The Brooklyn Museum of Art - Essay Example

?Museum Analysis The Brooklyn Museum of Art is the second largest art museum in New York The museum itself is of expansive size and depth, and constitutes one of the largest art museums in the United States. Within this collection there are a wide array of art items. These include ancient art, including Egyptian artifacts, all the way to contemporary conceptual and abstract art objects. Upon recently visiting the museum, I was struck by this vast collection, and had a richly varied and worthwhile educational experience. This essay constitutes an analysis of this museum experience. Upon my journey to the museum I viewed the neighborhood. I’ve always appreciated this area having visited Prospect Park as well as the Brooklyn Botanical Garden on a number of occasions. While I am not sure of the exact status of the neighborhood, from these elements I would surprise that it was relatively well-off or upper class. Upon entering the museum I was not surprised by the surroundings. The museum itself was adorned with white walls and there was an almost clinical feel to some of the rooms. The gift shop was a respite from these aspects of the museum. Still, the museum itself was very impressing with its depth of exhibits and size, allowing the visitor to get lost viewing many of the pieces. While the entirety of the museum visit was enriching, the exhibit I was perhaps the most drawn to was Eva Hesse’s Spectres. Hesse was a sculptural and painting artist that experienced an untimely death in 1970 ("Brooklyn museum," 2011). The specific spectre exhibit focuses on Hesse’s oil paintings that demonstrates a figurative representation of a spectre. The paintings were created when Hesse was at a young age, being only twenty-four years old. While the paintings are unnamed, there are identified through Roman Numerals. In these regards, the first painting in the exhibit that I spent time examining was IV. Created in 1960, this painting implements oil on canvas. As seen below the painting depicts the spectre of a woman. IV. no title, 1960. The main understanding in examining this painting is the connection between furthered understanding of the idea of the human through art. It seems that this work has no hidden message, but functions as a means of articulating the artist’s mood. It seems that the grey balanced against the purple color works to express a sort of bland, yet unique perspective on reality. One of the most thought provoking notions in the context of this work is the depiction of the artist’s inner feelings. One considers that poetry functions to articulate ideas and feelings that prose is not able to capture. In terms of this painting, it’s clear that the color imagery is able to depict aspects of the human condition that other modes of expression are not able to capture. While the nature of the individual artist’s feelings and unique world perspective is visible in the first work observed, the second work furthers the notion of the articulation of an individual’s interaction with the world. III. no title, 1960. As witnessed in this work, two spectres of most conceivably human figures are depicted. In addition to articulating aspects of the human experience that perhaps couldn’t be articulated in other artistic mediums, this painting expands the human perception of reality. In these regards, simply viewing this work functions to create a sense of feeling or emotion. This way the painting or artists work expands the perspectives on reality, and highlights that which is beautiful in the human experience. The painting itself seems to rely on crisp yet abstract design to illustrate a similar mental state. The image in the background also appears to be melding into the background, just as one might imagine a long lost memory or spectre of experience to do. When considering the visit to the Brooklyn Museum of Art from an overarching perspective, it’s clear the experience was highly enlightening. I would definitely recommend that other people visit the museum and have this experience as it presents a number of learning opportunities. In addition to the Spectres exhibit, the museum contains a wide variety of contemporary and ancient art. While I appreciated the instances of modern art, I was also drawn to exhibits more historical in nature. For instance, the ancient Egyptian artifacts were exciting to see simply for their age. In all the expansive nature of the museum grants the visitor a great perspective on culture and art. References Brooklyn museum. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/collections/ Read More