Submitted by Sara Westhafer on the 2016 winter session program in Brazil sponsored by the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences…
One of the most challenging activities our group has done so far was biking to the Museum of Modern Art (Museu de Arte Moderna). We started our day early and picked up our rental bikes and then we were off! Biking along the Copacabana Beach was gorgeous and often times we were swerving due to getting distracted.
Riding bikes was a great way to get exercise, but it was also a great way to get a sense of how big Rio de Janeiro is. We passed by the beach, many shops, hotels/condos, through a tunnel and finally through Flamingo Park. Flamingo Park is a winding park with various modern elements and native plants of Brazil. The park was designed by the world-renowned landscape designer Roberto Burle Marx, whose work we’ve been studying in our “Plants and Human Culture” Class.
In Flamingo Park is the Modern Art Museum of Rio de Janeiro. The museum itself isn’t all that big in size, but the works of art inside make up for the size. From statues to sculptures to paintings, woodwork and even visual and audio works, there was much to see. Our assignment was to pick two works of art that we liked and sketch them in our field books as a way to have a deeper understanding of the art. Most of us made sure to finish our assignment fairly quickly so we’d have plenty of time to see all of the works of art that brought up important issues our world is facing. To “talk” about issues such as terrorism, sexism and the lower class through artwork is, I feel, a less oppressive method, but a very effective method at that.
After time in the museum, we were not so ready to bike back. Though some accepted the challenge of biking fast, I choose to be kind to my thigh muscles and bike slower to also take in the scenery. The finish line was the bike rental shop and our group logged a total of 13 miles on bike that day. A pretty impressive day if I do say so myself!