Visiting the BMA

Going to the BMA on Thursday during class was definitely a lot of fun. Although we didn't have as much time to see all the artwork that the museum has on display I got to look at some pretty awesome pieces. The assignment this week was to choose three works of art and to sketch them in our sketch book, find the focal point, composition, eye path, and to say what interested us about the work of art. Below will be the three works of art that I chose to study.

Rorschach
by Andy Warhol, 1984
The first piece I decided to sketch was Andy Warhol's Rorschach. I chose this painting because I've always had an interest in modern and contemporary art and I really admire Andy Warhol's work. I thought this painting was interesting about it's an ink blot, like the one's that they use during therapy sessions. I liked the idea of the ink blot because usually when psychiatrists show you an ink blot they ask you "What do you see?". This goes back to my point in a previous blog on how art perceived differently by everyone. Like the famous quote, "the beauty is in the eye of the beholder", well to someone they could see just squiggles but to someone else they may see a coat-hanger. And that's why I thought it was so cool because this painting has many meanings rather than just one.
While looking at this painting, I had some difficulty trying to find what the composition was. It's not completely symmetrical so it's not Rule of Thirds and there is no triangle or pyramid shape so it's not the Golden Rule. The more I looked at it the more I thought that maybe the composition could be Leading Lines because the ink circles on both sides of the painting and on the top and bottom could draw the viewer's eye towards the center of the painting which I deemed to be the focal point.

Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels
by Sandro Botticelli and Studio
The second piece I chose to look at was Sandro Botticelli and Studio's Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels. This piece really stuck out to me because it's placed in a circular frame rather than a rectangular one. Also, this piece is significant to me because religion is a big thing in my family, and this painting shows Mother Mary looking at baby Jesus which is a sacred moment. The composition of this piece is Leading Lines because they all lead to baby Jesus in the center of the piece. We can also argue that the composition is the Golden Rule between Mary, Jesus, and the five angels in the background.

Cup of Silver Ginger
by Georgia O'Keefe
The last piece that I went in depth on was Georgia O'Keefe's Cup of Silver Ginger. I chose one of her pieces because I have always really enjoyed Georgia O'Keefe's artwork. I like this piece because it's very feminine and delicate and it brings about signs of innocence with the white flower and how it's in bloom. Many art historians would argue that O'Keefe's paintings due to it's up close depiction of flowers would represent a women's vagina, which again, just adds to the fact that this piece is feminine and delicate and it's a lot more than just a flower. The focal point of this piece is the green center of the flower which it starts to bud out, and the composition is either L-shapes or Leading Lines. I had some difficulty trying to figure out the composition for this one because it can be argued for any form of composition.

Between the three pieces, I would have to rank Cup of Silver Ginger as first, Madonna Adoring the Child with Five Angels as second, and Rorschach as third in terms of interest level. I am just really interested in Georgia's artwork and I admire her as an artist.

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