Cultural Event Report - Essay Example

I decided to attend The Metropolitan Museum of Art because an important event related to world culture was organized by the museum authorities, i.e., an exhibition on Chinese art named as Colors of the Universe: Chinese Hardstone Carvings. My friends and I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art on 08.09.2012. As pointed out, my focus was on the Colors of the Universe: Chinese Hardstone Carvings, especially the artworks in the Gallery 22. Visiting the museum, I was overwhelmed by the dedication shown by the museum authorities towards art and architecture.

Elephant Carrying a Vase and Pomegranates The two artworks selected for description are Elephant Carrying a Vase and Pomegranates, displayed at Gallery 222. The artwork named as Elephant Carrying a Vase (see appendix-1) is symbolic of the decorative art in China during Qing dynasty. The medium used for this artwork is jade/nephrite. Besides, the artist provided ample importance to decorative work with ruby. But one can see that decorative work with precious stones is not related to Chinese art.

Instead, one can assume that the decoration is the visible example of the influence of Indian art on Chinese art during this time period (say, 18th -19th century). Ebrey (1993) states that, “Traditional scholarship and arts flourished under the patronage of the Qing emperors, and even in rural areas schools were common and basic literacy relatively high” (p.267). . In short, the artwork is symbolic of the rich tradition of art in China, especially the tradition of stone carving in China. The artwork named as Pomegranates (see appendix-2) belongs to Qing Dynasty.

In addition, this artwork is symbolic of the development of art in the 18th century China. The lower side of the artwork consists of a wooden like structure, which acts as a foundation to the artwork. The artist made use of dark and light colors to provide importance to the whole work. One can see that this artwork is symbolic of the Chinese belief in the relationship between seeds and fertility/longevity. To be specific, pomegranate is used as a medicine to enhance sexual performance, and the same is related to fertility.

So, the artist amalgamated the importance of pomegranates in Chinese belief and fertility in his artwork. To be specific, most of the Chinese artworks during the Qing Dynasty are interconnected with the beliefs and rituals during that age. Besides, Chinese artworks cannot be considered as mere showcase pieces. Instead, artworks are presented to express one’s gratitude. In this artwork, agate is used as the medium. So, this artwork is symbolic of the Chinese tradition of providing importance to art in daily life.

One can see three pomegranates, flower and leaves on the upper side of the artwork. Summary and reaction The exhibition (say, Colors of the Universe: Chinese Hardstone Carvings) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, consists of a number of artworks related to Chinese art. Most of the artworks belong to 18th-19th century art in China. I tried my level best to have deeper understanding of the inherent theme/symbolism of the artworks. At first, I tried to have a bird’s eye