Visit to an Alabama Museum - Essay Example

?Art This essay considers my visit to an Alabama museum during a recent vacation. The museum is located in the heart of Birmingham’s cultural district. It was built in 1959 and the current building was designed by Birmingham architects, Warren, Knight, & Davis. The museum undertook a major renovation by Edward Larrabee Barnes of New York which was completed in 1993. Currently the edifice is 180,000 square feet which includes an impressive outdoor sculpture garden. The audience was general; families, individuals, and a summer camp group. It was hard to tell the reaction of others because all conversations were held to a whisper. The staff at the museum consists of a director and curators that specialize in their areas of expertise. In addition to the professional staff the museum hires college students trained to answer questions. While I viewed a great amount of exhibits at the museum, the exhibit that I was most drawn to was themed around impressionistic art about Italy form the 19th century. In addition to being highly artistic, the exhibit demonstrated an almost virtual experience of Italy. An added element of was that rather than being directly from Italian artists, the art was created by artists with an outside impression of Italy. In these regards, I believe the work that was presented had a more highly romanticized quality than it would had the artists been natively born in Italy. I contribute this to the fact that when individuals visit Italy they tend to visit tourist attractions and marvel at the scenery, rather than growing cynical at the historical nature of the country. The work I was most drawn to was Robert Duncanson’s A Dream of Italy. The painting was created in 1865 in Montreal after the artist visited Italy. The artist was the descendent of former slaves, and he had migrated to Cincinnati for a time where there was a vibrant art culture and only moved to Montreal to escape the racial strife brought on by the Civil War. The painting’s genre is a landscape work. The painting is Oil on canvas. It is symmetrical in that the mountain and tree protruding from the left of the landscape balance out the Italian villa picture on the right. The painting is well orchestrated in its depiction of an idealized Italian landscape. In great part Duncanson implements muted green and browns to illustrate the landscape in the foreground, while an ethereal blue depicts the distant scenery. The artist utilizes sharp line distinctions in creating a dynamic contrast between the fore-grounded scenery and the distant mountain background. In this respect, the artist is successful in creating a harmonious effect. The painting seems directly influenced by similar historical landscape works, and has been noted as having similar qualities to Albert Bierstadt’s Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California, which was created the same year. I was attracted to the work both by its vision of an idealized Italy, which I believe is its greatest artistic strength, and its overriding aesthetic mastery of landscape. From a contemporary perspective some individuals may criticize the painting as being somewhat mundane, as such landscapes have become cliche in the contemporary environment that has been inundated by graphic depictions. In this sense its aesthetic value as an entirely unique work of art is diminished, however its artistic mastery remains uncontested. Its ultimate cultural significance may be more closely aligned with Duncanson’s personal background as a descendent of slaves who created the work in exile during the Civil War, than as a unique artistic object. In comparing this work to other works, one of the works from the course that most sticks out in my mind is Monet’s ‘Sunrise’. When considering Duncanson’s A Dream of Italy in regards to Monet’s work, I recognize there are a lot of similarities and differences. While both paintings consider the nature of an idealic scenery the way they express this imagery through artistic measures is strikingly different. In Duncanson’s instance, the imagery is expressed through an attempt at realism. In these regards, the countryside is expressed in perspective, with as much attention to detail and accuracy as possible. In effect, the artistic attempts to achieve as close to a mirror replication of reality as possible. When considering the Monet work it is clear that while the underlining intentions might be the same, the means of artistic expression is clearly different. Monet implements the notable method of impressionism. This means of expression, rather than attempting to capture a mirror image of reality, attempts to capture the impression one might have of this landscape. As a result, Monet’s painting does not resemble a mirror, but rather is clearly indicative of a painting. The question then becomes what does the difference in artistic expression say about these paintings. In large part, the emotional response to the paintings is slightly different. When viewing A Dream of Italy, one is able to enjoy the countryside and the scenic imagery, but their interaction with the image is restricted by the knowledge that it is a depiction of the Italian countryside. While for some individuals this brings meaning to the painting, others may find this overly restrictive. Conversely, the Monet work is such that rather than indicating a specific countryside, the imagery seems to be purposely generalized so that individuals can relate to it in a more broad sense. This allows for a broader and larger interpretation of the work. In conclusion, the Alabama art exhibit demonstrates an interesting insight into the nature of art. In these regards, the exhibit demonstrates art that is based on Italy. The essay demonstrates that this is indicative of an impressionistic and romanticized account of the country. Specifically, the painting A Dream of Italy is considered for its stellar value and artistic appeal. The painting is demonstrated to have a realistic style when compared to Monet’s Sunset. The essay considers these two works in relation to each other and the varying differential aspects. Ultimately, the exhibit and the works analyzed were highly enlightening and artistically appealing. Read More