Museum Essay #2

Ricardo Castro

Art

04/15/14

Essay #2

          Setting my first steps into the Guggenheim museum was phenomenal. The architecture of the inside is a spiral. Ascending in the museum exposes you to different types of art like sculptures and paintings. My impression of Carrie Mae Weems exhibition was deep and critical as an observer. The way she takes photos reveals so much emotion where each photo combines to make one story. Weems has many pieces that will leave you astonished at the messages that are in the images. One piece of work that interested me the most was the images of her in what it appeared to be her dining area. Each image depicted a different emotion, or action, yet it retained the same setting. In one image she is looking down at her boyfriend/husband who is sitting down at the table. He’s sitting there with his head down, reading the newspaper. She’s leaning against the wall, staring down at him, as if she resents him. This image stuck out to me the most, because I can sense the tension in the room.

          Weems challenged many stereotypes that are used against African Americans. In one of her images she shows an African American female holding a fried chicken drum stick. On the bottom of the image the captions read what is in the photo. For example “Girl with fried chicken”. Another image portrays an African American male holding a watermelon with what the picture is showing as captions. Both of these are stereotypes held against African Americans labeling them all to be known for liking fried chicken and watermelon. I strongly believe Weems uses images instead of paintings and sculptures, because an image can capture a moment perfectly. Sure, a painting can look real and portray strong emotions; however, a picture can capture every detail of emotion and expression in someone’s face. You are limited as a painter, sculptor, or drawer, especially if you don’t have excellent skills as one of those professions.

          She uses the slavery era to help express emotion in her images and to help send her message across to people. For instance an image of her shows an African American boy with a white baby girl touching the top of his head and his chin as if she was clamping his head. The image states, “Others said ‘only thing a niggah could do was shine my shoes’” (Guggenheim museum). Another image portrays an African American female on the bed naked with an awkward smile, that shows a fake content expression. The image states, “You became the playmate of the Patriarch”  (Guggenheim). There are a collection of images that portray different racial and stereotypes African Americans have faced and still face today such as these two impacting photos.

          This museum trip was different, because it was more compact. In the MET I felt like it was too big. I felt like a fly in a big room. It was like being thrown into central park. Unlike the Guggenheim museum where it spirals upward, so you are technically being guided to seeing pieces of artwork in a sequence. Overall I liked the MET, however the Guggenheim just had the structure to make your experience more enjoyable and easy.

Word Count: (534)