Art Visit

My Art Visit took place on March 18, 2008. I traveled to the de Young Museum located in the heart of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. The location of this Museum is breath taking. It is surrounded by gardens and wonderful architectural structures. The building alone is quite new and modern, since the museum was re-opened in a new facility on October 15, 2005. However, the de Young was originally founded in 1895.

This experience was quite eye-opening, as are most art museum visits. I am lucky enough to have visited a variety of museums in the past, since I have always had a passion for art. Because of this passion, I have known of the difference between viewing art in person versus through a textbook or online. To stand before a canvas that is larger than life is awe-inspiring. It is nearly impossible to imagine the determination and hard work that the artist has put into the canvas to create such a masterpiece. Despite having viewed artwork in museums in Paris and London this past winter, my experience at the de Young was still new to me. Each museum brings with it a distinct feel. A unique collection of paintings set up in a specific manner to bring amazement to the eyes of each visitor. The de Young had a wide range of art forms. From paintings, large and small, to sculptures, stone and glass, there were many things to grasp my attention. The basic walls of the museum were white, as not to distract from the artwork being presented. This contrast made the boldest of paintings jump off the wall, rather than blend in to a colorful backdrop. Next to each piece of art was a small plaque that described the work presented before the viewer’s eyes. On the contrary, art that is presented in a textbook or online is rather small and usually surrounded by a large amount of words, which can be quite distracting. Pictures presented as replicas usually do not do the original piece justice. On the contrary, sometimes the popularity of a work can bring disappointment to the viewer upon seeing the actual artwork in person. This was my experience with the Mona Lisa last winter. All the hype had greatly increased my expectations, but as I stood before it, I was left disappointed. This goes to show that standing before an original art piece brings about a variety of emotions that a small replica simply does not. To view art in person is an amazing experience that should not be taken for granted or be replaced by a quick online tour.

Choosing a favorite work was quite difficult due to the variety of works to choose from. Several pieces caught my eye. For example, I can vividly remember a huge oil painting of a woman laying her head on her arm. She appeared to be in a sort of daydreaming state of mind and the artist emphasized this by using very light pastels to give the painting an almost cloudy effect. This painting was about 5 feet tall, but appeared almost photographic. There was no visible texture or lines as if to show where the strokes of the brush left color upon the canvas. This image was awesome, although I would not call it my favorite. Another work that caught my attention was in a room full of blown glass art forms. Right as I entered the room, the first thing I was a large bowl of fruit. These glass pieces were rather large, but appeared quite realistic in color, shape, and form. I was quite amazed, since I do not know the first thing about creating glass art forms. As you can see, the de Young holds a variety of amazing pieces of art. So, now we’re asked to choose just one? Quite difficult you see. However, I do remember one piece that I stood before for quite awhile, taking in the creativity, thought and time that were shown upon the canvas. This was not the typical piece that I would expect to see in a museum. The artists, William T. Wiley, Robert Hudson, and William Allan, called their piece “A Window on History by George.” It is a fairly recent piece, being created in 1993. The part that made this image like no other, was the variety of Medias and textures that came together to create on cohesive piece of art. These artists used pastel, contè crayon, charcoal, graphite, and acrylic on a single canvas. I had never seen anything like it in any other museum. Its uniqueness is what put it above the others. There were areas of black and white, from the graphite and charcoal, surrounded by vivid, bright colors. Captured in a single image were most of the terms we had learned about thus far in the class. This single canvas contained areas of representational, abstract, and non objective art. There were contour lines, outlines, vanishing points, overlapping, horizon lines, etc. The list could go on and on. I stood before this image in amazement. For each time I focused on a single area, I saw something new hidden in the canvas. It really was tons of different ideas, beautifully portrayed upon a single canvas. The thoughts and abilities of three men, organized into a single work of art. I still look at the photograph I took of the work and find new amazement in the wide range of ideas, focuses, and materials these men used. These facts alone, makes this a work of beauty like none other. For those reasons alone, I must say this goes down as my favorite work of art I viewed that day, and perhaps my favorite of all works I have seen in my life.

Overall, I would recommend a visit to the de Young museum to people of all ages. Everything about the museum displays the hard work of the individuals that make the museum what it is today, from the artists’ whose work is displayed to the architects who created the structure where these pieces call home. Everything about this museum is astounding. The landscape and building are works of art in themselves. I was blown away, especially since it was a warm, sunny day in San Francisco, which made the scene that much more wonderful. I would say that the more modern pieces definitely attracted me to them more than the older works. However, that has always been my preference when viewing art. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by my liking to the museum. After visiting museums in Europe this one still grasped my attention, maybe even more so than some I viewed overseas. The size was perfect; enough to give viewers a wide variety of works, while still refraining from becoming overwhelming. If you get the opportunity to spend a day in San Francisco, I would definitely recommend a trip to the de Young museum.