ART MUSEUM CRITIQUE

Name: Amaya Petersen Class period/section:7th

1) Which museum did you visit? (check one) ŒUniv. of Utah ___BYU
2) Describe at least one of the permanent collection exhibits on a theme, period,
geographic region, or topic) within the museum. {150 words}
I chose to look at the Art of China for the permanent collection. What I noticed in it was
that all of the pieces had something to do with nature. For example, there were a bunch of
pottery showcased and 90% of them had flowers or fruits drawn onto them. Also when reading
the descriptions for the works, they somehow mentioned why nature was important to the
scene. There was a sculpture of Buddha and the description talked about how his hand was
resting in a certain position because he wanted the earth to call witness to him reaching
enlightenment. There was never a name of the artist, just the dynasty they came from.
All were created between the 16th through the 19th century and were either created from the
Qing or Ming dynasty, but I don't really know what that means. What I found most interesting
was the mediums that they choose to work on. Like stone, wood, and ink on silk. It gave a very
different perspective of how much patience the pieces took. I personally like when art is
depicted in different mediums, I am drawn towards them more than just ordinary paintings.

3) Give a brief, one paragraph description of a special, temporary exhibit (for help, ask
museum staff what these are; they are usually in one of the first rooms). {100 words}
I went to Katie Paterson’s salt 13 for the temporary exhibit. It was a small room with this
giant disco ball in the center of it with two lights pointed towards the ball from either sides of the
room. You walked in and walked around and around it. That was it. Even though I thought it was
really cool, I don’t really understand what it meant. The description said that it had to do with
walking around space but all it gave me was a migraine. It was cool to look at for a second but
then I was over it. Throughout the entire experience, I just really wished that I could fully
understand what I was experiencing. I think that if I did more research it could have been more
enjoyable time.

4) What do you think the museum administration and/or exhibit curators want you to learn
or gain from the exhibits you viewed? {100 word minimum}
On all of the description boxes, there was always a bullet point that asked you a
question. Usually, the questions led you to another part of the museum or they wanted you to
think more critically of a piece. I think that is what the curators want you to gain from the
experience, they want you to think about the pieces in a deeper way than just looking at the
pretty art. I also really liked when the little cards would have you go to another part of the
museum, because they really want you to see the similarities that works all across the world
share. Which is a really cool learning experience, because everything in this world is so
intertwined.

5) What kind of information is provided about the works? Where might you look for further
information if you were interested? (Name three possibilities)
The works for the most part had the name of its creator (or if there wasn’t a known one),
the name of the piece, what it was made from, where it came from and the time it was created,
and a little bit of information about the piece. If you wanted to look for further information you
could look it up on the internet, go to the library, or ask one of the workers there.

6) Choose several works that particularly appealed to you. Explain why you were drawn to
these works. Comment on the subject, style, medium, time period, etc. Who were the artists?
What message do you think the artists were trying to convey in the works you chose to discuss?
This question must be answered in its entirety. {This should be at least 500 words}
My favorite piece was called Snowy Mountains by Ku Ch’iao and it was created in 1691.
I was drawn to this piece in particular because it was just so big. It went from the ceiling to the
floor and was made from ink on silk. It was a monochromatic depiction of a mountain range in
China. The only color you got from the piece was with the little people in the mountain range. I
think that the artist was trying to show the relationship between nature and people. How we
bring life into what gives us life, mostly how we depend on each other. The detail was incredible,
you could tell it took a lot of time and patience. Another piece that really drew my attention was
from the Contemporary side by ​Helen Frankenthaler called ​Wizard. I was drawn towards it
because I literally had no idea what it was. I even looked it up and I still have no idea what it is
supposed to be. It is an abstract oil painting created in 1963 that looks like blobs of different
colors. The only message I think that the artist is trying to convey is that art doesn’t have to be
in one certain way. For the most part, when we think of art we think of paintings of extraordinary
people doing extraordinary things. But this is just a picture of color splotches, and yet it is still
beautiful. There was a work from ​Anna Campbell Bliss called Celebration that was huge. I was
drawn towards it for this reason, whenever I see a piece of work that is larger than normal I tend
to gravitate towards them. I think that when works are bigger they is more to look at. It is a
flawed philosophy but the bigger it is the more work it seems to take. Which is probably not true,
but whatever. Anyways, it was simply oil painted triangles of different colors on a room divider. It
was made in 1985 and is Contemporary. I think the message that she was trying to convey is
again this idea of what art is supposed to be. Something as simple as triangles on a room
divider can make a space super unique. Which I think is really cool with modern art, it focuses
more on this minimalistic ideal. I know that I have talked a lot about the Contemporary art, but I
just find it so fascinating. The entire exhibit was dedicated to women, and that is something that
is rare to see. Women have a major role in art and we are never represented. I thought that it
was brilliant of the UMFA to dedicate it all for women. I spent the most time in this part of the
museum, sure it is biased for me to like the portion so much because I am a woman but I am not
even ashamed. It is about time that women get proper representation is art, since we do play as
big of a role as men do.

7) How did the artworks you looked at relate to material we have discussed in class? (They
do relate in many ways, you just need to look for those relationships). {Minimum of 150 words}
I was standing in front of the Buddha sculpture for a good 15 minutes thinking of the
Dhammapada. It always blows me away to see the creator of something I love so much. Plus, it
is just so beautiful and I was overwhelmed with the fact that it was all because of him. I was
thinking about how important he is to many people in the world and that he just looked so
peaceful and quaint. I was looking into his eyes and I thought of the quote “Do not consider the
faults of others, or what they have or haven’t done. Consider rather, what you yourself have or
haven’t done.” I have this quote written in my journal so I see it every time I open it. It is a very
important thing to learn, because we live in a world where we blame everyone but ourselves. It
was a very surreal to be in the presence of him. It was a burst of emotion to realize that so much
greatest came from that man.

8) What was your personal reaction to this experience? Would you enjoy attending this type
of event again? Why or why not? {Minimum 100 words}
I personally have never been to an art museum before so it was a very new experience
for me. I took my mother with me because I thought it would be fun for her, it was more fun for
me to watch her stare at the art in confusion. I quite enjoyed it the whole thing. There were
pieces that would catch my eye because I already knew some information about them (like a
sculpture of Vishnu) and I got really excited because I wasn’t completely clueless. That was
what I was most afraid of, that I would walk around and not really understand what I was looking
at. However, I was surprised on how much I knew and was very impressed with myself!