Undirected blog from Assignment #2a Reading

I don't know if we were supposed to do an undirected blog this week but I want to be safe rather than sorry. On page 61 if you are using the 4th edition, there are a pair of statues that look like a man and a woman. The pair relate to my everyday life because we used to have a sculpture in my house that reminds me of them. The sculpture we had was of a little person, I always remembered him as a man but I can't be sure. He was made of terra cotta and had a rough, grainy texture to him. His features resemble those of the statues in the book in the sense that they look loosely sculpted. There are not a lot of sharp angles or edges and there is not a lot of detail in their features but you can tell where their nose and feet are. Our little man had huge nostrils and small feet that did not fit his body. I remember one of his feet being loose, probably because a mover broke it but that could just be the memory I have created so I wouldn't admit to snapping it off. I don't know where our little man is now but as soon as I saw the statues in the book, I thought of him. We have many forms of art in our home so I wouldn't be surprised if our little guy is still in the house somewhere but I've gotten so used to him that I don't see him anymore. 

Undirected Blog from Assignment #2 Reading

From this week's reading, the piece of art that caught my eye was on pages 64 and 65 is you are using the 4th edition. The piece if of Olmec gods bringing offerings and they are wearing traditional costumes. This applies to my life because as soon as I saw this in the book, it reminded me of this huge painting that is in my favorite mexican restaurant. The painting is of Aztec warriors fully decked out with all the head dresses, loin cloths, and feathers one could stand and of course doing the usual stance of one of them being freakishly muscular holding a girl that has passed out from it all. The restaurant is in Texas and we only eat there when we are in town to visit relatives. It is special because it is not like we can go there all the time and when we are there we know we are there to see family. It is part of the trip and and must stop place. The giant painting is something that we always check to make sure is still there and it is part of the whole experience. 

Frida Kahlo Exhibit Blog

The two paintings I found most interesting at the Frida Kahlo exhibit were Me and My Parrots and Self-Portrait with Monkeys. I liked these two the best because I like the animals in them. When I got to see the paintings up close the brush strokes really looked like feathers and fur. The colors in the paintings are warm and even though she is not smiling, she seems at peace with her animals. The parrots and monkeys are positioned on and near her reminded me of how kids would be lovingly by their moms. Meso American art influences can seen in these two paintings as well as the majority of her work. Her traditional hair style and dress is present in two paintings in particular. The influences seen in her other work are the figures that are depicted like Mayan or Olmec stone gods, the indigenous plants and fruits, and her ever present traditional braided hair with decorations and dress are all Meso American touches. My overall experience at the exhibit was great! I went on the weekend so it was very crowded and it took a while to get close enough to see the paintings. However, luckily for me I was short enough to be ushered into the front along with the many children in attendance because people could easily see over us. It was amazing and haunting (in a good way) to be so close to her art knowing that she touched them. She was once as close to the paintings that I was then so close to as well. It really gave me a lot of questions like where was she when she made this? What was she thinking? What was the weather like? Just all sorts of things. I feel like I got to see a very personal side to her with all of the extra photographs from her collection that I would not have been able to see otherwise. The paintings and the photographs help to explain each other in a way. It was really a great opportunity to see so many of her works in one place and to be able to experience even 1% of her was a gift.