The Museum Experience Mod 4, 2011: April 2011

Saturday, April 30, 2011

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART OUTSIDE

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART PAINTINGS

The duldge

the book of Genesis
oil on canvass By John Martin

THE DISCOVERING OF THE TOMB OF ACHIMIDES
OIL ON CANVASS
AMIRAL BRIDPORT
OIL ON CANVASS 1734

Yale Center For British Art Indoor

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Figure 1: A photo of The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001 by Graydon Parrish

Gary Wilson
Jerry Nevins
Museum Experience
April 27, 2011
The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy
Graydon Parrish was born April 3, 1970 in phoenix Arizona. His parent were collectors of nineteen century American and European artwork. Parrish was exposed to art at an early age and became fascinated by European and American painting. He was strongly influenced by his parents to pursue a career in art and develop an academic fugitive style of his own . In 1988, Parrish graduated from Booker T. Washington High School Of Performing Art. After graduation, Parrish wanted to venture towards classical Art but he was shied away secondary to limited choices of schools that thought classical art. After a lengthy search, he decided to attend New York Art Academy; there he met Jacob Collins and Michael Aviano who are known leading figure of classical and muralist art. Parrish when on to attend Arnherst College;There he earned a second Bachelor Degree majoring in independent study. After completion of his second degree, parrish produced major works such as, The Female head Study, Standing Female Nude, Sean , and The Cycle Of Terror and Tragedy. Parrish is currently an instructor at Grand Central Academy and continues to produce major artwork to the public and museums.
September 11 attack on the twin towers in New York shocked the world with horrific images and the inhumanity of the attackers. The artist Graydon Parrish responded to the attack with a painting, The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001, which is an allegory about the subject. The painting was commissioned by the New Britain Museum of American Art as a commemorative piece about the terror attack. This follows a tradition that dates from the Renaissance whereby subjects are tackled using images that’s rich in symbolism. The painting has been compared to Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, which is an allegory about bombing during a war (Genocchio). However, unlike Guernica, which was in the Cubist style, The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy was painted in classical academic Realist style. The artist’s mastery of the style comes from a dedication to studying 19th century academic drawing and he has even spent some years as an art historical researcher of the period (Sandstead; Lane).
The painting has drawn comparisons to Jacques-Louis David’s painting Oath of the Horatii due to its symbolist laden images (Cooper). It has eleven figures that represent different things that are related to the September 11 attack. The title of the painting contains the term “cycle”, and it is possible to identify a circular relationship between the figures in the painting. Both ends of the painting have blindfolded children thereby suggesting continuation from one end to the other (New Britain Museum of American Art [NBMAA]). On the left, three blindfolded children hold giant airplane toys. The blindfolded children are supposed to represent innocence. They hold giant toy airplanes, an allusion to the planes that were used as missiles in the attack. However, the artist has specified that they are toys and not weapons. This further enhances the imagery of innocence since the children are not aware of what happened during the attack (NBMAA).

As one moves to the right, there a dying man is on the ground. The man is seen to be screaming in agony. He is representative of the thousands who died in the attack. He is centrally placed in the painting, perhaps as a reminder that the painting is commemorative of those who died and hence the placement. Additionally, the man is placed at the feet of the two youths, who obviously represent the twin towers, as a reminder of where people died. In the middle of the painting, are the two screaming blindfolded youths. The two are standing as they look skywards and they are nude besides loincloths that are tied around their waists. The way in which the two stand shows that they are representations of the twin towers. They have blindfolds on as a continuation of the theme of innocence. Their nudity, along with that of other figures in the painting, is a possible reference to the fragility of human life.
To the youth’s right, there are three nude women kneeling besides them and they seem to be mourning. The women have no blindfolds on their eyes. The fact that the women are three could mean that they are the Fates from ancient Greek mythology (NBMAA). As such, they have no need for blindfolds since they are all seeing and all knowing. They also symbolize those who mourned, and still mourn, the death of loved ones in the attack. Further to the right, an old man is lying on wreaths of flowers. The man wears bandages and he symbolizes the people who survived the attack. The man is not wearing any blindfolds, thereby showing that his innocence has been lost.
The old man lies down as a reaction to the burden of his knowledge and wounds. In his hands, he holds the blindfolds of a child who is on the extreme right. The last figure in the painting is the girl who is seated on the extreme right. Her blindfold is being put on by the old man as indication of shielding from the terrible knowledge he has. This may be an indication of return to innocence and hence it is the end of a cycle as is identified in the painting’s title. The cycle shows that people are likely to forget what happened during the attack; however, on the date of the attack, awareness of what happened is likely to increase. The cycle could also represent the possibility of conflicts in the future with peaceful durations in their midst.
The painting’s background is a cityscape that is clearly a reference to New York. The sky is filled with dark smoke thereby enhancing the bleak subject of the painting; this is a reference to the results of the attack. The figures in the painting are on a small island that is representative of the island of Manhattan. The small island is a possible allusion to apocalyptic events such as floods (NBMAA). The island is strewn with papers, furthering the allusion of an apocalyptic event by depicting the ruins after the event. Some of the papers contain writings from the Constitution. The Constitution is a powerful symbol of liberty and affirmation of the importance of human life. Therefore, its being torn to shreds is indicative of what has happened during the attack; human life was devalued in the act. There are also flowers on the ground; these are an indication of mourning and remembrance of those who died in the attack.
Parrish’s painting, The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001, shows that he has a great facility for the realistic depiction of subjects. This reflects his interest in the traditions of 19th century art and beyond. The painting is not just a technical achievement in painting, it is also has many academic merits as well. The painting contains many allusions, both to art from earlier periods as well as the contemporary issues it is addressing. It is a good example of the potential of images to contain a multitude of ideas. As such, the artist succeeds in producing an appropriate commemorative piece to the September 11 attack and an artwork that is visually and intellectually stimulating.
Works Cited
Cooper, James F. Grand Themes Need Great Art. American Arts Quarterly, Volume 24, number 3. 2007. Web. April 21, 2011.
Genocchio, Benjamin. The Tragedy of 9/11, on a Long Sheet of Canvas. The New York Times. February 18, 2007.
Lane, Michael. Art interpretation: Terror and tragedy, by Graydon Parris. July 21, 2007. Web. April 21, 2011.
New Britain Museum of American Art. The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001. September 10, 2010. Web. April 21, 2011.
Sandstead, Lee. A Brief Introduction to Artist Graydon Parrish. 2006. Web. April 21, 2011.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

My visit to the Yale Center for British Art

Attached is the link on Snapfish of my visit to the Yale Center for British Art. My husband and I have made visits together to all of the museums. It has been a great learning adventure. I hope you are all able to view my pictures via this link. Enjoy

http://www2.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=6269556007/a=46378901_46378901/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBlink/COBRAND_NAME=snapfish/

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

My visit to the Yale Art Gallery was fun. I was accompanied by my two daughters, Divinia and Kenadie, who is seen in the photo here with me. The building that houses the Yale Art Gallery as we know it is actually the second location that the Gallery has embodied. The building located at 1111 Chapel Street in New Haven was designed by Architect Louis I. Kahn and reopened the Gallery at this location in 1953. The construction consists of brick, concrete, glass, and steel paired together in a geometric form. The entrance to the gallery sits high above street level and is inviting to passersby. We climbed the stairs and began our experience in the African Art gallery, which has been regarded as “one of the most important repositories of African art in the United States” (ArtStor). I decided that this visit would be planned to view sculpture. There were many artist renditions of pagan images and pieces that serve genuine functions in the African culture. This was the favorite of my 7 year old daughter Kenadie.

It is a helmet mask, which is from a region of Africa I cannot determine, based upon my failed photography of the item and its description. Another carving made from wood and accented with pigment that interested us was Bamgboye of Odo-Owa,

which comes from Yoruba, Nigeria. It is described to be an Equestrian Shrine Figure from the late 19th early 20th century. As we made our way through the exhibit this Bronze Christian Processional Cross from Ethiopia in

the mid to late 18th century drew our attention. It made me think of the celebratory processions that take place in Italy. A Nigerian carving titled Canoe to Heaven

from the late 19th to 20th century also caught my eye and made me think of a child’s toy. At first sight I wasn’t sure of the medium but read to discover it was formed from metal and accented with pigment. The Kakuungu Mask

from Suku in the Congo carved in the late 19th to early 20th century is made wood, raffia, pigment, animal hair and tortoise shell. This mask was used by charm specialists during initiation to keep subordinates in line as a way to teach obedience. It’s also used to scare away any threatening forces, but my seven year old daughter didn’t find it scary. The perceived mythical powers of the mask, including its ability to travel great distances in record time, are put to song by the tribe. The next sculpture from elephant ivory tusk is called an Ifa Divination Topper (iro ifa) from Yoruba, Nigeria or Republic of Benin.

It’s carved with great detail and was worthy of mentioning and highlighting.

As we move from the African art onto European collections we come across a beautiful golden cross. It is a Double-Sided processional cross

by The Master of the Gubbio Cross, which was crafted in Umbria, Italy ca. 1310. The medium is tempera and gold

on panel and I was delighted

with its three dimensional appeal.

My daughters and I viewed and admired a lot of sculptures on our museum outing but I have selected The Crucified Christ as my topic of focus.

I was attracted to it based upon the placement on the red wall and the bronze gleaming against that background. It measured about four feet high hanging on the wall and sort of beckoned me to it.

It is interesting to compare the two likenesses of Christ on the cross from the Double-Sided Cross from the 1300s and this gild bronze sculpture from ca. 1690-1700. Italian artist Camillo Rusconi sculpted this in the Baroque era, which is represented here in the ornate design of Christ body, crown, and limbs.

I truly admire the detail of artistry used to define the toenails and veins in the feet.

The change in texture of the nails through the hands and feet

offer a realistic display and you can almost imagine the pain of them being driven through the flesh. This sculpture truly touched me on an emotional level.

The artist Rusconi was born in Milan, Italy in 1658 and died in 1728. He made his home in Rome and contributed much artistically to the city in the form of sculpture. He was a commissioned artist who reproduced religious likenesses and for some time he depicted angels alongside French sculptor Pierre Le Gros. His style has been described as classical artistry and he is renowned for his marble statues of Apostles Matthew, James the Great, Andrew and John, which were sculpted on a grand scale referred to as over-life-sized. A year before his death he was named principe of the Accademia di San Luca, which is a Roman association formed to support artists and promote their work. During that period the academy was directed by Italian architect and painter Federico Zuccari, who credited Camillo Rusconi for inspiring the style of many artists who have followed.

Sources:
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513041/Camillo-Rusconi
http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O2-RusconiCamillo.html
http://www.artstor.org/what-is-artstor/w-html/col-yale-gallery.shtml
http://www.answers.com/topic/accademia-di-san-luca

New Britan American Art Visit

To tell the truth, I was a diehard European Art fan until I visited The New Britain Museum Of American Art. Man, I have so much respect for our American Artistes. The Museum is very beautiful and the staff was very considerate and helpful. This is the first museum that waived the entrance fee and the staff really understood what it’s like to be a student. The museum staff wish me luck and sent me on my way. I was very excited to visit the impressionism gallery secondary to the impact the Europeans artist made o n this genre. I ran into some major American artworks and new name that created excellent pieces. For example , Graydon Parrish, Benjamin West ,Edward L. Henry, Ralph Earl, and Thomas Hart Benton. After viewing these artistes work, I concluded that the American Artistes are just as good or even better than the Europeans . I have a new found respect for American artistes, Gary Wilson.
My final paper will be on Graydon Parrish “ The Cycle of Terror and Tragedy .” post September 11, 2001.

Sunday, April 17, 2011

Cindy Sherman: Photographer/Artist

Figure 2

Figure 1

Gary Wilson Professor :Jerry Nevins Museum Experience April 8, 2011 My visit to the Bruce Museum revealed a true artist that I had no prior knowledge of. I was in awe my entire visit. I was Fascinated by Cindy Sherman’s choice of characters(self) and how she used portrait to represent society. Moments into my visit, I fell into daze, hypnotized by her camera angle, lighting, and moments of gloom. Her work sent me into a frenzy that is now unrecoverable . After several hours at the Bruce Museum, I became intoxicated and infected with Sherman’s artwork/photography. For Cindy Sherman, Identity is an important issue that defines how an individual interacts with others. In her work, the American conceptual artist Cindy Sherman explores identity as a product of the individual and society. Sherman’s photographs are notable since she is the principle subject although she is often disguised into different characters. Many of her works are paradoxical in nature given that they are self-portraits although they cannot be considered as such. This is because they do not represent her although she is the subject of the artworks (Searle). She often produces a series of photographs on a given subject thus ensuring that she has explored the subject comprehensively. Sherman uses her work to commentate on social issues; for example, in response to censorship attempts of other artists by the National Endowments for Arts (NEA), she produced the Sex series in which medical dummies were posed in risqué positions (Art History Archive). Born on January 19,1954, Cindy Sherman was the fifth child born to her parents. As a child Sherman had no conceptual interest in art. Cindy Sherman envision artist as a courtroom artist or one of those boardwalk artists who do caricatures. Despite her lack of interest , her parents kept a broad collection of artworks ranging from Dali to Picasso. In 1972 Cindy Sherman went off to State University college of Buffalo to study art. It was there that she developed a full pledge passion for art. Although she was driven to create art paintings, she became frustrated secondary to the reputation and limitation that art portrayed. Sherman decided to wash herself from painting and decided to embark career in photography. shortly after graduating from Buffalo State University College in 1977, she began taking characteristic photographs . Then working in black and white, the characters she created imitated promotional pictures from the film industry. The photos, which number sixty-nine, were created such that they seem to have originated from existing films. The photos are called the Untitled Film Stills and they display the artist disguised as film stars in different backgrounds. The images strongly display the characters of the subjects and hence viewers can infer about the roles the film stars were playing. Figure 1. A photo of Sherman as a film star titled Untitled Film Still #13 now part of a collection at the Museum of Modern Art (Galassi). As such, her artworks are character studies of images that are exploited by the film industry to create characters. Since they are easily identifiable, they show the power of appearance to communicate identity in society. The artist once remarked that she stopped creating the images after she run out of clichés (Galassi). As such, she is examining established images of people and their meaning in society. She is quoted as saying that she is not interested in the identity of the model; rather, she is interested in communicating ideas and feelings to the viewer about himself/herself, or society in general (Phillips). Her work is classified as belonging to the conceptual style given that her photos do not aim to appeal to individuals aesthetically; rather, her work is designed to communicate ideas or concepts to the audience. Some of her work now forms a collection at the Museum of Modern Art. This fittingly displays the recognition Sherman has gained over the years for the novelty and power of the images she creates. Sherman has been the recipient of MacArthur Fellowships, which is also referred to as the Genius Awards, and is worth 500,000 dollars (Phillips). This was in recognition of her talent and as means for helping her to pursue it more effectively. In 1996, the complete Untitled Film Stills series was sold for one million dollars to a museum, a great achievement for a living artist. This financial success is reflective of the critical acclaim she has enjoyed throughout her career. As such, her work has been exhibited in major museums and galleries the world over. For example, in 1999, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney hosted a major showing of her work (Phillips).The Bruce Museum in Greenwich Connecticut curently have her Artwork on display. The success shows that her work is well recognized. Sherman uses existing perceptions about people in society to create iconic representations of the people. By employing her gift for observing salient characteristics that define people, she uses makeup and props to recreate their images. These images include subjects such as the washed out old woman, the seductive prostitute, hard working office girl, and the glamorous beauty (Molesworth). The fact that the audience recognizes what the images represent raises questions about the unreliable nature of human perceptions. The reality is that the women are Sherman; yet, by changing her appearance, she gains new identities. Since the audience is aware of the artist’s disguise, it is forced to examine its own prejudices about other people given that they judge them based on their outward appearance. The issues that interest her most are those affecting women since most of her work features women. As such, her work is considered feminist, a tag that she readily accepts (Tate Magazine). For example, in a series that was titled “centerfolds”, Sherman tackled the issue of women being objectified in the media. In an artwork that is called Untitled #122 – 1983, Sherman is photographed as a blond woman who is wearing a black suit. Her hair is covering most of her face although one of her eyes is visible through the hair and it glares at the viewer. The character seems to be cornered at a wall and is seemingly very angry since her fists are clenched, as if preparing to fight someone (Phillips). The image can be interpreted as women in society who have been cornered by societal restrictions and discrimination. The covered face helps to hide features that might help the viewer to recognize the woman thereby allowing her to represent all women in society. Her stance, whereby she is slightly leaning forward with clenched fists, shows that women are ready to fight for their rights since they have been cornered and have no other way out. Figure 2. A photo showing Sherman’s Untitled #122 – 1983 (Art History Archive). Sherman is a successful photographer whose work has earned her critical recognition and financial success. The photographer’s success is partly due to her unusual work given that she is the main subject in the work. However, she is often disguised in the works to communicate different ideas. One of the main issues that she examines in her work is identity and she does this by using iconic images that are easily recognizable in society. In her work, she uses images of women to address their issues, a practice that has caused her work to be labeled feminist. The artist has continued to use her work to highlight social issues and to bring about change in society.
Works Cited
Art History Archive. Cindy Sherman.2011. Web. 8 April 2011. Galassi, Peter. The Complete Untitled Film Series. 7 September 1997. Web. 8 April 2011. Molesworth, Helen. The Comfort of Objects. Frieze Magazine Issue 36. October 1997. Web. 8 April 2011. Searle, Adrian. Dressing Up In Public. 5 June 2003. Web. 8 April 2011. Tate Magazine. Cindy Sherman. 5 June 2003. Web. 8 April 2011. Phillips, Richard. Cindy Sherman Retrospective: An artist to be taken seriously. 18 August 1999 Web. 8 April 2011.