What my brain sounds like at an art museum

In order to knock off a lot of pictures from my travel posts I've decided to talk about the art museums that I went to separately. Because I am obsessed with going to museums and art history and the like. So watch out- here come a million paintings, none by me, and what I think about them.
And although one of the things I get most excited about in museums is when I see famous artworks that I've learned about in classes- this is mostly going to be focused on a million new things I saw.
And we're starting at the North Carolina Art Museum
And it's the longest post ever- so feel free to just skim through and look at the pictures.

Guess what medium this is. Photography? Wrong. Oil on canvas. Wowsa. The guy's got the most talent with details that I've ever seen.

Ben Burns- Swamp Mallows

 There is something to be said of giant art- it takes over and creates a theme and a feeling for a room. Although this is a bunch of sticks put together- it feels so classy. I mean. Can't you tell by the business men standing around it?

This may have been one of my favorites. It's a collage of a bunch of things taken out of trash cans- like liquor bottle caps and gum wrappers. And they are all linked together as a sort of- even though we all live different lives, there are stories of people's whole lives that these pieces of junk have been a little part of. And then he links them all together. And it's huge.

El Anatsui- Lines that Link Humanity

 As I was reading descriptions of paintings and artists statements, a lot of them were influenced by this guy- and then I found one of his works and I can see why. Holy color and movement and just beauty through simplicity.

Gerhard Richter- Station

 Movement through the lines of a body- says it all. How could you ever expect this girl to be anything but a passionate dancer who shows emotion and art in one simple pose? You can't.

Alexamdar Archipenko- Blue Dancer

This painting I saw and my immediate thought was that if I was rich- I'd pay some serious money to have this in my house. The color- and such an elegant detailed gorgeous room with paint splotched on top of it as if to say- look! we the colors weren't always so intricate! We used to be simple- but look what we can do. Wow- I'm cheesy when it comes to art, but it really is something I just will go on for hours about if given the chance. So feel free to skip my personal descriptions if you're just here to enjoy the pictures.

Page H. Laughlin- Untitled (Mirror, Mirror)

 Definitely a statement about society and women getting sucked into and molded into a life of trying to please others through physical appearance. "Why am I doing this?"

Alison Saar- Tippy Toes

 Hi. This is made of spools of thread. That's all.

Devorah Sperber- After the Mona Lisa 2

 Really powerful piece. My favorite of all his sculptures for sure. Caryatids are columns in the shape of women- in case you didn't know and were confused by his title. This one stuck me as the heartbreaking story of being crushed by expectations and no longer being able to pretend to be strong. It's like, even columns made of stone can't keep it together all the time, so it's okay if we humans must break down occasionally.

Auguste Rodin- Fallen Caryatid with a Stone

 There just is something about religious painters who can capture emotion that they've only read about and imagined. To capture the emotion of a mother looking lovingly at her innocent and clueless little baby as she ponders his fate and enormous destiny to save the world, to be crucified, but in this moment he is still her little child.

Guido Reni- Madonna and Child

 I was speechless by the beauty. And yet, his face and pose are so peaceful and calm, like he's just sleeping, he'll be right back.

Giuseppe Mazzuoli- Deposed Christ

 Okay. Now welcome to the Art Institute of Chicago.


Few can match the emotion I felt when I saw Turner's Slave Ship in person. That longing to stand in front of a picture and cry and stare and feel until the museum people kick you out.
Well, I'm surprised to say that Rothko entered that level. Before seeing it in person I wasn't a fan of the simple color blocks. I mean really. But I still had the respect for him that I held for all expressionists just because I knew the time period it came out of. For those of you who don't- right after World War II...artists were sick of all the gore and reality and gruesome violence they were living in- instead they wanted to show beauty, but this could not be shown through anything happening in the world, so they went back to the basics of color and shape to show emotion. Rothko describes his style by saying something along the lines of- it's not meant to be looked at and and commented about the beautiful colors he uses, it's to be looked at and wept over. If you do not feel emotion while looking at it- you do not understand. But really you can never feel the emotion until you are standing right in front of it. No picture does justice.

Mark Rothko

 And same goes for Polluck- except he has this added element of energy. It's like you can feel his energy of when he was flinging paint and color around. And it's so huge that it fills your whole field of vision and lets you escape the world into it's color and energy.

Jackson Polluck

 Interesting and well done-probably inspired by Picasso. It's like you get to see her multiple personalities at once and you get to see her from different angles all at once.

Jean Metzinger- Woman with a Fan

 Not usually a fan of his- but I saw this guy studying and painting it and I wanted to see what he saw in it. And it was actually pretty interesting. And then I turned around and saw him watching me- as if to gage different people's reactions to his favorite painting. I like artsy people.

Franz Marc- The Bewitched Mill

 Gigantic painting that I don't understand but still fall in love with.

Francis Picabia- Edtaonisl (Ecclesiastic) 

 She is my favorite artsy person that I saw. I wouldn't mind one bit if I grew up to be her.

Usually not a fan of the Monets...but this one was cool. Because I am a fan of his gardens and I am a fan of painterly art and I do think he's a classic that made art discoveries that changed art, and I do love vague details making up a realistic looking whole

Claude Monet

 And there's something exciting about walking into a room full of Monet's studies.

Speaking of little details creating an amazing whole...I thought this would be cool. But then it was cooler.

George Seurat- Sunday in the Park

 And one more painting of Monet's that I decided I liked.

Claude Monet- Cliff Walk at Pourville

 Wow- the ability to make their faces so soft and blurry and their hats looks so clear and bright and colorful. Two completely different textures.

Didn't catch the artist or name- but this is a blind flower girl right before the volcano that will destroy her whole city of Pompeii. She has no idea.

 And then they had a whole Lichtenstein exhibit- which I loved. I like how he takes modern day objects and magnifies them and glorifies them to the level of art as if to say that every little thing has an element of art in it.

 Uhhh...she reminds me of Angie from Baby Mama "Not to be dramatic, but I'd rather shoot myself in the face than eat this stupid food."

Okay I'm done. Longest post ever? 

Travel: Boston

And in between the Chicago-ing and the Raleigh-ing we got stuck in Boston for a day and a night. Such is a perk of flying standby because your mom works for the airlines. Seriously though, I'm glad it happened. Because Boston. It's got this big place in my heart.
First off. I've never been inside it (I will one day) but they have this fantastic aquarium right on the harbor. I like watching the seals through the glass because that bit's free. 

Two staples for the boston people...Sweaters not worn as sweaters. And Dunkin Donuts. They are obsessed. There are more dunkin donuts there than there are LDS churches in Utah. I'm sure of it. It's like 3 to every street corner.

Just walking the streets is my absolute favorite thing though.

 Even the 7-elevens are fancy.

The first church. It never got it's steeple- thanks to the king.

MMMM. fruit stands.

Where the Declaration of Independence was first read. Also the sight of the Boston Massacre.

Next time I'm so getting one of these tour guides to tell me all the historic facts of the city. They tell the story like they were actually there. I loved listening in on them. That or go on a duck tour. I've heard they are fantastic. And another travel tip that I will one day try- the Quincy Market. Which apparently has the best food ever.

Okay. This is the thing you have to see if you go. The New England Holocaust Memorial. I'm not going to say anything about it except it will give you the chills.

 Fancyness. The Marriot there is like a mini house. We were pretty excited about it anyways.

 And the houses of Boston- so beautiful- on the way to Bunker Hill. Wow. I could live in one of those.

 Bunker Hill monument- they totally stole the idea from DC. But don't worry, we walked all the way up those 294 stairs to see that view.

And then if you get off on the Wonderland subway stop there is this fantastic beach. But the water is cold. And if you start walking on the wrong side of the train tracks you can get to it through this cornfield where hobos live. But if you get off on the other side it's easy to find.

 One of the many too-early morning days at the airport. 6 flights. All of them at like 6 in the morning. But this one had a pretty sunrise.

And two more tips from my previous trip to boston earlier this summer with my other sister.
The Fine Arts Museum is incredible and there's a cute little pizza shop just down the street, and a park behind it. And you can walk to Harvard if you have some time- it's beautiful.

And if you get a certain kind of pass on the subway it includes a ferry ride to the USS Constitution. Which is really cool. But I personally thought the museum for it wasn't too captivating. And if you have time you should get a tour guide for it- that way you can go to the bottom level of the ship. 

Anyways. I think Boston is cool stuff. I would have put pictures from my previous trip, but then I figured this post is overloaded enough...another time maybe when I have nothing to talk about.