Brian Tivol
tivol@mit.edu
B: Well, I'm sorry that you guys are closing so early.
6: We're open every day of the week; feel free to come back tomorrow.
B: I can't, actually. I'm just in for the weekend from Boston.
6: Oh, well, that's a shame. Hope you can come back some other visit, then.
B: Oh, I will. I was pleasantly surprised-- I didn't know Rodin's Hand of God was in this museum.
6: Yes, the RISD Museum's had that for a while now. Isn't it lovely?
B: I'd only seen two pictures of it in a book once, and you gain so much more from being able to walk around the sculpture. I mean, you can see a picture of the hand and of the two lovers, but being able to move around and see how the hand totally eclipses the lovers is amazing.
6: Oh, I know. I love it, personally. He made another version of it, a metal one, that was supposed to be a giant statue. It was mounted on a wall, sideways, instead of upright. I didn't like it nearly as much. I think the metal was much... colder than the marble. Much less personal.
B: Also, you can't really move around it as well. Even if it weren't hanging off the side, you'd always be looking up at it.
6: I hadn't ever been able to put my finger on that, either.
B: This is why I like this sort of sculpture better than the portraits of people. They do interesting things in 3D instead of just replicating people.
6: Oh, you didn't get to see our statue garden, did you, what with all this rain, did you?
B: Nope. That's another reason I'm unhappy you're closing: I have to go outside again.