When I went to Philadelphia over spring break, I visited the Magic Gardens. The woman there told us about Isaiah Zagar's life, the artist who created the gardens, and I was instantly intrigued. He began to mosaic because he did not know what his life's purpose was anymore and he did not feel at home in his home. He has been mosaicing for decades and his art is all around South Street in Philly. His hard work and dedication to art really shows through his work. He manages to make his art beautiful even though his process is based off of the randomness of choosing different things. One day I hope to meet him because he inspires me so much (I mean it!). Over spring break, I got the chance to go to Philadelphia on an art trip. This was one of the best trips ever! We went to multiple museums including the Rodin Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the Barnes Collection. Out of these three, the Barnes collection was by far my favorite. I have never seen art arranged like how it was and the fact that it looked like Barnes' house on the inside made it even more special. We also walked part of the Mural Mile while we were there. Although they were interesting, I did not like them as much as I liked the murals here in Richmond. Most of them looked relatively the same and depicted almost historical scenes or people. Another great part of the trip were the Magic Gardens! The Magic Gardens are a collection of buildings and structures that are completely mosaiced. I do not think I have seen art that is more time-intensive than this and it was incredible to see so many years of art all in one place. The artist, Isaiah Zagar, is my idol.
While I was in Philadelphia, I went to the Barnes collection and noticed portraits that looked like nothing else in the room. These portraits and other "scenes" were painted by Soutine, a Russian Expressionist painter. The rawness and almost ugly quality of his work drew me towards it, especially because it was surrounded by beautifully crafted paintings and still life. Soutine's stroke/mark is one of the most prevalent and known things about his work. I remember listening to the audio guide for one of his portraits and the woman speaking talked about how grotesque it was. Part of this is because of his thick and messy mark, but the other part is because of how disproportionate his figures are. I really enjoy the "realness" of his work even though it is difficult to determine what he is painting. |
AuthorGrace Barron Archives
June 2018
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