Revisiting the Masters

Today, I made it a point to get to the Frist to revisit the Masters Exhibit they have going on. So, after watching Ash bond with his Corphish the only way he can in the Pokemon series (Seems all but his Taillow have gotten sick somehow or another in the series.), I hitched a ride with my mom and sister downtown. Little to my knowledge did I know they were going to the library.

In all honesty, I thought that what I missed of the exhibit was going to take me a while to complete. In reality, it only took me two hours. I feel kind of guilty at such a short visit. I want to blame the crowd traffic, but then again, I was stupid enough to go on a weekend yet again. You think I'd learn by now.

Anyway, I saw the rest of the exhibits and began to take notes and observe. People seemed to notice that I was the only one in the whole gallery doing this! One parent said to her child that they should have brought their notebook for school to do the same thing. You would think teachers from Elementary Art all the way up to my level would have put this exhibit on their core curriculums by now.

As I observed the use of color and took notes on some of the more interesting and appealing paintings to myself, I began to people watch. Anyone that knows me knows that this is a habit of pleasure I do. The social groups this time around were mostly families, unlike the last time where it was mostly people of obvious wealth. Of the families, there seem to be a lot of high school kids, all of whom looked like they could care less about the art they were looking at. As if they were in it for the extra credit and the "easy A" that they need to graduate the class.

Well, enough about the people. Let's talk about the paintings.

All the paintings in the gallery were very beautiful and evoked the same feeling as the last time. A sense of awe and humility for me as an artist. One in particular that I had a hard time taking notes on was Courbet's Rocks at Mouthier. Nothing I could write down could do it any justice. It was a painting that I missed the first time around thanks to van Gogh and Cezanne. I mean, I missed it completely! The moment I saw it, I felt something that was the closest thing I could determine to be some kind of ethereal bliss and security. The kind that would rival the Kingdom of God kind of bliss. The color, the texture of the paint, the light and dark contrast. All of it! Every element! The painting was so beautiful like nothing I have ever seen in my life! I ended up visiting it three times while I was there. If I had the money, I'd buy it away from Duncan Phillips. Where I would put it, I don't know. That kind of ambitious (and fool-hearty) move is best reserved for when I actually have some kind of wealth.

Like with most of the patrons in all those Tycoon games, I was pleased with the exhibit to the point where I wanted to buy something. I looked around the mock gift shop that was set up within the gallery. I had a budget of $15, and everything within my range were post cards and little trinkets of that sort. There was nothing that had Courbet's Rocks at Mouthier on it with the exception of the beyond the ISM book they were selling for $20. I ended up buying one of those flip cubes that had a different picture of an Impressionistic painting depending on how to flip the various panels of the cube. Something to decorate my future computer station if I ever get one. Because I'm a Watkin's student, I got a discount off of it. That's right, I didn't have to pay taxes on it and then some. One of the better benefits about being a college student in a specialty school.

I think it is best if I close this blog with something I feel I need to express.

While I was waiting for my ride, a man approached me. He saw me inside the exhibit taking notes and wanted to know what the reason was. Was it for class or was it personal? Was it because I am an artist? Why was I taking notes inside. I politely explained that it is a little bit of both. I am an artist, even if in training, and I was advised to go to the exhibit to learn about the style and color use for Color Fundamentals for a gallery review report. I was also told to go for Art History Survey 2 because of how we are about to approach the Impressionistic movement in the class. The man nodded confirming that I have answered his question. He then said something that made me pity him. He said that he went through the entire exhibit, audio guide and all, and didn't feel a thing.

I don't know what it is about people, but to hear that from someone old enough to be my father just made me sad. How can anyone not feel moved by some of the artwork in that gallery? These were original van Gogh paintings! Original Cezanne! Even a rare Picasso sculpture!! To go in to this exhibit and not feel anything should be a crime! Not only were these artist revolutionary artists, they are considered the masters of the art world. People that go into the art want to be just like them in both their revolutionary contributions to the field of art as well as the skill and craft to make a piece that would attract thousands of people to view them. Yet this sad man did not feel anything when he saw the pieces. He didn't feel the sense of awe knowing that he was looking at an original van Gogh. He didn't feel as if he was in the moment when looking at an original Monet. He didn't get that sense of whimsy from the Dufy they showed. Nothing.

Maybe I'm being over passionate, but I don't know how anyone can go into a gallery, a once in a lifetime chance no less, featuring some of the greatest names in the history of art and not feel something. It just doesn't make sense to me.