Trip to the High

On Saturday August 28^th 2010, I visited the High Museum of Art for the first time in my life. I went as a requirement for school, but was surprised to find how much I actually enjoyed my time there. I explored the exhibition European Design Since 1985: Shaping the New Century. I’m choosing to discuss not only some of my favorite art pieces from this exhibition, but also my personal experience while at the museum. On the first floor of the museum, I was intrigued by many pieces of artwork by artist Ron Arad. There were many sculptures that were like “seating”; chairs, chaise lounges, etc. But what I found so interesting was how completely nonfunctional these works were. These pieces of artwork were not designed for functionality but rather for aesthetic design. On taking the elevator from the first floor of the museum to the second floor, I encountered a middle-aged couple. I happened to overhear a part of their conversation where the woman said, “it all depends on how you look at things.” This struck me! This is exactly what I was trying to say in my blog last week when attempting to define art. I struggled last week because art is so broad and I realize now that I was trying to define art in general terms. But in exploring the High Museum, I came across the thought that I have my own definition of art and what it means to me. I was surprised to find that my definition or art, what I thought of as art, was challenged by the art presented at the High Museum.

There was a lot of use of color throughout the museum and the collection of artwork was very eclectic. As I walked through the exhibition, I found myself trying to interpret art. I realized that when I thought of art, I tended to think of historical, and classic art. I thought of very famous works of art such as the Mona Lisa, and very famous artists such as Van Gogh. Art in the European Design exhibit ranged from various styles of seating to vases, to vacuum cleaners. Since all these art works were created after 1985, they were pretty contemporary. Some of the simplest things like stickers on wall that are made to look like a picture frame, are art in today’s world. This led me to wander about the process of becoming a famous artist. How does art become…”art”? Who determines what pieces make it into a given exhibit? I’ll spend some time looking into these questions, and revisit them later on throughout this course.