August 13, 2007

Museums

Laura and I had a very relaxing weekend full of bookstores, Central market, and Fort Worth museums. Both the modern and the Kimbell have excellent exhibitions going on right now, so here are some descriptions:


The Mirror and the Mask: Portraiture in the Age of Picasso
Kimbell Art Museum

This is one of the best out of many excellent exhibitions that I have seen at the Kimbell that actually teaches me how art has developed from the classical to modern. It takes the subject of portraiture which is perfect for showing the changing attitudes in art. This is highly recommended to everyone I know, especially anyone who wants to get a better grasp on a piece of art history. Lots of Picasso (showing his wide range, not just cubism), van Gogh, Matisse, Cezanne, Modigliani, and a lot more.




Ron Mueck
Modern Art Museum at Fort Worth
This was an interesting exihibition as Mueck sculpts photo realistic people at extremely small or large scales. Pros: a modern artist who actually cares about craft and detail is hard to find, the scale difference really disorients you in a good way, and there is a film that shows his process (which I was definitely wondering about, I mean how do you go about making a baby as big as an SUV have pores on its nose). Cons: It is hard to put my finger on it, but most modern art takes a pessimistic view on life. This is not completely the case here but the subjects generally seem angry or frightened.

On a side note: There is defiantly clear warnings that it contains mature subject matter including nudity but there were a lot of children at this exhibition. Laura and I got on a conversation on whether or not we would bring our children to such an exhibition. It would probably depend on the age but at the very least we would go see it first and then decide on whether to bring them back. Anyway, as usual any thoughts are appreciated.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I will definitely have to try to check out the exhibit. Especially for the nudity! haha... jk. I will enjoy it for aesthetic purposes only...

Anonymous said...

Based on the picture you included, it would make sense for the scuptures to have angry or frightened expression. It is how you or I would feel if they were put on display. Kind of like a freak show exhibit. The artist makes the scuptures even more realistic by showing these kinds of emotions. By the way, I would love to see this exhibit. Do you think it might be showing in my area anytime soon?

Nancy Standlee said...

I enjoyed your comments on the exhibit. I found you on a Technorati search of Ron Mueck after I saw the exhibit yesterday and made a post about it. I will add a P.S. and give your blog a link. I have added a YouTube link and some other photos to my post.
http://nancystandlee.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Your wrong about Mueck.
The sculpture is at Aros in Aarhus, Denmark.
Secerely
Moltke

Jacob Haynes said...

Moltke,

Your right, the sculpture shown was not in the exhibition. They didn't allow photographs so I just found a picture of a Mueck peice online. The small version of this same peice was in the exhibition.