Philadelphia Museum of Art

Okay. I have a confession to make. I’m not a big fan of art museums. They’re often so cold and confusing. The stark white walls with paintings and sculptures that, most of the time, I can’t figure out.

So I can’t say that our trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art was the trip I was most eager to take. It was, however, a pleasant surprise! I didn’t feel lost in front of paintings of abstract concepts wondering what the artist intended for me to think or feel.  For the first time, thanks to our amazing guide, I felt comfortable and actually enjoyed standing in front of a painting and observing the details I wouldn’t have normally noticed. I even found one object in the museum that I wish I could hang on my wall at home.  It is a lithograph called “The Wonder” by John E. Dowell (2001), printed by Robert W. Franklin, and is presented as part of the Full Spectrum: Prints from the Brandywine Workshop exhibit.

This is number twelve of forty off-set lithographs printed. John Dowell uses images from nature, in this case an ocean and cliff scene, to “heighten the viewer’s sense of humanity” and “trigger moments of reflection and personal memories.” 

There is a label with a short description of the artist on the wall next to the print. The text mentions that the artist, John Dowell, uses symbolism and nature to trigger moments of reflection.  As a viewer looks at this print, they are guided by this text to reflect on their experiences and how they connect with the images in the artwork.  

In this particular print, the color teal provides a backdrop for a blue-hued heart with pink flourishes decorating each side. An image of the ocean and sky are placed in the center, rendering the heart broken.

This is one of many heart prints that Dowell has created. This particular heart, however, is the only one that appears to be a broken heart. This print is an important part of the Brandywine exhibition as it is a unique perspective of a landscape. Additionally, the broken heart serves as a tribute to the PMA’s late director Anne d'Harnoncourt. It was one of one hundred prints donated by the Brandywine Workshop in her memory.

This print is displayed on a wall near the other prints from the Brandywine Workshop. It is on a white wall inside a white box frame, elevating the glass from the print.  The white surroundings accentuate the colors found in the print.

Nearby items are other prints from the Brandywine Workshop. The topics of the surrounding pieces highly varied.  A nearby wall contains prints with political messages; another contains prints with depictions of American locales.  While these topics do not relate directly to the print I have chosen to write about, they prime the viewer to begin thinking about the messages intended by the artists.

A better understanding of offset lithography and techniques used to create lithographic prints would enrich my understanding of Dowell’s work. Additionally, the personal history of Dowell could lead to an understanding of the experiences that have shaped his perception of nature and spiritualism.

This object may not be appealing to those interested in photographs or paintings on canvas. This piece is very introspective and may be most appealing to those wishing to analyze the thoughts of the artist as opposed to reflecting upon their  feelings and memories.

I viewed this piece as a broken heart but this may not be the case for all viewers.  Some viewers may only see the peaceful ocean scene set inside the heart.  Others may focus on the way the pink flowers adorn the cliffs.  

Viewers could be better engaged with this particular piece if it were surrounded by the entire Heart collection. The viewer would be able to compare and contrast each of the pieces Dowell has created and, from them, experience a range of emotions and memories. 

John E. Dowell's complete Heart collection can be found here and the prints from Full Spectrum: Prints from the Brandywine Workshop can be seen here.

Eastern State Penitentiary

I've been in Philly for just a few days over a month! And somehow I've managed to survive! I've adjusted well, I think. I've learned how to use public transportation, acquired a taste for Yuengling Lager, and how to stretch any meal into two! ($5 footlong = two days of eating!)  But of course homesickness creeps in every once in a while.

Fortunately, last week we visited a site that reminded me of home. The Eastern State Penitentiary!!

Perhaps I should clarify that I am from Chino...a small city outside of Los Angeles made "famous" by movies and television shows such as "The Big Lebowski", "The Simpsons", and "The O.C." - which all reference the city's most notable attraction, The California Institution for Men.  I used to pass by the prison on my way to work every day and, while growing up, I would frequently see the prisoners riding around in their big green prison bus on their way to their daily community service obligations.

So, for me, visiting an old prison was like visiting home!!!! Okay, not really, but I at least had a strange sort of connection to the place!

My favorite object from this place is one that I feel perfectly embodies the structure's classification as "stabilized ruins."  My "object" is a stool (or is that a table?) in one of the crumbling cells.

I like to call this piece "Stool or Table - Stabilized Ruin." I suppose this installation was first created shortly before the Period of Abandonment began in 1971 and was finally completed 40 years later when the years of neglect and weathering left the stool in it's current state.  I suppose Mother Nature can be credited as the creator of this piece.

There are several unique things about this object.  The stool sits in the middle near the center of the cell, just where the pile of rubble from the crumbling walls and ceiling ends.  The paint on the walls is flaking off, exposing the brick structure and the small skylight in the ceiling provides most of the light into the cell.  The stool itself mimics the crumbling paint of the walls surrounding it and is leaning to the right, looking as if it may fall at any moment - It's barely stabilized and is in ruin.

This object is on display here as part of the Eastern State Penitentiary's intention of showing the building in it's current state and not a completely refurbished and refined location.  There is no label or description of this object; it's just another one of the many cells visitors walk by.  As stated previously, the stool is surrounded by the crumbling room and debris from the walls, ceiling, and other broken objects that may have been found in the cell after the Period of Abandonment ended and the penitentiary was opened to the public, which adds to the stool's depiction of ruins.  Without these surroundings, the stool is what most would consider a broken and useless object. 

An interest in history and architecture could help with the enjoyment of this still stool and room.  Those with little interest in historic institutions and buildings will most likely not be interested in this stool or the room in which it sits. Without the appreciation of the history of the Eastern State Penitentiary, the stool is just a broken thing sitting in a giant mess of a room.

Other viewers might find this particular stool in this cell interesting if images of the cell and stool in its pristine state are displayed near the cell that is now crumbling and falling to pieces.  Visitors might also be interested in knowing what the stool was used for by the prisoners that once resided there.

Overall, the Eastern State Penitentiary is a fabulous display of what happens when "modern" architecture is left to decay and is definitely worthy of a visit!

Objection One...My Favorite Object?

Initially, as I sat down to write this blog about my favorite object, I thought of about a billion things that might be my favorite.

The jacket from my favorite drum corps, the marble and paper-clip necklace from when I aged out of Pacific Crest drum and bugle corps, the DVDs of my favorite movies (Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Casablanca), the star necklace I bought when visiting New York City with my best friend, my phone that keeps me connected to all the information and people I want, my laptop that connects me to the interwebz and has my extensive music collection, the Red Sox jacket with “The Rocket” embroidered on the front that I stole from my brother, the collection of concert tickets, wristbands, and House of Blues VIP passes, the nametag from when I worked at Disneyland, the glowing bracelet from the OK Go music video….but something happens when you suddenly find yourself in unfamiliar territory 3,500 miles away from home.  When one is forced to cram all of their personal belongings into two suitcases, weighing less than fifty pounds each, and one carry-on with no liquids or sharp objects, the dependence upon objects becomes diminished.  Likewise, when one is forced to say goodbye to family, friends, and a lifestyle to which one has been familiar for over a quarter of a decade objects seem much less important.  On those nights when Philly starts to feel like less like a new home and more like Hoth, I don’t think to myself, “Golly gee damn, I miss that empty bottle of Sky Dog wine from the Oliver Winery” or “I’d be much happier if I just had that Zenyatta bobble-head from Santa Anita.” What I really want are the people and experiences I’ve left behind.  The nights arguing with the bartenders about cheeseburgers with The Vegan, The Band Director, and The Old Guy (those are my friends, by the way), the shopping trips with Mom where I’d always convince her to buy me some dress that I didn’t need, and the awkward nights at The Yardhouse with my Pie Hell people.  It is for this reason that this blog is not necessarily about an object.  It’s about someone.  Someone I miss, possibly, the most.  This person is my niece, Allysaurus. 

Allysaurus was born November 11, 2009.  November 12^th is when I actually learned she existed.  Mom called me, said she had important news and asked me to meet her for breakfast at Farmer Boys. (I was hoping she’d buy me food but a niece is good, too)  It had been years since I had seen my brother; he only crossed my mind when I took his Red Sox jacket out of the closet.  He hadn’t told anyone about his daughter until the day after she was born.  It was a few months before Mom and I actually met Allysaurus and Holy Geez was that baby adorable.

It’s hard to put a person on display but I’ve done a fairly good job at doing so.  Currently, pictures of her adorn the mirror in my room in Philly as well as my facebook page.  I keep her pictures out in places where I know I will see them every day.  She is a reminder to stay motivated. I would like her to grow up and think “Wow! My auntie Yay-yuh (She can’t exactly say my name yet) is the coolest auntie ever!”  I like to think that I can influence her to grow up into a remarkably intelligent human.  As it is, she has an interest in dinosaurs (one of her favorite movies to watch with me was The Land Before Time and I even took her to a museum in Los Angeles and bought her a stuffed blue dinosaur that she named Bluh-bluh), her favorite stuffed animal at my house was an Okapi (seriously, what kid, other than one partially related to me, knows and likes Okapi?!), and she has a strange fondness for rocks that I also had as a child.  I’d say I’m doing pretty well in the Influential Auntie role….though, that’s becoming difficult from the other side of the country.

If one considers the pictures on my mirror a form of display, then nearby “displays” would include other pictures of friends and loved ones.  These people are also important individuals that have helped shape me into the person I am today and that I enjoy thinking about and seeing every time I walk into my room.  

It’s difficult to say what field of study might enrich my understanding or exploration of this “object.”  I suppose a more thorough knowledge of developmental psychology may help me understand how her tiny brain is working and forming…allowing me to influence her in the best way at the most opportune times.

I can’t imagine anyone NOT being interested in this adorable object.  I mean, I don’t even like babies or non-adults (to be fair, there are quite a few adults I don’t like, either) and I freaking LOVE this kid...ever since the first time we picked her up and she gave us that weird pouty-lipped smile and looked up at us with her eyes that I swear are the darkest brown to ever exist.  I suppose others might say she’s just another little kid that cries at everything with hardly any civilized human qualities.  To those critics I say, “Yeah! But she’s so cute!” I mean, really. Adorable.  How can you not love a kid that, for a while, couldn’t quite produce that “v” sound so that “I love you” became “I lom you!”  The last time we had a party at our house that she came to, she conned almost everyone there into giving her a dinosaur cookie just by batting her eyes at them!  Seriously cute.

Favorite Object Honorable Mentions:

New Nephew (left); Riley, my dog (right)

The Vegan. Not pictured: The Band Director, The Old Guy