Art Unit Project
On Saturday, December fifth, I visited both the Metropolitan museum of art, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The Egyptian wing at the Metropolitan was expansive, comprehensive, and just plain old fun. Ever since I was young, ancient Egypt always intrigued me. Seeing the temple of Dendur fascinated me, it was relocated from Egypt to New York City. Transported meticulously and pieced back together like one big Lego set, seeing it completely relocated in another continent really just blew my mind. I visited the Metropolitan when I was young, about nine years old, and I never really considered all the effort that was put into relocating the temple in it's entirety, along with all the other exhibits and heavy stone statues. At the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Dinner Party by Judy Chicago impressed me. Georgia O'Keeffe, one of my favorite artists, had a dinner plate dedicated to her, and seeing her elaborate plate made me smile.
The Priestess Tagerem - The Metropolitan Museum of Art
This section completes portions one and four of the art unit project.
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| The Priestess Tagerem |
The Tattoo Artist, Norman Rockwell - The Brooklyn Museum of Art
This section completes portion two of the art unit project pertaining to American art, rather than contemporary art.
The Tattoo Artist by Norman Rockwell portrays a tattoo artist tattooing a seventh name of a woman onto a man's left arm. The previous names above were scratched out and faded, to me this symbolizes the permanent nature of tattoos, and the fluid nature of relationships. The man getting tattooed by the artist looks down skeptically at the crossed out names on his arm, perhaps already aware that this new name he is getting tattooed onto his arm will one day also be scratched out and replaced. The tattoo artist and the customer are suspended in front of a wallpaper like background, and the wallpaper is filled with tattoo designs. Scott McCloud's sixth step, which refers to the surface of the painting, reveals the aspects of the painting that stand out the most. These aspects that stood out to me are the skeptical facial expression on the customer's face, and the six crossed out names of his ex girlfriends on his arm. I really love this painting, there's so much more to it than just a tattoo artist and a customer, this painting conveys the fickle nature of people, and the permanent stains of tattoo ink, and impulse choices.
The Dinner Party, Judy Chicago - The Brooklyn Museum of Art
This section completes portion three of the art unit project.
The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago was truly an impressive installation at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. With thirty nine place settings and thirty nine individual plates, it was hard to choose just two plates to analyze.
The first plate that caught my eye belonged to Georgia O'Keeffe. The plate had swirling colors of lavender, green, and pink, and the colors seemed to merge seamlessly into one another. I chose this plate simply because it was out of the ordinary, and because Georgia O'Keeffe is one of my favorite artists. McCloud's fifth step, craft, was visible in this plate, as well as all of the others. The colorful waves of porcelain visible in the plate seemed impossible to recreate to me. The details visible in O'Keeffe's plate were fascinating, but another plate also stood out to me.
The second Dinner Party plate that impressed me belonged to Sacagawea. Sacagawea accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition through the land bought in the Louisiana Purchase. The National American Woman Suffrage Association even adopted her as a symbol of women's worth and independence. Sacagawea's plate depicted an intricate pattern similar to an embroidery. Below her plate laid a complicated woven cloth with beads, resembling a native american embroidery. I chose this plate because it was so elegantly simple, and I feel as though Sacagawea's contributions to American history often go unnoticed. McCloud's first step emphasizes the purpose behind artwork, and I believe the purpose of Sacagawea's plate is to remind us of what she helped accomplish.
This section completes portion three of the art unit project.
The Dinner Party by Judy Chicago was truly an impressive installation at the Brooklyn Museum of Art. With thirty nine place settings and thirty nine individual plates, it was hard to choose just two plates to analyze.
The first plate that caught my eye belonged to Georgia O'Keeffe. The plate had swirling colors of lavender, green, and pink, and the colors seemed to merge seamlessly into one another. I chose this plate simply because it was out of the ordinary, and because Georgia O'Keeffe is one of my favorite artists. McCloud's fifth step, craft, was visible in this plate, as well as all of the others. The colorful waves of porcelain visible in the plate seemed impossible to recreate to me. The details visible in O'Keeffe's plate were fascinating, but another plate also stood out to me.
The second Dinner Party plate that impressed me belonged to Sacagawea. Sacagawea accompanied Lewis and Clark on their expedition through the land bought in the Louisiana Purchase. The National American Woman Suffrage Association even adopted her as a symbol of women's worth and independence. Sacagawea's plate depicted an intricate pattern similar to an embroidery. Below her plate laid a complicated woven cloth with beads, resembling a native american embroidery. I chose this plate because it was so elegantly simple, and I feel as though Sacagawea's contributions to American history often go unnoticed. McCloud's first step emphasizes the purpose behind artwork, and I believe the purpose of Sacagawea's plate is to remind us of what she helped accomplish.
About Face: Human Expressions on Paper - The Metropolitan
This section completes portion five of the art unit project.
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| Hand-colored etching by Thomas Rowlandson, 1809 |
When I first saw this etching, I was confused. After studying it some more, my confusion did not go away. I cannot make out any meaning behind this etching, all I see in it is a vulgar portrayal of a person, whose gender is unclear to me. The person on the left is carrying a sack that reads "20,000 charms." The teeth on the individual are rather uneven and scattered, their skin is lumpy, and their nails are long and chipped. I think the purpose of this etching is to explain to us how art can take on many different forms, and although it may not be pleasing to our eyes, it is still considered art. I also chose this etching because it resembled some art by my favorite band, Pink Floyd. McCloud's fourth step, structure, emphasizes how the art is arranged, what is included, and what is left out. This piece of art is arranged in a fashion that draws in your eye, but in doing so it also raises many questions. When I first saw this etching, for example, I was curious as to what was behind he curtain.
Scott McCloud revealed to us six steps in analyzing art, consider the purpose, analyze the form, understand the idiom, analyze the structure, determine the craft used, and study the aspects of the surface. My criteria for analyzing art is similar.
First, I would learn what method was used in creating the art, for example, was it sculpted, painted, etched, or molded? Perhaps the method used in it's creation would reveal some clues to it's true meaning.
Second, I would consider the art itself, the colors, the facial expressions, I would try and determine the overall mood of the piece.
Third, I would determine the reason for it's creation. It's not always possible to understand the meaning the artist was attempting to convey, and perhaps that is the magic behind art. Not everyone shares the same opinions and views on a piece of art, so determining how you feel about a piece is an important step in fully analyzing it.
Scott McCloud revealed to us six steps in analyzing art, consider the purpose, analyze the form, understand the idiom, analyze the structure, determine the craft used, and study the aspects of the surface. My criteria for analyzing art is similar.
First, I would learn what method was used in creating the art, for example, was it sculpted, painted, etched, or molded? Perhaps the method used in it's creation would reveal some clues to it's true meaning.
Second, I would consider the art itself, the colors, the facial expressions, I would try and determine the overall mood of the piece.
Third, I would determine the reason for it's creation. It's not always possible to understand the meaning the artist was attempting to convey, and perhaps that is the magic behind art. Not everyone shares the same opinions and views on a piece of art, so determining how you feel about a piece is an important step in fully analyzing it.
I found your blog very interesting, it is making me curious and wanting to attend the Brooklyn museum since I only visited the met museum. I always thought that plates and kitchen utensils were not considered art just because it does not have any "wow" factors to it. As you describes the plates I am interested in seeing them and the colors in each plate and the stories behind it. I also want to visit the tattoo painting, my problem with it though is that the guy should just stop getting tattoo's of his girlfriends names if he knows they would most likely leave him but then again it is a painting so maybe the artist of the painting had a personal connection to it. However it is hard for me to not look at this painting as more than a guy getting tattoo's of his girlfriends names and each getting scratched off. I also will try to incorporate some things you use to analyze art into my own way of analyzing art so I could have a better understand of the type of art I am looking at.
ReplyDeleteI noticed that most of the sculptures in the Egyptian Art exhibit was modeled after the ideal body whether it was male or female. The female sculptures definitely had a shapely form with a sort of hourglass shape that I've always admired and the male sculptures had defined muscles. I love how the Temple of Dendur was put back together so precise it was almost like i was in Egypt. Your blog was very interesting.
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ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting John. It is also good to know that you were particularly intrigued by the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum because i was also fascinated by it too. I was particularly interested in the crafting on the wall itself and how they could create such a magnificent scenery both inside and outside. The picture about the etching is also interesting, first of all i didn't even know what that was but seeing this gave me a better understanding. It was important that you mention that some of the images could not be understood at first sight but rather through thorough interaction with the the art pieces. additionally your vivid description of each art piece reverses the stereotype of museum being a dull place because if you find so many interesting things about a particular piece to say then that point is not valid.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting John. It is also good to know that you were particularly intrigued by the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum because i was also fascinated by it too. I was particularly interested in the crafting on the wall itself and how they could create such a magnificent scenery both inside and outside. The picture about the etching is also interesting, first of all i didn't even know what that was but seeing this gave me a better understanding. It was important that you mention that some of the images could not be understood at first sight but rather through thorough interaction with the the art pieces. additionally your vivid description of each art piece reverses the stereotype of museum being a dull place because if you find so many interesting things about a particular piece to say then that point is not valid.
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