The RIngling Museum in Sarasota is a complex that holds a circus museum, art galleries, and extensive art library, gardens, and a mansion. Monday is free admission to the art galleries and the gardens, so we took advantage of this offer that allowed us a more leisurely visit. We came back on another day and visited the circus museum. Regular admission is $25, so it was nice to break our visit to two days and not pay a hundred dollars for it. This post will cover the art galleries, and the next few posts will cover the gardens, the exterior of the mansion, and the circus museum.
The large, pink building itself seems unassuming from the road.
however, once we walked into the inner court
it was breathtaking.
The building, designed by John H. Phillips in renaissance style is truly impressive.
It holds 21 galleries
as well as replicas of famous statues.
The halls were grand as well, This is the Rubens gallery I believe.
and as we moved from one gallery to another
it was a bit of an oversensory to take in both the scale and grandeur of the room and the art in it.
Several of the galleries held European art
some were very large
Some had amazing details so captivating that this was all you could focus on.
The paintings were impressive,
but being able to view the details close up was amazing (even though her fingers looks like they are dislocated)
There was even a Rodin.
We loved the description and interpretation of this paing.
and the painting wasn’t too bad either .
But the photography Metadata show incredibly interesting. Art that is asking relevant questions. It was edgy, current, and provocative!
Below are photos of some of the installations and interpretations plaques. Click on the descriptions to enlarge and try and read the reasons, ideas, and questions behind these works. If you wish to read more about it, check out this article.
Pictures taken by machines for other machines to use.
Aggregating images creates new meanings
and here is another silhouette that should be added to the mix.
Take a minute to read this plaque. It is asking some very important questions about technology and our world. Who might be eliminated from the world of activism? Should they be?
This was a powerful exhibit. It was visually stunning and it made us think too.
Next, we will show you the gardens…
That last series is absolutely frightening.
It is.
That is a great museum. We visited here around 2000 with the kids. So much to see and do and the house was so beautiful. Thanks for the memories. Allan
It’s an amazing museum! We didn’t see the interior of the mansion, but the exterior was stunning!
The interior is unbelievable. Definitely captures the era.
We went there when the kids were young. Nice to see your trip was more relaxed. The metadata exhibit was fascinating and provocative. I downloaded one of your images and right clicked. The metadata showed your camera as a google pixel 2 and gave information about the date taken 5/2 and more about the camera settings.
It’s amazing how much information is out there if you know how and where to look. Whether it’s a good thing or not, depends on how you use it. The exhibit was both provocative and thought-provoking. I’m glad you did that extra step with my photo!
Wow! Certainly does make you think.
It really does!
That certainly invokes deep thoughts.
It sure did!
Wow! From the outside, the building appears to be rather ordinary. I found the whole tour fascinating. That courtyard is stunning. It is interesting when the artists let us inside their heads and explain their work in great detail.
I love stumbling across museums that surprise us. This one was surprising from start to finish.
Thank you for sharing more of your wonderful photos. Fascinating museum. The metadata and facial recognition exhibit is powerful. The inherent racial bias of AI that can’t figure out Black and Asian faces is especially troubling.
Also the fact that we need to do it is disturbing. It was very powerful and evocative!
Great post, guys! We love art museums, and this one looks amazing. Definitely adding the Ringling Museums to our “to do” list for Florida. Thank you for an informative visit.
We are enjoying following your travels.
Thank you. We love your posts as well! There is more to come in the Ringling Museums series 🙂
We will look forward to your posts!
This is a wonderful example of never judge a book by its cover. Who knew such beautiful architecture and art were inside from the unassuming exterior? The courtyard is beautiful and so nice to see a wide variety of artwork and insightful questions posed to its visitors.
It was a surprising museum! More to come so don’t go too far.
Wow, this was awesome to read, and view! The Metadata art certainly gives us a lot to think about. I look forward to your next post on the gardens.
Thank you Rose! I will try and post the rest soon. It was such a beautiful place!
We sailed to Sarasota some years ago and visited the museum. I remember those Rubens being absolutely stunning – just the size of them. I found the whole museum unexpected. Who would have thought that a circus museum would have such a great art galley.
Yes, the photography exhibit is thought provoking. We are heading into the future at full speed whether we consider the implications of things or not.
Unexpected is a very good way to describe this place. A circus museum didn’t sound like much, but boy, were we wrong!
It’s always nice to take advantage of the free or reduced admission days. Sounds like there’s a lot to see and explore at the Ringling Museum. The galleries look very impressive and nicely put together.
It was indeed a very impressive museum. It was highly recommended to us. I don’t think we would have thought to go there otherwise and we were very pleasantly surprised.
This museum would be an amazing place to visit.
Anita
It is! There is more to come!
Hmmm, gorgeous! I expected a museum about the circus. What a surprise! Thank you so much. Muriel
There is also a museum about the circus coming up soon. It was interesting and surprising as well!
Thank you for sharing. This is an amazing garden. I enjoy seeing the thought provoking exhibit at the end. The racial basil of AI is due to the racial and sexual bias of the trainers of AI. I am sure that AI trainers in other parts of the world use Asian faces to train their AI facial recognition.
You have a very good point there! It’s an important exhibition, so I hope they are able to take it on tour across the continent.
I hope we’ll be able to see it sometime.
Beautiful Ringling Museum! Lots of old things with description! Well shared with beautiful photos!????
Thank you!
My pleasure stay happy ????
Wow! Art is one of my favorite things and now I need to add this amazing place to my list of things to see. Gorgeous
There is a wonderful museum that is “closer” to you, in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. I think it is my favourite museum so far! https://backroadsandothe-ff2lnb6vju.live-website.com/2020/02/18/birds-of-biloxi-and-ocean-springs-and-the-most-famous-american-artist-you-have-never-heard-of/
I’ll have to look that up!!