ArtGrams: The Laib Wax Room

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Experiment Station

Via Instagrammer @pottergriffin: “#tbt to my parents visiting the Wolfgang Laib #waxroom at the #phillipscollection this past Sunday. I think my dad is pretending to be a bee. They flew back home this morning and I miss them already.”

The Laib Wax Room has been a visitor favorite since its installment in 2013. In this month’s ArtGrams, we’re highlighting some of your creative shots of the space.

Via Instagrammer @grandnostaflash

Via Instagrammer @ginacrat: “Evan sniffing the beeswax room”

Via Instagrammer @thenocallshow: “Ms. @cecilemouthon in a room made of beeswax.”

Via Instagrammer @amperrlee: “Just casually standing in a teeny room, lined with beeswax.”

Via Instagrammer @goholmes: “room of wax, featuring rashonda harris”

Highlights from Museum Week 2015

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Experiment Station

Last week, the world celebrated #MuseumWeek 2015 on Twitter. From March 23–29, museums and visitors alike shared photos and thoughts on a different theme each day. Here’s a selection of some of our favorite tweets throughout the week. Thank you to everyone who participated; see you at #MuseumWeek 2016!

From Twitter follower ‏@ewpierce: “Spring break #SouvenirsMW @PhillipsMuseum from 2011. It was a scream of a trip!”

From Twitter follower ‏@haionlife: “In honor of #MuseumWeek, here is what I’m inspired by & why I study art hist @ngadc @PhillipsMuseum @Tate @hirshhorn”

From Twitter follower ‏@bluelikechagall: “Wolfgang Laib’s Wax room installation @PhillipsMuseum! #favMW Wall detail”

MuseumWeek_art classroom_letsgotomuseums

From Twitter follower @LetsGoToMuseums: “Alice shows students how to make a print after a lesson on abstraction & Man Ray. @PhillipsMuseum #MuseumWeek”

From Twitter follower ‏@aiax2: “#arquitectureMW Looking up @PhillipsMuseum #MuseumWeek”

From Twitter follower @SenorPeanut: “One of my favorite places for reflection (and posing) #poseMW #MuseumWeek”

Coping with Cancer Through Art

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Experiment Station

Randy Bostic

Los Angeles-based Randy Bostic voted The Phillips Collection “Best Museum off the Mall” in Washington City Paper’s Best of DC 2015. She explains why in this guest blog post.

I live in Los Angeles. I started coming to DC regularly in 2011 because of chemotherapy treatments at the NIH for a rare cancer. To pass the time during the weeklong treatment periods, I was always visiting different places in and around DC. On my third trip, I first went to the Phillips. I was amazed at the depth and variety of the art, especially Jacob Lawrence’s Migration Series, The Rothko Room, and the setting of the two buildings. I soon stopped going to other museums, and every trip I would make my pilgrimage to the Phillips. I realized that I got more out of coming to the Phillips repeatedly than I did going to different places each trip. Sometimes friends and family would accompany me on my bimonthly “chemo vacations,” and I found myself taking them to the Phillips as well. Knowing that I had the Phillips to look forward to on my trips really helped me get through a very difficult time.

Now I am 4 years into remission. Whenever I go to the NIH for check ups, I stop at the Phillips. The gallery feels like an old friend, a support, an inspiration to me. Whenever I walk in, I feel like I am surrounded by such a powerful life force. The Phillips is more than a museum to me. Lawrence, Rothko, Klee, the Laib Wax Room, and the rest got me through so much. It was a healing place to me.

Randy Bostic