What is the Good Life? The HARN MUSEUm BY BRIAn TRUPO

"Hen" by William Zorach (taken by Sarah Stanley)

Medium of the Art/ Technique of the Artist: One piece of art that I saw in the Harn Museum was this sculpture of a hen. The sculpture is actually called “Hen” by William Zorach, and is made of granite. Seeing it in person helped me understand it and look further into why there is a sculpture of a hen made out of rock. It made me realize the reason the hen is made out of hard rock is because of how strong a hen is and how willing it is to protect its baby chicks. Seeing it in person allowed me to see the details of the piece and look at all the sleekness and details. Like I said, the medium of the work being granite made it very interesting. I’ve never seen such a smooth-looking sculpture before and I just thought it was very neat. This piece of art almost looks like a blob, but once you get close it’s easy to tell that it’s a hen. It communicates to me that everything isn’t as it seems; hens aren’t typically known as strong creatures, but they are in terms of protecting their young when you really think about it. The artwork made me feel like the hen was sitting on its eggs and protecting its young. It made me feel cautious and alert.

"Face Mask" by Winiama people; "Face Mask" by Dan people

Design of the Museum: Although not obvious, the arrangement of the Elusive Spirits exhibit was great! There were little showcases throughout and the big showcases were centered. Along with these showcases, there was also a little movie clip as you walk through and it’s in a great location. Along with the location and placement of the showcases of the masks, the open space allowed each piece/mask to feel like it was very important. Each piece had a lot of space in between it to signify its importance. Each mask also was in its own individual area, which also made each piece so special. The exhibit made me feel like I was experiencing some of the African rituals, especially when watching the video clip. Overall, this was a spectacular exhibit and I loved the layout.

"St. Jean's Bay" by Leon Kroll

Art and Core Values: This piece of art really appeals to my core value of love and nature. Since longer than I can remember, I have always enjoyed nature and felt that nature brings me closer to God. In this piece, people are laying down, looking at the beautiful bay and mountain. They look like they are so relaxed and are very calm. In addition, being in nature brings about love. The colors in this painting are all very bright and warm, portraying a very loving mood. This piece of art lets me appreciate my core value by showing all the love through nature. Additionally, this artwork brings me happiness, not just because of the warm colors but because of the people being together and enjoying themselves without technology. It helps me better understand love through nature and how someone can show love simply through the warm colors that they use to paint.

"Overlook Mountain, Woodstock, New York" by Ernest Fiehe (photo by Sarah Stanley)

Art and the Good Life: This piece of art is called “Overlook Mountain, Woodstock, New York” and was painted by Ernest Fiehe. This painting is of a beautiful mountain overlook. It looks like the season is fall due to the beautiful colored leaves of the trees. This painting tells a story in my imagination of a getaway place that an immigrant goes to while he’s in New York to get away from all his worries. This piece of art conveys a Good Life theme of seeking the good life. I compared this mountain that looks like it’s not near much civilization to the area that Thoreau went to in “Walden.” Both of these settings are very peaceful and isolated. It communicates that theme with the happy colors and the nature feel. The nature makes it feel like a getaway from regular life and from regular everyday pleasures. It adds to my appreciation of theme by showing me the beauty of nature and how happiness is made through surroundings and nature, not materialistic things like phones. The painter was an immigrant, so this shows that even though the immigrant most likely wasn’t very wealthy, they decided to paint this mountain and valued the beauty of nature over everything else, similar to how Thoreau valued nature and wanted to rid of all materialistic pleasures.

Made with Adobe Slate

Make your words and images move.

Get Slate

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.