ART MUSEUM CRITIQUE

Which museum did you visit? University of Utah

Describe at least one of the broad collections on a theme, period, geographic region or topic within the museum.  Out of all the collections the one that interested me quite a bit was the Polynesian section. Right when I walked into the room I was just “wowed” by all the cool art pieces that they made. To me it seemed like everything was made of something from the earth. The Polynesians aren’t exactly the richest society in the world and most of the islands are third world countries so they don’t have state of the art equipment to make art with. So they use their resources around them. There were lots of art pieces made out of wood and grass probably easily found in one of the islands. I loved all the totem poles because they are everywhere in the Polynesian culture. My parents went to the Polynesian cultural center in Hawaii and they took pictures by tons of totem poles, it’s just a piece of artwork that is everywhere.

Give a brief one paragraph description of a special exhibit. There was an exhibit that was solely about the great depression. Right when I walked into the room I actually felt kind of depressed because all the artwork was drawn in pencil so everything was in black in white. There was no trace of any color in the pictures. I really liked this exhibit because it shows how the great depression was, and it was powerful. There were many pictures drawn of people working in fields, or on roads, because the people during that time would do anything for money. Then there were pictures drawn of people.  I could see sadness in the eyes of the people drawn; there was no sense of hope. It really made me grateful for the world I live in today.

What kind of information is provided about the works? Tell me three places you might find more detailed that doesn’t include the web. Not much is said about the art work. There are little plaques by every piece but most just say the name and date of when it was made. If I want to find out more about it I could go to the library find a book about the art piece. Or I could talk to a helper at a museum because they are knowledgeable about art. Or I could even talk to my friends and family about it, and maybe they might know more than I do.

Choose several works that particularly appealed to you. Explain why you were drawn to these works. Comment on the subject, style, medium, time period, etc. who were the artists?

Viola Frey: Ethnic Man, 1991

I really liked this sculpture for many reasons. First is because right when I walked into the museum I looked up and I saw this huge porcelain statue of a discolored man. I walked right up the stairs to see this statue first. He stood towering over my head, but he looked rather odd. It looked like someone dumped a bunch of paint over him by accident. But the artist did this on purpose. She dressed him up in a business suit because in society that represents corporate power and people look up to that. But this man has so many different colors of paint on him because he represents more than one ethnic type, but all ethnic types in one gigantic figure.

Holly K. Johnson: Single Serve Nation 8oz drink)

This art piece was really fun to look at. I believe it was in the modern art 3d pieces but it had a good point to it. It was made out of plaster but she molded the plaster into coke bottles. She started off with the 8 oz coke glass bottle that people used to drink back in the day. Then it slowly progressed to the 32 oz jugs that you buy in 7 eleven that could last you a whole year. It was interesting to see how much Americans have changed, and this definitely answers the question to why America is becoming so obese.

Irwin Hoffman: Cigarette Underground, 1938

                I saw this drawing in the special exhibit that had many paintings about the depression. Most of the pictures in that exhibit were of people working because that’s what people would do because they were desperate for money. This one stood out because it wasn’t of a man working, it was of a man smoking a cigarette. The man in this painting was probably exhausted of working and very stressed out because of the situation he is in, so the only thing he could do is go underground and smoke a cigarette. I feel that in this painting the man is just taking a break from the world, and maybe we should do that as well (just not by smoking a cigarette).

Thomas Cole: Pastoral Landscape with Fisherman, 1826

                This picture merely intrigued me because I saw it was painted by Thomas Cole, and he was one of the painters from the Hudson River School. Again it was another beautiful painting of nature except I feel like this painting has a dark twist to it. Most pictures that Thomas Cole draws have lots of light in them, but this one is different. There are dead trees, dark clouds, dark skies, dark water, and lots of shadows. What weird’s me out is that there are people hanging out in this dark and dreary place, maybe he’s trying to make a statement that nature is beautiful no matter what.

How did the artworks you looked at relate to material we have discussed in class? It’s amazing how much all these pieces of artwork have connected to the things I have learned in class. Just beginning with the ethnic man, the artist knew that people make judgments on your ethnicity because many people have a closed mind. Then the 8 oz coke bottle art piece connects to all the articles about how Americans just want bigger and better things. The artist perfectly portrays that we need bigger and better coke and that’s what we’re getting, its unnecessary but we still buy it. And lastly there were many paintings that were of nature. I’ve learned through all the articles that we should protect nature but now that I have seen more pictures of nature I want to preserve it because we need natural beauty on this earth.

What was your personal reaction to this experience? Would you enjoy attending this type of event again? Why or why not? At first I wasn’t too excited to go to an art museum because I have always pictured them to be boring and dull. Right when I walked into the museum I was proved wrong. I was so interested in all the artwork. The atmosphere was also great as well, quiet, peaceful, calm, it was really a great place to think and ponder about the artwork. I would love to go to another museum in the future. It sparked a lot of question in my mind and I undeniably learned a lot.