Category: 9:30 AM Class

Brooklyn Museum Visit: Ancient World

The Ancient World exhibit was very eye catching and very interesting. The one piece of artwork that I found so pretty and brilliant was Fred Wilson’s “Grey Area (Brown Version).“This artwork was made of paint, plaster, and wood. It consists of five medium portrait heads of Nerfertiti. All of these heads goes from light to dark shades of brown. Theres not much to say to these portraits but describe how beautiful they are. Nerferitit‘s face is very smooth and all her features are just as smooth and round. The head peace she has on in all five portraits is the only thing that has some sort of grainy texture. The eye immediately goes left to right, and the shades are very admirable. It stands out in the hall that it is in. They’re many elements that add to the artwork. The shadows that that these portraits cast is something that I am not sure was meant to be on purpose but it adds an extra dimension to the already three dimensional artwork. It makes it look more statuesque. The fact that it was put positioned higher than the rest of the artwork also is very admirable.

When I first saw this artwork I already knew what the message it was trying to send. On social media in particular, I remember there was a huge debate of Nerfertiti‘s skin color. People were saying she was of a very dark skin complexion and some were saying she was very light. Wilson deepens that ambiguity of her complexion by creating these portraits. 

In making these portraits, Wilson has said “I use beauty as a way of helping people receive difficult or upsetting ideas. The topical issues are merely a vehicle for making one aware of one’s own perceptual shift – which is the real thrill.” What he said captured what this artwork was trying to say. No matterwhat shadeshe was, she was beautiful either way. 

Brooklyn Museum Assignment: Parts 1 & 2

Part 1: Art from the Ancient World

 

The first exhibition I went to was artwork from Ancient Egypt. This exhibit mostly had statues/statues and sculptures of different sizes. The art piece that stuck out to me is known as Statuette of a Male Deity (Old Kingdom, Dynasty 5, circa 2500-2350 B.C.E). This medium-sized statue stuck out to me most because of the marble-looking detail. Marble is my favorite type of print. This male statuette is light grey with black spots making it look like a marble print. The figure has a large wig and unusual clothing, which includes a penis sheath attached to a tied belt. This indicates that he is a deity. The identity of the statuette is undetermined. It’s known to either be done for either a temple or king’s tomb. This statue was the result of a royal workshop. It’s made of a very hard stone known as gneiss, a metamorphic rock. Its structure is a god’s strong, youthful body with muscles by the upper arms and chest, which reflects the ideal of the male form in Old Kingdom sculpture. The deity is in a standing position. He has a conventional pose, with his left leg advanced, hands by sides, chipped knife clasped in right hand, and his other hand is closed. His wig is plain & covers almost his whole forehead, long beard by his chin, has eyes with the eyelids a little closed, wide nose, and thick lips. The figure is standing against round-topped, plain, upright stone column that looks like a gravestone (stela). The condition of this statuette is the body is only to the knees, his right hand is broken, and his left elbow is chipped.

Part 2: Art from Soul of a Nation

The next exhibition I went to was Soul of a Nation, which showed art in the age of black power in the 20th century. These works of art were made between 1958-1983 during the fight for liberation, where African Americans experienced discrimination and racial violence at the hands of white citizens and the state. This area had many paintings on canvases that portrayed a lot of meaning. Specifically, in the artists of New York, the artwork that stood out to me was was by Benny Andrews, Did the Bear Sit Under a Tree?, 1969. This oil painting has an image of an African American man wearing a black and yellow boxed pattern shirt holding up his fists to the red, white, and blue with star drawings American flag, which is made of a sheet of rolled-up rough-looking fabric. The figure is a skinny African American man, has a straight face, and his mouth is made of a zipper. His shirt also appears to be made of a fabric because it stuck out of the painting. The texture used is a burlap bagging sack. Black paint was used for shadowing by his arms, shirt, and face. The painter colored outside the lines and has splatters of paint by the arms and the face. I chose this art piece because the 3D from the roll from the flag and his shirt stood out to me, it’s a painting from my hometown, and it had an important figurative meaning from the looks of it. This painting relates to this exhibition because of the use of the flag and the fist symbolizes Black solidarity. This work reflected the Civil Rights protests of the 1960s and it portrays “a black person who is shaking his fist at the very thing that is supposed to be protecting him [the flag] and that he’s operating under” (Andrews). This painting really showed me what the blacks were going through during that era because of the detailed unhappy expression on the figure’s face. They couldn’t rely on the American flag to protect them.  

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.

Brooklyn Museum Assignment Part 1 of 2 (Ancient World)

While I was walking through the Egyptian Orientation Gallery I came across many fascinating pieces of ancient art work such as Female Figure and Amunhotep III but the one the really caught my attention was Fred Wilson’s Grey Area (Brown Version). After closely observing each and every one of the heads I was able to see that they were exactly identical, even the wooden bases they were placed on were exactly identical, the only thing that differed from each one was the color. From left to right, each head became darker in color. One thing that instantly came to mind after observing these traits of the art work is that Fred Wilson was trying to convey the idea that regardless of skin color, we are all humans. Wilson emphasizes this idea by placing the heads on identical wooden bases that are all at equal heights; this also shows that someone with light skin isn’t superior to someone with dark skin or vice versa, it instead shows that we are all equal therefore completely eliminating the concept of social class.

Although Fred Wilson’s artwork is not as old as the other artworks in the gallery it still relates to the Ancient World, more specifically Ancient Egypt. After doing a bit of research I was able to learn that all of the five identical portrait heads that Fred Wilson used were based on Queen Nefertiti. Queen Nefertiti was the wife of the Egyptian Pharaoh, Akhenaten, who ruled during the 14th century. I was able also to learn that Wilson didn’t make the heads, instead he purchased them and just painted them. Due to the fact that Wilson decided to purchase the heads of Queen Nefertiti instead of her husband, Pharaoh Akhenaten, he is able to tackle the issue of gender and politics using his artwork. Wilson chose to use the head of the Queen instead of the head of the Pharaoh to show that, although the Pharaoh is the one who is seen as the actual ruler of Egypt, the Queen of Egypt just as important as the Pharaoh when dealing with politics. By using a the head of a women instead of the head of a man in his artwork Wilson is also able to show that one gender isn’t superior to the other, he instead portrays that all genders are equal an important, not just in politics but in society as a whole.

 

Brooklyn Museum: Soul of a Nation

The Soul of a Nation exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum, really brought chills up my spine. Every piece of artwork meant something, it showed pain and sorrow but also courage on how African Americans spent so many years of their lives or rather all their life. Each piece of art also showed how many people fought for their equal rights and had the courage to stand up for themselves and their own people. The art piece that left me without words was The First One Hundred Years: He amongst You who is without Sin Shall Cast the First Stone; Forgive Them Father for they Know Not What They Do by Chicago artist Archibald Motley. With only focusing on the colors in this piece we can see that the artist is showing the lightness falling into darkness using different tones of blue with black and grayish shadows. Right away I could see all the evil in this work, there was a window mural on a tree what seemed to be baby angels with whom was supposed to God, but his face was shattered or splattered in black ink. Then there was the head on MLK Jr and JFK on the tree as well, and below there was a lynched body. Motley showed suffering and mistreatment by the whites towards the blacks in this painting, he added specific detail in what they were called and groups such as the KKK, all these people were the devils themselves using their power to harm others. The painting depicted “hell” for the African Americans, it is a powerful piece of art, which showed assassinations, murder, pain and suffering.

Rudolf Adis Brooklyn Museum Assignment

The Brooklyn Museum of Art assignment proved to be an extremely enlightening and insightful experience. Out of all exhibits, I chose the Ancient Egyptian exhibit. The Ancient Egyptian exhibit astounded me in a plethora of ways, and showcased the adept carving/sculpting abilities of the ancient egyptians. Specifically, the one piece that I chose to write about and formally analyze was “The Wilbour Plaque”. This artwork presented itself with a sense of mystique, as it exhibited the faces of Queen Nefertiti and presumably King Akhenaten facing each other with what appears to be line markings/scratches down the middle of the plaque, separating their faces. What specifically piqued my interest were the snakes sculpted on the top of both of their crowns, as well as the fact that only the ears were protruding pieces of the artwork. Through the use of formal analysis, I was able to define a significant amount of otherwise overlooked features of the plaque. Firstly, concerning the texture, the plaque sculpture was made using limestone, a commonly used material in sculpting. Furthermore, the color of the painting was monotone, as usually expected for ancient sculptures; a light colored shade of gray. In fact, it was noted that this artwork was initially used as a model-piece by ancient egyptian artists to carve offical images of kings and queens from the ancient kingdom of Amar. This explains why there is a hole on the top of the otherwise smooth surface of this plaque, as it was initially held on a wall via a cord inserted through this exact hole. Pertaining to concepts spoken about in class, it can be related to a plethora of other ancient egyptian paintings seen before, as it also idolizes kings and queens from that time, with snakes being a present object of symbolism.

The second exhibit I visited, The Soul of a Nation, did a wonderful job exhibiting the beauty of black history, as well as the works of art that were produced during the times of black history throughout the US. The one painting that truly piqued my interest was titled “The First One Hundred Years”. This artwork is emulating the dark, yet very real past of the US in which black americans were exposed to the cruelty of lynchings, slavery, the KKK, hate speech, and more. As done for the previously discussed artwork, I used formal analysis to give myself deep insight on the powerful emotional presence that this painting evokes. Firstly, the texture of the artwork is smooth, yet sensitive to the touch, leading me to decipher that the painting must be oil on canvas. Furthermore, the interesting color scheme presented within the painting is used in accordance with the message that the images within the painting are attempting to present. All red and bright colors used within this painting are used to represent the evil such as the time: the hanging confederate flag, the KKK member, and the vicious attack dog. Along with this, one can see the heads and bodies of black people hanging at the time, as well as a “whites only” sign with a policeman assaulting a black man right next to it. There is also a “colored only” sign in the painting, with the date “1863” engraved above it in order to symbolize the civil war. The more neutral gray and white colors used in the painting are used to symbolize the brighter side of an otherwise disgusting situation within America. In specific, in the back of the painting, the crosses under bright light are meant to symbolize the positive hope and success that black americans had in fighting for change and freedom within the US. This artwork is significantly different from all other paintings in this exhibit in that it contains more “objects” in it than any other artwork in the exhbit, as well as the use of only red, gray, and white colors, which differs from the other artworks in the exhibit in that they use a wide array of bright colors (namely orange, some blue, and red).

Brooklyn Museum Assignment

Part 1:

One artwork from the ancient world that caught my eye was “King Ashur-nasir-pal ll and a Winged Genie” in the Assyrian Palace Reliefs. Throughout the reliefs, you are able to see carved images of genies called apkallu. These genies were believed to serve King Ashur-nasir-pal and can be either eagle headed or human headed. In the artwork of King Ashur-nasir-pal ll and a Winged Genie, you are able to tell apart the king and his protective genie by the crown that the king is wearing. You can also see that the genie is facing the king asserting his obedience towards the king. The King also has a sash wrapped around his crown which shows the kings high status in Assyria. You can also see the king holding a bow which probably symbolizes warrior-like activities such as hunting. Throughout the reliefs, you can also see that most of the reliefs have genie’s holding pinecones towards a sacred tree. In this artwork, you can see the king holding a small bowl with his arm bent at a 90-degree angle meaning the bowl is probably filled with some sort of liquid. This can symbolize some sort of offering to a deity. I also noticed the king’s legs are all covered by his robe but the robe of the genie exposes one of his legs. This shows that the king probably isn’t as active as the genie where they’re constantly serving and protecting their king. The repetition throughout the reliefs of serving the king and tending to the sacred tree shows the importance of kingship and the culture of the Assyrians.

Part 2:

The artwork that stood out to me the most in Soul of a Nation was “The Flag is Bleeding” by Faith Ringgold in 1967. In this painting, you can see the American flag dripping with blood. Starting from the left, we can see an African American man holding his heart which seems to be the source of blood throughout the artwork. In his hands you can see a knife which indicates Ringgold’s emphasis on the violence in the 20th century. Moving along the painting, you can see a woman in the middle with her arms conjoined with a white man and the African American man. The painting seems to be split in half where the the left and right side of the woman’s face looks completely different. This may indicate the sympathy for African Americans as the woman’s face on the left side with the African American seems to be way more humanlike whereas the right side seems to look more evil. Despite the sympathy in the woman, she is ultimately controlled by the white male. This artwork by Ringgold symbolizes the systematic oppression and discrimination that African Americans had to face in the 1960’s. I chose this piece because of the ongoing inequality that America still faces today. This piece by Ringgold clearly depicts how America was built on slavery. “The Flag is Bleeding” relates to the other exhibits because it shows how the society and culture was at the time. The Assyrian Palace Reliefs emphasizes kingship and “The Flag is Bleeding” emphasizes the discrimination against African Americans.

Brooklyn Museum: Ancient World

During my visit to the Brooklyn Museum, I decided to really take my time viewing the different sculptures in the exhibition of the Ancient World only because I knew these artifacts and sculptures all go way back in time and they all truly have a significance to it even if we aren’t sure what it may be, we all have  different perspectives in each piece of art which makes it a lot more interesting to some. What caught my eye the most was the Statue of Nykara and His Family, before reading the information below it I thought the statue was of a young king with two women besides him as if they were his protectors in some way. I also notice that he had a closed tight fist and the person on his left side had his finger on his mouth as if he was saying “silence”, while the person on his right seem to have their arm wrapped under his or behind since it wasn’t visible. After reading the information I learned that the statue depicted Nykara seated between the two figures whom were his wife and son. Each statue was head to head, on the same height but if Nykara was to stand he would probably be double their size but that the mother and son were the same height. I could also tell how the sculptor’s added much detail to the hair or wig on each one of them, the wife’s hair had both horizontal and vertical line, Nykara’s hair or wig was made of somewhat curves or curls and the young son’s hair was long and fallen over his shoulder in what seemed to be a braid. Each sculpture was also looking straight forward, which seemed as if they were all directing their attention to the same place. I could also tell that the wife kind of had somewhat of a smirk in her smile, and she was also wearing a dress whereas the son didn’t have any on and he also had his hand on his father’s shoulder depicting the respect and love he had towards him. Overall I think this sculpture was showing the strength, love and respect they each had for each other as a family and how each of them were equally important to each other.

Brooklyn Museum Visit: Soul of a Nation

Soul of a nation is a very breathtaking exhibit. It takes up two floors on one side of the museum, and it is filled with artwork that sends a strong message about african american lives in America. One painting that really struck out to me in the exhibit had to be Archibald Motley’s “The First One Hundred Years: He amongst You Who Is without Sin Shall Cast the First stone; forgive Them Father for They Know Not What They Do, circa 1963-72.“My first reaction when I saw this painting was complete horror but as I started to really analyze it deeper I realized that as horryfing as this is, it really is a representation of the reality of America in years of 1963-1972.

From the start, I felt as though my eye didn’t know where to start because of the fact that there is just so much going on in the painting. This painting is a medium sized oil paint on canvas and the painting has very dark hues of blue but the blue also makes the small hints of red really pop out. My eye immedietly goes to the only part that is light blue, in the painting which is where the tree is. When the eye follows the branches, it can immediately find the haunting faces of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King that are hung on the train. Right under the face of John F I see something that reminds me of stained glass that usually belongs in a church. However, a part of the glass has been shattered right where a figures head is at. My guess is that the figure is Jesus. As the eye follows the branches downwards, we also see a disturbing image of a lynched body next to the statue of liberty. The eye keeps on being guided towards the bottom and this is where we see the blue color becomes darker. The red color becomes more striking when we see the red in the KKK member, in the burning cross, the fireman hat, and as our eye moves to the right we see striking red confederate flag, the blood coming out of the pipe of the house, and the devil that is standing next to the dove. The lines of this painting are fairly straight when we focus on the tree and the house but they become rounder once we focus on the figures ofthe painting and faces that are shown. It’s interesting to see how the darker colors on the left are brought forward with the light color in the background and on the right we see the darker color in the background with aspects of light color in the forefront. Something that I also noticed was the brushwork. The brushwork is precise in the tree and house but it becomes the opposite in the rest of the painting making me feel like everything is in motion and happening simultaneously.

The subject matter seems to be pretty obvious. It shows the vicious crimes that were done in the name of racism. We have the subject of murder come about in just the tree by itself. The faces of two significant figures who were brutally murdered because of the positive impact they had on race issues during the 60’s. We also see the KKK being represented by a member being in the front of the painting and the burning of the cross. The painting also has the representation of the marches that were done. The signs that are shown say “we want to vote,” “we shall overcome,” “freedom,” “we want to vote,”and “black power.” In contrast, we have messages that many white people had for  black people which were “go home niggers and get yourrelief check,” “America for whites. Africa for blacks.” On the right, we see a lot more symbolism. We see a skull which can represent all the death along with the blood coming out of the house, we see the devil next to a dove which can represent how evil was always alongside the peace that African Americans wanted, and we also see slavery being represented by having the women on the far right picking cotton. All these things represent what hundred years of racism looked like. 

This was Archibald Motley’s last painting after five decades of being an artist. Motley was known for painting pictures of black social life. With this painting in particular, it’s almost as if he went out with a bang. This painting is so chaotic and has so much going on and it really does capture the horrors of American history. 

Museum Assignment I and II

Part I: Ancient World Exhibit

This is a pair statue of Nebsen and Nebet-ta. In the statue, I see two individuals that are are linked together by their left and right arms, hence why it is called a “pair statue.” I don’t exactly know if the two individuals in the sculpture are, but I am assuming it can be a man and woman of high power sitting holding hands. It can also be a husband and wife, two siblings, mother and son, or father and daughter. My assumptions are based on the distinct gender difference between the two individuals. The one on the right has pronounced breasts and larger eyes and the left person has a more structured jaw. Also, the person on the right has a black outlining around her eyes and is more indication the right individual is a female. Some other things I have seen is that the man has a different headset than the person on his right. Actually, the women has no headset and only has visible hair and only a necklace. Looking at the larger picture, both individuals are sat on top of a throne or maybe just a regular chair. The linking of arms indicate the two individuals are very close to each other, both physically and spiritually. The physical dimensions of the sculpture according to the catalogue description is: 15 7/8 x 8 9/16 x 9 1/4 in. (40.4 x 21.8 x 23.5 cm). The medium seems to be limestone. There are engravings on the “skirts” of each individual. On the sides and back of the throne/chair, there are more hieroglyphs.

Part II Museum Assignment: Soul of a Nation Exhibit

One Soul of a Nation art piece has particularly grabbed my attention and it is Wadsworth Jarrell’s Black Prince. What caught my eye is the myriad of colors used, but the colors that caught my attention first were red, blue, and yellow. A bulk of the artwork is red and white. Half of Malcolm’s face is mostly red and the other half is white with a few other colors such as yellow, red, and green.  The overall theme of Soul of a Nation is Black excellence. The words painted on this piece are: “To correct unjust conditions,” “I Believe in Anything and Everything,” “As long as it get results,” and “Political, Economical, Social, Physical, Anything Necessary.” This painting is similar to the other paintings in the Soul of a Nation exhibit in that the paintings sheds light on Black power and Black artists in the 1960s to 1980s. It brings a large population of black artists to collaborate and share their ideas. As for the formal properties, the painting is acrylic on canvas, measures 44 cm by 64 cm. The artist painted this in 1971 which is, as mentioned before, a prominent and flourishing time for black power and black excellence. This was also a time of the Civils Rights movements which is why Malcolm X is present in this painting. The emergence of black leaders and movements during this time period inspired these paintings.