The Family
The art exhibit “Nature and Nurture: Narratives of Family” contains various art forms, styles, and intentions: all ultimately trying to depict typical relationships in the family. This exhibit, set up in the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU from Oct. 5-28, contains ten artists, including Brian Kershisnik, Lee Udall Bennion, Janis Wunderlich, Madison Smith, Annie Poon, Lisa Jackson and many more. Coming from many different backgrounds such as fathers, mothers and single adults; each artist depicts the family in different ways, with different attitudes, resulting from drastically diverse emotions. The main purpose of this exhibit is to “explore the complex relationships between mothers, fathers, daughters and sons through a diverse range of artistic media and styles” (James Swenson). This diversity of “etchings, linocut prints, paintings, ceramic sculptures and animations” plays a key role in showing the incredible wide range of emotion encompassed in the atmosphere of the family.
Within this exhibit, I noticed the recurring themes juxtaposing both solemness, as well as love and compassion in many displays. A lot of works in this exhibit were focused on solemn attributes, such as “Forces” or “Lehi’s Dream”. In each of these cases, first impressions are limited to a dark feel associated with hard work, pressure, and even just depression. This feeling goes along with many attributes of a family. Often times, a functional family requires hard work, pressure and sometimes even hard emotional times in order to receive the benefits of such a unit. For example, fathers may find themselves working overtime in order to get enough money to provide for their dependents, while mothers may often stay up all night helping kids. Families take much sacrifice, and work. The initial solemn emotion expressed in these paintings reflects the seemingly forgotten parts of being a part of a family.
You covered every aspect! Great job on adding all the details. I liked the connections you made with the different pieces. Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteI like that you included the more difficult aspects of family life. I also like the way you've decided to focus on the emotions of the paintings, but I think it would add to your paper if you analyzed the technique to show how the paintings create the emotions they do.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dottie I will definately discuss technique in the future draft.
ReplyDeleteI love the last sentence. Excited to see what forgotten parts the artwork focuses on that you will discuss!
ReplyDeletesorry to jump in as an unknown person, but my sister-in-law and I were trying to remember which artist did the Lehi's Dream etching. Could you post it on here?
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