This piece is called Nadia in Sharp Profile and was painted by a French artist by the name of Henri Matisse in 1948. The painting made me acknowledge that there is indeed beauty in simplicity. I am not sure what the artist aimed to convey through this painting, however I admire the piece because it is blunt and simple. When I first saw it I did not recognize a face, but when I looked again and stepped closer I realized what the painting actually was. The technique was striking, I almost felt like I could replicate the same painting. However, I soon realized that each of the lines was a different texture and conveyed a particular attitude. It made me realize that if I were the artist I may not have viewed my model the same way. This painting may not even be an accurate representation of the model, yet, it still shows one perspective of how the artist viewed his model. Despite the fact that it was just a human profile -- something that I see everyday -- it was somehow new to me.
This piece is called Ode à l'Oubli. It translates to: a book, hand-sewn and stitched cloth with lithography. It was created by Louise Bourgeois, an American artist born in France, in 2004. As soon as I walked into the museum, I saw the pages of this book occupying the majority of the white wall seen in the above photograph. The symmetry, arrangement, and use of space made my senses tingle. I was immediately drawn to take a closer look and even this picture does not do it justice. Although this wing of the museum felt sterile and cold, the warmth of these frames was overwhelming. I found myself walking in circles just to return to the display because I found it so aesthetically appealing. Apparently Bourgeois takes "a psychoanalytic approach to creativity". Her artwork at first seemed chaotic when I looked at each page individually. However, when the pages are placed on the wall together, they lack chaos, and radiate calm.
This piece is called The Tauromaquia. Fransisco Goya made a series of these etchings in the mid 1810's. When I saw this drawing, I immediately felt pain. As an individual of Spanish decent, I understand the tradition of Bull Fighting. However, from a young age I couldn't understand the purpose of men in embellished clothing trying to establish dominance over a creature that seemed to be more than five times their size. Let alone the unhappy ending that followed. I wanted to pluck the bull out of the drawing and release it from the public torture. I don't enjoy seeing anything suffer, and my desire to be the redemption in times adversity is one of the reasons I am pursuing a career in surgery. When someone's body can no longer fend for itself, I want to provide the resilience needed for second and third chances. This piece reminded me of the reasons why I want to be a doctor, and evoked a strong sense of empathy.
This piece is a color carbon print of Frieda Kahlo with Classic Magenta Rebozo. Created by Nickolas Muray in 1939, I felt this piece fit into the theme of embodying the good life. Frieda Kahlo was an extremely influential female artist. In this print, she seems fearless and confident-- qualities that I treasure, and feel are essential in the pursuit of the good life. Her pose in this print is also somewhat ambiguous. I enjoyed that there is an element of mystery to the print because we don't know what she was thinking in the moment. It was a reminder that we are all hiking our own hike, and searching for something. Most of us don't even know what we are looking for. However, most of the time we try to label everything in order to understand it. Even though I wanted to know what she was thinking, the print reminded me to embrace the ambiguous moments in life.
Credits:
All photos are of artwork from the Harn.