Personal Narrative: My Trip To The Dallas Museum Of Art

It is not often that you get to wake up to a perfectly painted peach, pink and purple coated sky, witness the feel of a salty sea breeze brush up against your skin or stare out into the atmosphere, trying to figure out at which shade of blue the ocean concludes and where the sky begins. Had this been a few months ago I would be exploring Castle Hill in Budapest, making headway towards the glaciers of Argentine Patagonia or even tasting my way through Greece. But instead, I will pack my bags with a heavy heart to kickoff my expedition to the place that needs me the most. With my ticket in hand, I would board my flight to Houston, Texas.

During our visit to the El Paso Museum of Art, our docent (insert name) took us on a tour of their current exhibitions: Robert Delaunay and Albert Gleizes: The School of Paris from Modern Master Series: Highlights from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, The Immaculate Conception, Amplified Abstraction, and Modern Stone Totems. In addition to our expedition we observed art of Mexico and New Spain that showcased 17th and 19th century paintings and sculptures. European art with includes paintings and sculptures from the Samuel H. Kress Collection. As well as, early American art from the 19th century to the mid 20th century.

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!”

During Parent’s Weekend at Marquette, my family and I went to the Haggerty Art Museum. While I pleaded with my family to not go, as I am not a huge art fan, my Mom’s opinion overruled mine. From the outside, Haggerty looked like it would be small, but in reality, was quite large. When walking in, I immediately assumed that the art would not make any sense to me like at most art museums. However, I was quickly proven wrong as a lot of the art we saw was what I would consider impressive. They were not the drawings of a line or pieces that look like a child made them that you see at most museums, but what I call “real art”.

Located at the vibrant Art District of downtown Dallas, Texas, Dallas, the Dallas Museum of Art is a destination for people of all ages with the interests in art. The Dallas Museum of Art, established in 1903, has a wide-ranging collection of more than 24,000 works of art spanning 5,000 years of human creativity. It contains a variety of art forms such as paintings, sculpture, photography, architecture, decoration and installation art from the ancient America, Africa, Europe, Asia to the modern and international contemporary

My event was the Dallas Museum of Art; “The Lens of Impressionism,” photography and painting along the Normandy coast 1850-1874. I went on Sunday, February 21, 2010. The class studied this era in Chapter 13: The Working Class and the Bourgeoisie. The term "impressionism" was coined by a critic interacting with Clause Monet's "Impression: Sunrise" painting in 1874. French impressionists depicted light and color and was often embellished with romanticism; usually conveyed scenes filled with light and joy (Sayer).

This weekend I went to the Figge Art Museum to celebrate and learn about Dia de los Muertos with my friend Grace. While there, I learned that Day of the Dead is celebrated from October 31st through November 2nd and it originated in Mexico. I saw that you can celebrate Day of the Dead by putting things people liked when they were living, such as a drink, food, flowers, sports jerseys, even a box of cereal, in a shrine for them. Some people paint their faces to look like skulls with pretty or meaningful designs on them in color or in black and white and people decorate sugar skulls that you can eat with frosting. Crafts are also a big part of Day of the Dead. While Grace and I were at the Figge we saw several paper mache statues of skulls doing

The day had finally came, it was July 21st, 2020. I had been waiting for this day for what seemed like forever! I was beyond excited that of all artists, I was chosen to escort the Interplanetary Ambassador around our world and culture. Once I greeted him at the New York Space Port, I decided to take him to our very own Metropolitan Museum of Art located here in NYC. The ride from the space port to the Museum was a little over two hours and felt like forever. On the way there the Ambassador asked many questions about our clothes, food, money, and many of our everyday things that are around us. Then, out of nowhere he asked me a question that changed my life as an artist completely. He said, “In my planet we have clothes and money and everything that you humans have, but we do not have art. Can you please explain to me what this art thing is?”

When I visited the Ringling Museum of Art it always surprises me to see the amount of people that go to visit from different backgrounds and of all ages. This recent visit there were mainly just people of little to no art background except there was a group of college students along with a professor from the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee campus there viewing the art and took a tour along with me. I talked with them and as I saw there reaction to each gallery it was fascinating. They were amazed by the sight and described it as “ elegant and beautiful” and when they viewed the artwork unclose with only a few inches from the canvas to evaluate the small details of each piece. Inbound this very interesting so I began to do this

Last Thursday, I went to Native American museum. I heard the museum was built in just before three years. So the museum was very clean and beautiful. Also the building was built in modern style. But inside of the museum, a number of the relics were of considerable antiquity. We took on the tour with docent. Docent was a women who is a member of Navajo. Navajo is one kind of Native American tribe. She told of her tribe’s story, so I felt more truthful. At first, we saw the traditional boat. It was made of wood and some of them was made of straw. I was curious about that could really float. Because the boat was huge and heavy. She told to us, it was actually used in the tribe. Then we went to 4th floor and we saw various flag. Each of the flag

For my pilgrimage, I chose to go to the Burke Museum to see the piece of art that inspired the Seahawks’ logo. On our way to the museum, we encountered some challenges. For instance, my pilgrimage group almost got in a car accident while exiting I-5. Additionally, it was very difficult to get to the Burke Museum on time, because we had underestimated the amount of traffic and the amount of time it would take to find parking. It is ridiculous how parking around the Burke Museum costs $15 and entering the Burke Museum, as a student, costs $7.50. I was disappointed at the total cost of entering the Burke Museum. Often, museums are the best place to learn and it frustrates me that not everyone will have the opportunity to appreciate history. Through the increased cost of gaining knowledge, society has made learning selective and optional.

For as long as I can remember I have always had the drive and passion to create works of art in many ways, shapes and forms. My creativity and integrity that I share with art is on many levels ranging from 3D work, video game design, physical pieces of artwork as well as digital. I believe that there are very few schools that would not only help challenge my abilities but be able to utilize them in many ways I would've never imagined.

Last week I visited the George Caleb Bingham Gallery to see an artist’s work. Her name was Mary Margaret Sandbothe and her collection of art was at the MFA Thesis Exhibition. Now, I am not one for looking at art and being able to interpret it easily, but when I arrived to see her work I was pleasantly surprised. I was in awe of artwork at first glance.

Behind every art is a true intention and meaning no matter how much one may go beyond boundaries. Visiting Dallas for break, I found myself at The Dallas Contemporary. Dallas contemporary is one of the most unique museums located near the heart of Dallas. It’s known as a “non- collecting” museum which attracts thousands of people interested in contemporary art. Within the museum you will see art like no other, art that challenges the question “what is art”, “There are no categories in contemporary art. There are no rules. Artists are given the freedom to make and create whatever they please and call it whatever they please” (James Frey). Due to the fact that art has evolve over the years, unique artists around the world presents contemporary art that is placed in the museum. For the art review I decided to use a interesting painting that caught my attention during my visit to the museum.

Earlier this summer, I visited the Toledo Art Museum for the summer homework assignment. Instead of treating this assignment as a lonely burden of some sort, I turned it into a day trip with my friends. After we flooded the gates with sound (that place really resonates), we quieted ourselves to whispers and got down to business.