Event 1 Hammer Museum

Trip to Hammer!

Last friday, I was glad that I had time to visit Hammer Museum. Once I stepped into the museum, the quietness and artistic placidity instantly attracted my mind from the crowds of Westwood. Suddenly, i felt I found a place to relax and to breath deeply. 

The first Forrest Bess: Seeing Things Invisible, which is organized by Menil Collection, and it presents 50 of the artist's visionary paintings dating from the 1940s to 1970s. The masterpieces are the collections from Menil's own holdings, private lenders, both in United State and Europe. Based on research, major institutions include the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. 

(Bodies of Little Dead Children)

I found this picture pretty interesting, because (I may be completely wrong) I see those two segments as chromosomes. Normally, chromatids are connected to each other through the center corner. But these two chromatids will never intercept, meaning there is no way to create a brilliant gene in order to create a life. I am certain that there will be many other explanations and mine probably sounds pretty naive and ridiculous, but that is just my own interpretation. This masterpiece also reminds me of week 4's topic: med+art. Due to the medical development, we are able to recognize the shape of chromosomes and expand the beauty of human life into arts and use abstract concepts to illustrate our grievance of bodies of little dead children.

The next exhibition I took quite a while to explore was James Welling: Monograph. Since no cameras were allowed inside, I only had a photo of myself in front of the guide board. James Welling's program, in particular, helps to refine our definition of a photograph while offering a meaningful new paradigm for contemporary art. 

Among the four graphs, this one is my favorite. I admire the hue transition; it is such a flawless and smooth perfection. James skillfully presented the operation of the hybrid ground between painting and sculpture with traditional photography. This graph implies one of our topics: Math+Arts. The right angles and the parallel lines construct a complete aesthetic glamor across the entire display, which made the overall structure so cohesive that anything added would be a blemish. 

There are indeed plenty of more to explore in Hammer. And the receptionist is so nice and pretty that I must take a photo with her. I would definitely recommend classmates to take a trip to Hammer, not because it is free, but it is undeniable that there are definitely precious exhibitions that help to alleviate our tension. All in all, it was a enjoyable and memorable experience.