Today, John and I visited the Smith College Museum of Art. It was something completely out of the ordinary for us, but I thoroughly enjoyed it (John not as much, but he put a smile on his face and pretended to be interested to make me happy).
Anyway, we began in a special exhibit they have right now, the William Kentridge Prints. Let me sum up this exhibit for you...mostly black and white drawings, lots of naked people (John kept asking "why are all these people naked?"), supposedly the drawings depicted his life in South Africa and his interpretation of the political and social climate there. Now I don't profess to be an art expert by any means, in fact it's safe to say that I know virtually nothing about art, but I have to be honest...I found this exhibit to be a little boring (**sorry art gods and Mr. Kentridge**). The one piece of his that I really did like a lot was called "Learning the Flute". It was 2 enormous pictures done on pages of an encyclopedia. These pictures were hung side by side and were contrasting mirror images of each other. I was going to post a few images...but then I figured if you were really interested, you could just Google him to see for yourself. So, onto some of the other exhibits...
One thing I realized today is that I'm not that big of a fan of portraits or landscapes. While I can appreciate how much talent it takes to paint these pieces...the colors, the proportions, the intricacies, the details...they just don't do anything for me. What I really enjoyed, and would love to see much more of, is sculptures, impressionist paintings, and abstract pieces. These types of art pieces are interesting because they aren't obvious and because, in my mind, they take a lot more creativity to produce than portraits or landscapes. You have to think about the pieces and interpret them. And the most interesting part is that everyone interprets them differently. You and I could look at the same piece and see two completely different things. I also wonder when I look at these pieces what the artist was thinking at the time they created it. What inspired it? Did the piece turn out as it was originally intended or did it change and morph along the route of creation? Did the artist ever imagine that their creation, that originated from their mind and their hands, would end up in a museum? Where does that kind of creativity come from? I consider myself a fairly creative person (at least when I want to be), but never have I thought up some of the things I saw today. See all of the questions, the feelings, the thoughts that these works evoke...now that is what I call art!
I also enjoyed the museum's collection of artifacts, some going back to B.C.! It's astonishing when you think about it...these seemingly simple things that humans created thousands of years ago...cups, bowls, plates, vases, urns, even perfume bottles...they have withstood the test of time, long outlasted their creators, and they will continue to dazzle humans long after you and I are gone. Kind of makes you wonder...as I look around at the objects surrounding me at this moment...my laptop, our filing cabinet, photos from our wedding, Bailey's dog toys...what of these will someday sit in a museum and be considered art. What will people thousands of years from now think of them? They seem so everyday, so common to me, but someone else, in some other time, might think of them as something special, worthy of paying money to view. I guess only time will tell.
Overall, I found our trip to the museum to be a very interesting and stimulating experience. It is easy to forget how much art is around us...in so many forms, in so many ways. Life truly is art! Here are a few photos that I was able to snap (they heavily restrict what you can and can't take pictures of, so I did my best!). Enjoy!
Ok, Ok, I know what I said about landscapes, but I had to photograph this one because it's a painting of Northampton!
A Monet! (sadly, I only recognized a few artist names in addition to Claude Monet, Diego Rivera and Georgia O'Keefe. I probably would have known more if I had read all of the plaques that accompany each piece, but that would have made for a much longer trip to the museum and a much grumpier husband!)
