Pouran Jinchi – Prayer Stone 5 (2009)
I found myself in this exhibit a lot. I wished to see the Islamic Art exhibits on the second floor but it was not accessible to us. But, I saw an example of Islamic calligraphy on floor 5. I found myself in this exhibit because I was actually able to read the words written since I speak and read Arabic and I love seeing my people represented in western art museums, since it feels like I do not see a lot of it.

The Outlier, 1909 by Fredrick Remington
This piece stood out to me for its picturesque scene, bold subject and painting style. The thick, dotted brush strokes add to an impressionist style, and the pastel blue of the background emphasises the lone subject on horseback.

Who determines what is valuable? Is value determined by those who have power? Or is value something subjective? When I saw this painting I stopped in my tracks. I was reminded of a phrase I learned in my English 120 class: Internalized racism. The phrase refers to “when a person believes negative messages about their own, and other’s, cultures and races” (Rodriguez-Knutsen 2023). To me, it seems like the black men, women, and children are conforming to British culture. This constant conforming causes one to feel inferior and in the wrong. It makes one believe that they have to ”fix” themselves. According to the summary of the painting it was created to “affirm eighteenth-century British racial and social boundaries in the colonies, they also reveal the contradiction and instability of those same ideas”. I agree that this work’s purpose is contradictory. If it truly aimed to overcome social boundaries in the colonies it would have the people within the paintings wearing garments from their culture, not the garments they were forced to wear to fit in. British colonizers believed they were the ones who could determine value. Similarly, the painting undermines the value of black culture and suggests that peace is achieved when one culture conforms to another.

https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/ywca/types-racism

One piece of art I saw that invoked strong feelings for me was “Dolce Far Niente” by John Singer Sargent. I was captivated by the subtly vibrant pops of color that added life and energy to such a serene scene. One thing I found interesting about this painting is how differently one might perceive it depending on how far away they’re standing. From far away, it looks like a beautiful landscape, complete with water, grass, and other aspects of nature. Much of the painting looked like water at various depths and points of lighting, and I couldn’t even make out that there were human subjects in the painting. I was simply drawn to it by its colors and how they were arranged. After looking closer, I felt a strong sense of calmness and relaxation, as well as community. The painting depicts a group of people engaging in leisurely activities, caught up in their own worlds. For example, some of them are reading, while others are playing chess (from what I could make out). The lack of detail that makes it difficult to tell who they are and what exactly they’re doing speaks to the idea that sometimes we need to detach from ourselves and simply be. It doesn’t matter who we are or what we’re doing as long as we are present in this world, living and taking it all in. Thus, this painting invoked strong feelings of peaceful, ethereal community for me, reminding me that it’s important to stop in life, once in a while, to disconnect and reconnect and let yourself flow in new ways.

The oil on canvas, A Storm in the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rosalie by Albert Bierstadt was the first thing that really stuck on to me throughout the evening. I really enjoyed the up scale and details of everything to portray a storyline of how the storm is rolling in and how there were people frozen in time. But it overall gives the opportunity to leave to the imagination to finish the story. Like, I am part of the painting; I can feel the harsh winds, the galloping horses, the smell of the moments before the rain is about to pour down, the gradual change in lighting, etc.

I really liked the Third floor, the side that included Egyptian artifacts. I especially loved the mummy artifacts, I have never seen a mummy tomb before so it was so interesting to see one in person. I loved looking at the small things like the kohl makeup containers and amulets, it reminded me of the movies I used to watch when I was younger. This part of the museum was exactly was I had expected to see in a museum.