The Wallace Collection

When I read this question before seeing the collection, I assumed that I would not like the labels directly on the painting.  I thought they would detract from the artwork and that it was unnecessary to spoil the art with a label.  But once I saw them in the gallery, I actually liked them.  I did not think they ruined the artwork at all and actually thought they enhanced the viewing experience.  They all tried to match the gold of the artwork's frame and blended in quite nicely.  For me, the labels on the frame made it feel more like I was viewing these collections in someone's lavish home instead of in a sterile museum environment.  I also thought they fit the collection because they increased the grandeur of the piece and of the museum by not having awkward, stark white labels next to each painting.

My favorite piece from the collection was Gaspard Dughet's "The Falls of Tivoli."  I liked this painting because of it's serenity.  If I could imagine a place to escape whenever I wanted to relax and be alone to think, I would want to transport myself into the painting.  I think the sound of rushing water is one of the most calming sounds in the world.  I am also intrigued by the two people in the foreground.  I want to know why they are down below the waterfall when all of the other townspeople are standing along the beach in the background.

For the object that intrigues or disgusts me based on lavish detailing, I was originally going to do a picture of a feast that included three lobsters, but then I saw this clock.  It's not that I don't think this clock is gorgeous; it is definitely exquisite.  But I don't think I would ever want something like this in my home.  It's so unnecessary!  There is just so much gold and so much going on.  If I had this clock, I would constantly look at it to find out what time it was and never actually register the time because I would be so mesmerized by all of the detail.

 My favorite museum we've visited is the Science Museum.  It had so many different exhibits and was an enormous museum.  I've actually never seen a science museum quite like it.  Most science museums have exhibits about physics or electricity, but not about future environmental concerns or interesting current inventions.  The Science Museum in London had an entire exhibit on plastic, detailing its history and showing current inventions using plastic.  It also had a recyclable fashion exhibit, featuring fashion designers that use recyclable materials and their clothing.  I liked the Science Museum best because I had a lot of fun there.  I thought it was a really unique museum with tons of interesting exhibits.

I think I do have a greater interest in visiting museums after this course.  After seeing so many, I want to visit more and compare them to one another.  I was not previously intimidated by art, but I didn't find it as interesting as I do now.  Before this course, I would have never visited an art museum on my own for fun.  But now I would definitely seek out art museums and visit them.  I also enjoyed the part of the course about branding.  Whenever I visit museums of any type now, I always look at their logo and brochures and wonder if their font and designs fit with their museum's mission.  I would have never thought about logos and themes of museums before this course.

The Design Museum

 Architecture:  "Playing with Lego Bricks and Paper"
This piece was is cute, colorful and happy, mixing reality with fantasy.  I chose it for architecture because I think a town wall designed like this would be really fun and add character to the area surrounding it.

 Furniture: "Endless"
  This chair is amazing not only because it's made from recycled refrigerators, but also because it looks super stylish and modern.  I love the ribbons of color that run vertically through the chair in varying shades of white, cream and green.

Transport: "EN-V"

This car is innovative because it is only one-third the size of cars currently on the road.  It would help improve safety conditions on the road because the car uses social networking technology to talk with other vehicles and automate driving and parking.

 

Graphics: "I Wonder"
The book is interesting because when it is closed it feels like a solid block of gold.  I thought the designs on the inside were interesting and liked the concept of a design book that explores people's mundane everyday thoughts and musings.

Wim Crouwel:
I liked Crouwel's works.  I did not think they were too minimal or lacking in excitement in any way.  I thought his works weren't visually overwhelming, but certainly did not lack visual elements.  The exhibition could be described as similar to the isotype exhibition in the V&A museum.  There were colors, but many of the logos and images were thick and block-like.  The way the exhibit was designed reminded me of the various nonsensical poster artwork at the Saatchi gallery.  Some of Crouwel's pieces were made up of smaller pieces all displayed together.  Crouwel's posters reminded me of Peter Blake's "Rock & Roll" because they both use bold lettering and a few select colors for each piece.

Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery offers more ways and vantage points to view objects than the other galleries we have visited.  For many of the pieces, viewers can walk all the way around the piece and see it from multiple angles.  I think this helps viewers interpret a piece more easily because they can gain inspiration from how differently it looks on each side.  For example, the first piece we looked at was the cast of the inside of a block of clay where the artist climbed her way to the bottom.  It was called “Down.”  Initially, the piece did not look like anything.  But once I made my way around to the other side, I began to see places where her feet and hands were protruding out of the mold.  This made the piece much more interesting and I was able to empathize with her struggle inside the block of clay.  Many of the other galleries we have been to put their pieces of sculpture close to one wall and have ropes in front of it so patrons cannot get too close.  I think this causes a separation between the piece and the viewer and makes it harder to get a feel for the object.

Personally, I would have preferred more text to accompany each piece.  The only text in relation to the art that is presented in the Saatchi Gallery is the title of the work and the artist.  If our guide had not told us about how “Down” was made, the piece would not have made sense to me.  It looked like a giant block of messy clay.  I would appreciate it if there was a small paragraph on why or how the artist created the piece.  I think it should be up to the artist’s discretion if they would like to add more text, but for some pieces I think it’s necessary.  It really helps the viewer understand the piece and appreciate it. 

 

The Saatchi Gallery certainly has more adventurous art than some of the other museums we have visited.  I think art should take chances and make people uncomfortable sometimes to make a point.  Some of the art in the Saatchi Gallery, such as “The Followers,” may make people feel awkward.  People may be uncomfortable with the reality that we will all die someday or that the reproductions of the burial ornaments seem so realistic. 

However, I think some of the artwork in the Saatchi Gallery was unnecessarily adventurous.  For example, the piece that was made up of various nonsensical posters had a lot of pornographic imagery that I did not feel was necessary to the piece.  I thought it detracted from the message of the artwork and was put there purely to make people do a double-take and feel awkward.