This is a statue (bronze I believe) of an old woman planting rice. Her hand is extended comfortably to spread the seeds evenly. The bucket holds the rice. I believe it originated from somewhere in Asia.
These are horse statues (stone and copper?) from China.
This is a Roman statue (Greek copy).
A painting of fruits. Not sure who it's by but they look delicious!
The way I would arrange these pieces is the Greek statue standing next to the three horse statues, butts facing the crowd. I would use platforms to raise the butts to the same level and have the old woman statue standing behind one of them (whichever, I can't decide). The fruits painting would be behind it all, visible past the statues.
I would honestly say the reaction could be humorous or environmentally conscious (or something else, anyone have thoughts?). Humorous because it could seem like the old woman is reaching to touch an ass. Environmental because droppings, once composted and back in the ground, make fertilized earth, great for growing crops... Much like the tasty looking ones in the painting.
Ehh, this isn't very creative. More of a sad joke than anything.
On a lighter note, I haven't been back at the MIA since I studied art after the 1900's (much less stepped foot in the more modern areas of MIA which I never knew about). I nearly died when I saw works by artists like Schiele, Mondrian, Brancusi, Picasso, Carrington, Matisse, Ernst, Kandinsky... What an experience.
I think its hilarious! It is a very interesting take on the whole project. I overall like the whole meaning of it all. Very interesting! And funny!
ReplyDeleteThis is an amusing idea, though as you yourself admit, maybe a little, uh, half-assed.
ReplyDeleteI feel like there is the beginning of an interesting idea, regarding fertility and waste, but that gets a little lost in the somewhat flippant presentation. Humor can be a very good thing, but can also mask deeper ideas. Maybe there could be other elements added that enhanced your environmental concern. What if there were several paintings of fruit and vegetables all on the ground under the various asses? Maybe a whole row of paintings on the ground behind the sower, as though they were crops?
On a more serious technical note - remember you are responsible for proper citation in all CVA assignments. It is not acceptable to have a post where you do not know the actual materials, dates, artists and times of these works. On the one hand it is poor citation, which can be pretty sketchy territory as far as academic dishonesty, and on the other hand it makes this post much less interesting and more distracting.
Alright, thanks for letting me know about the citations. I tend to forget, I'll fix it in this assignment and future ones.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thanks for the suggestion on the set-up.