Tour of the Harn Art Museum

Tour of the Harn Art Museum By Marlana armstrong

The Harn is a fantastic place filled with art pieces from every century and almost every culture. I appreciated the diversity of the museum, as art is diverse and should never be considered as one same thing. Styles change artist to artist, century to century, and piece to piece. No art should ever be criticized. Art is to be questioned and then understood, but never ridiculed. To ridicule art is to ridicule a artist's creativity and identity.

Design of the Museum: 2 elements that stood out to me were the garden and framing of different works.

The Paula and Marshall Criser Garden is a beautiful addition to the museum, as it brings the outside into the museum. Art is the most beautiful human creation, and to place it outside in an environment completely natural brings the two most distinct creations together in harmony.

These two photos show several pieces of art framed in all different size and texture frames. I appreciated this arrangement because it still gives each piece their own importance with their own light above them, while also bringing them all together as different but equally beautiful works of art.

Art and Core Values: I found a piece that perfectly exemplified an artist's view.

Called Transparencies with the Blue Movement, Raymond Johnson crafted this special piece in 1937. I thought this piece and his mindset exemplify how art appeals to our core values. Johnson believed that art's true function was to provide an arena for spiritual exploration. On this canvas, Johnson creates an arena for color, light, and visual sound for viewers to experience and ponder how they all complement one another in several different ways. Nothing about this painting is definite and each design can be questioned, just like everything in life. Just as we ponder this painting, Johnson wants us to introspectively ponder ourselves and the elements around us that we accept as standard and unchanging.

Medium of the Art: As my dad has always said, different strokes for different folks. Several times, I found myself in awe of the paintings and their detail.

I thought this duo was so brilliant because to the left, you see the earlier sketch without as much detail and time dedicated to it, yet it is an art piece all on its own. To the right, the image has much more definition and detail, a more finished product. Bertram Hartman was trying to convey the insides of American cityscapes and architecture as canyon-like forms. This makes these art pieces even more interesting, to see them as the manmade versions of natural canyons.

I really liked this piece, Untitled, because of its futuristic, technological visual, which I found different from most paintings. Most of the art conveyed the artist's culture and knowledge, but this abstract piece seems to be far from an earthly culture. I like that there are several undefined markings and colors in this piece. I thought that the lack of a title exemplified the lack of a need for one; it is a unique creation without any defining features that could encompass it. A little about the artist, Roberto Matta had joined the surrealist movement when he moved to Paris, which was focused on investigating the inner world of the subconscious. Matta was probably able to investigate his own subconscious when he created art.

Art and the Good Life: Happiness, individualism, and seeking the truth.

Created in 1898, Women, Animals and Foliage is a beautiful, colorless piece by Paul Gauguin. As a man, women, animals and foliage are the bare necessities to a happy life. To have a partner can be fulfilling once a person knows who they are individually. Animals and plants provide a food source while also simply being the most diverse and intriguing life forms on earth. Once you are comfortable in your life, you are able to search for the real truth and meaning in life, you're able to seek the Good Life. We must strive daily for ourselves and for the person we love, in everything we do. Getting back down to basics and not cluttering our lives with things is essential to the Good Life.

Appreciate

Credits:

Created with images by avrene - "Red Abyss" for title background

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Tour of the Harn Art Museum By Marlana armstrong

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