680 Art Museum

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Museum Visitation Essay
Untitled, 1941
Genre: War
Museum: Guggenheim-Bilbao
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ZgGW7hUE9r2zLw
The photograph shows burning wreckage hit by a dive bomber that attacked the location
after Pearl Harbor. This continuum of attacks is mirrored in the hurried nature of picture. The use
of monotone filters fits perfectly for the representation of the black smoke rising against the
clear, bright background and the tranquil monotone sky. This puts the sailor running on the
forefront of the frame in the spotlight in his brightly colored uniform. The blurry nature of the
photograph depicts the hurried nature of the whole scenario; the feeling sailor, the sound waves
captured by the frame and the tightly spaced fumes of smoke all add to the alarming nature of the
photograph. This whole scene is viewed from the vantage point. The zoomed out perspective of
the photograph captures all the action comprehensively leaving only the destination of the sailor
out of the frame, adding a sense of despair and aimlessness to his flight.
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President Barrack Obama (Kahinde Wiley), 2018
Genre: Environment
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/president-barack-obama-kehinde-wiley/
kgGqONkp0JVsCA
The painting is a tribute to Obama as the first black president of the USA. The painting
makes use of juxtaposition to pose the sophisticated figure on a carved wooden nature against the
raw nature enveloping the figuring and filling the whole frame. The Ivy’s embrace of Obama
shows a sense of harmony, which are also represented in the smooth transition of light color of
the ivy, to the medium color of the chair to the dark color of Obama’s suit, showing a natural
extension in form. The colors of nature hold a special significance in the painting as their bright
illumination makes them distinct from the rest of the ivy. The chrysanthemum is the official
flower of Chicago, the African blue lilies represents the origin of his late Kenyan father, and the
jasmine represents Hawaii where he spent most of his childhood. Moreover, the repeated pattern
of the ivy is a significant tool used by the painter to create a smooth background for the subject
figure.
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Damaged Child (Dorothea Lange), 1936
Genre: Domestic
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/damaged-child-shacktown-elm-grove-oklahoma-
dorothea-lange/4wH8TY51WnZPMQ
The photograph is a distinct representation of the Great Depression. The first prominent
tool used by the photograph is the use of the background that directs the focus towards the
subject of the photograph. The background is composed of intersecting lines, forming a pattern
of a camera’s viewfinder. In the middle of this pattern, the subject stands like a bull’s eye on a
shooting board, which makes it hard to focus on anything but him. In addition, the use of dark
background for a light skinned subject is another tool that throws more focus on the subject.
Furthermore, the direct eye contact of the subject with the camera adds an element of intensity to
the photograph. This coupled with the minimalistic monotone theme of the picture makes the
purpose of the photograph very clear, which is to highlight the misery of the child that the
photographer encountered on the street.

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No Swimming (Norman Rockwell), 1921
Genre: Friendship
https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/no-swimming/zAFlWMQ4wZmEqg
The painting is a representation of the carefree childhood friendships and all the
associated shenanigans. The signature feature of the painting is the use of bold borderlines by the
painter to mimic a photograph captured from a camera. Furthermore, the captured photograph
that is mimicked is not a static photograph but a photograph in motion which is achieved through
parallel lines inclining forward showing children fleeing frantically from a prohibited area. Two
of the three figures in the paintings are left incomplete for creating two effects, one to place the
completely painted child as the subject of the frame and two to create a sense of urgency and
hurry in the frame. This sense of hurry is mirrored in the ripples created in the water present at
the base of the frame in a repeated pattern with varying degrees of disturbance representing the
spontaneous action of the frame.
My favorite image is the image of the environment in the painting, President Barrack
Obama. The use of nature to symbolize and convey different messages is a unique attribute from
the rest of the pictures. This is done through different color tones used in different flowers.
Furthermore, the harmonic relation between the background ivy representing nature and the solid
figure of Obama sitting on a nature conveys an important message relevant to the modern times,
where leaders need to work in conjunction with the nature for a sustainable future rather than
attempt to master it.

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Museum Visitation Essay

President Barrack Obama (Kahinde Wiley), 2018

Damaged Child (Dorothea Lange), 1936

photographer encountered on the street.

No Swimming (Norman Rockwell), 1921

spontaneous action of the frame.

attempt to master it.

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