National Museum of Women Art's

When I was walking towards the museum, I was very unsure what to expect. The museum itself was a beautiful building with very tasteful decorations that were not over powering the pieces of art. The contrast between the beige walls and the pieces allowed the artwork to shine and be the focal points of the exhibit. The context of these pieces of art had lights beaming on the art to highlight the colors and depth of the artwork.

I first walked two the temporary exhibit was “A World Apart”, one of U.S. exhibition that focused on Anna Ancher and her exploration and role as the only professional woman artist within the Danish colony. This exhibit reminds me of the idea of Amish country that was mixed with the Victorian Era clothing. The colors used in majority of the art were light pastels in fields, very much in setting with nature. There were a few darker pieces in the exhibit, which were on a darker wall; using more blacks and browns. Looking through the exhibit, I chose the painting “Wait for Me” painted by PS Kroyer which is used in this painting of two little children running into the water naked. PS Kroyer uses some of Anna Ancher’s elements such as the aspects of lighting and color the work in the museum. The concepts are used in this painting of two little children running into the water naked. It illustrates Anchers influence of natural and realism on Kroyer’s work. It portrays the idea of innocence, easily achieved bliss, as well as enjoyment of life. It is a very light, simple painting which is a technique that Ancher loved to use. It also portrays the innocence in light with sexuality through this subtle childish expression.

The permanent exhibition was definitely the area I enjoyed more. It was many random, exotic pieces that encompassed a lot of creativity with its structure and presentation. The piece in the permanent exhibit I found very unique and eye-catching piece called Untitled #781 by Petah Coyne.  It is this structure of a classical dress that has a ballerina feel for it but with an edgy, rare material formation made of wax, plastic, cloth, and steel. Its femininity is very observable but it has a funky effect with clumps of wax creating a greater three-dimensional concept. The description does not really add much to the display of this but the lighting highlights the unique texture and dimensions of the dress. On the museum website I read that this piece, “it reflects how Coyne imagined womanhood as a girl: beautiful and extravagantly festive, like ‘floating on air’”. This Rocco style piece really was inspiring to step out of the box of the standard perceptions of feminism.

For the third piece, I chose the one when I walked into the exhibit it stuck out to me. It was a very light photograph called “Michelle Jacuzzi” by Daniela Rossell that was found in the permanent exhibit. The picture was pretty much all white and had a background of a city skyline in the background with a girl who looked like Emily Van Camp sitting in the middle of it all from a view up top.  It was comparing the social classes of Mexico through photography by the subtlest contrasts.  It was very different to the piece in the A World Apart exhibit; “Wait for Me”. Although it compared the idea of light, that is the two pieces of art’s only similarity.  Kroyer’s piece has an idea of fun, happiness, and life while the photo, “Michelle Jacuzzi” describes in a very subtle way the huge gap between the rich and poor social class in Mexico. It displays the very small minority in Mexico the ultra rich. “Michelle Jacuzzi” describes in a very subtle way the huge gap between the rich and poor social class in Mexico. It seems like a simple piece of photography displaying the foreground and background in a very dramatic sense but there was much more depth to. It displays the very small minority in Mexico the ultra rich but honestly by looking at this picture I didn’t even think anything about social class, as well economic status. It has the idea of a landscape picture of Mexico City. If I never read the plaque, I would not have grasped the context of the picture. 

Going to the museum, I was able to understand and see many more paintings in a completely different way. There was many more things to consider while looking at it in person such as presentation, the description next to it, the lighting, its surrounding paintings. It was a very enjoyable experience and I was pleasantly surprised that I was very intrigued by the pieces of art and the stories behind them.  You can see more of the details in real life than on the power point. There was more freedom and choice in the museum while in the classroom it is much more structured.