I never go anywhere alone. After a depressive Saturday morning I finally crawled out of bed and went to the Cummer Museum. Art is one thing that I don’t understand. How people can find deeper meanings from paint on a canvas is Japanese to me. When I look at a painting I see exactly what is being shown and nothing more. There is no deeper meaning evident. Being at this museum cranky and solo trying to find a picture I felt connected to was almost impossible. It took me about ten minutes to go through the whole museum. But in one of the last sections I went in there was finally something that my eyes were drawn to. An image that made me want to find the deeper meaning. Thomas Hart Benton’s June Morning. From across the room I could see the bright yellow, pink and red flowers. Taking some steps forward there was even more to like. The overall appearance is a depiction of everyday life. The setting is outside in a grassy area. The sky looks grey but is turning brighter. There is a house in the country whose owner is in the front milking a cow. There is a dead tree that stands bear in the center. The objects that appear closest are a broken fence and the intensely bright colored flowers. All of the objects seem animated and do not seem realistic. The clouds are grey and sharp. Making the viewer feel that something is wrong. It looks like a storm was just taking place. The wind blew the clouds away and is still blowing the grass to the right. Somehow I related to this painting at the moment. Looking back in the distance in the sky you see that there was a turbulent time. Saturday was such an awful morning. When backing up you see the bottom of the picture. The lush lively flowers show the bright side happy ending. This was my reminder that there is a calm after the storm just like in the picture. After coming home I thought it would be a good idea to do some research. What was going on at the time Benton painted, June Morning? This would help to solve the mystery of what some of the symbolism was trying to say. Thomas Hart Benton was a regionalist who used art to depict the experiences of an everyday American.
A old sandy color bridge is cast upon the middle of the painting, which is crumbling apart and crashing into the water. The water in this painting is dark blue and white showing the choppiness of the water. In the middle of the painting is a white statue with its head broken off, but still standing, holding a black shield leaning forward towards the center of the painting. In the background fire and gray and black smoke cover the landscape. The gray skies linger over the town with a dark depressing tone. While the river banks are roaring with fire. In the lower center of the painting is a woman dressed in white jumping to off the river bank with a warrior behind her. In the lower portion of the painting ships are on fire. Throughout the whole painting you will see thousands of people, some enemy warriors some townspeople. The enemy warriors are wearing red. While the townspeople are dressed in typical daily life clothing
With an admiration for the unconventional, I am moved by Jackson Pollock’s Autumn Rhythm (number 30). If I could see any art piece in person, this would be my choice. I believe that Pollock’s radical painting style and the way in which he lay the canvas flat on the floor to work, gives this piece a deepened perspective. There is a visible control in the chaos to which Pollock has said "I can control the flow of paint: there is no accident." Seeing this piece in person would awaken my unconsciousness, and convey the feeling of spontaneity that I wish society will still embrace.
The show’s organizers, Teresa A. Carbone (the museum’s curator of American art) and Kellie Jones, did an exceptional job of strategically placing the artwork in relevance and relating topics to one another. When I arrived, the exhibit was empty and I actually had the opportunity to meet Ms. Carbone, who was on hand at the museum’s entrance.
This painting of the industrial revolution is very thought provoking, and causes a person to think about of what was happening during the industrial revolution. He shows the horrors of the factories and the serenity of the nature. He makes someone want to go back in time where things were peaceful, and there was just nature. Everything was in it’s own natural state and peaceful. This painting gave viewers a small glimpse into the past of the United States and the industrial revolution. Even though this picture showed a small glimpse of the past, a picture (or painting) is truly worth a thousand
Visiting the gallery made me think that art comes in many different shape, color, and views. Everyone is an artist in their own special way. There may have been several pieces that I did not like in the gallery, but the artist and other people have liked it and that is why it is a piece of art. I remembered in class we talked about how pictures can usually tell more than someone’s words. I believe that everyone that has looked at the pieces that I looked at today most likely all had different views on what the artist was trying to convey. There is a reason why artists do not always include words in their art because it is up to the viewers to think about the meaning behind the works.
The portrait of the woman alone in the woods shows her standing their in solitude. The look in her face is of a type of contemplation. It is hard to determine whether it is a sad or happy inspiration or maybe both. Mrs. Mallard she instantly cried with sudden desertion and went off into the room all alone. Both women are alone in these examples. When Mrs. Mallard first sat down in her in the chair by the window her eyes were dreary with a suggestion of intelligent thoughts. The women in the painting and Mrs. Mallard share a similarity that they are looking out into the world.
Many might have been working on Good Friday, but many others were enjoying The Frist Museum of Visual Arts. A museum visitor visited this exhibit on April 14, 2017 early in the morning. The time that was spent at the art museum was approximately two hours and a half. The first impression that one received was that this place was a place of peace and also a place to expand the viewer’s imagination to understand what artists were expressing to the viewers. The viewer was very interested in all the art that was seen ,but there is so much one can absorb. The lighting in the museum was very low and some of the lighting was by direction LED lights. The artwork was spaciously
When first approaching this work, one feels immediately attracted to its sense of wonder and awe. The bright colors used in the sun draws a viewer in, but the astonishment, fascination, and emotion depicted in the expression on the young woman keeps them intrigued in the painting. It reaches out to those who have worked hard in their life and who look forward to a better future. Even a small event such as a song of a lark gives them hope that there will be a better tomorrow, a thought that can be seen though the countenance by this girl. Although just a collection of oils on a canvas, she is someone who reaches out to people and inspires them to appreciate the small things that, even if only for a short moment, can make the road ahead seem brighter.
Last Saturday I had a chance to visit one more time the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. It was a nice and pleasant time enjoyed with my dear English teacher Mr. Hamby, his lovely wife, and some of the fellow students from Lee College. It was a very nice sunny morning, enhancing this appreciation of art day.
This is an image that I think of when I consider Japanese culture. They love gardens like this and you see similar images often when considering their culture. It is difficult to tell for sure, but the people in the distance appear to be dressed up. It is as though they have put on their best clothes to step out and enjoy this relaxing setting. I believe that this print is successful at capturing a moment in the mid 1800’s very well. It causes me to sense and experience what the artist was trying to capture. This print seems to conform to the formal theory of art. The print has only images of each object. None of them are particularly detailed or real to life but they do a very good job of organizing and describing the basic elements of the scene. It uses similar colors, shapes, and lines to those one might find in this garden in
Thomas Hart Benton was born in the familiar, small town of Neosho, Missouri. He was named after his granduncle, the famed and prominent pre-American Civil War senator. First Thomas Hart Benton studied at the Art Institute of Chicago and then lived in beautiful Paris for three years. When he came back he moved to New York City after 1912 he turned away from his usual style, modernism, and gradually developed a rugged naturalism that affirmed traditional rural values. By the 1930’s Benton was riding a tide of popular acclaim along with his fellow regionalist Grant Wood, who was responsible for American Gothic, and John Steuart Curry, who was responsible for The Tragic Prelude. The mural, America Today (1930-1931, The Equitable Life Assurance Society of the U.S., New York City), Thomas Hart Benton’s masterpiece, presented an optimistic portrayal of a vital country filled with earthy, muscular figures.
As I enter the Gioconda and Joseph King Gallery at the Norton Museum of Art the first thing that Caught my attention was a painting measuring approximately at 4 ft. by 10 ft. on the side wall in a well- light area. As I further examine the painting the first thing I notice is that it has super realism. It also has color, texture, implied space, stopped time, and that it is a representational piece. The foreign man sitting on the chair next to a bed has a disturbed look on his face and is deep into his own thoughts. It’s as if someone he loved dearly just experienced a tragic and untimely death. He is in early depression. I could feel the pain depicted in his eyes. A book titled The Unquiet Grave lying open on the floor by the unmade bed suggesting something is left unresolved. The scattered photos and papers by the bedside cause redintegration. The picture of Medusa’s head screaming on the headboard is a silent scream filled with anger and pain, yet it cannot be heard. I feel as if I am in the one sitting in the chair and I can feel the anger, and regret.
Imagine someone looking to their right, and being met with the sight of a beautiful meadow, flowers swaying from the soft breeze of the clear blue sky, the sun shining brightly in the distance. Said someone widens their eyes, and concentrates hard on their surroundings, to the point where it feels like they’re one with nature. Now suddenly, the scene changes, as the person is now, this time around, turning to their left, and seeing a dark, gloomy, night sky, dead plants and birds littered across the dirty path ahead. Would they feel any different? Similar to this figurative situation, the short story “The Birds”, by Daphne du Maurier perfectly captures how the use of imagery affects human emotions. Her descriptive language regarding the weather,
Looking at landscape art, especially when painted by one of the masters, many have undoubtedly pondered: what would it be like to live there? Shapes and attention to detail are, of course, important in a painting. However, it is color that draws the eye and inspires the heart. Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet and dramatist, spoke well of this when he noted that, “Mere color, unspoiled by meaning, and unallied with definite form, can speak to the soul in a thousand different ways. (qtd in “color”)”. Vincent Ward had a similar understanding of this impact when, in 1998, he directed the movie What Dreams May Come. Looking at this film, one can easily imagine being inside a living painting. The use of color to emphasize the emotional state of a character or event is common in films; nevertheless, Director Ward goes even farther in using color to represent the actual characters themselves. Red is the shade chosen to signify Annie and likewise, blue is used for Chris. Both of these, as will be shown, are accurate in defining these fictitious people. However, it is the profound use of purple in this film that is the true focal point. When mixing red and blue paint, one would find that, after being mixed, they cannot be separated. Likewise, this is true of the life and love these characters build and share. Purple represents the many ways in which Chris and Annie are melded, and joined.
The shades of green and yellow hues saturate the picture. The vivid filter made the minute details, like the uneven field, stand out and create levels. Peeking through the greens, purple and red flowers fluttered in the breeze, calling for the viewers’ attention. The movement of the picture flows from the top right and arcs to the bottom left. A pristine view of a village captured on an ordinary day by the view of an outsider.