Module 5

Artworks that made an impact/impression on me:

1)Charles E. Burchfield, December Storm, watercolor on joined paper mounted on board, 1941-1960

This piece made an impression on me because of the foreshadowing made by Burchfield, unbeknownst to him. This piece was created one day prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.

2) Arthur Kowalski, Sunshine and Cloud Shadows, oil on canvas, 1940

As I was walking through the gallery, this piece stood out to me and I mentioned to my sister it reminds me of a scene that we would've come across in our small hometown, Springville. As we approached the piece and read the description, we realized it was based on a scene in Boston, NY, which is another small town close to Springville. This made the piece have a significant impact on me, creating a sense of homesickness. 

Artworks I felt a connection with:

1) Thomas Mickell Burnham, The Port of Buffalo, oil on canvas, 1835

I connected with this piece because it is a depiction of what the city that I live in looked like before it was what it is today. The city served different purposes to the residents of that time and it's interesting to know that so many people living in the same place can have such different experiences. 

2) Charles E. Burchfield, Wild Sweet Peas in a Summer Rain, watercolor on paper, 1965

I felt a connection to this piece mostly for the title. The flower associated with my daughter Odessa's birth month is the sweet pea. I've always used "sweet pea" as a pet name for my daughter and the artwork is beautiful and made me think of her.

Artworks I would like to know more about:

1) Charles E. Burchfield, Song of the Telegraph, watercolor on joined paper mounted on board, 1917-52

I would like to know more about this piece because I feel that it has a type of psychedelic quality to it that makes it intriguing to look at but also gives me an eerie feeling. I also think it stood out as an atypical work when compared with Burchfield's other pieces which were mostly portrayals of landscapes and natural beauty. 

2) Donald Whitney Burns, Bethlehem Steel, oil on canvas, 1935

I think it would be interesting to know more about the background of this piece of art. Bethlehem Steel was a very important manufacturing plant that supplied jobs to a large number of residents in the area. Its eventual demise was a reflection of the direction in which the American economy was headed. 


How Art Made the World Part 1: More Human Than Human

1) The most interesting section of the video to me was the experiment done with seagulls. Even when presented with a stick with three red lines, which does not bear any resemblance to their mother's beak, the babies were still attracted to it. It shows that we are stimulated by overly exaggerated representations. 

2) The world is dominated by images of the body which are unrealistic because artists choose to emphasize features of the body which are important to the context of time and culture. For example, to the nomadic peoples who created the Venus of Willendorf, being fertile and fuller-figured was a sign of being able to reproduce and obtain food which were the main objectives of their lives.