Sheep Farmers by Justine Kurland is transcribed on a beautiful canvas that this image does not do justice to. When you witness it in person, it looks as if it was hand woven specifically for this piece; it looks as if this piece was predetermined before the canvas was even made. Each crevice of the canvas is articulated by the contrasting colors of the work and seem to compound together to create a wave across the work. If I was allowed to touch the work, I would imagine that the mere sensation of running my finger across the canvas would transcribe the message of the piece to me, like a blind individual reading braille. It was almost as if I could feel the breeze blowing through the meadow, or smell the grass the sheep grazed on, or hear the playful laugh of the children as they frolicked through this fantasy.
The Asian Art Wing is illuminated by large windows which display an ornate garden outside the museum. The wing is characterized by a very open atrium with art on either side as you walk in and one large piece of art on the ground in the middle and the large windows on the back wall. This layout appeals to me as it conveys a sense of naturalism and openness. I feel encroached upon in most exhibits with a plethora of artworks spotting the enclosing walls but by having such an open design I feel as if it allowed me to take a step back and take in each individual artwork on its own, not with the prejudice of others blending my perspective. The natural lighting also seems to breathe life into the exhibit, not having the burning spotlight taint the natural beauty of the exhibit offers a different perspective on the work.
La Esfera by Fanny Rabel is a work of epitomizing social injustices in an effort to advance revolutionary social causes. The work portrays a woman staring at a caged bird, symbolic for the manner in which the civil injustices to women essentially caged them in a restricted their freedom to function as a member of society. This represents a core value of mine as I feel the need to treat everyone with the same level of respect regardless of race, gender, social class or any other defining demographic. That same level of respect is universal across humanity and I feel it is a basic human right to be treated with such respect. Any limitations or prejudices will deny individuals from attaining such basic rights and is a violation of humanity. This art just shows another medium in which oppressed individuals fought for reform against their oppressors and makes me come to appreciate their fight even more.
I did not manage to capture the name of this work, but I believe it epitomizes the Good Life theme of Sharing the Good Life through its portrayal of a mother and child in their home. The combined experience that a family undergoes represents Sharing in the manner that once a child is born in to a family, the whole dynamic of that family changes. Parents serve the purpose of becoming mentors and memories for their children. Such mentors that will share the experience with their children up until adulthood, showing them the ropes until they have a grasp on the way the world works, until they know how to pursue the Good Life. Beyond that experience, their work as memories allows their children to share the experience of the Good Life through these defining memories of bliss, of pain, of enlightenment, of humor. This depiction of Sharing the Good Life has morphed the meaning of parenthood as much as it has of the theme itself in my mind and I now have a new take on both subjects.