I stepped into the door and was transported throughout the ages starting in the 1400’s and soaring all the way to present day. It sounds like a time machine, but what I experienced was a public display of history throughout the world at the Denver Art Museum. Each level was symbolic of a specific time period portrayed as the various artists saw life at that time. The art displayed was a showcase to the community of Denver of the significant opinions of the artists throughout the ages. It presents the audience with a physical example of how opinions have either changed or remained the same over time. Much of the artwork inspired and spoke to the community on many relevant issues to any human being at any point in their life. The main ideas and concepts being portrayed throughout the museum included the importance of perception, our significance in the world, the development of complexity and the prominence of individuality in our society.
The artists in the museum express their opinions much in the same way as a public speaker does. Instead of vocalizing their thoughts they have displayed them physically to be passed on throughout generations. This way, their opinions can be preserved over time and interpreted by the audience on an individual basis. Many of the pieces expressed the varying angles that apiece can be interpreted as. That is why and how art can be so meaningful because it may take on a different meaning to each person and move people in various ways. It has the ability to persuade the community to take action in their everyday lives.
There was a section of the exhibit called ‘Floating Time.’ It was a portrayal of the similarity between art and time, both being human inventions. The exhibit was in a dark room with a section of the carpet displaying florescent, moving numbers. The artist was trying to project the idea of development. This modern piece of art reflected the transformation of the significance of time. In formative years, such as the art displayed around this exhibit, time was of no essence and life was a much simpler experience. There was a lot of art displayed that showed the simplicity of life before complex inventions. For example, there were countless paintings of native Indians in relaxing, derelict environments. When the white people were introduced the paintings began to generate the feelings of violence and living on the edge.
One level was dedicated to the lifestyle of Native Indians. It persuades the community of Denver to give equal rights to all races. It was a public display of the significant role they played in the development of this country. They had countless displays of the masks that Native Indians would wear to perform plays and have their own displays of rhetoric situations. Many of the masks and facial sculptures had more than one way to perceive them. For example, there was one that showed the image of a man, walrus and a caribou. This was another example of the different perceptions humans can have towards everyday objects. At the end of this level towards the elevator there was a final painting of what seemed to be a portrayal of everyone coming together, the first example of an American melting pot. It was a depiction of a group of people during the gold rush including men, women, Native Indians, children and even animals. This encourages the society of Denver to be accepting of differences and that in the end we should all have equal opportunities.
The most thought provoking and persuasive area for me was that of the European art. It was ironic because this level was when the art started to become depictions of narratives as opposed to having a symbolic nature. There were many paintings alluding to the emotional and physical relationship between a mother and her child. They all emphasized the untouchable bond and the omnipresence a mother has in her child’s upbringing. No fathers were ever included in the pictures, which alluded to the fact that they were absent during these times. In the portraits section in this area, artists intended to capture interactions between people and expose the body language of specific individuals. Children were portrayed as happy go lucky, while women were generally distressed and men were self-important.
In the places section it was said that all people see images of places in different ways. Our perception is based on previous exposure and experiences prior to the viewing of the artwork. It can be a pleasurable or painful experience based on our previous memories associated with an area representative of that a particular image. They were the most beautiful pictures in the museum and encourage the audience to preserve the beauty of the world as much as possible. After some of the landscape portraits there was a window showing the skyline of Denver, which was a possible reminder of the beauty we still see, everyday.
In conclusion, the Denver Art Museum rhetorical event persuades the community of Denver to live in the moment through visual displays of history. The audience saw how life has developed from the Renaissance, to the Tudors, to the Native Indians all the way up to present day. The opinions that have remained the same throughout time were reinforced in the modern art section. There were more pictures of endless landscapes highlighting on the insignificance of individuals in comparison to the entirety of the world. Things are not always what they appear to be and that is mostly due to the varying perceptions people have. The Denver Art Museum persuades the community of Denver to open up their eyes to the world around them and to what is really significant in the grand scheme of things.
No comments:
Post a Comment