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Cassie Gull

P:7
1/10/19

ART MUSEUM CRITIQUE

Use the following format for your museum critique; answers must be typed below the questions
and all questions must appear in full on your final copy. You can use this document as your
template. Pay careful attention to the required number of words for those questions that have
them. Failure to follow the instructions here and on your syllabus will result in a substantially low
grade. Minimal answers poorly written are a D grade or less. Elaboration of points, excellent
arguments, and good writing garner higher grades.

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Name ​Cassie Gull ​Class period/section ​7

1. 1)​Which museum did you visit? (check one) ✔ Univ. of Utah ___ BYU

1. 2)​Describe at least one of the permanent collection exhibits on a theme, period, geographic
region, or topic) within the museum. {150 words}

​One permanent collection is the Renaissance Collection. The renaissance is my


favorite artist time period along with Greek/Roman sculptures. But, what ​is ​the
Renaissance? It is the painting, sculpture and decorative arts of the period of European
history. This emerged as a distinct style in Italy in about the 14th century, and occurred
in philosophy, literature, music, and science. The Renaissance was created in the 14th to
17th century and is described as “The economic rebirth of the Middle Ages.” Since
Renaissance literally means “Rebirth”. This artistic movement has been a huge part of
European culture and still has a large following today. Some artists that work in this style
of art are Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Botticelli. These artists created famous
work such as The Mona Lisa, David, and The Birth of Venus and many more. This time
period and these artists have inspired many even to this day.

1. 3)​Give a brief, one paragraph description of a special, temporary exhibit (for help, ask
museum staff what these are; they are usually in one of the first rooms). {100 words}

​ here was a really beautiful and amazing exhibit called “salt:14”. These pieces have
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been created by an artist named Yang Yongliang. He is a Chinese photographer. This
exhibit is very simple with bright photos shining on the walls. Each of the photos/videos
show a landscape which looks like buildings as rocks holding trees and things of that
nature. They’re all black and white and stunning to look at. Yongliang is a contemporary
artist his goal for this exhibit is to show the impact of contemporary art and the diverse
artwork it brings. This is very inspiring to me since it’s something different in art, it’s
something that changes the way you view things.

4)​What do you think the museum administration and/or exhibit curators want you to learn or
gain from the exhibits you viewed? {100 word minimum}

​Once you enter the museum you feel very at peace. The artworks are spaced out
nicely and allows a lot of room to admire. I believe the museum and curators hope you
gain a sense of respect and awe for the pieces shown and see the amount of effort not
only the museum takes to maintain but the artwork maintenance as well. The art in the
UMFA is very beautiful and simple. It’s not a huge museum but each exhibit feels like
you’re in a new place. They also give out visitor guides which help you see where each
exhibit is. It’s really nice especially if you’re looking for specific types of art.

1. 5)​What kind of information is provided about the works? Where might you look for further
information if you were interested? (Name three possibilities)

​ he information about the artwork is located next to it on a white panel. This panel
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gives the artist, date, medium, and name of the piece. When seeking further information
you can talk to one of the exhibit directors, and they can let you know more information
about the time period and genre of art. The visitors guide that you can pick up for free
and the beginning of your museum trip, and finally, you can request a guide who will
walk with you to each exhibit and teach you about the artworks.

1. 6)​Choose several works that particularly appealed to you. Explain why you were drawn to
these works. Comment on the subject, style, medium, time period, etc. Who were the artists?
What message do you think the artists were trying to convey in the works you chose to discuss?
This question must be answered in its entirety. {This should be at least 500 words}

​ here were so many beautiful artworks in the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, it’s hard to
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choose just a few. One that I’ve always loved and always will is ‘Madonna and Child’.
This artwork was created by Filippo Lippi, an Italian artist from the 1400’s. I am drawn to
this piece for the same reasons as many others are, Madonna's face is gone. Now I can’t
say for sure that this wasn’t the artists intention but I assume it isn’t. The reason I don’t
believe the artist made this painting without Madonna’s face is because of the medium.
This piece was created with egg tempera. Egg tempera is a fast-drying painting medium,
consisting of colored pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually
glutinous material such as egg yolk. I believe Madonna’s face was painted in many layers
and became very thick, making the paint flake off much like the Mona Lisa’s famous
eyebrows. As I said before, this artist is Italian, where many Italians are Catholics. During
the Renaissance, Catholicism was huge and paintings of Madonna, others may know as
Mary, and her son Jesus were the main theme of this genre. Another artwork that I love is
‘Aphrodite With Eros on A Dolphin at her side’. This is not a painting or drawing, but a
sculpture. This sculpture was created in the Roman, Italy, Imperial Period in the 1st to
2nd century. I notice many things while looking at this sculpture, one being that she is
nude. Sculptures of women nude back in Ancient Greece and Rome were very
controversial. Usually the women would be kept with “wet drapery” which still showed
their breasts, but had a layer over them. Another aspect I noticed is she is without a
head, lower arms, or legs. The Roman’s would copy art styles from the Greeks and often
times, ruin the Greek sculptures. One thing I wondered while looking at this piece was,
“why is Eros on a dolphin?” Well, Eros (also known as Roman Cupid) is the Greek God of
Sensual Love. But why the dolphin? Dolphins are kind and loving mammals and have
always been known for saving people. The dolphins significance is showing the intellect
of air in harmony. I believe the artist was showing love and respect for Aphrodite and
Eros. This artist must’ve been trying to portray the comfort love brings by carving Eros
behind his mother’s leg while riding a dolphin. This shows the sense of love from each
individual. These two works are my absolute favorite from the Utah Museum of Fine Art
because they both display a story and it shows through the craftsmanship and the
attention to detail. Both of these artworks come from different times but connect so well
in beauty.

1. 7)​How did the artworks you looked at relate to material we have discussed in class? (They do
relate in many ways, you just need to look for those relationships). {Minimum of 150 words}

​ ne artwork that I saw and instantly thought of humanities and our most recent
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discussions is ‘The Whirlpool Naruto in Awa Province’ which has been painted by
Utagawa Hiroshige and as you can tell my the title, it connects with Japanese culture.
Lately we have been learning about Japanese culture and all of the hardships during the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This painting was created in 1853, the
bombings took place in 1945. This is in collections filled with Japanese art and reminded
me of the beauty of Japanese art right as I saw it. I thought of the movie “The Grave of
The Fireflies” and the animation was so simple and beautiful, just as this painting. There
was so many small details in this painting and in the movie. The chaos of the waves and
destruction that whirlpools can cause correlate with the bombings taking place in the
movie, as well as the deaths of the beloved characters.

1. 8)​What was your personal reaction to this experience? Would you enjoy attending this type of
event again? Why or why not? {Minimum 100 words}

​ t first I didn’t want to go, I love art museums but I am so busy with school and work
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that I was stressed about finding the time and I didn’t see why I needed to. Romi and I
decided to go together and we left school and hopped on trax. I was so excited once we
got there and after seeing the beauty of the pieces from different cultures, I realized why
we had been assigned this. This entire semester we have been learning about other
cultures, areas, and struggles and while visiting the UMFA, I could relate some of the
things we’ve learned to the art pieces, just as I stated above. I would definitely love
attending another art museum or film festival or anything of this nature again. I think it’s
a great experience especially for those who don’t use art as a gateway or a voice.

As always remember that I want to see reflective thinking on your part. Show me you are aware
of your limitations, your biases, etc. Show me that you are thinking about your own responses
and why you respond the way you do.

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