Holy Care Bears, Batman!

So the nicest thing about living downtown Pittsburgh is being able to pop in to businesses, restaurants and galleries without taking up so much time that you worry about having "enough" time to enjoy things you want to see. Today after working a student matinee at the Pittsburgh Public Theater, my lovely friend Kait and I decided to go on a little day-date, or adventure if you will.

The front of ToonSeum - Picture from The Pittsburgh Tote Bag Project

This is just to talk about part one of our adventure and either later tonight or tomorrow you can read about part two! Which involves food and was super fabulous...and new! Anyway, for part one, Kait and I ventured to ToonSeum, "a museum with character." Now I must admit, I always look past this place because I thought it was just for kids. So I have been a little skeptical about going in, until I saw that they were showing a Care Bears and a Batman exhibit. Score! So I had planned to make it over there at some point and was glad to have the company.

The sign said 'Hug Me' - I was just following the rules!

I have to admit, I was wrong about this cute little museum and I am sure I will be returning at least to check out more of the gift shop! I loved the space though, very bright and animated, for lack of a better term, but also interactive and welcoming. The staff also seemed very engaging and knowledgeable about the exhibits. Like I said, the two exhibits featured today were "Care Bears: 30 Years of Caring & Hugs" and "Pittsburgh as Gotham." Both made me feel very nostalgic. The Care Bears exhibit was in the Main Gallery and reminded me of little loves from my childhood. Various Care Bear merchandise was on display as well as many, many, many different art pieces and drawings along the walls, this room just instantly made me happy.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's uniform from the Dark Knight Rises.

As for Pittsburgh as Gotham, this gallery reminded me of when I first moved in to my current apartment downtown a little over a year ago. As many of you know, the most recent Batman movie, The Dark Night Rises, was shot in Pittsburgh during the summer and fall of 2011. It was great to see the city turn into the backdrop for such a major film, during the same time that I was moving in, so I especially loved seeing the ToonSeum bring this time to life again through this exhibit. This exhibit, brought many different elements of Batman and his history to the same space in the Lou Shiemer Gallery in ToonSeum. The very detailed drawings and the more cartooned pictures were all great pieces and I loved all the memorbilia from the movie. I especially loved seeing the pictures from the set and during filming, even though I saw a lot of the action first hand, you could only get so many little glimpses of what was going on, so it was great to see those spaces in detail.

So, I was wrong, this is not just for the kiddos, though I'm sure they would enjoy it! However, unlike most of the other galleries downtown, ToonSeum does charge, but for five dollars, it was great to be able to look around for as long as we pleased. I would recommend checking out what this gallery has to offer and not think that it is just a place for the kids. Also stay tuned for part two of our adventure today in a later post...I promise it is mouth watering!