Museum Observation and Reflection

As I entered the Utah Museum of Fine Arts I noticed that the building itself was a work of art. As an interior design major, I was delighted with the perfect wood flooring; the high ceilings and the bold colored walls. Before making it to the art pieces on the second floor, I already felt like I was among true and creative beauty. With that being said the UMFA housed works of art ranging from ancient Egypt to modern day installation exhibits. At the moment the museum was showcasing pieces of art in all mediums pertaining to the Great Salt Lake, showcasing all of the highlights surrounding the lake. A map of the lake pointed out the location of the spiral jetty in conjunction to neighboring cities, which I found most interesting due to our recent class discussion on site-specific art. There were a large handful of other art pieces that struck my eye, mostly pieces from eras I am unfamiliar with and artists that are unknown to me. One piece of art that struck my eye was a two-piece silkscreen print by Victor Vasarely. Vasarely made the pieces, titled Markab and the other Betelgeuse, in 1957. The pieces are part of the Op art, which was a movement in the 1960s that prized optical illusions and the appearance of movement in a static image. The images use color in a way that strikes the eye. Contrasting colors like black and white helped the image to feel like it was pulsating as I

looked at it. Both images also used the element of shape and line. The dotted imagine had a lot of texture and imbalance, where the other imagine had strong vertical lines that made the image perfectly symmetrical and look as if it went on forever. I discovered I like the idea of geometric and clean lined artwork, perhaps because it seems obtainable to me. Like its something I could do myself, whether that is true or not. Artwork like this brings back memories of my childhood. Pictures within pictures always fascinated me, or paintings and drawings that served duel purposes. Another piece of art that struck my interest was a painting of a Utah landscape titled Springtime on Bear Mountain. This painting was done by L Maynard Dixon in 1930. Dixon was among the most important painters in the American West in the twentieth century. Line and mass are the two elements that I picked up on first in this painting. Horizontal mountain lines are strung across the canvas each building on top of one another to show the rolling mountain landscape. The large and massive mountain in the background has a striking contrast with the smaller cliffs in front that let the viewer see the depth of the landscape as well. The green and Blue and golden colors used in the painting could be a subliminal message toward the rich and vibrant farmland that is in abundance within Utah. This painting reminded me of the California valley that I grew up in, which is similar to the salt lake valley.

Sometimes when you can see yourself or something you can relate to in an image it helps to create a tighter more personal bond with the piece of work. The IMFA has a large selection of artwork from different cultures, one of the most beautiful being a stone sculpture from central India. The piece is titled Shiva with Parvati (Uma-Mahesvara) and was created in the 10th-11th century. Uma Mahesvara embodies the devine love of Shiva and Parvati, united in ideal marriage. The sculpture itself is a great example of mass. It is not necessarily to a large scale but the pure stone gives you an overwhelming feeling of its sheer size and strength. The beings within the image are not drawn to a realistic standard, (probably due to the fact that they were gods), but looks idealistic. The sculpture has a beautiful balance to it, Shiva is more or less framed with detail giving the piece a very symmetric look. The Stone that was used (The specific kind of stone was not stated) has a lot of texture and lines running through it giving the whole piece a natural and rustic feel. I felt as if there were formal elements at play within the building itself. A lot of the art pieces seemed to come to life or have exaggerated detail due to the lighting within the rooms they were placed. An oil painting of the Great Salt Lake that I came across within the new exhibit seemed to glisten in the moonlight from the overhead lights that were strung around the room. The museum did a wonderful job of showcasing the works within it to their full

potential. Salt Lake City is blessed to have such available, well-presented and eclectic works of art right at our fingertips. Having a small understanding of the formal elements of art helped me to look at the art from a different point of view than just seeing something pretty or appealing. I felt like I could break down a work and explain to myself why I was drawn to it and for what reasons.