Monekana by Deborah Butterfield at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Originally, I was only going to take a photo of the horse (Monekana) because I was fascinated by the way it appears to be made of wood even though it’s bronze. I’d love to say this photo is balanced like it is because I was trying to be conscious of composition, the rule of thirds, etc., but the truth is that I didn’t want to look away from the statue on the right. Though it’s bright and colorful, its posture looks surprised and aggressive when seen from the corner of your eye. It looks like it’s a second away from moving.

Unlike many galleries downtown, the National Portrait Gallery / Smithsonian American Art Museum is open until 7pm so I don’t have to go with a million tourists on a weekend. More often than not, no one is crowding around paintings or statues (see photo 2).

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