art

 

Cartonnage of Nespanetjerenpare

This piece was of a mummy’s coffin. My first impression of the coffin was that it was very intricate. The coffin was covered in tiny hieroglyphics. The hieroglyphics showed images of birds, knives, and bowls. Aside from the head

of the main figure, there were also images of people all over the coffin. It is not hard to tell that someone spent a lot of time and efforton this particular piece. Hints of orange stood out from the white-brown background.

My second impression of the piece was pure fascination. I got to thinking about what the purpose of a coffin actually was back then. Not only were coffins used to preserve the dead bodies but they were also used to show wealth and power. It was  fascinating for me to see how people put so much effort into how they present themselves even after their life is over. King Nespanetjerenpare made it clear that he wanted it to be known that he was a prestigious, well-respected person of his time period. But it was interesting to me because no matter how lavish someones lifestyle was, their body still ends up in the same place. The corpse could be covered in a beautiful coffin buried in the Egyptian pyramids but at the end of the day it’s still just a corpse. Theres nothing special about it. Life hasn’t changed hundreds of years later. Some people still demand this kind of attention and power. Despite the time difference, certain people still demand to be seen as powerful and almighty, similar to the kings in the coffins.

I was walking in the “Arts of the Americas” gallery when I stumbled upon this piece. It is a ceramic sculpture titled Making Babies for the Indian Market, created by artist Roxanne Swentzell. At first glance, I was intrigued by the children surrounding the figure: what were they doing? Why were they there? After reading the description, I learned the answers to these questions as well as the deeper meaning behind the sculpture as a whole. In this piece, we see a black pot atop the sitting Pueblo woman’s head. This was intended to give the audience the impression that making pots and making babies are of equal value, and that the Native Americans themselves were treated poorly and seen as a commodity by non-natives. Analyzing the artwork for the second time, I was able to see the message that Swentzell was trying to project. (Also, I discovered that the face of the Pueblo woman is that of Roxanne Swentzell!)

 

The piece of art that grabbed my attention the most was a painting called A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie by Albert Bierstadt. At first, this painting caught my attention mainly because of its enormous size. In a room with very lightly colored walls, it was hard to miss a painting that big. My first impression of it was that all the colors are what made it so mesmerizing. However, when I took a moment and looked at it again, I realized that I missed out on so many other details. For instance, the painting had a lot of depth and dimension to it. The mountains looked so real that the painting looked almost like a photograph. I also realized that it was an oil painting which may have contributed to the vivid and realistic view. The length of the mountains was slightly exaggerated to make them the focal point of the painting. The painter also seemed to be paying a lot of attention to the weather. Even though the clouds looked ominous, there was a beam of sunlight shining through the middle almost as if it represented hope or freedom. There were also other details that the artist added to make it more intricate such as tiny trees, ponds, and animals, which really completed the painting as a whole. Overall, my appreciation for this piece along with other paintings increased whenever I took some time to analyze because it allowed me to pinpoint the significant details.

 

-Zenab Jamil

It’s of Washington Square Park. You can see the fountain through the opening of the archway. It’s lit up with a soft golden light and draws t

he eye because the rest of the piece is in shades of blue and green. The lighting and colors seem to me like the hour or so right before sunrise. It’s still night, or rather, early morning. I like the whole setting.

 

Coming back to this painting, I’m noticing the intricacies of the arch and fountain. I feel like the artist spent a lot of time sketching the arch and looking at it and studying it before this painting was completed. The fountain also has a lot of detail, even though it’s only half visible through the archway. In contrast, or rather, as a balance, here’s almost nothing in the background. It’s just a wash of blue, lighter than the arch, but still a very rich blue. The colors would fit in underwater scene.

The piece of art I chose is The Road of the War Prisoners by Vasily Vereshchagin. The picture shows a barren snowy wasteland littered with dead bodies.  At first glance, the painting shows that war doesn’t discriminate. War doesn’t care about race, gender or ethnicity. War ravages everybody, as evident by the different body types buried in the rubble. However, at a deeper glance the picture represents the cycle of life. For example, there are birds on top of the pile of dead bodies. Birds tend to represent freedom in paintings. We aren’t bounded to the pain of the past and we need to overcome it in order to become free and truly live in the present. Life still goes on whether or not it may not seem like it. https://www.google.com/search?q=the+road+of+the+war+prisoners&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjHqvuX2MbWAhXlqlQKHessAm8Q_AUICigB&biw=1524&bih=957#imgrc=KRX9c6Ul8n-CPM:

   Awareness 

I see a whirl of swirling white, an impenetrable fortress made of ice, I am unsure of what lies beneath. Upon further inspection, I notice a splash of gray across the immaculate white surface and words written within the ashen splotch. I do not have time to read the impeccable looping cursive, I am too busy taking in the brunt of the scene. Perplexed, I step back from the canvas eager to understand.

 

After a brief interlude, I go straight to the script, ready to decipher its many twists and turns. I make out the sentences, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Immediately the words click, this is the first amendment of the constitution; the most integral individual portion of our freedoms and liberties. Many thoughts crossed my mind: the political instability in our country, the right to peacefully assemble, the right to speak my freedom, to speak my truth, and to petition against those who harm me and my peers.

 

This piece resembles the confusion that occurs when we do not know our rights. The vastness of white is when we legally cannot speak when we have to stay silent. The gray only emerges once we mix our rights into it. When can we shout? When can we scream against the injustice? When can we fight the system, when can we win?  The true beauty of this masterpiece is not that it answers our questions or solves our problems, rather it makes us aware, sort of like our first amendment rights.