The exhibition that I viewed at the San Antonio Art Museum was called “28 Chinese”. This exhibit was based on the artwork of 28 contemporary Chinese artists. Throughout the exhibit, it was discussing the fall of communism, poverty, the essence of time, resistance, rebellion and the conservation of history. Some of the artwork I saw were created by Zhu Jinshi, Qiu Zhijie, Zhang Huan, and Shang Yixin, just to name a few. The exhibit was on two floors of the museum. When I first entered the exhibit, it led me to a big white room with art being displayed on all walls. The first room was based on the Coca Cola project in which there was a tall case of Coca Cola bottles being displayed right when you walk in. To the right was a clear box that held burnt down Coca Cola bottles. These items being displayed made me want to read about the project since it was a familiar company that most people know. Some of the other rooms were structured differently. Some had sculptures, audio visuals, interactive pieces and others had modified furniture but every piece of art had a description next to it which told who the artist was as well as the meaning of the art itself. The materials used for some of the art works included wood, bamboo, and rice paper. The second floor to the exhibit is mostly abstract art work. The overall theme of this was to express their preservation of Chinese culture being good and bad aspects through art.
The first piece of art work that I saw was the work of Frederick William MacMonnies (1863-1937) I felt it captured my attention as I first walked into the room. The unique sculpture “DIANA” really impressed me by depicting a Roman Goddess poised with her bow raised high and ready for the hunt. It was also interesting because the women of that time period were not known as hunters, they were known for being mothers and wives. The piece of art work was medium in sitting on top of a pedestal as you walked into the main exhibit room. There was lots of background information on the poster written below this artwork. It told a story of how MacMonnies and his contemporaries got their inspiration in ancient Greek and Roman culture, and it also took some of the Italian Renaissance into account when making the piece.
On November 7, 1883, an exhibition organized by “May Wright Sewell, her husband Theodore, and a small group of art-minded citizens” (History, 2017) began what would one day become the establishment now known as the Indianapolis Museum of Art. Since that first exhibition, the IMA has gone through several identity changes. They were first named, the Art Association of Indianapolis. Their next identity was as the John Herron Art Institute, which opened a whole new chapter, as they became “a campus featuring both a museum and an art school.” (History, 2017) Today, the IMA is one of the largest encyclopedic art museums in the nation. The IMA has had various leadership and staff over the years that have lent to how the museum operates today.
The North Carolina Museum of Art (NCMA) holds many works of art from all types of cultures from around the world. The Torso of an Emperor in the Guise of Jupiter from Roman culture and the Torso of Aphrodite from Greek culture, are but two of them. It is unknown who the artist was for either of them, but the work has lived on for centuries. During the time period the gods were known for their perfection- like body and extraordinary looks. Since the sculptures highlight only the torso of the body it represents that only image matters and the brain does not.
As Edgar Degas once said, “ Art is not what you see, but what others make you see”. The St. Louis Art Museum is a place for artist to display their art and give spectators the option to see art from a new perspective. This was the case for me. As we walked up to the beautifully structured building that stood so tall and wide, my expectations were extremely high. At first glance I notice the bronze statue of King Louis IX of France riding high on his horse. From this statue alone, my expectations of the art museum grew stronger. I have never been to an art museum before, so I wasn’t sure of what to expect. My first expectation was to see huge detailed sculptures right as I walked through the door. That expectation didn’t come true.
The second floor of the museum is filled with paintings and works from the Common Era. These pieces originate all over the world and span centuries. It includes pottery and figurines from first century Asia, suits of armor from the Medieval Era in Europe, to contemporary paintings and sculptures in the Americas. This is where the majority of well-known artwork is located.
Among the many artworks I have seen, I decided to discuss about the “Sarcophagus Depicting a Battle between Soldiers and Amazons (Warrior Women)” from the Roman civilization. It was built sometime in between 140 A.D. to 170 A.D and is approximately forty and a half inches in length, ninety-one and a half inches in width, and fifty and a half inches tall in height (“Roman Sarcophagus”). This masterpiece appealed to me because of the unique approach that has been designed to honor the deceased. Many people are familiar with the formatting and inscriptions of a gravestone because it is usually engraved with an individual’s full name, birth date, and death date. During the Roman Empire, a sarcophagus, which is a coffin, was widely used to show decorative themes that includes: battle scenes, hunting scenes, weddings, or other memorable episodes from the life of the deceased individual. The most luxurious ones were made from marble surrounded by symbolic sculptures, figures and inscriptions on all four sides (“Sarcophagus”). Another feature that captured my attention was the large quantity of details used to bring out a lifelike aspect of the deceased individual’s favorable moments in their life. In this artwork, this sarcophagus was dedicated to a Roman commander. The exterior of the sarcophagus has been well-decorated and carved with exquisite details depicting a battle scene
The Carnegie Museum of Art was a museum created to focus on the art of tomorrow rather than already popular art and artists of today. A necessary part for that dream of Andrew Carnegie to become a reality is having a place to house these art pieces. While of course he could have just found an empty warehouse and placed all the art there that would neither have given the pieces of art justice nor would anyone want there personal collection to be placed on display there. Instead, in order to have a successful art museum you have to house the art in a place that does it justice. Museums heavily rely on their architecture to accurately portray and supplement the showpieces within the museum. Carnegie’s art museum
When I was younger, my dad and I used to go on dates to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Although I haven’t been there for over five years now, I still remember one piece of art that took my breath away; not because of the beauty of the artwork, but because of the shiver it sent down my spine, and the uneasy feeling I had when I looked at it. The piece of art that made me so apprehensive was a wax model of a museum security guard. The intricate detail of the figure, including the pores in the skin and the hair on the knuckles, left me wondering if this man were going to suddenly leap forward and yell, “Gotcha!”
To be able to step up to the plate and be ready to fight for your country/nation is a very courageous thing to do. These next few pieces of art will depict not only the readiness to go into a fight, but also the action that goes with it, some more than others. Bernini’s David is a Life-sized marble sculpture
I’ve been to many museums and art exhibitions before but this is the first time I ever attended one in Washington. Back in my country, my parents always take me to those places on the weekend and the passion of watching arts and crafts grew inside me since then. I first explored Bellevue Art Museum a few weeks ago when my friend said there is a really fascinating exhibition about modern sculpture as well as china painting materials. At first, I would never able to imagine how artists can bring animals such as deer and crow-like bird to blend with modern culture and use imagination to represent their idea about society. I really enjoy how visiting those places makes me appreciate the talents of the artists, looking at those sculptures and paintings
One of the most visually intriguing pieces in the exhibit is the Portrait of Père Bouju by Maurice de Vlaminck. It was painted around the year 1900 by the French artist. It is not particularly beautiful by normal standards. At first glance, the texture of the paint stands out more than any other feature. It has very strongly defined brush strokes and thick paint in portions, especially the face of the man and the background. The lines in the paint are mostly straight, short, and wide with some that are thinner and wavy, like the smoke. The man is in the center of the canvas, he is the only discernable image, and he is almost devoid of detail aside from the face and the hat. The colors are almost entirely neutral aside from the red scarf. In this oil on canvas portrait the man is wearing a
Perhaps illness so influenced the artistic style of Van Gogh, but the picture turned out completely different to all that the artist wrote so far. This is not a Van Gogh, who was known. In the canvas, there is tension, anxiety, dense colors and warm shades of olive-mustard. On the contrary, here there is some kind of lightness, airiness, and transparent weightlessness. On the manner of execution, the pattern resembles Japanese prints: iris field full of peace, a lightness, and transparency. "Irises" are simple and unique, they are striking in their serenity and the ability to remove the internal stress of everyone who saw at least reproduction. Painting simply breathes watercolor, translucency and make to look at it more than one hour.
Looking at the broad historical perspective, people have been considering clothing as an elemental demand that cannot be replaced in human life. Clothes have become a typical topic for not only researchers but also students. That was the reason why I had a trip to a museum of Te Manawa and saw many exhibits there about wearable arts. At the first sight I stepped into the arts area, I started to wonder what the artists created these costumes for. I stopped by an exhibit, called “The Reflection On Time”, which impressed me the most. Wearing a hooded jacket with a jean, I was almost overwhelmed with its magnificence. It was such a pellucid collection of plastics that you can see through and observe every line of the model statue. It brought
At first, I didn’t want to go to the museum. That day, I was exhausted after finishing school, so going all the way to San Francisco wasn’t exactly my idea of relaxing. Thankfully, my mom insisted we go that day, since it was my dad’s day off. I felt frustrated that we had to go right then, but my mom forced us.