Honors Hum 2233 Museum Critical Reflection/Dr.

Marilyn Michael Name: Stephanie Lytle This format is based on Edmund Burke Feldman's Aesthetic Criticism (as set out in Varieties of Visual Experience) Title of work/artist/date_________________________ 1. Description - identifying what can be seen: elements and materials - describe the visual and literal qualities. Art Historically deals with where, who and when. Be objective. 2. Formal Analysis- how is this put together physically and compositionally and identifying style or subject matter. What relationships do the elements sustain? 3. Interpretation - Why did the artists make the choices he did about materials, composition, subject matter, etc.? What is he/she trying to say? Is there an emotional tone? 4. Evaluation/Judgment - How does this compare with similar works? Did the artist make the right decisions? Does the work say what he wanted to say? Is the work of high quality? What do you think the artist could improve on? Does the work communicate significant ideas or arouse emotions? Work #1 Title/Artist/Date: Giverny / Theodore Robinson / 1882 Description overall, this piece appears to be just a basic impressionistic painting of a little town out in a rural area. Theres a few small houses clumped together, with a few dirt roads. As the landscape goes further towards the horizon, the colors turn more from vibrant greens and reds to more of greys and blues. Formal Analysis The entire piece seems to be based around the pallets of blue, red, and green. Since these area all primary colors, this paintings seems to be a little more vibrant than what you would most likely see in real life. It also seems to have contrasting vibrancy vs. dullness divided by the distinctive line in the upper middle section of the painting. Interpretation I think that the artist may have done the contrasting greens with reds in the foreground to the blues in the background to perhaps show the warm inviting feeling of the quaint little town, compared to the unappealing far away areas. This town has an untouched feeling that comes from the perception that we have of that time. Evaluation In the description at the museum, it said that Theodore Robinson was one of the major impressionist movement influences, also being a friend of Claude Monet. This being said, the fact that this painting is really the quintessential example of the impressionist movement; I would say that he succeeded in his goal of that time with his art. I personally love this painting, its absolutely stunning, and calming, and I think thats a hard equilibrium to achieve. Work #2 Title/Artist/Date: Winds, Upper Ausable Lake / Harold Weston / 1992 Description In the painting, we see a river flowing out from a bend of land with trees, on the other side we see what appears to be mountains. In the sky, we see the patterns of clouds that are reflected in the water below. Formal Analysis - This landscape is a completely new spin on the idea of impressionism. It appears to take a fish-eye effect. It seems that the entire landscape has traces of blues, whether it

be the water, the sky, the mountains, or even the trees and ground. It gives the painting a sense of harmony, while the yellows, greens, and whites (also present in every aspect of the painting) gives the necessary contrast and texture of the painting. Interpretation I see this painting as a way of interpreting a seemingly clichd scene to something completely new and different from what the viewer has seen before. It still has traces of impressionism, while also putting something completely new to this element. Evaluation Overall, I think that the artist completely achieved his ideas (or at least the ones I think he was), the fact that we can see fish eye effects in almost any basic editor to give a new perspective of a photo shows that this kind of idea has become pretty popular. This was probably my favorite piece in the entire museum, it has the perfect contrast between different styles that makes it something all its own. ________________________________________________________________ Other works of interest- why did they interest you? The Promenade / Gifford Beal / 1922 I usually dont see impressionism of close up images in person, so it was extremely interesting seeing that extreme contrast between looking at it up close and farther away. Still Life with Doily / Alfred Maurer / 1930 Seeing this picture, it seemed like the perfect combination of surrealism (and yet not how we usually think of it) and perhaps a little bit of impressionism. It may be more with me not knowing all of the art terms, but this doesnt seem to fit into any category I know of, but I absolutely love looking at it. Imperial Hotel / Judy Pfaff / 2005 I was immediately drawn to this piece when I entered the room, it was really busy, but it didnt give the feeling of being congested. I was honestly shocked that this was such a recent piece, because I usually dont find modern art that I appreciate, but Im glad that I kept an open mind while here at the museum. Sunflower / Willie Cole / 1994 At first, I passed by this piece. However, I doubled back after awhile and got a good look at it. I personally love this kind of art, taking something you would never think to be an art tool, and use it to make something beautiful.