When I first entered the museum, this piece of art caught my attention immediately. The picture doesn't capture all the vivid colors you see when you see this in person. I found the odd shapes and mixture of colors striking, making me want to know more about the artwork. This work of art is called “Zandvoort “(named after a city in the Netherlands) and was created by Frank Stella in 1936.It is a mixed media on etched magnesium. Each piece of the artwork creates movement on the canvas, making it seem almost animated. I read about the artwork, I found out that the piece represents the “adrenaline rush of the racing experience”. It has this exciting feel to it that made me feel revitalized.
I absolutely loved the garden in the Asian Art Wing of the museum. It was very soothing and relaxing to just walk around the small garden. It almost felt as if you weren’t in a museum anymore, but instead I felt like I was wandering through nature outside the city. The best part was the waterfall behind the bridge. It was calming just being able to hear the water flow gently from the rocks. Although the garden was in reality pretty small, the arrangement of the plants and flowers made it seem much bigger. It was raining before I went outside to the garden so I was worried it would ruin the experience. However, it stopped right before I went outside and even though it was cloudy I was still able to fully enjoy the garden.
This group of artwork caught my attention because I felt almost an instant connection to it. I felt like I had seem something similar to it. I then read the description and realized that the drawings were made by a Puerto Rican artist. My dad is Puerto Rican and I have been there many times to visit my family. I've also learned a lot about the history which is why these drawings called out to me. It celebrates the culture and values of his heritage. I feel like I was able to connect more personally with his artwork since I am also proud of my heritage. I especially liked the drawing on the bottom right because it shows the celebration part of the "good life". The artwork allows me to better appreciate my heritage and culture.
The artwork shown above is a weathered sandstone relief sculpture that portrays the Hindu god Shiva and his consort Uma in a loving embrace . I read in the description that together they symbolize the "ultimate creative power of the universe and the future of the supreme being." I believe that this shows the aspect of seeking the "good life". Like in Herman Hesse's novela, Siddhartha was looking for the meaning life and trying to reach nirvana. In this sculpture, Shiva is shown practicing yoga which allows him to control his energy leading him to his own enlightenment. I found the sculpture a bit confusing at first since I didn't understand what it was showing. However, after I read more about the sculpture I came to understand what it was about. It allowed me to connect it back to Siddhartha and reflect on its similarities to achieving the "good life".