My Trip to the Albright Knox


Yesterday, I visited the Albright Knox Art Gallery. During my visit I did not focus on one exhibit, I walked the entire museum and chose to focus on artwork that interested me. I found it interesting focusing on the architectural aspects of the museum because the museum seems to be designed so that you do not focus on the archetectural design. The museum is set up for the viewing pleasure of the art only. Even the resturant seems to be hidden or disconnected from the exhibits. Upon entering the museum the first thing you notice that everything is clean and white. The interior is simple in design and there are no decorative colors on the walls or floor. There are minimal details. This makes the museum bright without the use of a lot of flourecent lighting. The lighting is pointed downward toward the artwork, but not directly on each piece. When you enter the artwork that you see at first is the older classical art and as you move through the art becomes more abstract and contemporary. Each piece is about 10 feet apart to give you the opportunity to view it with no distractions. The more classical art that is on canvas is framed in gold "antique looking" frames and the modern artwork is either mounted or matted. The artwork seemed to be generally categorized in the museum: classical, abstract, drawings and sculptures. They are all labeled with a small white card to the right of the piece. I noticed the more contemporary art had a small amount of information written about the artist and the work.


My Three:

1. Numbers in Color (1958-9) By Jasper Johns - American Born in 1930
Encaustic and Newspaper on canvas
This piece is a part of the abstract expressionist period in time. By looking as the repetitive nature it is obvious that he is a contemporary artist that uses printmaking in his technique.This piece is representational rather than realistic. It represents a time in America when many products were being mass produced. Color is definately an element that he uses. He draws in the viewer by using bright colors and complimentary colors such as blue and orange. He uses the principle of unity and variety because it is an assortment of the same numbers but in different colors. This piece reminds me of newspaper print because of the style of the numbers but because he makes it so abstract it is like he turning something that is very simple into something that is very extreme. We look at numbers so much that they loose their impact. I think he is trying to say that you can take something that is very mundane and turn it into a powerful work of art.


2. Convergence (1952) by Jackson Pollack American born (1912-1956) Oil on Canvas
This piece is one Jackson Pollack's splatterpaintings. What we see in this painting is the use of many colors and extreme variety and movement. It is almost as if you can imangine Pollack painting this. The size of the painting also invites the viewer into Pollack's world of tangles, twists and drips of paint. Pollack is representing his non acceptance of traditional forms of paintings. The title convergence suggests that even though the painting is chaotic, you should see how it all fits together also. This painting reminds me of heavy metal music. In your head you are trying to keep up with the patterns but rather than try to understand the patterns, you should just enjoy the output. I think Pollack is suggesting that we step away from how we try to rationalize art and interpret it and see the beauty in the creativity of his method.


3. Kill Yourself (1989) by Nancy Dwyler American born in 1954 - vinyl paint on canvas
This piece is a play on words. There is a major contrast in what is being said and how it is depicted by the artist. The words "kill yourself" are negative in nature but the style of lettering, the colors and the bubbles painted on them seem to represent a happy mood. Dwyler uses space in suspending the words in the middle of the painting and leaving a large amount of space around it to give emphasis on the phrase. Her use of color is also interesting because had she used darker colors the painting would have depicted a different mood. This painting reminds me of font that one would see in a cartoon. The lettering seems almost childish yet she plays with your mind by putting ice on the letters to the word kills and painting bubbles in the background. I believe she wants the viewer to make light of a serious statement by either being confused or amused, either way, you may or may not laugh when you see this.