Good Life Tour of the Harn Museum By Kelly Aaronson
TECHNIQUE OF THE ARTIST:
This piece is a Face Mask created by the Winiama people to represent wilderness spirits. When I saw this piece, as well as the other masks exhibited in the African Art Display, it caught my eye because of the intricacy of the wood carvings and the precise, unique designs on it. I could have never been able to appreciate the work and detail put into a piece of art like this if I had just seen it on social media- the real life experience was definitely worth it.
DESIGN OF THE MUSEUM
I particularly enjoyed the Chinese Art Wing of the museum because of the exotic art and the way of the layout. All of the pieces are placed just far enough from each other to where it is not overwhelming, and the types of art are varied. For instance, there was one piece that I absolutely loved because of it's beautiful colors, entitled "Vessel" by OGAWA Machiko, and it was stoneware and a shiny, rock looking piece. But there was also a piece called "Kyoto Wave" by TSUBIO Asuka that was also made of stoneware, but looked completely different, with darker colors and a more dull-looking shine to it. The final piece that truly caught my eye was entitled "Vajravarahi" which was bronze with gemstones and polychrome, completely separate from the other two pieces but still going with the theme of Chinese Art.
ART AND CORE VALUES
This specific art work instilled one of my greatest values- passion. It is on display in the Chinese Art Exhibit and is entitled "Dancing Ganesh". It depicts the Hindu symbol Ganesh, an elephant-headed son, dancing and full of joy and life. This reminded me immediately of passion because one of the greatest passions of my life is dancing. Dancing makes me incredibly joyful and brings me true happiness, so seeing this artwork of a religious symbol dancing so full of joy instilled the value of passion in my head as I view it. It reminds me that true art comes in the form that you make it, and happiness can be spread through and by people in different ways.
ART AND THE GOOD LIFE
Finally we come to Rafael Tufino's "Coffee Portfolio" which includes various images of coffee production. I knew I wanted this series of photos for my "Art and the Good Life" section immediately when I saw them because these images reminded me of how everyone's interpretation of the "good life" is different. The people in these photos have dedicated their lives to their own culture of coffee making, which in my own personal opinion does not sound like the greatest lifestyle. But in the lower picture on the right, after the previous images depicting working and life on a farm, the people are celebrating. They are smiling, dancing, and visibly enjoying their lives, even after a long day of coffee production on a farm. These people are truly embracing the life they have and making their daily routines their own "good life", and then celebrating it at the end of the day with each other.