After checking in at the information desk and getting some handouts, we began on the first floor. The Thorne Room exhibit which features miniature dioramas developed in the 1930’s by Narcissa Niblack Thorne enthralled my friend and I.
You step back in time as you wander through this exhibit of miniature life-like scenes depicting American and European homes. The rooms are made on a scale of one inch to one foot. The intricate details in each scene are amazing.
Before you visit this exhibit make sure to stop by the information booth in the lobby to get your “Scavenger Hunt” for the Thorne Room exhibit. D and I didn’t realize this until after we had gone through the entire exhibit. It adds an additional element of fun to challenge yourself to find all sixteen answers.
Check out the Photos
As a photographer, the Photo Expo: Lens and Light Exhibit in the Kramer Gallery was one of my favorite exhibits. This is listed on the website as an event since it only runs through December 15.
It was quite a treat to wander through this room which displayed the amazing talent of our local photographers. I found myself a little jealous of the talent that produced the enthralling images.
When visiting, if you are interested in purchasing any of the photographs on display in this exhibit, please contact the Professional Photographers of East Tennessee by clicking here.
Cycles of Life
Finally, we wandered through the Ann and Steve Bailey Hall which holds Cycle of Life by Richard Jolley. Jolley’s seven-part narrative of the Cycle of Life lines one entire upper wall and covers part of the ceiling.
The KMA commissioned the Knoxville artist to create this artwork. This steel and glass artwork weighs between seven to eight tons and took over five years to complete.
Just off the Hall is another exhibit: Facets of Modern and Contemporary Glass. One of my favorite pieces in this exhibit is by Dalibor Tichy and is made from cobalt glass with tendrils of glass that shoot upward.
Perhaps the most unique sculpture is the Tohoku Japanese Earthquake Sculpture which “represents a rotated digital model of a 9-minute span of seismograph readings recorded during one of the most devastating earthquakes in history, which struck the coast of Japan in 2011”.
Unfortunately, the outside areas were closed as the staff prepared for an upcoming exhibit, so we moved on to the upper two floors.
Headed to Higher Ground at the Knoxville Museum of Arts
Higher Ground: A Century of the Visual Arts in East Tennessee is KMA’s flagship permanent exhibition. It occupies most of the Street Level of KMA. This exhibit follows the progression of the art community of Knoxville and the surrounding Appalachian area from around the 1860’s to the 1980’s. I believe the painting below is my favorite in the entire collection.
You can use a QR code located on the information sheet you received at the information booth in the lobby to access an online tour. You can also look for the headphone icon on labels near the works of art.
Third Floor Highlights Current Artists
The third floor is home to the ongoing exhibit Currents: Contemporary Art from the KMA Collection and the upcoming exhibit of East Tennessee Regional Student Art. The Currents collection contained a number of photographs that I found fascinating. But if I’m honest, it also contained some “art” that I thought a ten-year-old could produce. Just my opinion.
While the East Tennessee Regional Student Art Exhibition wasn’t due to start until November 29, they had already begun setting up. We were able to get a brief preview of some of the up-and-coming talent here in East Tennessee. Let me just say that some of the art I saw was amazing.
By this time, both my friend and I were getting a little hungry. We stopped by the gift shop (you all know I can’t pass one up). They had quite a good selection, including wooden postcards, paintings by local artists, and socks based on works of art.
A Word of Caution
This is an art museum and as such it may have some pieces that are sexually suggestive. At this time, in my opinion, two pieces fit in that description. However, in my opinion again, these pieces were not so objectionable that I felt totally uncomfortable.
In addition, for my photographer friends, bear in mind that while you can take pictures in the museum, the museum does not permit flash photography. The museum doesn’t allow tripods or video recorders either.
It’s Time to Revisit Kerns Food Hall
Checking out all this art definitely made us hungry. D had never been to Kerns Food Hall, so I was excited to introduce her. The entrance is still a little confusing. It always seems to creep up on me. I’m not expecting it to be as close to the Henley Street Bridge as it is.
How Does this whole Pay to Park Thing Work?
We were both a little frustrated with the whole “pay for parking” bit. Even thought you don’t pay for the first two hours, it was so confusing. We weren’t sure how it worked so we went inside to ask. Arghh… we needed our license plate numbers.
Since my truck is relatively new, I didn’t know mine. (Oh seriously, who am I kidding? I had my previous car for over ten years, and I couldn’t tell you my license plate number.) So, we traipsed back outside and began the chore of using the QR code supplied by the vendor to “pay for our parking”.
Granted, I am sure that my twenty-something sons would have no problem doing this, but the program glitched momentarily making this whole procedure rather irritating. Eventually we got it done, but I’m still not crazy about this whole idea. Maybe if they just did it on football weekends??
So Much to Choose from But I’m a Creature of Habit
D had never been here, so we walked around, and checked everything out. Since my last visit they’ve added T. Ralph’s Burgers, French Cookie, and Aunt Nazzira Hummus Bar.
I planned on trying something different this time so I could tell you all about it, but I have been craving a Korean Bowl from Won Kitchen for weeks. I couldn’t resist it and D agreed. Once we got our food, we grabbed a seat and dug in. It was delicious. You can read about it here.
It looks like we caught them right in the middle of decorating for Christmas. I think I’ll come back on Monday morning for some Awaken coffee and to see how the decorating has progressed.
Turning a Rainy Blah Day Into a Fun Day
A gloomy rainy day can sure be depressing, but this visit to the Knoxville Museum of Art transformed my day and rekindled my love of art. The Photo Expo made me want to grab my camera and run outside and shoot some images. I continue to be amazed by the intricacies of the art in the Thorne Miniature rooms. And I want to go out and take a class on making blown glass.
I can’t wait to see what the next exhibits are going to be. What about you? Have you visited the Knoxville Museum of Art? If so, what did you think?
