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Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Hold the Ketchup and Mustard, I want MAYO....

As I mentioned in a previous blogpost....I spent last week at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester Minnesota, caring for a friend going through radiation and chemotherapy.


What an amazing place!


If you EVER need to go somewhere for specialty physicians or care, I highly recommend the Mayo Clinic.


Although it is HUGE, the staff there coordinate with each other totally and you are assigned a TEAM of Doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers that are the CREAM of the crop.

Most of the physicians there are sought worldwide for their knowledge and expertise.


But, what amazed me (in addition to the wonderful care and staff) was the buildings themselves, full of marble, waterfalls, fountains.


And, the buildings (to my surprise!) were also FULL of art.


Fantastic, awesome art.


This was not your usual healthcare facility.


In the main lobby, every day at noon, they had live musicians playing.


At many of the other main lobbies, they had grand pianos with pianists there playing.


It was hard to believe it was a hospital and clinic.


Here is one shot looking out a window at a courtyard below:

A modern art sculpture:



And the buildings across from Mayo?

Fantastic, ornate architecture!:




This is looking out the window of one part of the Mayo Clinic, down a courtyard...the buildings to the left and right are also part of the Mayo Clinic system:



This is looking down from one of the high buildings into the courtyard where you could see the glass dome ceiling of another part of the clinic:
Also, there are underground tunnels/subways to take you from one part of the system to all the others in inclimate weather! I loved this as I pushed my friend in a wheelchair all over--not only to her clinic appointments, but to look at the wonderful art in every nook and cranny.




Another outdoor courtyard shot:





I LOVED the gargoyles on this building!!!! And the tiles!:







Do you think I should get one of the gargoyle heads for my log home?:


You would think you are in Europe somewhere, wouldn't you?:


And the art INSIDE the Mayo Clinic?


I was speechless!


Look at THIS art, do you know who the artist is?:

NO?
Well, here is his signature.
Now do you know who it is?:


That is right!


ORIGINAL Andy Warhol's!!!


Two whole walls of a series he called: "The Endangered Species Collection":



I stopped many times to look at them.


And then, in a small hallway in one of the clinics were these ornate, gorgeous mother-of-pearl inlaid chests:

They had abolone, and mother-of-pearl and detailed carvings which made them beautiful enough....but THEN.....

I learned they were donated to the Mayo Clinic
by
King Hussein and his wife!:






Sorry for the glare in some of the pictures, they were (of course) protected under shatterproof glass cases for security so I had to work around the glare of the glass in taking photos of them:



Aren't they something???:





And the main lobby had this INCREDIBLE bronze statue!:

I fell in love with him.
Not because he is nude (except for the strategically placed figleaf)...





But, because of his wonderful arms, reaching to the heavens....
for hope....


To remind us and all the patients we love so much
that sometimes we just have to ask for help from Above....
for compassion....
for guidance...
and
again....
for HOPE:
Tomorrow, I will do a blogpost solely showing the incredible glass art that was there
by the artistry
of
Dale Chihuly....
it blew my SOCKS off.....................

25 comments:

DJan said...

I had no idea about the incredible art there, Joan, but it deserves its status as a world class hospital. And you are so nice to spend all this time in the hospital when you don't need to, snapping pictures for us!

Unknown said...

What a beautiful place.

Wanda..... said...

I had no idea the Mayo Clinic was such a beautiful place(building and contents)...I wonder why I've never seen photos before! Hope your friend is doing well.

Lynn Kellan said...

WOW! I hope I never have to go there, but WOW!
P.S. Next time, take the fig leaf off the bronze dude.

Brian Miller said...

wow. it looks like a beautiful place...which i imagine helps those that go there...

CiCi said...

I am so blown away by the artwork. I knew it was Andy Warhol immediately, and to see the series was wonderful. You did a terrific job showing us around.

wendyytb said...

Wow! Someone has finally got it right! ( I mean caring for the ill.) How wonderful. Thank you for sharing...and best wishes to your friend.

Joanie said...

Wow! It looks more like a museum than a hospital!

The Retired One said...

DJan: You know me, I take the camera with me everywhere I go..the first day I brought her in for treatments, I noticed the art and asked her if she thought it was ok to take photos there of the art..she thought it was a wonderful idea and brought me all over to see the other art there....I loved that it brought her some distraction and pleasure and it did to me, too!

Eva: It really was!

Wanda: I hadn't heard about the art there until I went there either, and I know lots of people that have gone there and never mentioned it.

Lynn: If I only would have had a ladder. Dang it!

Brian: I am sure it does help the sick there....it cheers everyone up when they see some of it..wait until you see tomorrow's blogpost of the Dale Chihuly art..it was awesome!

Technobabe:Wait until tomorrow's blogpost......you will be blown away again (pun intended..you will understand the pun tomorrow). ha

Wendytb: That is exactly what I thought...someone finally got it right....inspiring art everywhere to cheer up the sick and their families...what a concept! ha

Joannie: Exactly. Isn't that wonderful????

Ann said...

What a wonderful post. I had no idea all that was at the Mayo. That is such a treasure trove of wonderful things to see.

Ginnymo said...

Wow! That building is amazing! It's old and beautiful! What a difference from these modern clinic we see these days. Amazing art there also. So much money. Yikes! I'd get lost there. Too many buildings. Ha! I am praying that your friend will be okay after all the treatments.

Bernie said...

Oh Joan what a beautiful person you are to be there for your friend, I love you for that.

This place doesn't look like any clinic I have ever been too, it is absolutely beautiful....and it is huge.....how wonderful for patients, their family and friends.

Thank you for sharing these wonderful pictures with us. I think we are all learning something today in many ways.

Have a great day sweetie you more than deserve it.......:-) Hugs

Catherine@AGardenerinProgress said...

What an art collection! I've heard of the Mayo clinic for it's medical acclaims but had never seen pictures of it. I love when hospitals have courtyards and gardens for patients and their families enjoy.
Hope your friend is feeling okay after her treatments.

The Retired One said...

Grannyann: That is true!

Ginnymo: Thanks for the good wishes for my friend. The old buildings I showed in the post were NOT part of Mayo Clinic, but they are buildings right next to the Mayo Clinic buildings. But they were too gorgeous not to show you all.

Bernie: It was my pleasure to show you all of that beautiful art. Make sure you catch tomorrow's post of the art that really blew me away! :-}

Catherine: Thanks so much for your prayers for my friend. She is brave and doing okay so far.

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

I just found you and look at this wonderful posting. It has been many years since I have been there, and I obviously have not seen all of this, but thank you so much for sharing. It is indeed a gift to our nation and the medical profession.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I have always heard about Mayo Clinic and knew how good its reputation is. BUT--I have never seen what it looks like before. AMAZING... The art is fabulous. WOW!!!! Thanks for sharing, Joan. Hope your friend will be okay.
Hugs,
Betsy

The Retired One said...

Susan: Welcome to my blog! I hope you join(ed) on to my blog as a Follower!
I have had many friends go to Mayo Clinic, but thank goodness I have never needed to be there as a patient myself...it is an amazing place!

Betsy: Thanks, I hope she is too....she has a wonderful spirit and is determined to heal so I am sure if anyone can, she will!

Sara said...

I love the amyo clinic. My grandparents went there when they each had cancer. They are both in remission now and still go there for checkups. In fact they both were there last week for tehre check ups.
Have a great night
Sara
P.s. hope your friend is doing well, she is in great hands!

Loree said...

What a beautiful place. It is great that they surround their patients with such beautiful works of art.

The Retired One said...

Sara: That is very hopeful to hear that your grandparents were both treated there and are doing so well!

Loree: Yes, it is truly uplifting to see the art when you are there.

Jientje said...

I like his arms and his chest, his chin maybe, but his face? Ugggh!
It's hard to believe you were in a hospital and not a museum!

Rick (Ratty) said...

I wish more cities would have these beautiful buildings like these. This place looks really great. It must be as very special place to see.

The Retired One said...

Jientje: I agree...his face is kind of ugly! ha

Ratty: Yes, me too...I love buildings with beautiful architecture and gargoyles, etc.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful pictures of the Chihuly glass. Have been to Mayo clinic several times and taken three guided tours.(son and wife work there!) We always see something new each visit. I want to see the mother of pearl box, which contains a Bible, next time. Oldest piece of art is a mosaic that dates BC...and it hangs on the wall not protected by glass! The Gonda building, that you were in, is where patients visit with teams of doctors. The Mayo is 70-80 buildings and two hospitals are St Mary's and Methodist Hospital...all under "umbrella" of Mayo. The building , with the lovely tiles and gargoyes is the Plummer Building built 1926 and part of Mayo. The "man on the wall" is called Man and Freedom. At one time he hung outside but was moved into Gonda (not so cold there!!!) Love the Mayo and your pictures...look forward to what you "snap" next!

The Retired One said...

Traveler: Wow, thanks for the information...I should have had YOU writing the dialogue in my blogpost of pictures...as a caregiver for a patient there, you really would have no idea of the history or extent of Mayo's or its art...and you barely have time to read the display information signs...but I sure noticed the gorgeous art and had time to snap a few photos of them while there. A tour would have been very interesting!

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I retired in June 2008 and started my blog in November 2008. I worked at several jobs as a Registered Nurse prior to retirement. I LOVE being retired! Blogging has offered me a whole new venue to start writing again and to share new hobbies such as gardening, birdwatching and sharing my nature photography. If you like my blog, PLEASE click on "follow this blog". Having a lot of followers reading my blog gives me incentive to continue to do photography and to continue to write. I also LOVE comments, so I encourage you to leave me a comment after you read my posts. Thanks everyone, for taking the time to read me!!

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