Albright Knox Art Gallery

A.) Which artworks make an impact or impression on me? Why?

1.  Dan Flavin's Blue, pink and yellow fluorescent square light. This work of art had no title, was about 8 ft tall/wide. The media was not your typical marker or paint, it was four fluorescent lights linked together creating a large square. It is said to have been created in 1971. This one had an impact on me because it was so different, so simple, yet so bold. This caught your eye more than any other work of art there. Very vibrant and fun! My favorite. 

2. Robert Swain's 1975 untitled acrylic paint on canvas, also about 8ft tall/wide, was very beautiful to the eye. This painting was also very simple, but nice to look at. It made a good impression on me because it shows how beautiful all the colors are. It gives off a happy vibe. Displays all the colors of the rainbow in tiny squares, from light to dark. Definitely a more fun image there, I saw a lot of depressing, boring works of art. That is why this one and the first really stood out to me because I personally enjoy these types of artwork, happy, fun, colorful. I dislike miserable, depressing art. 

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B.) Which artworks do I feel a connection with? Why?

1. Giacomo Balla's Dinamismo di un cane al guinzaglio, oil on canvas, 1912 was a piece that I felt a connection with. First of all, he was an Italian artist. I also am Italian my family is from there so it is kind of cool to see the Italian art from back in the day when my family lived there.  His painting was a skittering dachshund and the staccato steps of his owner in 1912 in Sienna, Italy. The background is lively with vibrant pink and green. This represents the white dust of the tuscan countryside shimmering under the bright summer sun. My parents just got back from Italy not too long ago so this painting connects with me. Id love to go to Italy too some day. I also love dogs more than anything so that connection is there also! 

2. Winter East Liverpool, 1927, an oil on canvas painting by Charles E. Burchfield also connected with me. I genuinely liked this painting for what it was. It shows a road running through the middle of a bunch of houses/businesses covered in snow. The view is beautiful, as is the snow on the ground and rooftops. There is a man coming out of a shop that says enos moon lunch with a cigarette in his hand. The background is snowy mountains and a calm winter sky. I feel very connected with this because I love winter. I love snow, and the calmness of it all. This looks like somewhere id want to be. 1927 also seems like a cool time. Life seemed like a better place back in the, I always felt like I was born in the wrong time. I feel a very strong connection with this painting, I love it!

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C.) Which artworks would I like to know more about? Why?

1. Id like to know more about Cy Twombly's artwork from 1970. His was an oil based house paint and wax crayon on canvas. Personally I did not like this piece. It looked like a chalkboard with scribbles. It was square, grey background, with literally scribbles of white. I don't get it. It is ugly and shows no talent. So in this case, yeah I'm curious to why this is worth being in an art gallery. 

2. Second artwork I didn't like was actually the most expensive there. A worker told me this particular painting cost 90 million. It was Jackson Pollock's Convergence from 1952. This was an oil on canvas and was actually very large. It was a bunch of splattered paint. I saw black, blue, yellow and orange. This painting was hideous! I am appalled that it is worth 90 million dollars. a 4 year old could make this. Id love to learn more as to why it is worth so much, and what people see in it. That isn't art to me. To me, art is skill, and it is beautiful, not a bunch of scribbles and lines and shapes thats ridiculous. 

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