Museum Research ( and Spread )

For this experience, I have chosen the National Art Gallery East Building, the reason why is because of its contemporary themes and how it's quieter, with less visitors compared to the main one, creating a more suitable space for children to walk around and study the works. The building has no entry fee, and with an operating hour of 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, it is a very welcoming space, especially for students. Also, adding to the already great hours is the security, which has a metal detector to make sure that people cannot bring any dangerous object into the building. One more thing regarding policy that I really like is the one where everyone has to wear their backpack on one shoulder only, hoping that they won't damage the artworks when turning around, raising an awareness to protect such works of art.

The different exhibitions were incredibly fun to walk around and observe, though they kind of lack the necessary context for viewers with less experience to enjoy. For example, all the info could be found in a small text box, sometimes not shown clearly, by the entrance of the exhibitions respectively. So a little bit of work regarding research has to be done after the museum viewing. Though, it was still an amazing experience, and perhaps with the little context, the pieces tend to grab the viewer's attention simply by its craft, like colors or sizes or textures etc … 

The pieces that I have chosen are as follow:

_ Shirt Front and Fork, 1922 by Jean Arp, Dadaism movement.

_ Egress, 2000 by Chakaia Booker

_ New York, 1911 by George Bellows

I have chosen the works here to show a wide range of possibilities with art. One is a painting, another is a wood carve piece and last is an experimental 3D work. With such a wide range, I found the theme of the common life so dear, with how these artists choose their subjects to be regular everyday life. How Shirt Front and Fork was literally just that, a shirt front and a fork, and based on how it is represented, how it is seen that work was created. Given the movement of dadaism, yes the simplicity of the objects was intentional, however, at the same time, the idea that every object can also be art is an excellent notion. Which leads to Egress, a piece which was made from rubber tires. To see, and touch and feel, and then to change an already existing object into art like so is very impressive. Sometimes, art does not require a big statement, but an experience that the artist would like to share with the world, how the tires could be cut and bent and the different textures come pouring out of it, all were so impressive and so passionate. Then lastly, New York. The work, just like its creator's intention, was not named something grand, but a simple and honest portrayal of New York. Although the painting is extremely well crafted, given how light and texture was used to highlight different scenes and leading the viewers eyes through the piece, the subjects remain ordinary, ordinary people and scenes.

With such works, I could create a lesson plan for weeks, guiding students through different ways of looking at their project goals, not as a repetitive process but an experimental one. Children are all so easily influenced by their perceptions of things, and so I want them to perceive art more than just renaissance paintings and sculptures but also the ordinary. I want them to think critically about their works, whether it is the subject matter, the textures or different shapes and feels they can portray, or the obvious that always exist, the present that they themselve experience on a daily basis. I think this would be a great class for something like the beginning of the semester, to let the students open their mind to new opportunities and possibilities of their own works. Though research can be difficult, learning and reading something by ourselves can often lead to more questions and further studies, and if they cannot find the answers to their questions, I can perhaps try and do the research, enriching myself as well with them in the process.

THE SPREAD

For this spread, I’d like to portray the feeling I had going into the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art. With how the different floors and staircases are organized, seemingly orchestrating a contemporary painting. Depending on the location which I stood and observed, the landscape shifted and so was the composition of the landscape, shaping itself into a new painting, with new reveals and unexpected hiding of details. There were only a few people walking that day, given that it was a Wednesday morning. Perhaps because of how empty the space was, everything felt so big, silent and majestic, like someone has silently tucked these pieces here, letting them quietly rest, waiting for another big show day. The three pieces that I include in the spread are the three that I have chosen for my assignment, which stuck with me the most from my experience.