Final Observation Paper 4

This class, The Museum Experience, is aptly named as that is exactly what one gets, an experience in visiting museums with a purpose. The knowledge that a blog of the visit is to be kept makes one look at the art, ant the museum itself, with a more discerning eye. I have visited many museums over the years, in many cities, in several countries, always with a sense of awe and amazement, not only of the beauty of the art, but also of the time that has passed since many of the pieces were created. This is, in part, why I have been fascinated by pieces from antiquity, the Renaissance, and Neoclassicism. The passage of time has done little to detract from the beauty of much of the creations of these periods.

Like many people, I assume, my first introduction to art came from modernity. The works of Picasso, Van Gough, Rodin, Cezanne, Toulouse-Lautrec, Gauguin, and Matisse, among others, have become instantly recognizable throughout the world for a reason. They resonate still, more than a century later, and inspire the imaginations of young and old alike.

I’ve been to the Metropolitan Museum of Art before, and the time spent never seems to be enough. The vastness of the collections held within are more than a single visit can do justice. As mentioned on the blog, it should be visited at least twice a year to even have a remote chance to experience the MET in all its glory.

The Bruce Museum is a nicely situated stately museum located in Greenwich. The structure is impressive while the collection of art is not. This is as much a science museum as an art one. This was easily my least favorite experience of the class and a location I will not be returning to.

Yale Center for British Art was not one of my favorite museums as I didn’t have an overwhelming interest, or appreciation, of British art. I always had the image of an over representation of British aristocracy, or picturesque sea-faring paintings. But this time, I was forced to slow down, put my preconceptions aside, and look upon the collection through an uncluttered lens. The Center itself is a work of art. The art itself, tells stories that represent the history of the Britain Empire, which is significant.  Additionally, the center is home to some influential artists such as Whistler, Henry Moore, and Rubens. While still not my area of choice, I have new found appreciation of British art, and the Shaw exhibit was a revelation. I will be back for more.

The Yale Art Gallery is a place that I have also visited before, in fact, it has become my go-to museum of choice, with its close location and diversity of art. This museum contains great example of modern art that well represents the period, as well as collections that highlight African art, European art, ancient art, ancient art of the Americas, and the art form that was my first love, photography.

The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art was unknown to me prior to this class, as such it was a very pleasant discovery. Surrealism is a movement of which my interest was tepid at best, but the collection here provided a lot of context that was enlightening in which I was better able to understand to political element of much of the movement, particularly in response to the Spanish Civil war. The only piece I was aware of in this regard was Picasso’s Guernica, but I was introduced to so much more that was similarly created like Dali’s Soft Construction with Boiled Beans and Apparition of Face and Fruit Dish on a Beach. 

  In addition to the Modernist Surrealist paintings there where Impressionist paintings, European decorative art, costume and textiles, and contemporary art. The permanent collection alone has over fifty thousand works on display which is enhanced by the temporary exhibits like the Edward Hopper Watercolors exhibition or the Design in the American Home, 1650 to 1850 ongoing exhibit. The one draw back of the Wadsworth, is their rules regarding picture taking in much more restrictive than all the other museums. Regardless of that inconvenience, this newly, for me, discovered museum will most certainly be on my frequently visited list from now on, and has now given the Yale Art Galley competition for being my favorite art museum in Connecticut. For this introduction alone, the class has been a pleasurable, and educational, experience.

And as the class comes to an end, to illustrate my obsession with sculpture is not without reason, please allow my to show one of my creations.

                                                          Old Man - Bowens 2013

Best wishes to all.