History of American Multicultural Arts - Essay Example

Impressions and analysis of the exhibitions visited There are two museums that I visited due to the interesting nature of their exhibitions. First is the Oakland Museum of California because the exhibition of the art of Daniel Clowes. It particularly interested me because I can relate to the medium of the art, which is cartoon. Clowes can be regarded as one of the most modern artists due to his usage of this popular medium. The cover of the exhibition of Daniel Clowes art was the ever famous “The Death Ray” which makes the art form more contemporary. It is a comic book about a kid Andy who happened to have power every time he puffs a cigarette. He also discovered a costume that could instantly kill anything. Along with him is his sidekick Louie who is prone to bullying of which the “death ray” gun conveniently extinguishes the bully in the school. Although the art form itself was rendered in two dimensional and not as intricate with today’s three dimensional cartooning, David Clowes’s cartoons were revolutionary during his time because it served as the seminal art form of the later cartoons that followed. Without his art and his cartoons, we would not have our marvel comics and marvel movies To be honest, I was really surprised that the museum accommodated it in their exhibition because typically, museums just exhibit the really old art and Clowes cartoons and its plot are very contemporary. But still, it is a good move on the part of the museum because it drew younger spectators like me to be interested it in art. For example, after visiting the cartoon exhibition of Clowes, I also happen to see the early landscape painting of California. They were breathtakingly beautiful and sometimes so much to the point of photo realism that you would not immediately notice that they were rendered in oil. But beyond the beauty of the landscape painting, I also learned about the early history of California. Through the paintings, I discovered that the early history of California was about gold mining particularly during the “Gold Rush”. It made me curious and later I googled it at home to find more about this particular history of California. Without those paintings, I would not have been interested about California’s “Gold Rush” days. I was also interested in “The 1968 Exhibit”. Although I must admit that the presentation was initially boring, it turned out to be very interesting once we learned what transpired during that particular era. What seemed to be boring was in fact the “coolest” era in history because almost all of the “cool stuff” we enjoy today was revolutionized during that era ranging from rock and roll, hippie, feminism, labor rights to world peace. The exhibition was basically a narrative of events that led to the social upheaval that happened during the 1970s that shaped the cultural and political landscape of America that can still be felt today. These changes have major implications for our daily lives because the tumult that the exhibition was trying to communicate was the germinal ideas that lent impetus to social and cutural explosions that once were considered as non-mainstream. Social concerns such as feminism, gay rights, organic farming, community gardening movements, environmental justice and other identitarian social movements can be said to have originated in this period of social experiment which were morphed and absorbed by the mainstream society that survive in its margins until today. It is the period where once marginalized sectors of society woke up from their slumber and begun to assert themselves. Perhaps it is the environment of the 1960s that galvanized people to assert themselves which transformed the prevailing values and even reoriented and reshaped the history itself. It is also this period where previous domination of the monied elite in California was first resisted that perhaps led to the series of events that can be best characterized as contrarian and political radicalism. It may have been just a decade but that decade can be considered as the longest decade for the myriad social changing events that took place during that period. My take on that exhibition is that it is more than what meets the eye. The audience should not just take it at its immediate face value but the story behind them. It is a combination of rock and roll, Beatles, Martin Luther King, Communism, Vietnam War, JFK and Marilyn Monroe. Perhaps no era in the history of United States was as interesting as the time in the runup to 1968. This explains why that era deserved a space in the Oakland Museum of California. Cantor Center, Stanford University I have this particular interest about Native American masks and masks from other cultures such as Africa and Oceania so I chose to visit Cantor Center, Stanford University to be able to see them. In particular, I find the Haida mask argillite stone carvings beautiful so I focused my attention on them because I am very well-versed with their origins, purpose and use. I also fancy the dogon masks of Africa because I remember that I used to be very scared of them when I was still a kid every time it was shown in movies. I guess I have outgrown that fear because I am more interested in them than scared. Lastly, I relished the craftsmanship of the Maori figures displayed at the exhibition. The decorations were so exquisitely tribe-like that we could not believe that they were carved by a primitive society. The Haida of the Native Americans looked unusual because they were used as representation of the spirit of the woods, which are known as gagiid in the ritualistic Haida secret society dances. Though the masks depict an unseen spirit which is represented as a nox nox or supernatural mask, the face of the masks has a more naturalistic proportion because it has an obvious resemblance to human face. These masks also demonstrate that at some point, our ancestors were also supernaturlistic and believed in the gods of the forests. The North American variety of the Haida does not depict any emotional expression other than a blank stare. Perhaps the reason any expression was removed from the mask is the fact that it represents an impersonal spirit of the forest and instead, is replaced by a contemplative impression of the mask. The aesthetics or decorations of the Haida involved pigment of paints which are typically blue green in color. The painted colors and lines on the mask are used to portray spirituality in the masks. Dogon masks of Africa Another type of mask that interested me is the dogon masks from Africa. I happen to know about this mask because I asked my parents what these masks were when we saw a movie about Africa when I was still a young child. I asked because I used to find that mask scary. The mask did not really change that much if you observe it closely in every movie that you see about Africa only that we became less scared of it when we became familiar with what they are used for. Compared to haida, the Dogon masks are more abstract in decoration because they are used for a religious ritual for deceased Dogon men called Dama. It may represent naturalistic entity like the members of the Dogon tribe such as its warriors, hunters, healers, craftsmen etch. Dogon masks are an irony compared to the Haida mask of North America, because Dogon masks represent naturalistic entities which are members of Dogon tribe yet the proportions of their representation are more abstract and spiritual. Examining the Dogon mask from Africa, it may not have any distinct expression but only the sharp stare and strong disposition of the mask that induces fear among its observers. Perhaps this was deliberately decorated in that manner to elicit a disturbed reaction from its viewers. In plain language, the Dogon mask looks “scary” compared to the haida mask which is more contemplative and spiritual. Compared to haida, the Dogon mask is also elaborate which looks like an angry chicken or peacock which was intended to be such because the grandiosity of the mask was part of the ritual that gives prestige to the Dogon men who passed away. These masks just make me remember an old fear. Maori figure from Oceania. Maori figures from Oceania that were displayed at Stanford’s Cantor center are a very interesting art form because of the intricacy and craftsmanship of their carvings. They are just very beautiful and I cannot believe that it was carved by a primitive society. My first impression was that the process of creating the Maori figure is similar to modern sculpture although it was created way before sculpting became mainstream. Accordingly, its creation necessitates the selection of a fine wood and later carved to form a head. Thereafter, the detailed artistic cravings are etched to provide the figure with a spiritual meaning. Given the detailed intricacy of the carvings, these figures must have taken months, if not years, to complete. The Maori figure from Oceania is a beautiful naturalistic representation of the human form. This is particularly true with the wood carving known as whakairo rakau which made decorates a human head with a synchronized lines and circles. The face of Maori figure may not express anything but it suggests depth and contemplation. Perhaps the highly artistic detail of the carvings made it look spiritual if not beautiful. Compared to the other masks and figures whose aesthetic appeal is more in its shape, the Maori figures lends its appeal to the details of the carvings which gives the figures a spiritual meaning. Perhaps it is the artistry of the Maori figure that made it convey an ambivalent characteristics being that of a human and a god. The face of the sculpture is very human but the carvings and artistry on it suggests supernatural superiority and depth which belongs to the deity. The artistry of the Maori figures which provides a godlike impression to it cannot be made possible if it is done on other figure. If the people from Oceania do it on steel, I wonder how they are going to do it and will it be as beautiful as those done on wood. Studying these masks just made me realize that creativity and genius knows no place or region but will always be present for as long as there are people who live. It will always manifest, via whatever medium possible, be it on wood, stones or canvass. Beauty is always a sight to behold and as such, men and women since time immemorial have always tried to recreate it Read More