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Meagan L. Hardy

Prof. A. Hanson

HMC 251

16 April 2017

Cultural Event Paper: Phoenix Art Museum

On March 24th, I had the opportunity to visit the Phoenix Art Museum. In this paper, I

will explain the experience I had, the exhibits I saw, and about the museum itself. It was my first

time going to an art museum, so I wasnt sure what to expect. This gave me the opportunity to

view artwork from the Renaissance and Baroque periods, and to see a special exhibit on Samurai

warriors. There are also a few pieces by Georgia OKeeffe, and many other talented artists

inside. By using information from the online CAC database, and the Phoenix Art Museums

website, I will describe my time there. Getting to experience this museum was new, exciting, and

a little intimidating.

The Phoenix Art Museum is a 285,000sqft concrete building located in the heart of

Phoenix, AZ. Since opening in 1959, this museum has become the largest art museum in the

southwestern United States. (Phxart.org para 1). At first sight, the buildings modern and

unassuming exterior doesnt give any indication to the amazing works it contains. This museum

is home to a collection of more than 18,000 objects of American, Asian, European, Latin

American, Western American, modern and contemporary art, photography and fashion design.

(Phxart.org para 1). When approaching the museum, you are greeted by a giant sculpture of an

impressionist iron fist bursting through a square, and a bright red T-Rex sculpture in a bright red

cage. I was immediately intrigued and regretting the choice to not bring my daughter, she would
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have loved it! Walking inside you encounter a clean, if starkly furnished entry, a friendly curator,

and an amazing light fixture that takes center stage from the large entry way.

Walking down the left corridor, you will come to the Steele Gallery. That is where the

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection exhibit is located. This

intriguing collection contains pieces of armor from the 1400s-1900s, including stunning horse

armor. Going into it I knew very little about Samurais, so this experience was enlightening. The

craftsmanship of the woven pieces displayed have stood the test of time, some for hundreds of

years. Metalsmiths in Japan have created amazingly intricate work in the masks and helmets with

very beautiful molds and engraving. While looking at all the Samurai armor, I found myself

becoming a bit uncomfortable. I could imagine what it must have felt like being chased by their

armies, or how terrifying it would feel to see hundreds of soldiers and their horses armed with

the masks, full battle gear, and swords coming to conquer my village.

Continuing your tour through the museum, take the elevator up and walking forward, you

will enter my favorite galleries. The north wing consists partially of the 17th & 18th Century

Gallery. One of the first pieces to greet you with their golden halos still shining, is Jacopo del

Casentinos Madonna and Child, Tempura on Poplar panel (1335), and Bicci di Lorenzos

Nativity, Oil on Panel (1420-1430). A surprise for me, was seeing tangible pieces other than

paintings, such as: pottery, sculptures, gorgeous collectors cabinets, and a casting by Erastus

Dow Palmer, Sappho, Plaster (1858). There are so many amazing works of art to explore as you

wind your way around and into the 19th Century Gallery. Passing a timeline of paintings, you

encounter two extremely large and gorgeous pieces. I spent the most time looking at Julius
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LeBlanc Stewarts Spring Flowers (In the Conservatory), Oil on Canvas, (1890) and Adelaide

Labille-Guiards Madame Adelaide, Oil on Canvas, (c.1787). Spring Flowers (In the

Conservatory) blew me away. In size alone, the piece is huge, but the intricacies and detailed

perfection remind me of how Raphael could accurately portray the human form and realism into

his work. Madame Adelaides humanism and attention to detail had me staring at the brushwork

and intricacies for a long time. Labille-Guiards precise brushwork for the billowing lace sleeves

and use of whites, blues, and greys to make the taffeta material in her gown reflect the light, is

beautiful.

Discovering that this museum holds famous works I never imagined seeing in person

made me feel almost star struck. Claude Monets Flowering Arches, Giverny, oil on Canvas,

(1913), and the famous image of Gilbert Stuarts George Washington, Oil on Canvas (1796 or

later) filled me with joy and a sense of wonder. You grow up hearing about the Greats, how their

names will ring forever throughout history, and then you unexpectedly encounter them and it

expands our appreciation. George Washingtons contrast of light is a great example of

Chiaroscuro. Monets Flowering Arches, is impressionistic and uses beautiful pastels to create

his masterpiece.

Passing through the American and into the Western American galleries you will see

beautiful Southwestern art. Two pieces that stood out to me were Maxfield Parrishs Arizona, Oil

on Paper Mounted on Board, (1950) and Ben Fosters Along the Canyon Rim, Oil on Canvas (c.

1916).
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On a wall heading back towards the American Gallery, there are paintings by artist

Georgia OKeefe. In 1887, OKeefe was born in Wisconsin as the 2nd of Seven kids. She married

a New York photographer and museum owner, Alfred Stieglitz, who liked to be in control of her

career and personal life. Though a pioneer for women in the early 20th century, she suffered from

debilitating depression, anxiety, and psychoneurosis. As an artist, she is known for breaking

away from the constraints of scale, she painted telescopic images that favored the distant and the

immediate. She made the small seem large and the large small as she focused on a single isolated

object (Cows Skull, Paragraph 4). The first time I heard about OKeefe, was when my daughter

studied her in art class. So, we looked at her work on the internet, and a week later she came

home with her own version. Getting to experience her work in person was a pleasant surprise

that I am looking forward to sharing with my daughter.

There are 3 pieces in the main display for Georgia OKeeffe. The two smaller pieces are

The Apple, Oil on Canvas, (1920-1922), and White Rose, Oil on Canvas, (1928). The Apple is a

small, and her use of yellows, greens and pinks on a white background remind me of a peach

more than an apple. White Rose is my favorite at this museum, but not of all her works. OKeeffe

takes a rose, and paints it with greys, yellows, and white on a white background with blue

shading. She paints a close-up, enlarged version of a white rose, with one green leaf. Why I like

this piece, is that she takes an imperfectly shaped flower, and still makes it beautiful by capturing

the individuality of each petal. Pink Abstraction, Oil on Canvas, (1929), is my least favorite of

her pieces on display. This piece is larger and my only reason for not appreciating it the way I do

White Rose, is that it just doesnt move me. In Pink Abstraction, she uses a linear perspective to

split the piece in half. On the left we see mostly a pink crescent with ruffled edges and blue,
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green, and yellow stripes down towards the bottom. On the right, we instead see a pink crescent

with clean edges and a rainbow of ruffled crescent shapes on the middle of the piece.

Over all, experiencing this museum was life changing. After learning about the

techniques and styles used during the renaissance and baroque periods and hearing about these

famous artists, then seeing them in person was invigorating. Walking through the museum

thinking This looks like Humanism, or this is a great example of Chiaroscuro made me

appreciate taking this class. Im very happy with my choice of cultural events. This is a

wonderful place that I will visit many more times, as well as share the experience with my family

and friends.
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Works Cited

"Art & Culture in Downtown Phoenix, AZ." Phoenix Art Museum. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2017.

<http://www.phxart.org/>.

Bicci Di Lorenzo. Nativity. 1420-1430. Oil on Panel. Lent by Arizona State University Art

Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ.

Foster, Ben. Along the Canyon Rim. C. 1916. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix,

AZ. Gift of Carolann Smurthwaite, by exchange

Jacopo del Casentino. Madonna and Child. 1335. Tempura on Poplar Panel. Collection Phoenix

Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ.

Labille-Guiard, Adelaide. Madame Adelaide. C.1787. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum,

Phoenix,AZ.

LeBlanc Stewart, Julis. Spring Flowers (In the Conservatory). 1890. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art

Museum, Phoenix, AZ. Gift of Citibank

Monet, Claude. Les Arceaux Fleuris (Flowering Arches), Giverny. 1913. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix

Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald D. Harrington
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O'Keeffe, Georgia. Pink Abstraction. 1929. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix,

AZ. Gift of Friends of Art

O'Keeffe, Georgia. The Apple. 1920-1922. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix,

AZ. Gift of Mr. Edward Jacobson

O'Keeffe, Georgia. White Rose. 1928. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. Gift of

Mr. Edward Jacobson

Palmer, Erastus Dow. Sappho. 1858. Plaster. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ. Gift ofJohn

Barker Hickox and Mr. and Mrs. Poriss, by exchange

Parrish, Maxfield. Arizona. 1950. Oil on Paper Mounted on Board. Phoenix Art Museum,

Phoenix, AZ. Bequest of Thelma Kieckhefer

Platzer, David. "Stieglitz from every angle: two simultaneous exhibitions on Alfred Stieglitz at

the Musee d'Orsay reward David Platzer by examining the photographer in context, as

patron, man of letters, apologist for African sculpture--and lover of Georgia

O'Keeffe." Apollo, Jan. 2005, p. 75+. Academic OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?

p=AONE&sw=w&u=cazc_main&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA127058233&it=r&asid=a27b3627400323c58fa6c020ee05c75a. Accessed 14 Apr.

2017.
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Potter, Polyxeni. "Georgia O'Keeffe (1887-1986). Cow's Skull with Calico Roses

(1932)." Emerging Infectious Diseases, vol. 10, no. 3, 2004, p. 558+. Academic

OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cazc_main&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA114560140&it=r&asid=0b912aca3667f72036ee98b5f09bda00. Accessed 14 Apr.

2017.

Samurai: Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barlier-Mueller Collection. The Phoenix Art

Museum. 1625 N. Central Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85004. 24 March 2017.

Stuart, Gilbert. George Washington. 1796 or later. Oil on Canvas. Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix,

AZ. Gift of Mr. Gilbert A Harrison

http://egallery.phxart.org/view/objects/asitem/People@1398/0?t:state:flow=857bdb91-

f775-4e53-92af-6ba162b6b2a9

Udall, Sharyn R. "Georgia O'Keeffe and Emily Carr: health, nature and the creative

process." Woman's Art Journal, vol. 27, no. 1, 2006, p. 17+. Academic

OneFile, go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=cazc_main&v=2.1&id=GALE

%7CA214895632&it=r&asid=759e2a2e679895c52ad4755fb7f853f4. Accessed 14 Apr.

2017.
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