jay_sihm

NC Natural Science Museum Reflection

For me, spending today at the Natural Science Museum was quite interesting as it was the first time in a long time that I explored a scientific or historical museum. From manipulating land elevations with kinetic sand to watching the different snakes in their habitats to observing a wasp nest through a microscope to learning about the diverse biomes of North Carolina, with each floor of the museum, I rekindled my childhood curiosity about the world. Throughout my high school years, I’ve focused my scientific interests away from biology, but, after today, I might just start re-exploring the intricate beauty of our Earth.

^ an island Josh and I made with sand

^ two emerald tree boas chilling on a branch

^ Acrocanthosaurus skeleton

Jo van Gogh-Bonger

One of the tragedies of Van Gogh is how he died as an unknown and unsuccessful painter without the knowledge of his significance and future fame. The credit for his legacy goes to his sister-in-law, Jo van Gogh-Bonger, who was one of Van Gogh’s strongest promoters, publishing his correspondence with his brother and donating his works to museums. Though Van Gogh would be largely unknown without Jo’s efforts, her name has mostly become lost in history. This got me wondering about the unknown stories of those who build legacies; this article explores Jo van Gogh-Bonger’s story: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/14/magazine/jo-van-gogh-bonger.html?smid=url-share

Sunflowers

One of the opening displays at the Van Gogh museum showcased his collection of “Sunflowers” paintings. Despite it being one of his most famous works, “Sunflowers” refers to a total of eleven paintings done in two series over two years. In his second series, Van Gogh displays a bouquet of flowers at different stages of life in a single vase, illustrating the cycle of life through the lens of sunflowers. A metaphor that I initially did not realize, I was now curious about the deeper meanings hidden in seemingly simple art pieces.

Mickey Van Gogh Post 2

To continue the day, we went to the Van Gogh Experience. I learned that Vincent Van Gogh had both schizophrenia and epilepsy and died at the age of thirty-seven. He didn’t die from cutting off his ear, but instead he shot himself after the death of his brother. Similarly, he enjoyed painting flowers due to the duration of life and how life and death cycle through and learned that “Sunflowers” is actually a series instead of just one singular painting!

(fyi this is mickey lewis posting on jay’s account because I couldn’t post on my account)

Mickey Van Gogh Post 1

We started off the morning with Ivy’s presentation about post-impressionism. We talked about Corporate Memphis and how corporations such as Spotify, YouTube, Facebook, etc. use this style to dehumanize/promote equality in a sense of everyone being able to see themselves through the artwork. However, it takes away an aspect of relatability for corporations with such high numbers of rampant racism and sexism. Next, we’re going to the Van Gogh Experience!

(fyi this is mickey lewis posting on jay’s account because I couldn’t post on my account)