Reflections on “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” Exhibit Today I went to the Verde Gallery to see the “A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste” exhibit. After wandering around downtown Champaign, I found the gallery on a small side street off of Neil. When I walked in, I saw a large group of people sitting at tables in the main room, and had no idea what was going on. I did not see anything that looked like the exhibit I was looking for. After going to the bathroom, and unknowingly walking past half of the exhibit, I came back to see what all the people were gathered for. A man had just began speaking, and I heard him mention something about an exhibit co-sponsored by the Brown v. Board Commemoration, and figured that maybe crowd was there for some special program related to the exhibit. This man introduced another man, who was on the board of directors for the Whirlwind Project. Still somewhat confused, I kept listening and found out that this was a poetry reading on the theme of meditation. Not being one for poetry, I wandered off after the first two readers, in search of the exhibit. In the next room, which I had already walked through and looked like some sort of back room, there was a brochure about the “A Mind is a Terrible Thing” ad campaign for the United Negro College Fund, which I picked up but decided to read later. I saw some posters on the wall, and went up to read them. The first time I saw them, I thought they were just posters put up to take up wall space in the back room, but it turned out these were part of the exhibit. I looked at all six of these posters, which were actually ads from the UNCF ad campaign, and wondered if that were all or if the exhib... ... middle of paper ... ...d that it was the exhibit I was looking for, I was glad I checked it out. The majority of the ads were interesting and persuasive and gave me insight into the UNCF, which I had never heard of before. Seeing this exhibit made me wonder if the rest of the commemoration events were this small and overlooked, or if this one was unique in that respect. This event may have been overlooked because of a lack of interesting advertising. If I weren’t in this class with the assignment of attending a Brown v. Board commemoration event, I wouldn’t have even known this event was going on, and if I did, probably wouldn’t have gone because there are so many other events with similar sounding titles. Is the commemoration a flop? If I had to base my judgment entirely on this one exhibit, I would say that it meant well and had potential, but lacked public involvement and interest.
My second gallery review is on the work of Philip Denker. I analyzed the art work at his exhibit; OVER + UNDER”. I saw his exhibit Friday November 15, 2013 at 11:00 am at Trifecta gallery inside the arts factory. When I walked into the room I loved that the room was illuminated with the light of the light bulbs, as well, with the natural illumination of the sun coming through the glass windows and door. When I got inside the room I also noticed it was spacious, and the pieces were very well ordered. The pieces were hung vertically or horizontally, and I liked this because it got my attention.
As I waited to observe the audience as they filled the seats with pencil in hand, I was amazed by the amount of diversity I saw before me. By the time the lecture was ready to set foot, I observed that nearly the entire lecture hall was filled. I would say that the hall where our discussion was being held in could probably hold around 300 people. The majority of the audience was not students forced to write a paper on the Brown v. Board Commemoration events, but rather scholars who were on average in their mid-40s. It seemed as though everyone knew each other to some degree. At one point, I saw a woman walk in with her young son and they were greeted by one of the first presenters. Oftentimes, groups of 2 or 3 walked into the room and they would sit down in no particular section of the seating and proceed to talk moderately loudly and peacefully. There was a sense of joy and rejuvenation in the air. After making my final observations of the crowd, I noted that it was a predominantly white showing! Not something I would expect to see when attending a discussion on slavery. It was a spectacle for me to see a group of Asian Americans nodding in unison when points were made during the seminar relating to black and white race relations. I would say that African-Americans wer...
When I entered the hall where the famous civil rights leader was going to speak, the crowd filing in reminded me more of a church congregation than of a university campus audience. The general mood had an air of formality about it and many people were dressed up for the occasion. Conversations were going on around me but in quiet, almost respectful tones as everyone located their seats. The surroundings at Smith Memorial Hall helped to set this formal mood, too, because the hall could be mistaken for a church with organ pipes in the background and flower arrangements set up on the podium. Unfortunately, any expectations that I had about Julian Bond giving a high-powered, energetic speech about the exciting days of the civil rights movement were fading fast even before the event got started, and I braced myself for a boring Friday night.
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.
Witness: Art and Civil Rights in the Sixties, an exhibit currently on display for the general public at the Brooklyn Museum, is something I’d recommend anyone here in the Tri State area to go see. While unsure what exactly to expect before arriving, it took me by surprise as to how well it was put together.
The Midwestern contemporary art case study revolves around the current MCA board chair Peggy Fischer, and former board chair Peter Smith. Smith had been elected to the board after individuals recognized him and his wife for the immense art collecting accomplishments put forth on the couples behalf. Initially Smith was indebted to pay $10,000 to even be elected onto the board chair. Smith indeed paid an initial pledge of $10,000 and financially made amends to put forth $5 million additional dollars towards museum improvements. It is no deniable fact that Fischer had recognized Smiths admirable job running the museum. Smith worked his way up from being a member of the board to board chair. Smith and his wife were highly recognized by the community and aimed to stay out of the spotlight whenever possible.
The River Severn, Alfred H. Vickers, Oil on Canvas, owned by they Amarillo Museum of Art given by Marilyn Seven and Ray Matney. The painting uses a luminism artistic style that is defined by “a 19th-century painting style emphasizing a unique clarity of light. . . . almost always landscapes or seascapes. . .” After reviewing Mr. Vickers’ other work, he is definitely a realist artist with many works that portray accurate size, color, and depictions of landscapes.
Though most works of art have some underlying, deeper meaning attached to them, our first impression of their significance comes through our initial visual interpretation. When we first view a painting or a statue or other piece of art, we notice first the visual details – its size, its medium, its color, and its condition, for example – before we begin to ponder its greater significance. Indeed, these visual clues are just as important as any other interpretation or meaning of a work, for they allow us to understand just what that deeper meaning is. The expression on a statue’s face tells us the emotion and message that the artist is trying to convey. Its color, too, can provide clues: darker or lighter colors can play a role in how we judge a piece of art. The type of lines used in a piece can send different messages. A sculpture, for example, may have been carved with hard, rough lines or it may have been carved with smoother, more flowing lines that portray a kind of gentleness.
“Art Museums and the Ritual of Citizenship.” in Exhibiting Cultures. Eds. Ivan Karp and Steven Lavine. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1991. Print.
Whenever I walk into Foellinger Auditorium, it’s usually to attend my econ lecture, but this time is different. I’m not going to listen to a lecture about how the economy works, but instead to listen to a family that caused the nation to rethink the educational system. The famous Brown family was going to give a talk about the famous case that carried their name and forever put them in history.
Washington, DC is a spectacular place. This being my first time in DC, I was in awe of everything and all the historical places I encountered. The presence of the monuments and history is what made the capitol so magnificent. Having only read about the Lincoln memorial, I never had the chance to experience the sensation of being inside such an honorable place of importance. The imposing white marble walls of the memorial and the many people surrounding it could be seen from afar. Arriving at the location, an unknown feeling came over me. I was experiencing history in a whole different level. When I think about a memorial, the term remembrance comes to mind. Seeing the statue of Abraham Lincoln brought pieces of memories from history class and evoked thoughts of what it might have felt like to be in his shoes. I was astonished by the statue’s enormousness and how grand Abraham Lincoln looked in his chair. The size of the statue compared to pictures from books and elsewhere was surreal. Abraham Lincoln was a very “powerful and prominent individual” in the history of our nation, the statue’s design and size reflected upon that. Looking around me, I wanted to know what the others thoughts were on seeing his statue and how they felt in that building. I finally had the courage to ask one or two people what they thought; they all had the same appreciation as me. Hearing about an important person or learning about them in a history book gives you vast knowledge but it doesn’t evoke the feeling of utter appreciation as the memorial does. When Abraham Lincoln was assassinated, many people wanted to build a memorial in honor of him. They wanted to be able to show how important he was to shaping our nation and to “honor his existence”. Ce...
What makes us human is the ability to recognize the good in other people and in turn recognize the good in ourselves. There is a saying that whatever you think about another person is just a reflection of what you think about yourself; it is like looking into a mirror. Paintings can act like mirrors as well; we can gaze into a painting and see the good of the subject being portrayed and in turn we can identify the same attributes within ourselves allowing us to relate to the subject matter. Both Rembrandt and Vermeer were able to capture intersubjectivity in their paintings. In The Return of the Prodigal Son (Fig. 1) and Aristotle (Fig. 2) by Rembrandt and The Milk Maid (Fig. 3) and Woman Weighing Pearls (Fig. 4) by Vermeer there is an autonomy that can be recognized in the painting as well as within us.
We chose our topic because as young ladies of African- American descent in middle school we feel that this topic is significant to our education and we wouldn't have the intelligence level we currently have if it wasn't for this remarkable case. Not only but also, we wanted to do a topic that was a major event and had an immense impact that we still see today. Our project displays multiple pieces of not only Brown v Board of Education but as well as Brown 2.
Items displayed in museums hold historical significance and are representative of society’s culture. Preserving valuable collections for education and enjoyment is a primary role of museums. While fulfilling this role, the architecture of the museum is also an important factor. Historical buildings are converted into museums and architects must consider the use of the space and the museum’s purpose during their initial design. Other museums are built with a clear purpose in mind. As museums are designed, many characteristics are determined. Display and storage spaces as well as visitor services impacts museum’s functionality. Based on the function of a museum, architectural requirements are different.
The memorials and museums mediate the memories of collective racial, political, and other injustices as well as traumas by showing and educating people on the various experiences of immigrant struggles. The collective impact of this educational work and exhibitions on various distinct communities that constitute the American community is a significant contribution to the steady transformation of the U.S. history in general. They are pillars of a movement that helps us understand the individual histories of various cultural groups that may have been marginalized or denied adequate attention by the nation’s general history. In fact, some of these mediated memories have turned out to be unifying elements for the nation. For instance, the maintenance of historical buildings from the nineteenth century have created elements of our national pride and helped us appreciate and celebrate our stylistic