Emily Rooney

What is art? I am now realizing as an artisit, this is a question I will continue to face all my life. And honestly, I get more and more confused about the answer each day. Today we visited the Tyler Gallery which was displaying the work of the Tyler Photography Grad, Emily Rooney. Aside from Rubens mentioning the artist was a photographer, I would have never guessed. If I remember corectly there were a total of two pictures; the rest of the installation consisted of ceramic, sculpture and film. I will say I was intrigued by the ceramic approach she took since this is the medium I choose to work in however, other than that, I was left confused. It's a little frustrating when people around you are psyched on the work you're looking at and talking about how good it is when you don't really "get it". I'm not knocking Emily's show. I think the most important part of art is that what you make has an effect on you, it's a piece of you. I just don't know how to seperate the things that were layed out in front of me from a collection of meaningless 'stuff' I could find in someone's house. I've always struggled with the question why can't people just make things to make them. As I get older I realize there actually is a reason behind everything, whether it was intentional or not. I wasn't able to get a clear grasp on Emily's message today. Is there even a message? Maybe her show is just up for interpretation. My concern however, doesn't lie in what the message behind this work is trying to say as much as it does with the possibility of me being incapable to notice it. Are people really always able to see a deeper meaning in work or do they just bullshit themselves into thinking they "get it"? Do not take this response to mean I wish all art was straightforward and laid out in front of me. The beauty in Emily's piece comes from the fact she was able to express herself, her thoughts, her opinions in her own way. That in itself is such a gorgeous thing. When you ask me to analyze her show in terms of whether it's symbolizing racism or equality or religion, my answer is I have no idea.
http://www.temple.edu/tyler/exhibitions/

I'm currently picking out colors to paint in my new house and while looking through different families, I stumbled upon this guy. For my living room I've been inestigating different 'sea greens'. Under the store lights in the painting section, this 'treasured jade' was a chip that appealed to me. It was when I took it home though, that I noticed it wasn't the color I thought it was. At first glance, it looks bluey-green but if I look at it longer than 15 seconds, I actually get a headache. My brain can't decide if it's really a green or a gray. Needless to say, it's not the color I'm going with(I'd go insane) however, I do find it interesting the effects colors have and tricks they can play on our brains.

One of my favorite pieces in the Philadelphia Museum of Art is “The Four Seasons” by Belgian painter, Léon Frédéric. The installation consists of four 49 x 32 11/16 x 1 3/4 inch oil paintings, each representing one of the four seasons.  They’re lined on the wall in the order of spring summer fall and winter. At first, I am not used to the way they are represented in this line up. Im very interested in the fact that spring, summer, and fall could basically be switched around to represent different seasons.  I know realize I am admiring work from a European artist and the climate of Belgium is a moderate one. The subtle changes through the pieces begin to make more sense.

What I am drawn to first is the chaos of the growth around the figure and the vibrant colors that makes up each piece.  ‘Spring’ is absolutely gorgeous. The cherub is swallowed in a blooming garden with life bursting out of each bulb. Frédéric’s style of painting definitely does this work justice. The smooth strokes and soft lines that make up the figure serve as a successful contrast against the tactile feeling of the flowers.

I think what draws me most to this season is the fact that I’ve veen longing for it for some time now. The vibrant color excites me for the weeks that lay ahead of me. When looking at this piece , I am able to envision myself sitting on a patch of grass and taking in the sunshine  while the sme of fresh spring air fills my lungs.

My second favorite is his portrayal of summer which is interesting to me because I am so obsessed with summer, I just naturally thought I would favor this piece. Although all four parts of this work are similar in the fact they involve many bright, eye grabbing colors, this picture stays in the same color family for the most part. A group of yellows and golds flow around between the frame. Though this “season” does not directly show signs of warm weather, I am able to feel the sun through the choice of color he chooses. The tones are just a bit warmer than the spring depiction and I am able to sense the feeling of the sun. The rich yellows with the subtle reds, greens and blues of the flowers give this part of the work a very romantic and calm feeling.  

Next is fall, another beautiful job. Generally, this season upsets me because although I enjoy the weather at the beginning, it gets darker and cooler as the weeks go by and eventual turns into my least favorite season: winter. In this work however, I am not reminded of winter quickly approaching. I am reminded of the warm days of Indian summer and the lush vegetation which fall produces. Instead of using bleak “wintery” colors, this picture does not vary too much in comparison to the previous two. Next to spring, this picture does range in different values of darker colors but they are still very rich and dramatic.

Now for my least favorite part, winter. Yes, it is nice in the context of this work however, that is really all it is good for to me. The artist does a great job at describing my feelings toward this season buy using a very bleak color pallet and displaying the death of what was once a vivacious patch of life. Looking at this picture makes me feel cold and tired, two feelings which sadly consume my life from about November to March.

    In this gallery the are displayed in these four gigantically obnoxious frames which are covered in gold. I think this was a good move on the curator’s part because it quite possibly may have been what drew me to this piece in the first place. I’m also glad they are all placed right next to each other the way that they are. Each of them are gorgeously executed  on their own, no doubt however, I think it makes a bolder statement as one piece. Instead of focusing too long on just one season, I’m able to get a sense of time and seasons changing from this, just the way life does. Leading up to this period we’ve seen some pretty obscure obscure work so the fact that Frédéric was able to take the idea of combining realism with the display of the seasons and  fantasy with the angel children really gave us a fresh experience.