This paper is a reflection on an art piece that I analyzed at the brooklyn museum which was

showcased at The Connecting Culture: A World in Brooklyn exhibit. The art piece that I personally
chose is called Standing Man and Standing Woman with Hat by Michaelangelo Pistoletto. In this
reflection essay I try to put myself in the artist's perspective in order to understand/intepret this piece.
I chose the Brooklyn museum of all the other museums because it is the closest to my house and
also because I'm bad with directions. I thought maybe if I get lost, I might as well do it in the area that
I grew up in. As I walked in the museum, I wasn't really sure as to which exhibit to check out because
there were so many and they were all on different floors. The reason why I chose the Connecting
Cultures: A World in Brooklyn is because I had a feeling the art pieces would fit the criteria of the
assignment. As I viewed the exhibit I saw that art is something that is constantly evolving, but one art
piece that really stood out to me over the others was Standing Man, Woman Standing with Hat by
Michaelangelo Pistoletto. I honestly thought I was going to write about a piece that I didn't like, but I
was surprised when I walked out with a piece I actually enjoyed. It's a lot easier to write about pieces
that you enjoy so I guess it is a good thing this piece caught my eye.
One thing to note is that this isn't my first time in a museum, but it is my first time actually
observing the works. The other times I went to a museum, I would just look at the art pieecs and be like
' Ok, cool' or ' Ok, boring' and move on to the next work. However this time I am observing the the
colors, shapes, and other elements used in the art pieces and trying to understand how those elements
make me like or dislike a piece. Of course without this assignment, I wouldn't have the slightest
thought of going to a museum again because the internet let's me view these works if I want to.
However, I did notice it is truly a different experience looking at it in person compared to viewing it
from your computer screen. This is especially true for art pieces that are bigger than you, as well as art
pieces that may require your interaction. Looking at my 'selfie' with the Standing Man and Standing
Woman with Hat it does not give the same vibe I felt when I was at the exhibit in person.

The art piece Standing Man, Woman Standing with Hat by Michaelangelo Pistoletto was
created in 1980. In terms of phyiscal featurees the piece is maybe ten ft in height and around 10 ft in
length covering a whole wall . The majority of the art piece consists of a mirror with a man and a
woman wearing clothing around the 50's 60's and is silkscreened on the sides of the mirror. What
makes this piece so unique compared to other artworks is the reflective element of this piece with a
woman and a man facing towards the elements that are being reflected. It was very interesting because
this means that the elements of the piece vary depending on what is in front of the mirror.
Due to the reflective elements, this art piece gave me the impression that I was being judged by
the woman and the man in the piece because of the way they stare at the reflective element. I think this
is due to the monochrome black and white print of the man and woman as well as their 60's 50's
vintage clothing. It felt like they were judging or observing me from a different dimension or time
frame. Another reason why it felt like the woman and the man in the piece was judging the reflective
element was because the woman had her hands on her hips giving the really? kind of impression.
While the man's impression was sort of like get a load of this guy. When we view art , we are the
ones who judges and analyzes , but in this art piece it felt like the art was doing that to us (the viewers)
as well. In a way I feel this is Pistoletto's way of making us feel the way he feels when people look at
his art. Or maybe even give us a perspective from the eyes of the art piece itself to make us empathize
what it's like to just be stared down by people. Of course it is difficult to really know the feeling of the
art piece or the artist who made the piece since it varies depending on the negativity or the positivity it
gets. However, the theme of judgement is very clear and I am sure the art piece is telling us How does
it feel to be judged?.
A question I have for the artist is if my analysis of this piece is actually what the artist himself
intended. I would also ask what influenced him to creat something so simple and minimalistic because
when I create art I feel the need or the urge to create something that challenges me. It might sound
rude, but I don't mean it in a way that questions the skill of the artist. I feel the artwork wasn't

necessarily hard to make , but the creativity is definitely there and the message/idea is definitely there.
In a way the minimalistic element that might question the artist's skills helped this piece get the
idea/message across loud and clear.
This piece did not receive as much attention compared to other artworks. Ths might be because
people didn't view the work the way I did. It seems when it comes to art nowadays people are quick to
jump on the wagon of who is the most popular or talked about. Meaning, it just seems like a popularity
or fame contet. For me what attracted me to this piece was the idea/message of this piece. Which is
having something like an art piece judge or observe you. It was also because I didn't really find any
other artwork in this exhibit interesting at all. When looking at other pieces the idea / message of other
artists were not very clear, so it is understandable why I chose this piece. Whereas the other pieces in
this exhibit I wasn't really sure what the other artists were trying to tell me or express. It was also in a
weird place , I definitely would have missed it if I found the other art works around it more interesting,
but because the other works didn't really interest me due to them being mainly sculptures and some sort
of tribal art, I guess this art piece really drew me in, Also the reflective element of this piece definitely
caught my eye because I was wondering why the wall was reflective, but then I realized it was an
artwork. I also think it might not have been popular because different people have different views on
art. When I was at the exhibit the things that attracted attention the most was pieces that were sculpted
or had a lot of color in them.
Standing Man, Woman Standing with Hat by Michaelangelo Pistoletto was a unique
experience. With it's mirror that covers the wall with a man and a woman screen printed on it,
Michaelangelo give us this sensation of how being judged or observed feels like. You might think you
know what it feels like to be judged or observed, but when you stand in front of this art piece it's
different experience because it isn't a human doing it, but an art work. It wasn't the most popular, but I
think people should go check it out because many people can enjoy this piece. I mean what other art
piece lets you be part of the work? Having this reflective element allows the art piece to constantly

evolve with it's surrounding rather than just depict the same imagery every time. Despite having an
element that can vary depending on it's surround, the message / idea of I am judging/observing you
aren't altered by it due to it's minimalistic element of a mirror and screen print of a man and woman. A
truly under rated pieces that should be checked out.
After going to the museum, I researched Michelangelo Pistoletto in order to go deeper my
analysis. I looked at mainly The New York Times for my outside source because I nkkow they have a
lot of art critiques and also because the source is freee. Also, I would like to point out htat the textbook
mentions other artists of Arte Povera, but no the one I chose
According to Robert A. Smith an art critique for The New Yortk Times, " Pistoletto is an Italian
artist who learned art through his father who himself created art as well as restore them. One thing to
note is that pistoletto is not only known for his mirror paintings , but his sculptures as well. Since, the
piece I chose was a mirror painting, I will focus on his mirror paintings.
According to Rober A Smith an art critique for the New York Times, [Pistoletto] is known for
his Photo Realist mirror paintings and for helping to lay the corner stone of Arte Povera(Nytimes).
The art style Arte Povera literally means poor art in Italian and it is an art style where artists would find
objects and paint on these objects rather than buying materials for their pieces. In the case of
Michelangelo Pistoletto he would use mirrors and paint on top of the mirror rather than going to the
store and buying a canvas. Being Italian I can see how Arte Povera influenced his artistic vision.
I could see hwo Pistoletto was heavily influenced by dadaism because he is using mirrors
(common object) in order to create this piece. It is also a piece where the idea or the message of the
piece outwieghs the visual aestheticness of the piece. Another thing to add is that Mr. Pistoletto wanted
to give his mirror paintings as much objectivity as possible, so every element you see in the piece
revolves around that idea. I tisn't dispelasing to the eyes but I could definitely see how one might
negatively criue it saying . They wouldn't be able to convey the message that Pistoletto is sending with
his mirrors. The subject matter is dadaism because he is using mirrors (common object) in order to

create this piece. It is also a piece where the idea or the message of the piece outweighs the visual
aestheticness of the piece. Another thing to add is that Mr. Pistoletto wanted to give his mirror paintings
as much objectivity as possible, so every element you see in the piece revovles around that idea. It isn't
displeaasing to the eyes but I could definitely see how one might negatively critique it saying I can do
that! and although that might be true, I think they wouldn't be able to convey the message that
Pistoletto is sending with his mirrors.
The backstory of this piece is that Pistoletto wanted to work with reflective materials to give his
art work objectivity. He is known to experiment with other reflective materials like aluminum and
stainless steel, but ended up working with mirrors to give it maximum objectivity. It is also important
to add that prior to silkscreening his people in the mirror, he was known to personally draw the people.
The way he did this was by tracing the people contour of the subjects rather than hand draw them.
However because he was going for maximum objectivity he ended up going with photography for his
mirror paintings.
Other artists that were popular around this era is Yves Klein and Jean Tinguely. I think they sort
of influenced him in a way because he does something similar to what they did which is getting ready
made objects and putting them in in his artwork. I am not sure why the Italian called it arte povera and
the United States Nuevo realismo. This might be due to the fact that the European artists were still
focusing on human figures rather than abstract expressionism. So because the artists in Europe were
more focused on figures rather than abstract concepts, the naming might be different even though their
art process was very similar.

During the 1950's to 1980's the popular art movement at this time was nuevo realismo. Which is
an art movement that was influenced by dadaism where they used ready made objects to make their art.
Conceptualism is where people were doing things that weren't doing you
Some of my original questions is what encouraged him to create something so simple. It says on

his biography that he knows how to paint, yet he would use materials that are ready made for him. I
noticed a lot of artists would do this for stylization. It does seem like the more realism we get into the
more stylization we lose, for instance when we look at Picasso's hyper realistic paintings no one can
really tell that it was Picasso's artwork without being told that it was Picasso or without seeing the I.D.
of the artwork. A lot of artists seems to understand that that what they are doing will generally be
viewed negatively by the public, but they do it to give it their signature. We see this when Picasso and
Braque was not singing their name out during the pinnacle of their analytic cubism. This proves the
importance of an artis's styliation in their artwork because if I was shown Pistoletto's mirror paintings
again, I would defintiely would have no issues identifying the artist.
Looking at Pistoletto's biography, he obvtained most of his art training from his father who was
a painter and an art restorer. He went to school and eventered contests, but he didn't gain popularity
until he got his show at Galleria Galatea. Once again it is understandable why he wouldn't get as much
attention because in terms of skills, his mirror paintings probably doesn't show it. it isn't the most
visually astounding piece either . On top of that a lot of hisartworks are ready made so it adds on to his
unpopularity. But, reading his biography

Some of my original questions is why he would create something simple. It says on his
biography that he knows how to paint, yet he would use materials that are ready made for him. I
noticed a lot of artists would do this for stylization. It does seem like the more realism we get into the
more stylization we lose, for instance when we look at picasso's hyper realistic paintings no one can
really tell that it was picasso's artwork without being told that it was picasso or wthout seeing the I d of
the artwork. I think a lot of artists understand that what they are doing will generally be veiewed
negatively by the public , but they do it to give it their signature. I think artworks like this shows that
an artist leaving their imprint through their artwork is more important to them because if I was shown

Pistoletto's mirror paintings again, I can definitely recognize it and say hey that's pistoletto.
Looking at Pistoletto's biography he really didn't get much attention until around. Again I could
see why he wouldn't get as much attention because it isn't the most visually astounding piece. On top of
that a lot of his artworks is ready made so it adds on to his unpopularity. But, reading his biography a
lot of his artworks are a very psychological experience. Comapred to This is probably the main reasons
why I might have enjoyed it so much and reading Pistoletto's

Works Cited
Textbook
Nytimes
Artist siteb

Professor Pierre
Art 3600
Modern Art
Dong Won

Who is really doing the judging ?