Private Moments Exhibition
The theme for my exhibition is Private Moments. I chose this theme because I saw in the paintings that were selected to me a small glimpse into personal lives. My painting selections are all unique in design and how they are made. Some are done with oil, while other pieces are sculpted out of clay. Each of the artists assigned to me were able to capture moments that showed the character and personality of their subjects. Some of the pieces have multiple people in the artwork, but they all have a person that is the main focus. Some of the pieces are portraits done of the subject who paid the artist to make them. Other pieces are of subjects who the artists felt compelled to create or represent. Artwork that gives a glimpse into someone else’s lives can be powerful and beautiful. It can help the audience relate to the artwork much deeper than something that is non-representational. I feel that artwork that can tell a story or show someone’s feelings can make help an audience create an emotional bond with that piece. I want my exhibition to create a story and encourage the audience to want these pieces in their homes. I want the audience to feel like they could know the people in these artworks, whether the subject is themself, their neighbor, or their best friend. What is so interesting about this exhibition is its ability to showcase a variety of cultures and subjects while still representing a private moment in someone’s life. For example, Comte de Vergennes, is a portrait of a French ambassador for Turkey, where The Harem is a painting of a woman dressed in Algerian clothing. Both of these pieces represent four cultures. They represent the cultures that they were born in, and then the cultures that they are fond of and wish to represent. These different cultures can help people all around the world relate more deeply to the different pieces in these exhibits. This world is filled with so many different cultures, which are mixing and colliding every day. These pieces that show a mixture of cultures can help those people with multiple different ethnicities feel like they can relate and belong easier.
A private moment can mean a variety of things. In this exhibit, many different types of private moments are showcased. Some of these private moments are portraits. These portraits are interesting because they showcase how the subject wanted to be seen in that moment. For example, The Portrait of Emile Zola was painted of him at his study where he worked. Emile was surrounded by Japanese works and has a book open as well as more papers and books on his desk. Emile wanted to represent himself a certain way and he set up his background to reflect that image. Emile’s use of Japanese works showed that he was cultured and relevant. It showed that Emile was more knowledgeable of worldly affairs. Emile surrounded himself with books because he wanted to be seen as an intellect. He wanted others to see him at his desk and studying all day. Whether this was true that Emile studied all day or not does not matter, because for decades to come that is what the world will think of him because of his surroundings in the portrait. This is a great example of a private moment because we are getting a view of the private thoughts and feelings going on in Emile’s life. We can assume he needs and wants based on how he represented himself in this portrait.
Art Mediums in Private Moments Exhibition
This exhibition displays many different kinds of art mediums involving painting techniques and sculpture. Most of the paintings selected for me were done with oil painting on canvas. It is the way these artists used the paint that makes these canvases come to life and make them especially unique to the artist. Fujishima Takeji is a very interesting Japanese artist because he uses more traditional western style painting which was uncommon for a Japanese artist. He uses the western realistic brush strokes and shading. His Japanese artistic style is still shown however throw his placement of the subject and the story he is portraying. Having the woman facing the left while holding a simple flower is beautiful and simplistic. It shows how the artist wanted to show that the woman could be beautiful without need for an interesting face perspective. He shows care in the colors he chooses for her to wear and the patterns he puts on her clothing and headpiece. Another art medium represented in this exhibit is the London Tea Merchant. This is a sculpture done of Thomas Todd. It shows a simple man dressed in traditional clothing. What is great about the sculpture is it’s small details in making the representation as close to the real Thomas Todd as possible. The statue is small making it difficult for the artist to get extreme details, but it is impressive nonetheless in the accuracy of the colors and features. These are both great representations of the artist’s different perspectives and different use of art.
Cross-Culturalism in Private Moments Exhibition
This exhibition displays a variety of different cultures in its works. This is important because most of the time, a person’s identity comes from their culture. In some of these pieces, a person’s awareness of other cultures and their use of other culture’s items can make them more relevant to their society. When travel was not easy and people didn’t know a lot about the many cultures around the world, having some knowledge or some possession from those cultures made you seem very high status and intellectual during those times. For example, The Harem, represents a Parisian woman in Algerian garbs. This Harem’s status goes up immensely because she is wearing another cultures clothing. It shows that she is in style and can afford luxuries such as foreign clothing. These different cultures’ clothing was seen as exotic and beautiful. It made people excited to learn about the other cultures and find out more about their fashion and artwork. This can be seen in The Portrait of Emile Zola as well. Emile is not wearing Japanese clothing, but he is advertising that he is knowledgeable of Japanese culture by the artwork in the background and the Japanese folding screen to his left. Emile looks more intellectual and more relevant because he has these pieces in his home. Anyone that was anyone at the time had some sort of Japanese piece in their home whether it was porcelain, a folding screen, or artwork. This is how cross-culture is important to this exhibition.
