Alright, so I have to be honest. A part of me was not that excited about doing this assignment. Why? well, I felt as if I was not going to be able to fully enjoy all the art work I will be looking at because I would have to keep in mind all these proper art terms and take notes and what not. But, I proved myself wrong. I finally picked a museum, which was, Long Beach Museum of Art.
Their main exhibition they had during the time that I went was the Art Auction XIV: Where Imagination Takes Flight. The exhibition featured over 150 artworks done by some of California's most desirable artists. Within the exhibition there was a variety of forms and genres within the pieces shown. It was quite interesting.
The first couple of pieces that I saw fit perfectly to the title of the exhibition. They really did allow my imagination to take flight. and what really helped was most of the art pieces had titles to them. The first painting I saw was the main painting of the event that was advertising the exhibition. It was called Birds Fly by Flapping their wings. by Jeff McMillan. I loved it. The material used was Acrylic and it looked so real. the composition was so random but organized at the same time. The second one I saw really got my mind thinking. Motel Cadillac by Simon Harling materials oil on canvas. very nonobjective. you could have seen it in your life today but something about it was very mysterious.
Throughout the exhibition their were a hand full of paintings that had a sense of idealism in it.
One for example, which was one of my favorites, Giraffe by Lori LaMont. composed with watercolors on paper. now this was super realistic and popped out at you. very detailed for water color. and not to mention the size of the painting was huuuge. i really did feel like a read giraffe was sticking its head through a picture frame. so awesome.This had to have been thee perfect giraffe i have seen.
Another painting called After the Recital by Pat Roberts was another painting I would categorize with idealism. it was made with oil on canvas and it was so perfect. there were 5 little girls in their ballerina costumes looking restless after a recital. their skin looked so soft and perfect as their hair and facial features. the strokes of the painting were so clean and detailed.
finally, some of my most favorite pieces of artwork were the paintings that were landscape paintings. The exhibition had quite a few. some watercolor, oil on canvas, and acrylic. these were very realistic. and also very detailed. there were a few of them that looked just like actual photos.
This museum trip was a success. I was able to see various amounts of representational art that included abstract, landscapes,idealism and even sculptures. going to the museum did give me a sense of appreciation to artwork. more than i had before. especially after knowing a lot more about art and its culture from class. It was also very cool to be able to point out what type of art work it was.
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you found a show which satisfied your desire. You took notice of a variety of painting mediums used by the artists and illustrated how realistic or abstract they depicted their subjects. The auction's collective theme "where imagination takes flight" would have been a good starting point for you to talk about the content of the work as it relates to specific pieces. How is "imagination" being defined in the museums selection of these works vrs other types of works, ex. Performance art, installation, conceptual art...etc. Your review of the artworks for the XIV auction at the Long Beach Museum of Art expresses a somewhat sentimental viewpoint. What is the role of the artist today? do these works merely entertain the viewer with beautiful images or do they convey more?
30/50 points
J. Valenzuela