Brooklyn Museum Visit Part I & II

Part I

 

 

 

 

 

 

When looking at the section of Ancient Egyptian Art, many artworks were familiar to me from what we discussed and looked at in class. One piece I was drawn to was The Head of a Queen, which was made during the reign of Thutmose III. This piece is said to be from Lower Egypt. As we discussed in class, ancient civilizations loved making art pieces that depicted their rulers to demonstrate their power and reverence. This artwork shows how prominent the kingdom was in Egypt. The statue is made out of brown quartzite, which was probably used because of its availability and convenience. The queen is wearing a large headdress. As the description states, the headdress was designed to make it look like a huge vulture with spread wings were on both sides of her face. This symbolizes her importance and ruling over the area. Her big eyes symbolize how the queen will protect her people and should be revered. Lastly, I noticed the nose and chin are destroyed. This could be a sign of iconoclasm, when a person destroys others’ art, in this case, it could have been a foreigner from another country- showing their dislike for this ruler. In summation, this artwork is an excellent example of how ancient Egyptians respected their rulers.

 

Part II

When I strolled through the Soul Of The Nation exhibit, I realized that many artworks expressed the oppression faced by people of color. The artwork, Did The Bear Sit Under a Tree, by Benny Andrews, caught my attention because of its honesty and rawness so I, consequently, chose to analyze it. The first thing I realized was how rough, messy, and aggressive the lines were in the painting. Andrews said that he chose to use oil paint to retain rawness in the art piece. Furthermore, the rough texture symbolized the place he came from. From where he came, everything was rough – from the fabrics people used to the clothes they wore. That is why he chose to use a rough texture. The colors red, white, and blue were used to paint the American flag, and the color brown was used to represent the colored man. The man in the painting looks like he is rolling away the American flag. His firmly straight face and fisted hand give him an angry appearance. The caption next to the picture states that this painting is a representation of a colored man during the civil rights movement “shaking his fist” at the flag which was supposed to protect him. In conclusion, I think that the painting successfully conveys the painter’s message. It clearly illustrates that the man is not happy with how the United States is treating colored people.

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