During our visit to CFAM, we tried to focus our attention on the art as well as on our behaviors and preferences as viewers. What did you learn about the art on display and what did you learn about yourself as a viewer during this visit?
Due Monday, September 19th at 12 noon.
Jonathan Walz, the Museum Curator, spoke a bit on all the artwork currently on display in CFAM for one of my other classes, and he said that, as a curator, he always attempts to have a wide and diverse range of mediums of art on display at the same time, to give a sense of variety. It wasn’t completely intentional that all of these photography exhibits were presented together. However, I think that the four separate shows all work very well together and they do that because they are all pretty different (in their approach and subject matter) but still related (in the fact that they are photographs). It’s interesting to see the same thing done in such different and distinctive ways.
ReplyDeleteWhat I learned about myself and how I view art is that I am a very active viewer (which makes sense, because I have been told that I am a very vocal listener). Without being conscious of the fact, I think I was aware in some sense that how I positioned myself affected how I interpreted and saw the work and so I try to see it from all angles. I like to get super up close and walk all the way around the room and then get far back and read the wall text and then walk around the room again. I also enjoy having people present, but I don’t mind getting ahead of them or falling behind them. But I like having the option present that I can converse with people about the artwork if I so choose.
During the visit to CFAM I enjoyed seeing three different interpretations of one medium, photography. After viewing the exhibits, while filling out our handout I learned about how I look at artwork and it flustered me a little bit. I guess I never really had put thought into my art viewing habits. I realized that if it bores me or I feel indifferent about it I will gloss over it, but if I love it or if I really don’t care for it I will stare at it for quite a while. The second exhibit with the rock stars is a good example; if I recognized the star or liked them I would pay attention, if it didn’t interest me I would give it a polite glance through. I like knowing this now because I think that I will use it to pay more attention to something I normally would not.
ReplyDeleteI don’t know if I learned something new about the art that I viewed, but I really enjoyed the Warhol pictures. I thought that they were fascinating considering the backstories of so many of those people that were shown. I almost feel like they are characters in a story, their lives were all so colorful back then, and some even now. This is an example of knowledge making art endearing to the viewer. Since I had read about The Factory, and knew of the people I felt very connected to the photos as I viewed them.
I learned more about Brady Robinson’s work and appreciated it more than my first visit to the show with my other class. The work didn’t really catch my interest because it didn’t seem very aesthetically pleasing at first but after I read the wall text and understand her intension on the work it makes me appreciate the work more than I initially did. The visit make me realized my lack of interest in portrait works especially those of the people that I don’t know. However I think it is a good learning experience to force myself to look longer at the work that I don’t usually do. It forces me to look at the portrait not just as a normal photograph of a person but as a work of art. I tried to relate to the work through the gesture, facial expression, and the action of the people inside the photo as well as appreciated the photographer’s ability to capture the shot of those celebrities in different settings and atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteLike Countess said, it was very interesting to see how photography can be used in different ways. Also, I will have to agree with Natt, as I also do not feel a strong connection to portraiture, and thus I enjoyed more Brady Robinson's work. From Brady's work, I learned how simple photographs, or even photography that can be viewed by the viewer as non-professional, can actually create a good exhibit by being placed next to a lot more similar ones, and can pass the message that the artist wants to the viewer. In addition, from the second exhibit, I enjoyed the looking at the expressions that the celebrities had in the moment they where captured by the photographer, and how these expressions created different feelings to the viewer.
ReplyDeleteWhen it comes to my self and how I view art, it is the first time that I actually think about it. I realized that I mostly observe the work, without reading the wall text with the information about the artist or the work, unless I am very interested and drawn to a work. Also, I am not very talkative person while viewing work of art, and I usually do not feel that comfortable discussing my emotional reaction to it. It was definitely an interesting exercise, and made us learn something new about ourselves.
Our visit to CFAM was enjoyable and informative, and it allowed me to contemplate not only the art on display, but how I view the art as well. In terms of the exhibits, I gained a greater appreciation of photography as a medium and a different perspective on how the arrangement of an exhibit effects my appreciation of it. The first room contained a group of photographs that on their own did not appeal to me, but after viewing them as a whole, and reading the information about the artist’s intent, I found the works to be much more moving. After this experience, I am more aware of the design of exhibits and how they affect the viewing experience. After viewing the collections as a whole, I contemplated how I act as a viewer. I’ve always preferred to enjoy art alone, so that I can spend uninterrupted time at my favorite pieces and form my own opinions as I see fit. However, I enjoyed discussing the exhibits as a class because it helped me to revisit pieces I enjoyed, and opened my mind to other opinions on works I may not have contemplated as deeply.
ReplyDeleteDuring our CFAM visit I learned a good amount about the art on display. I find it interesting in hind sight that all three galleries focus on a journey of sorts. Despite the fact that all galleries use the same medium, they all communicate the journey in a different way. In E. Brady Robinson's exhibit I learned about the the power of a strong concept. Though people like or disliked her work they talked about it despite of that. In Janet Macoska's exhibit I found her wall text very engaging. I was nice to know the context of some of her work. And in Stephen Shore's exhibit I learned about simplicity. I can't imagine that Andy Warhol's life lacked color, but Stephen Shore only used black and white film. I just find that interesting.
ReplyDeleteI learned a good deal about myself as a viewer as well. I need something to engage with. I like things to be a little off, or what some might say unrealistic in style. Though I love photography, exhibitions of it can bore me quickly. There is something about getting to look at the interactions of brush strokes that I find much more interesting. Overall I don't spend much time with the works unless I become engaged with it. I will go back to works I find interesting at first glance to look deeper into them.
At the museum, I realized I spend a lot less time looking at art than I like to think. However, I also realized how much reading the wall text helps me enjoy a work. For example, I really liked the rock star exhibit. I'm already predisposed to it, because I like a lot of that music, but the little bits of information written by the photographer really brought it to life for me. The collection wasn't just some pictures of famous people, they were illustrations of the photographer's passion for music. It made me wonder how awesome it must have been to stand in that crowd. The more abstract exhibit got my attention as well. The only text was on the wall, and there were no plaques for each image. At first I didn't really care for this collection. However, after understanding the artist's intent to create a sense of movement and travel, it really spoke to me. I didn't really care for the Warhol exhibit, but I'm predisposed not to, because I'm not much of a fan. I realized that if there was more information next to each work, I probably would have enjoyed it more. Simply put, this experience showed me how much I value a good statement of intent and textual information along with a work.
ReplyDeleteI learned the most from listening to everyone else's responses. It amazed me how some of my peers were so inspired by works I did not enjoy at all. It makes me wonder what is it that drives our individual thoughts, pulling us to certain things while repelling us from others. Why can we have such opposing feelings about the same exact thing? It is truly fascinating.
ReplyDeleteI realize that text is not as important as dissecting the piece with your own eyes and no other input, but it is important enough not to be overlooked. Also, if at first you believe something not to have merit or to be cliche, then it is you who is missing something. If you can, always go back and search for what it is that someone else had been inspired by. This has always surprised me.
I was particularly interested by the work of Stephen Shore at CFAM. I learned he met Warhol as a young boy and started taking photographs at The Factory. His images were stunning and to me were great examples of realism. Looking at his images made me feel like I was with him inside Warhol's studio. I found certain images particularly striking because of the interesting composition and the unknown figures in the photos. I found myself wondering who these people were and what they were doing. I wanted to know what happened before and after the frozen second captured in time. Shore's images left me searching for more.
ReplyDeleteAfter visiting the museumI found that I prefer viewing art alone when I am seeing it for the first time. I need to be able to form my own opinions before hearing the opinions of others. When walking around the museum, I traveled in a linear path making sure that I stopped at every piece. If I don't stop at every piece I am afraid that I might have missed something. I also discovered that when I have found a piece or collection that I really enjoy I can't stop looking at it. I have trouble making myself go back to look at something that I do not like when there is something else that I like much more. This was the case with Robinson's photos. I couldn't make myself go back and look at those photos when I wanted to keep looking at Shore's photographs. I learned a lot about myself as a viewer from visiting the museum.
Our visit to CFAM was both an enjoyable and informative experience. It was interesting to see 3 different portrayals of photography, all of which were unique in style, composition, and subject matter. I had a strong reaction to E Brady Robinson’s work, and felt a personal connection prompted by the casual nature and fuzzyness of her “quick snapshots” which turned out to be edited and not so natural. I enjoyed the other galleries as well, and realized that it is important to take time to study what is going on within a photograph, often I find myself just grazing over these shiny images, in the same manner that I would when looking through a magazine. There are deliberate and purposeful features within a shot that the artist wants their viewers to notice. I personally love when a photograph has movement, or blurred lights- I can feel the energy that they intended to capture; where as other viewers might not appreciate these features and call them amateurish. As we have learned and discussed numerous times everyone views art differently; how we interpret art is a totally personal relationship in which we all have the right to appreciate or disregard art.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed hearing about how each of you interacts with art work in a museum setting and about the pieces you enjoyed or disliked. I am constantly forcing myself to give new things a chance...new music, images that look trite, etc., and it usually pays off in the end.
ReplyDeleteI found that I really did not enjoy the first exhibit I saw which was the map through pictures however I loved the exhibits after that. I think it was very hard for me to wrap my head around the idea versus the art. I love photography and for me it was difficult to enjoy the photographs because I felt they lacked the formal qualities I have always learned make photographs successful. Of course I know that it is always good to step outside of the box however I felt there were not a lot of breathtaking shots in her exhibit. I enjoyed the idea behind it however couldn't get past the fact that I felt there was an amateur feel to the whole exhibit. However I really loved the two I saw after.
ReplyDeleteI really love photographs of people and found the exhibits of the musicians and Andy Warhol's workshop to be much more my taste in art.
As far as how I view art I did learn about what I like in art and what I don't. I also discovered that I really do love to discuss art while I look at it. This is not to say I want to always try to find some hidden meaning in everything I view. It is more that I want to hear why other people like and don't like the art. I want to find new things I may not have recognized in the art before or share my views and inform people things they may not have realized before. I do believe that when viewing art there is an internal emotional response that is important however I also feel strongly that art is meant to be talked about otherwise it may as well just be a decorative piece above the fireplace.
Looking at the photography, I realized that different aesthetic qualities can provoke such different reactions and emotional responses from me. Each exhibit used the medium of photography in a broad range of ways but all could be put under the label of “realism” and “documentary.” The viewer is taken on a journey through each of the exhibitions. For example E. Brady Robinson’s show takes us on the artists person journey and the viewer is left to guess about her whereabouts. Her photos capture a sense of movement but she is ambiguous about where we are going. Her exhibit should be seen as a group rather than taking individual works and looking at them out of context. The other photographic exhibits show a more naturalistic representation and the viewer can tell the photographs whereabouts easier. Furthermore, each photograph can stand alone as well as a part of the group. I learnt that the inclusion of people creates a stronger response from me because photographing a person is capturing a fleeting moment that can never be caught in the exact same way again. I also didn’t realize how long I like to look at art especially work that intrigues me. If found it interesting listening to other students responses because we all look at art in our own unique way and consequently we respond to it differently. I think I learned more about certain pieces by listening to other opinions and seeing qualities that I had passed by.
ReplyDeleteI think Countess really brought up agood point about how one of the biggest lessons I learned at the museum was really just to see the sheer diversity of photography as an artistic medium. It was a very interesting experience to see such literal photographs of famous rockstars just one room over from the abstract worksbof Brady. I particularily enjoyed being able to see first hand how the word "realism" may not apply even to photography, which typically speaking captures moments that have actually happened.
ReplyDeleteI learned about myself as a viewer in recognizing that I enjoy looking at artwork alone, as it is when I am looking at art that I am the most perceptive and most opinionated. For me, it is super important to understand my own opinions in something before allowing an outside perspective.
During our trip to the CFAM, one of the things that I noticed after viewing the three exhibitions was that the works that interested me the most were the photographs of people. I really enjoyed looking at and contemplating the expressions on each person’s face, trying to come up with an idea of what each person was feeling or thinking. I liked if there was some sort of ambiguity, it made the work of art more interesting. In one of Shore’s pieces (I cannot remember the title), there are three figures in an apartment. One of them is petting a dog while the other two look shocked at something that happens outside of the picture plane. This photograph was interesting to me because I wanted to find out what they were looking at.
ReplyDeleteAlthough each exhibition displayed different kinds of photographs, Robinson’s photos were snapshots of her road-trip to Mexico, Macoska’s were photos of famous rock musicians, and Shore’s were of Andy Warhol’s studio and group of friends, the messages each exhibition brought to me were equally as interesting.