It was my first time going to a museum solely dedicated to Mexican art here in the United States. I’ve been to the Dolores Olmedo Museum in Mexico City which hosts collections by Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. Unlike any other museums I’ve been to the Dolores Olmedo museum had peacocks and Frida’s favorite dogs the Xoloitzcuintles wandering around the outside premises of the museum. I went to the Dolores Olmedo museum a couple years ago when I went to Mexico City and it was amazing. Before visiting the museum I had only seen Frida Kahlo’s work in pictures and when I finally got to see her work in person I was captivated. Even though I had seen Frida’s work in images before they were nothing like how I pictured them. I remember thinking of
Ester Hernandez is a Chicana artist, best known for her works of Chicana women. Ester’s goal is to recreate women’s lives to produce positive images of women’s lifestyle and to create icons. Her piece, Frida y Yo, contains the iconic painter Frida Kahlo. Frida, after being in multiple accidents causing long-term pain and suffering, began painting, mostly self-portraits, to portray her reality and glorify the pain. Similar to how Hernandez's goals are a juxtaposition to Frida’s artwork, the art piece Frida y Yo creates a juxtaposition between life and suffering and death and fortune.
For my museum selection I decided to attend Texas State University’s Wittliff Collection. When I arrived, there was no one else there besides me and the librarian. To be honest, I probably would have never gone to an art museum if my teacher didn’t require me to. This was my first time attending the Wittliff Collection, thus I asked the librarian, “Is there any other artwork besides Southwestern and Mexican photography?” She answered, “No, the Wittliff is known only for Southwestern and Mexican photography.” I smiled with a sense of embarrassment and continued to view the different photos. As I walked through Wittliff, I became overwhelmed with all of the different types of photography. There were so many amazing pieces that it became difficult to select which one to write about. However, I finally managed to choose three unique photography pieces by Alinka Echeverria, Geoff Winningham, and Keith Carter.
On this land in the southwestern region of the United States of America, you will be fascinated by the cultural amalgamation of Native American, Hispanic, and Mexican culture. And here you do not learn cultures in just museums; you get the chance to explore the landscape and meet people and make the experience truly YOURS. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t speak Spanish.
Frida Kahlo nació el 6 de Julio 1907 en la ciudad de México. Ella les dijo a muchas personas que nació el 7 de Julio 1910 porque quiso parecer más joven a los otros. Aunque sus padres fueron judíos, Frida nació en México. Frida fue una artista surrealista y sus obras vió de sus emociones de la tristexa y la cólera de su vida. Ella le encantó decir los chistes, reír, y sonreír. Frida Kahlo llevó las ropas de la cultura tradicional de México porque pensó que las ropas fueran una forma del arte. Todo el mundo admiró mucho a Frida, a causa de sus obras y su actitud.
The museums Asian art collection, preferably from China and Korea, are exhibited in the Pavilion for Japanese Art (Basch and Poole 541), whereas the Latin American art collection: comprising pre-Columbian magnum opuses to works by Diego Rivera, Clemento Orozco, Frida Kahlo, and such like, are exhibited in the Latin American Art galleries (Compton 165). In addition to its American, Latin American and Asian artworks, the museum has also some of the renowned Islamic and African art collections. The Latin American collection harbors pre-Columbian and Spanish art galleries and other recent and contemporary works of art. But despite its predominance in the LACMA museum, these pieces of art may not rival the Arabian or Islamic art in beauty and magnificence.
Works Cited Chin-Lee,Cynthia. Amelia to Zora: 26 Women Who Changed The World.Charles Bridge, 2005. Ergas, G. Aimee. Artists: From Michaelangelo to Maya Lin. UXL, 1995 Lin, May. Boundaries. Simon and Schuster New York, 2000. Cotter, Holland. “Where the Ocean Meets the Mountain”. New York Times May 8: C23.
Camilla's point that Mexican Americans have had a long constant battle in America is very true. I agree with Camilla' that because Mexican Americans have had to endure so much they have been able to form a strong sense of culture. Growing up in Los Angeles I have always been around Mexican American culture. However, not until the readings did I realize the hardships Mexican Americans have had to face and how those hardships have been represented through their art. It is important for all Americans to be taught the hardships Mexican Americans have faced either through books, videos or art. Once Americans become aware they will realize the beauty of the Mexican American culture.
Frida Kahlo is known for the most influential Latin American female artist. She is also known as a rebellious feminist. Kahlo was inspired to paint after her near-death bus incident when she was 17. After this horrendous incident that scarred her for life, she went under 35 different operations. These operations caused her extreme pain and she was no longer able to have kids. Kahlo’s art includes self portraits of her emotions, pain, and representations of her life. Frida Kahlo was an original individual, not only in her artwork but also in her
Cindy Sherman and Frida Kahlo were pioneers when it came to artistic creativity and relating to femininity. Without these two female self-portraiture artists, art wouldn’t be what it is today. They had definite differences when it came to their style, but in the end when it came to the purpose they both wanted to use stylistic conventions during their time and they also wanted to change those conventions. Whether it was the background or the character portrayed they have their own defined style and that makes these two women memorable artists.
I think that Frida's life greatly influenced her paintings. Most of her paintings have some form of nature or wildlife featured in them. Not only did she display a theme of nature, she also liked to wear indian women clothing. Her style is realistic and lifelike. She has many paintings that fall into the categories of symbolism, surrealism, cubism, modern art, and magical realism. Not only that, a lot of her paintings have herself in them. The color use of Frida Kahlo is very lifelike, she uses natural colors; she doesn't use many bright colors. She uses many primary colors. I have also noticed that a few of her paintings exhibit monkeys. Her paintings remind me of the Mexican culture that I studied in my two year Spanish class. Artemisia’s paintings are very feministic. I believe that Artemisia put her life into her paintings as well. The paintings of Artemisia Gentileschi that I have seen all have women displayed in them; whether they are her, or other women. I would recognize her paintings because almost all of her artwork features a woman reaching out for something. Women in these paintings have a facial expression, that is the same in almost all of her works. Artemisia had very lifelike paintings, they were beautiful but also displayed a tense mood. Her paintings were very striking as were Fridas. Artemisia's paintings are historical and display a tone of hurt. In comparison, both Fridas and Artemisia’s paintings
I visited the San Antonio Museum of Art for my museum requirement. One of my favorite activities is actually going to museums. I had never been to the San Antonio Art Museum before so I was excited to go. At the time I visited they were hosting the "Lethal Beauty" samurai collection, which is actually the reason why I drove down there. I have picked a handful of paintings and objects that I found interesting and hope to explain. The museum was organized by a mixture of time periods and art type. A very friendly environment for all types of individuals to go and enjoy history.
One of my favorite paintings is a painting by Diego Rivera. Diego Rivera, 1886-1957, is a famous artist from Mexico, known for his murals and paintings. Much of his work shared historical, social, and political ideas, which took place in his life time. Nude with Calla Lilies, is a less known painting of Rivera’s, it seems to lack a social and political commentary so frequently found in his paintings. Despite its lack of fame, it is still a beautiful and meaning piece of art that I have admired for many years.
Seeing the art in person truly made me see the beauty and captivity a painting can hold. Each gallery was filled with different American works. My favorite kind of paintings are the ones I can look at and immediately write a story in my head about what is happening, even if it not what the artist intended. As I was going through the galleries one painting in particular stuck in my mind. I was fortunate enough to experience a special exhibition called, “Audubon to Warhol.” It was composed of different works acquired from private and public collections. I was lured to the emotions that was captured by the main figure in one of the works. I was drawn not only to the beauty of the painting, but the story it shared. The painting I chose was Peeling Onions, by Lilly Martin Spencer.
One pleasant afternoon, my classmates and I decided to visit the Houston Museum of Fine Arts to begin on our museum assignment in world literature class. According to Houston Museum of Fine Art’s staff, MFAH considers as one of the largest museums in the nation and it contains many variety forms of art with more than several thousand years of unique history. Also, I have never been in a museum in a very long time especially as big as MFAH, and my experience about the museum was unique and pleasant. Although I have observed many great types and forms of art in the museum, there were few that interested me the most.
...for them to go back in time. Without a doubt, I am sure they are going to recall several things that was from their own past. Throughout the whole museum you can see different topics about our own history and heritage. It’s not enough in a limited period to be able to appreciate and listen to all the audio or comprehend all the information that they have transmitted through the available exhibits. It’s sad that I been here in this city for a very long time and was not aware of this cultural museum. Now that I recognize the abundant amount one can learn about Mexican heritage by visiting La Plaza de Cultura y Artes museum I will spread the word to my associates, friends, and family. It absolutely makes you appreciate the Mexican legacy and allows you to see all the history that has taken place in recent times within those partitions throughout the entire museum.