For decades, people around the globe have struggled with the ‘Spring Forward’ that occurs each year. While we understand the reasoning behind this daylight saving practice, it doesn’t make the frustration of losing an hour anymore pleasant. Just as we begin to see the dawn appear at a decent hour, we are plunged back into darkness as we make our way to work. Who would expect that a one-hour loss could turn us into sleep-deprived zombies? To help us deal with this annual annoyance, we decided to spring forward with an outdoor art walk.
A Kemper St”art”
A brunch-time event made perfect sense to deal with our lost hour. We began our excursion with a visit to the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art. Kansas City is blessed with two amazing art spaces within walking distance from each other. Since we had never sampled the menu at Café Sebastienne, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. We couldn’t limit our visit to the meal, so we also enjoyed a tour of the current exhibits at the museum. The rotating galleries make this place a new experience with every visit.
The Struggle is Real
We arrived a few minutes before our reserved timed entry, so we decided to take in the outdoor art that dots the museum grounds. With the grogginess of the lost hour subsiding, we were able to focus on the pieces we found. It is easy to draw comparisons to the figures with the current experience we were dealing with. We could easily relate to a ‘head in hands’ moment that accompanies the time change. The guy wrestling with a Pegasus reminded us of the struggles that come with attempting to force ourselves to go to sleep an hour early. Clearly, we were seeing similarities during our spring forward art walk.
Falling to Pieces
After our visit to Kemper Museum, it was time to head over to the second site. Just a short walk away is the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. We find that an outdoor stroll through the gardens is a great way to enjoy a warm day. The immense lawn is a favorite of many, and you will find plenty of picnickers and sunbathers enjoying the wide-open spaces. Scattered throughout the property are a large number of statues, including this piece by Judith Shea.
Familiar Sights
Most people associate the shuttlecocks as a symbol of Kansas City art. They appear on posters, t-shirts, greeting cards, and just about every other type of souvenir. The familiarity of these pieces had us thinking that Rodin must have been contemplating time change when he created his most recognizable sculpture.
Don’t Lose Your Heads
As we made our way around the main buildings, we happened upon this collection of standing figures. Our assumption was they were also feeling a little adrift from the lost hour and assembled outdoors to gather their bearings from the sun. This midday excursion was working its magic as we were finally able to spring forward during our art walk. The unseasonably warm weather had drawn many others out and everyone seemed to be soaking up the sunshine that had been so rare over the past few weeks.
Spring Forward with an Outdoor Art Walk
With our internal clocks adjusted, it was time for us to wrap up our outdoor adventure. We know that there will still be a few days that are not favorable for outdoor activities, but the promise of spring has us hopeful. The warmer days are just around the corner and we look forward to many more excursions around our hometown. We hope you will find an opportunity to follow in our footsteps and enjoy your own artistic expedition.
Love it! Some of my favorite places in my current hometown!
Ours, too. We enjoy the various art installations that can be found all around the metro.
Wow, you have two amazing art centers to visit and all within walking distance of each other, that is amazing!
We do count ourselves blessed to live in such a wonderful city.
I love art walks! The sculptures you show here are so intriguing. I’d like to see these in person, but until I can travel, I’m happy to see it all here.
We hope that as the herd immunity grows, we will soon see a return of travel freedoms.
Good for you guys! I love that iconic shuttlecock sculpture. But there are so many more here I would love to take pictures of, too. Kansas City is really a place for the arts.
We love that there is so much outdoor art scattered all around the Kansas City metro.
I’m amazed by how much outdoor art there is in Kansas City! It would make going for a walk so much more interesting than walking the busy streets looking in shop windows as I’ve been doing for the past 12 months
Won’t it be nice when things get back to a state that is closer to normal. It’s these artful walks that help us keep our sanity.
Wow! This was one of my favorites of your tours! Love the art and the way it fit the topic!! Art walks are calming even when done via computer and reading your blog.
We are so happy to hear that you enjoyed the article. Be sure to check back for our upcoming article about the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha.
Like you, I’m enjoying the approach of spring – combined with the gradual lifting of lockdown it’s an opportunity for us all to get outside again. An art walk sounds like a great way to take advantage of it. For some reason I always seem to enjoy sculpture more in the open air – it must be something to do with the way it interacts with its surroundings.
It is nice to be able to enjoy the beautiful artwork in wide-open spaces. We can all use a little more sunshine in our lives.
The collection of headless standing figures are amazing! Your art walk is a great way to forget about the one hour.
It certainly helped us get over the change.
We ended up just running through KC this spring due to weather. I hadn’t been there since high school and realized the city is even more walkable and fun than I remembered. We didn’t get out to the art museums, but it looks like this would be a good addition to our wandering on our next (and there will be a next) visit to Kansas City!
We hope you do get a chance to check out the art museums. There is a lot to see in our hometown.