Final Topic

           My group and I chose to do performing arts and we have decided to base it on “Speak no evil, See no evil, and hear no evil.” This topic caught my attention because it involves body movements and many artists incorporate the body in their work. Not only in painting, but people get tattoos symbolizing these poses. I also use them on a daily basis when I text others on my cellphone since the smileys do the pose as well. Seeing them all around made me want to learn more about it. Here are some examples of how people display this topic in their own way through art.

 Bruce Nauman

"A"

Screen print on paper

1970

 Jeannie Burleson

"See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil"

Digitally manipulated photograph

2008

Sterling Brown

"Hear no Evil"

Art print

Museum Paper

Tania

Museum Paper

                 

Museums are sites in which works of art and other items of permanent worth are kept and exhibited. They keep all the evidence, proof, and information of what once was. Museums display collections that allow viewers to understand and learn from the past. It lets us see the difference between ancient and modern times. Without them, people and children wouldn’t know what those times looked like.

                  Artists’ help people understand what was going on and what time was like for them in just one painting. Florine Stettheimer, the artist of the Cathedrals of Wall Street in 1939, is a great example. This painting is located in the Modern Art gallery at the Metropolitan museum. Her painting portrays the close relationship between big business and politics.  Besides the fact that she included herself holding a bouquet of flowers, we can see the Salvation Army workers holding American flags, taken place when Roosevelt was getting paid by the New York Stock Exchange.  Another good example is Edward Hopper’s, “Office in a Small City” in 1953. This painting catches a lot of attention because of its colors and view. “A solitary figure, physically and emotionally detached from his surrounding and other people”. We see a white man, alone, in an office with a nice view of the city. The artist’s wife describes this painting as “the man in the concrete wall”. That might’ve been how it was for some people in the hardworking class.

                  For the culture side, the Modern Art gallery displays Stuart Davis’ Arboretum by Flashbulb 1942. This paint itself extracts a lot of one’s attention just because of its dramatic colors and patterns alone. “This composition embodies the syncopated rhythms of American jazz and the dynamism of modern life.” It’s actually very noticeable because you almost feel as if the painting is singing to you. There is a girl on the corner in the middle of a dance move surrounded by shapes and color combinations. Created in 1942, we know what Americans were listening to just by this painting.

                  Museums also contain ancient sculptures from Italy and Greek times that explain their beliefs and myths. At the Metropolitan, I got the chance to come across Lorenzo Bartolini’s “Demidoff Table”. It’s a table with three children laying on each other, only one of them is awake holding up his/her index finger.  According to the site, the child with its body extended is Cupid. "Stretched out upon the plan of the world is Cupid, God of generation, sustaining and watching over the symbolic genius of dissolute wealth without virtue, who snores in his sleep…dreaming of past diversions in pleasure. Left to himself, the Genius of ambitious rectitude in work sleeps the agitated sleep of misfortune and glory...his head extending beyond the periphery of the world." This is a very peaceful sculpture, just because of the simple fact that these children are sleeping on each other harmlessly.

                  Museums make it easier for one to understand how things were once like in the past. Instead of reading and listening all the time, museums give us the chance to actually see for ourselves what is actually true and what is not. And when you get to see these sculptures and paintings with their dates, you will be satisfied with what you’re learning about.

Works Cited

 Office in a Small City 1953

Edward Hopper (American, Nyack)

1882–1967

Arboretum by Flashbulb 1942

Stuart Davis (American, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania New York)

1892–1964

La Table aux Amours (The Demidoff Table) 1845
Lorenzo Bartolini (Italian, 1777–1850)