Night at the Museum

Oftentimes, when I think of a museum I think about dinosaur fossils, and looking at ancient artifacts that the Mayans and Aztecs would use as that is what I have become conformed to. Nonetheless, seeing artifacts that I had just seen online finally come to reality left me in a state of awe. Older technology such as the television with antennas, the record player, and the boombox left me to think about how life used to be. How the style has changed over the years, yet many things we utilize just in a more modern form. It reminds me of the connection we continue to have to our past, so I would recommend other people to visit all different kinds of museums.

I like seeing the ocean and the waves and the way that the light reflected off the waves and it collided with the sunset in the sky. It painted a picture of freedom, the ability to look out into the abyss and just dream.

The artist is Harmonia Rosales and the painting is called Ori (2022). When I saw this painting I felt an immense breath of femininity and empowerment. The flowers around the woman (in her most vulnerable naked state) are delicate, yet she is cupping them with somewhat of a grip. It felt like the flowers were screaming out at me, but in a divine and peaceful way. I overall felt immense harmony and thought that her laying down on multiple decorated circle surfaces was beautiful. According to the description, they symbolized the cycles of individual existence, which further reinforces my feelings of “the now.” At the moment, just me and the painting.

The piece that I saw today at the museum really made me think about life because the character depicted really seem to be enjoying the most wonderful moments of life as being surrounded with beautiful flowers and in a pose that’s not very natural or normal. It really shows how life is so meaningful and how something so small can mean so much. This piece has a focal point of the woman in the middle and has a glass eyed lens around the woman which highlights the woman as the main part of the piece. This piece is very fascinating as it is abstract, as well as real at the same time which not a lot of other art pieces in the museum are which makes this piece very unique.

In the painting “Shepherdess resting” by Winslow Homer, a woman is portrayed resting on the grass as a sheep looks over in the distance. It wasn’t this particular piece that invoked an emotion in me but the entire section “a quiet place”. Personally I haven’t witnessed many painting portraying people resting until this experience. I have seen many paintings that bought a feeling of relaxation like images of mountains and greenery but I haven’t seen a person in a total state of relaxation. Also I really liked the quote by Cole auther Riley posted above which stated “Rest is not a reward in exchange for your exhaustion. You are worthy of it now”. That quote exemplified my feelings toward the painting “shepherdess resting”, I thought to myself, that she shouldn’t need a reason to lay in the grass and take care of herself.

One art that stood out to me was A Morning Snow-Hudson River by George Bellows. I was incredibly awed by the shading and dimension in the painting, even though majority of the painting is in one color. I was even more in awe because I could see the physical strokes of paint on the canvas.

The title of the artwork is Sunset at Sea by Thomas Moran. This work invoked strong feelings in me and was comforting. The light coming through the clouds above the murky and rocky sea creates this idea of optimism when things get hard and dark. Not only is it a beautiful painting but it is inspiring and able to capture what so many people go through in their lives. The idea that light and hope will come through is powerful, and the ability to capture that symbolically using nature is captivating. Nature and the sea can go through turbulent times but the sun will shine again, and the same is true for us and our lives.