Wallace Collection

1. Labels. Wallace Collection

Share your thoughts on the identification of paintings within the Wallace Collection. Do the titles and artist names feel more integrated with the art when engraved/painted upon frames? Do you prefer object labels (separate labels outside of frames)? What feels appropriate for this collection?

            I thought the way that the Wallace Collection labeled their art was incredibly fitting and appropriate for this type of collection. This collection seemed to be more elegant, ornamented and aesthetic so by having the artists names and titles of the paintings engraved within the framing rather than just a simple and unadorned text panel really worked well for this type of museum. Many times I do enjoy and expect text panels since I haven’t been much of an art lover and understand art work better when it is explained to me, but in the Wallace Collection case, I’m very happy there weren’t text panels. It didn’t need explaining and it felt like more of a home-like atmosphere with the paintings just hanging on the wall to decorate your house.

 2. Object of Appreciation. Wallace Collection

What object captivates your attention and why?

            Jan Fyt’s Still Life With A Page picture really captivated my attention and is no doubt a piece I would like to see again. I would also love to know more about Fyt because all of his paintings seem to be very different and interesting having to do with random animals put together. This caught my attention because of how weird it is in all honestly. It’s a table with the most random objects put together like a lobster, a monkey, a dog or cat, a lot of fruit, birds and many other things that I couldn’t even pick out myself. I haven’t seen a painting this randomly put together and I thought it was incredibly intriguing. I want to know what went through his mind to put together a painting like this one.

3. Object of Excessive details/ornamentation Wallace Collection

What object either intrigues or disgusts you based upon ornamentation (ornate or lavish detailing)

            There were many objects that intrigued and disgusted me but if I had to pick one I would pick the Pair of Ewers porcelain vases. I just thought these were incredibly over ornamented. I don’t see it necessary to put a million little “ewers” or flowers covering the entire vase. I think it could have the same, if not way better, beauty and aestheticism if there were a few flowers placed strategically on the vase and a more simple or less elaborate handle. I just don’t like things that are this showy and embellished, I prefer a lot more simple pieces that aren’t overwhelming.

4. Favorite Museum

Please tell me your favorite Museum experience and why?

            I find this to be an incredibly hard question because I really did enjoy all of our museum experiences but if I had to pick one I would say the Saatchi Gallery. I just thought these exhibits were absolutely amazing and definitely unlike anything I have seen before. They were so different, amusing and a breath of fresh air. This museum had such diversity and I wouldn’t have been able to classify this museum in one category like I could potentially do for many of the other museums. Additionally, this was my favorite museum experience because this was the only museum where I would stand in an exhibit with friends and speak about each piece individually and what we thought the piece represented. We were able to bounce ideas off of each other and laugh at what I thought something was or how my friends interpreted a piece.

5. Museum Interest

Do you have a greater interest in visiting Museums after taking this course? Were you previously intimated by art? Do you have a greater interest in museum branding / design (logos, labels, mapping, graphics)?

            Being honest, I really wasn’t looking forward to this class. I didn’t want to visit a new museum every single week, analyze paintings or logos, answer questions about the museum or really do anything related to museums. I have never been a museum lover because I tend to get bored and very ancy. But now, I can tell you in all honestly that I absolutely have a huge interest in visiting museums and have a way larger appreciation for art. Like I’ve said earlier, I have never been one interested in art so of course I was intimidated by it because I always felt like an idiot when I couldn’t appreciate the art or understand what the artist was trying to show us. I know understand that I don’t need to know a lot about art to enjoy and appreciate it. I can just go to a museum and look at the art and appreciate it for what it’s worth. And now, through this course I have learned that there will always be at least one or two things in a museum that will interest me and make me think. I know that when I go back to the states I will be visiting more museums that I have in the past, no doubt.

6. Any additional comments

Feel free to share any additional comments...

            I just want to say how much I really have enjoyed this class and how much I have learned about art and branding. I never thought I would be taking a class like this but couldn’t be happier that I did. So I just want to thank you so much for allowing me to have the opportunity to visit all of these museums and have a different experience tha

Design Museum

Brit Insurance Design Awards: Your Vote

Which design would you honor for innovation in the following categories:

(list the object title and provide a two sentence response for the innovative selection)

Architecture: Origin Part 1: Join

            This piece of architecture really caught my eye. This piece is 3 space dividers made out of Japanese wood, each piece being two linear frames. The reason why this caught my eye is because of how intricate the design looked. There are so many pieces of wood crossed over each other, parallel to each other and then all of the three uniquely created dividers were put together. I also really was interested in the idea that this piece of work represented integrity, was handcrafted, and barely any glue or tools were used to make this piece. It must have taken a lot of work, concentration and preciseness which makes this piece even more fascinating.

Furniture: The Solo Bench

            This piece was definitely one of my favorite in the entire gallery. I have always really enjoyed nature and Domingos Totora loved nature as well. This bench is made out of recycled cardboard. I was touched by this piece because so many businesses would just discard all of their cardboard and Totora found a way to put that recycled rubbish to use. I many times take things like that for granted where either I don’t recycle or I waste paper and other such materials that could come into great use. I was inspired by his use of everyday objects to make beautiful pieces of work.

Transport: Ohne Titel Spring/Summer ‘11

            I am obsessed with these shoes. If I could transport myself around the city and world with these shoes I would be honored. They were designed by Flora Gill and Alexa Adams and were inspired by a Japanese artist. All of the different bright colors used are captivating and the modernized/futuristic look of the shoes is compelling. I feel in love at first sight.

Graphics: Reactable Mobile

            Designed by Reactable Systems, I see this instrument as incredibly tempting. Although I’m sure it is more expensive than a guitar or drum set, it is so mobile and transportable. You would be able to bring it everywhere and anywhere that you go. It would just be easier for DJ’s to use because they wouldn’t have to bring their entire music set but yet they could just bring this one object. I also think that this would give want-to-be DJers an opportunity to try out their skills on their own time rather than being embarrassed with others hearing them. And they would be able to practice 24/7 hopefully allowing them to become famous one day with their incredible skills.

Describe your impressions of the exhibition. Is the work of Wim Crouwel too minimal? Do you prefer graphics with more visual elements? What adjectives describe the exhibition? 

            Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this exhibit. When I first walked in I was completely confused and uninterested in this exhibit, but once I walked around and read the text palates I was able to appreciate this exhibit for what it was. I’ll have to admit, Crouwel’s work was a bit minimal and simplistic but because of the amount of information the exhibit provided me with, I was eventually able to respect the exhibit. On the other hand, usually I do prefer graphics with more visual elements but for some reason after seeing this exhibit, I didn’t care. This was something like I had never seen before and I really enjoyed it.

            Three adjectives that I would use to describe this exhibition are educational, attractive and simple. Although simple may be on the complete opposite side of the spectrum, I think that the exhibit contained all of this and more. Like I said earlier, this exhibit was educational because of all of the text it provided us with. I didn’t know anything about Crouwel before coming to this exhibit but once I left, I felt much more knowledgable because I learned something new about someone new. I see this exhibit as attractive because of the colorful posters lining the white walls with additional work mazing through the middle of the exhibit. Lastly, I find this exhibit simple because on the artwork there wasn’t much text or detail as well as there wasn’t much complexity to the layout of the exhibit.

What fine artist or artists (painting, drawing, sculpture, mixed media) come to mind when you look at the posters of Wim Crouwel. For instance do you see any resemblances to the shapes of Jackson Pollock? Do the colors of Mark Rothko emerge in the posters? Do the repeated shapes on the wall appear like a Donald Judd sculpture? Perhaps think of an artist you have discovered during this London journey. Or research an artist working during the same time period? 

            I see similarities between Crouwel and Donald Judd because of the simplistic and minimalistic styles of art they both use. As mentioned earlier, there wasn’t much complexity to Crouwel’s posters or calendars or other pieces of work, which I see as well in Judd’s work with very repetitive pieces and shapes on his artwork. Overall, I am starting to have a clearer and more open-mind to this sort of simplistic and minimalistic type of artwork.

Saatchi Gallery

This was absolutely my favorite museum we have visited so far. It was so unique and so different from any art I've seen before. I will definitely be going back to this museum.

Sightlines

Does this gallery enable various sightlines (lack of interruption or multiple vantage points) to engage new methods for viewing objects? Does this depart from other museum visits? 

This gallery absolutely enabled various sightlines which helped me view objects very differently from ever before. By having some objects and pieces of work in the middle of the room, on the floor and in the corners of the room while others were hung on the wall, I was able to walk around the objects and see every side and corner to the piece which allowed me to analyze the pieces to a greater extent. For example, the "up" and "down" pieces were by far my favorite and if they were hung on a wall I wouldn't have been able to feel the full effect of the piece. I liked how this was very different from all the other museums we have visited. It gets boring when the whole museum is just paintings and drawings hung on a wall. By having pieces in the middle and on the sides of the room, we are able to have more of an "interactive" experience, which makes my visits more intriguing.

Didactics

The galleries present minimal text in relation to the art. Is the text adequate? Do you desire more information –and if so –what information would you appreciate?

I feel torn on this question. I have never been one to analyze art or really have that creative of a mind to figure out what the artist was thinking while creating their pieces of art. So usually I desire more information than just the name. Many times I like to know the background of the artwork so maybe where they were when they did the painting, what were their influences, what was the artists background, etc. The Saatchi Gallery really only provided the name of the piece. So the reason why I am torn is because this artwork was so unique and so different than anything we've seen before and so in a way I really liked that they only gave us the name of the piece because then we were able to use our own minds and analyze the art in our own way, basically being "artists" ourselves, which could have been the intent of the artist. On the other hand, many times I had zero idea of what the art was and I became incredibly frustrated and would just walk right past the art not allowing myself to fully appreciate it for what it was. So overall, I was incredibly happy that we had a tour guide for the beginning of our class. She was so helpful because by her explaining the pieces of artwork that I would have never guessed what they were, I was really able to understand the piece of art and was able to spend more time at the piece examining it. Overall, if a museum isn't going to have an adequate amount of text to describe the pieces then I would prefer having a tour guide explaining some of the pieces.

Collection

Do you find the works on view more adventurous than museums? Or is some of the work questionable in craft, subject matter, and composition?

Absolutely. I thought the work in the Saatchi Gallery was incredibly diverse and multifaceted. Although I did feel violated and a bit uncomfortable by some of the work (the SPAM piece), overall I really enjoyed the pieces. I liked how the work wasn't from artists that everyone knows but rather they were new and up and coming artists who wanted to be seen. The gallery wasn't trying to compete with anything or anyone, the pieces weren't regarded as successful or popular. This gallery allowed me to open up my mind and reach into my creative side and figure out what these objects and pieces of art represented. I also liked (in relation to the first question) how differently organized this gallery was with some art being in the middle and on the sides of the room and others being hung on the walls. I also liked how it wasn't all paintings and drawings. Some were pictures, sculptures, collages, posters, etc. It was just a random assortment (or what seemed to be) of different types of art and it really made my brain's wheels turn.