Summary
- De Young has shared a ticket system with the Legion of Honor, and we can enter both museums for just $20.
- The Cable Car Museum exhibits actual operating facilities for the cable car, allowing visitors to see how it works.
- The Museum of Eye has a highly specialized collection like no other. It is a must-visit if you are curious about your eyes.
- The museums can often be costly, but there are many free galleries and visitor centers available.
Highlights
Legion of Honor
- This museum features impressive architecture reminiscent of a palace. The smooth surface of the stairs is similar to that of an Apple Store.
- Mostly, this museum showcases fine art, such as replicas of European luxurious rooms, but there are also unique exhibits, like Rodin's art and porcelain art featuring flowers.
De Young Museum
- The art made of glass is organic, with brilliant colors and seamless curves. Glass is a hard material, yet its transparency and shiny surface give the illusion that it is a living organism.
- The art of the American Indigenous peoples is quite different from today's American art. It’s a little scary but has some cuteness, reminiscent of cartoons.
- African art is considered to be an ancient legacy, like that of the Maya; however, this exhibit also contains art created by today’s American people inspired by that legacy.
Cable Car Museum
- The slope seems impossible for vehicles to climb, but it can. The cable car simply clings to the ever-moving cable, and this is one of the few museums where we can learn about its mechanisms.
- The museum is built around the cable car’s motor room, and we can actually see how the cable moves underground.
- The museum also explains the rise and fall of the cable car, including the Great Earthquake and the adoption of cars.
Musée Méchanique
- We can actually play tons of historically valuable arcade game machines.
- It’s very cheap to play and features unique arcade machines that remind us of 2000s aesthetics.
Hyde St. Pier Historic Ships
- They have four historical ships, and we can actually get inside one of them.
- The local people let me enter for free and shared the history of San Francisco before the bridge was constructed.
The Museum of Eye
- This museum is free and open to all, operated directly by the American Academy of Ophthalmology.
- The exhibition is beautiful and provides information about the mechanics of the eye and how medical technology has developed.
- It has only one story, yet it features impressive quality videos and VR. The VR experience is particularly high-quality and immersive, with stunning 3D visualization.
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park Visitor Center
- This is also free and explains the history of Fisherman’s Wharf, featuring boldly displayed artifacts and videos.
Other Interesting Places
- Fisherman's Wharf has countless free museums and galleries.
- The maritime museum has a permanent exhibit that tells the story of a Japanese man who sailed from Osaka all the way to San Francisco.
- The shop called IT’SUGAR sells sugar exclusively. It’s surely bad for health, but they said, “Don’t care about it,” with a cheerful pop.
- There are indeed many galleries! We might hesitate to enter, but they usually don’t turn us down and even allow us to take pictures.
Conclusion
- I want to work on expressions that are smooth yet reflect the realistic textures of hard objects.
- Glass is difficult to simulate on a computer, but it would be interesting if we could recreate seamless curves that give the impression of being like half-liquid stone.
- We have recreated art based on traditional works, but they are usually all Asian. We can explore ancient American and European artistic methods more.
- Today’s Japanese people tend to be humble and conservative, but we have many historical figures who shaped modern Japan. I want to understand what made those individuals so different from us.
- The people here really like talking and often engage in small talk with those they just met. I usually only talk to those I know well, and I think I need to practice more.
