Guggenheim Museum by Frank Gehry

Bilbao, Spain, 1997
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Opinion: The Guggenheim Museum is Spain is striking. I have found that many buildings in the world are beautiful, but they don’t necessarily stand out. The Guggenheim is a shining, futuristic, dramatic, curving, colossal building that draws the eye. When I first saw it, I was reminded of the Disney Concert Hall, not realizing that Gehry had designed both. My dad used to work for Disney, so the Disney Concert Hall is a part of my childhood and thus that positive association was another reason I picked the Guggenheim. 

Theory: The Guggenheim Museum is made out of limestone and titanium, which serve to emphasize the asymmetrical, irregular, and imbalanced forms. There are certain organic forms, that Gehry refers to as the "metallic flower". This is offbeat by the structure being futuristic and reminding the onlooker of a cold, mechanical, industrialized world. “In disorder, it seeming randomness of design, and the disequilibrium it prompts in viewers fit nicely into postmodern and deconstructivist agendas” (Gardner, Page 1113). 

Backs by Magdalena Abakanowicz

Musee d'Art Modern de la Ville de Paris, Paris, 1982
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Opinion: Based only on looks, I initially chose Backs because I thought it had an anti-war message, which was very powerful to me. I think there's always a better way to solve problems. However, when i researched Backs, I discovered that it was actually about conformity- a topic much more relevant to my life. 

Theory: Abakanowicz is a leader in the innovation of weaving sculpture. She said "I see fiber as the basic element constructing the organic world on our planet" (Gardner, Page 1126). In Backs, each piece was made by pressing organic fibers into a paster mold the sculpture represents the average person as indistinct in the vastness of society. Each sculpture is asexual and has slumped shoulders, communicating calmness and conformity. Although made form the same mold, there is an odd sense of individuality and distinction between the figures: each has a somewhat different posture and the textures have different patterns (Gardner, Page 1127). 

Surrounded Islands by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Biscayne Bay, Greater Miami, Florida, 1980
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Opinion: I have always been an environmentalist of sorts- I am a diligent recycler, I use solar light instead of electricity, and I believe in global warming. When I first saw this picture, I thought it was a stupid idea. However, the more I thought about, the more I realized the genius of it. People react to what they can see with their own two eyes and so much of the destruction on our environment is not visible to the naked eye. Christo and Jeanne-Claud found a way to visibly show people the effect that their actions have on our environment and I think that is awesome.

Theory: The Surrounded Islands were part of the environmentalist art that came out of the environmentalist movement. For two weeks, eleven islands in Biscayne Bay in Miami, Florida were surrounded with specially fabricated pink polypropylene fabric.The purpose was to bring about the awareness of people as to what we do to our environment. The whole concept is that it doesn’t take much to destroy the environment, but to create awareness, it takes years. They are making a political statement. 

Cumul I by Louise Bourgeois

Exhibited at Musee national d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 1969
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Opinion: I was initially attracted to the smoothness of this piece. I thought it was strange that although Bourgeois created abstract shapes, the shapes seem to have almost human characteristics. Additionally, I like the organicness of the piece with the round shapes and white marble. 

Theory: Louise Bourgeois is a post modernist. She once described her sculptural objects as “groups of object relating to each other...the drama of one among many” (Gardner, Page 1087). This sculpture is a collection of organic- rounded headed units huddled with heads protruding out of a cloak. They are abstract, but remind us of humans and have a certain sensuality about them that is magnified by the high gloss next to the matte finish (Gardner, Page 1088).

Kaufmann House by Frank Lloyd Wright

Bear Run, Pennsylvania, 1936- 1939
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Opinion: To be honest, I’m not one for architecture, but I really like the Kaufmann House. I admire its closeness with nature, especially the waterfall. It has a certain unassuming air   about it as it blends in with the surrounding area. I could see myself living in a house like the Kaufmann House one day. 

Theory: Kaufmann House, also known as Fallingwater, is a product of early twentieth century architecture. Wright’s vision in architecture was to create buildings that were part of the natural area.  He developed Fallingwater after studying a chair without front legs. We call this support system a cantilever system (as opposed to post and lintel for normal chairs with four legs). He suggested that what you could do with a chair could be done with a building.There are areas which are completely unsupported next to supported areas. Characteristic of Wright are his continuous roof planes and cross-axial plan. The building contains a variety of different textures, including metal, natural stone, and concrete. His use of full strip windows serve to connect the interior with the exterior. Wright truly created a building became one with nature (Gardner, Page 1059, Madame Oyler). 

Migrant Mother by Dorothea Lange

Exhibited at The Oakland Museum of California, City of Oakland, 1935
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Opinion: Upon first seeing this picture on a poster in a mall when I was in elementary school I thought it was my best friend’s mother. I knew Mrs. Nelson had done modeling and I believed the picture to be staged. Now, of course, I know it was a chance shot by Dorothea Lange taken in 1935, many years before Mrs. Nelson was even born. However, I still see her every time I look at this photograph.  

Theory: Migrant Mother was taken by Dorothea Lange in 1935 as she attempted to document the lives of migratory pea pickers in California. The woman holds a baby on her lap with two younger children clinging to her and raises her hand. Both worry and strength show in her face. Lange’s piece became a propaganda of sorts for the Great Depression because it drew upon values of the time, such as family and stability. It is an example of the influence of photography. People see a picture like this and view it as reality. However, “they must acknowledge that people always read visual images through the lens of cultural conditioning” (Gardner, Page 1066). Rather than focusing on the central economic problem, the picture calls on pathos and sympathy of the viewer. 

The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dali

Exhibited at Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1931
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Opinion: I remember seeing this picture by Dali everyday for two years in Mr. Hyne’s class. During out unit on art, he always covered the surrealist movement and showed us this picture. Initially, the Persistence of Memory is what interested me in art history. 

Theory: The Persistence of Memory was a product of the surrealist movement. It is a dreamscape of sorts with recognizable shapes that have metamorphosed into a dream or a nightmare. Dali created a barren space where time has ended. An amorphous creature sleeps in the foreground and is draped with one of the limp watches (another hangs on a tree). A time- keeping piece is swarming with ants while a fly alights on one of the limp pocket watches. It seems to suggest that time is dead or has gone bad and is therefore decaying (Gardner, Page 1040).