Category: Z 9/21 – Starry Nights to Sunflowers – Ivy N, Mickey L, Maris J, Sydney R, Ariana L, Joshua K, Anne L, Maddie L, Jay S

We also visited the NC art museum. The west wing was closed off but what we got to see was amazing work. I spent a lot of time there and outside of the trip contemplating the pieces

After driving and seeing half the group posing with a green tank on the side of the road, we headed to the North Carolina Art Museum. Although most of the museum was closed, we were able to see some of the outdoor art behind some buildings.

The statues were interesting, some by themselves and some in groups. But on the way back to the parking lot we spotted a nice corner with some hidden art (shown below). The reflective metal really made the whole area really interesting.

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

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.

 

We just finished our tour of the North Carolina Museum of Art. Even though the main museum was under construction, we still got to tour outside and look at the architecture and the statues. A few of us also had some extra time, so we got to check out an unrelated museum, the Museum of the National Guard, and we saw tanks.

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)

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)

I also found the use of negative space around the sculptures at the NCMA really powerful at accentuating their silhouettes, making them much more profound and impactful. I hope that we can do something similar around CA’s campus, perhaps commissioning a horse sculpture?

Because we were too early, some of us got to explore parts of the national guard museum. I was impressed at the sheer size and strange beauty of the tanks.

While perusing the gallery I noticed an interesting trend: Van Gogh drew a lot less people after his visit to the mental hospital. I wonder why? Perhaps he finally realized the terrors that humans face and create, and found them impure?