Introduction

Hello, I'm Duncan Elliott, a first year UF student and recently I went to the Harn Museum on campus for Good Life. The following Spark Story describes my trip and the things I learned from it.

Medium of the Art/Technique of the Artist

One of the most interesting pieces of art were these two long sheets of paintings that used silkscreen. The magnitude of their size and color is what first grabbed my attention when I walked past them. I really enjoyed looking very closely at the artwork, examining the tiny details that put it together. Screen printing was one of the first types of printing and it was the technique used to create this piece. I really liked how the lines were designed and the flat colors of the surface. I preferred the one on the right because it felt like it was telling a story of falling. I could see the details that the artist had to create for the overall image and could appreciate the technique

Design of the Museum

I liked the open design of the museum and the plain white walls, allowing the artwork to pop off of them, as vibrant images. The entrance to each section was particularly interesting as it was an archway but it wasn't connected to any actual part of the building. It was simply a part of the art. I liked how the central part of the exhibit is organized. It feels very open and inviting. As you first enter, you immediately view a large canvas that is your first taste of the exhibit. The exhibit then goes onto the left, with walls that all seem to have their own mini theme as part of the whole. I like how they effectively used the space to display the images. Each image seemed to have the right amount of attention, not being overly centered but also, not being thrown in and squished together with a multitude of other images. Overall, I enjoyed the exhibit, immensely.

Art and Core Values

This piece of art automatically caught my attention. When I looked at it, I felt at peace, and it was the highlight of the museum for me. I feel extremely calm when I see this painting and it was the number one image I wanted to take from the museum and take from my wall. I think my favorite part of the image is it's isometric style. With all the time I have spent in 3D modeling programs such as Solid Works, it gave me a sense of completeness, witnessing the image from such a particular perspective. I really liked the style more than the content, with its flat colors and isometric view. I could easily see myself having an array of prints of paintings such as theses that share the same style. I would relate it to my core value of viewing multiple perspectives, as no story should be told from one side. The painting shows the building at two views to create a more complete picture. I prefer to gain news from multiple sources to create a complete image.

Art and the Good Life

One of the most important part of the Good Life is having perspective and seeing events from a different point of view and an unique frame of reference. That is what I thought of when I first saw this image. I liked how the artist was able to re-imagine a classic scene from a whole new style and create a different painting with it. This plays into the theme that to obtain the Good Life, one has to be able to look at information and life from new perspectives to truly see the entire image. It shows me how I would be able to look at the challenges and problems I face in life from a whole new perspective and how that would change my understanding.