The Twitter-verse fell hard for a pair of bonded Magellanic penguins named Izzy and Darwin during the early days of the shutdown in March, and their animal-care minders at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago began taking the duo on field trips to local museums—part of a “comprehensive welfare plan” to encourage exercise and activity.
Now penguins might not have the gift of flight, but they are always perfectly turned out, serving up chic black-tie looks even for a casual stroll at the museum. Last month, they visited the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s exhibition “Just Connect,” conceived of and installed during lockdown. The show features artworks that explore how we connect, communicate, and interact with one another and the environment.
While visiting the Chicago museum, chief curator Michael Darling noted a few works of art that caught the bird’s eyes, including Andreas Gursky’s photograph Avenue of the Americas and Margot Berman’s painting Marie Christine. Earlier this summer, a trio of tuxedo-clad penguins also got a chance to visit the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, where they reportedly enjoyed high Renaissance artworks, but scoffed at Monet.
See more images from the penguins’ museum trips below.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Visiting the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. © Shedd Aquarium/Brenna Hernandez.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.
Courtesy of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City, Missouri. Photo: Gabe Hopkins.