THE MEDIUM OF THE ART: This painting, called "Filaments of Light" painted by Yvonne Jacquette, captures the beauty of a very busy city: New York City. A picture does not do the artwork justice; from just a picture you cannot tell that the road is made of millions of small streaks of white lines, and the windows in the buildings are not painted in perfect shapes, one has to be up close to the painting to fully understand the amount of work and time that Jacquette put into this piece. Each window is made of a unique shape, however from far away, or in a picture, one can not see this small detail. The story of the painting cannot be told through the picture, since the story is told in the small and very busy detail of the work; which symbolizes the smallness one fills within a city, and the busy lines and streaks symbolize the business a city carries. Just like "Old Man's Cloth", one needs to put up close and personal to see the fine detail that tells the whole story of the artwork. The medium of art is a very necessary part of viewing art, and I believe that this painting of New York City that Jacquette painted displays it.
THE DESIGN OF THE MUSEUM: I feel as if this exhibit is the best representation of how a museum sets up the design, and makes the "audience" of the art feel. This hallway for example, coming out of the African Exhibit, juxtaposes you against a mirror, and a video of tribal ceremonies and traditions playing on the opposite wall. When you look in the mirror, you are part of the video since the video takes up the whole mirror. The design of this exhibit pulls you into the art and forces you to become part of the exhibit. It forces you to think about how your life is different than theres, and to reflect on yourself, and your ceremonies and traditions differ from others. This exhibit made me feel as though I do not reflect on other traditions, and simply focus on my own.
ART AND CORE VALUES: The "Guerilla Girls" exhibit clearly displayed my core value of the equality of men and women. This exhibit displayed multiple pieces of art that included statistics that advocate for women artists. Clearly, women are only displayed in the MET if they are pictured nude. As the art explains, only 4% of the artists in the Modern Art sections are female. This exhibit and these pieces of art are used to advocate for women, and the huge poster displayed in the top photo are making it very clear that it is unfair. These pieces of artwork make me feel a deeper sense of my value that men and women should be equal, because the sexualization of a woman's body should not be the only way a female artist can get her art into the MET.
ART AND THE GOOD LIFE: The motivation behind this photograph, called "Mama Baby, Tidal Pools, Trinidad, California", represents the ultimate meaning of the theme of meaning in "the good life". The photographer, Justine Kurland, is a self-proclaimed feminist, and tries to capture the essence of femininity. This photograph captures the beauty of nature, and the existence of humans in nature. The motivation of capturing femininity, and exploring feminism through art is the meaning behind Justine Kurland's life. I believe that doing something you are passionate about, and sharing it with others is ultimately what the good life is. Kurland clearly displays feminism and femininity through her art, and therefore this art displays a "good life" lived by Kurland.
