The Exhibit:
The exhibit was called FINDING AID: Making Sense of The Charles E. Burchfield Archives. The theme of the exhibit was focused on Burchfield and his works. At one point they even included his desk and his office where he created his art.
The Gallery:
The lighting for the area wasn't too bright but it wasn't too dark. It also didn't resemble artificial light which was nice. At one part of the exhibit, the lights were more dim and had a brighter focus on his work area which was cool. The walls weren't white, but more of an off-white and more towards a very light grey. When first walking into the exhibit there was the main wall which acted as a focal point when walking into the area. It was black and had the title of the exhibit on it along with boards that had notes on them. The whole area was made of just painted drywall and wooden floors. but the layout had a nice flow to it. When first walking into the area, I didn't want to walk straight but instead I wanted to walk to the left after seeing the first wall that had the exhibit title. I thought it was different because normally you don't walk to the left first, even in movies, they don't pan the camera to the left normally because it would indicate that something bad would be going to happen. But with the exhibit it worked. After going left, it was easy to follow the flow of the exhibit and go from each work of art.
The Artwork:
The pieces of art were organized in what seemed to be by medium. The first ones I saw all had graphite or charcoal as their medium, but as I continued the mediums would change and add more to it but still keep the same graphite or charcoal. The pieces of art were similar in the way that they were all around the same medium and also because they all seemed to have a similar style. But at the same time the pieces of art were different because they in a way showed the evolution of the artist. At least I think it showed the evolution of him simply because the pieces of art would become more complex when trying to add new mediums to it. Most of the pieces of art were framed with a wooden frame, but not all the same wood and same urethane finish was used for the frames. Some frames were black as well. But the frames worked. Even though the frames weren't completely the same they didn't look out of places but seemed to match at the same time. Each piece of art was identified by a white rectangular label placed to the right of the piece. Just like how they were labeled at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The pieces of art were generally the same distance apart, but the ones that had more similarities seemed to be closer in proximity of one another. The change in distance didn't seem overwhelming though, it worked to help bring together the exhibit.
Art Criticism:
Charles E. Burchfield
Study for Solitude
Charcoal and water color on paper
c. 1945
I like this painting because of the balance that is created. Neither of the sides seem to out weigh the other. When looking at this picture you can see the charcoal but also see the few colors of watercolor that he incorporated. To me this painting looks like maybe something he saw outside his window, like some sort of plant. But it could also represent something else like growth. This piece of art is full of organic lines. there is also different values in this piece of art when looking at the strokes that Burchfield took to create it. There is space here, but they are all close in proximity and overlapping each other. But they don't seem to crowd each other. The negative space around the image also works to compliment the image. The colors aren't too different but the little highlights of the peach give the piece of work more energy throughout the piece. There seems to be movement up from the bottom but also movement back down to contain it all in one place instead of letting it go. This piece of work definitely reminds me of either a tree or bush. But at the same time it also reminds me of someone's growth but how its contained into one area. I'm not quite sure what he is trying to say, but I don't think he is trying to say anything negative. The peach in the piece of work gives it a more positive tone.
Charles E. Burchfield
Spider and Grasshoppers
watercolor on mounted joined paper
1948
I like this piece of art because it is different. When I was turning the corner I wasn't expecting to run into this. Its not too vibrant but not too dull. The spider towards the bottom seems to be the focus of this piece. But then after noticing the spider your eyes start to move and you start to wonder what is around it. I wasn't really sure what I was looking at with my first glance, but then I started to notice other forms, like a flying grasshopper and the sun which is towards the top. There are a lot of lines used to create this piece of art. Some of those lines do create organic forms like the bugs and different types of wings around the spider. Unlike the other piece of art, this one has more color to it, and various colors; from yellow, to green, to blue, to red, to black. But they all seem to be ordinary colors. There is asymmetrical balance in this piece of art, but even with the different weights in the piece it does balance. There is contrast in this as well because the spider has a greater contrast than the rest of the work and stands out the most. There is also movement because after looking at the spider, your eye seems to be able to explore everything around the spider. When looking at this piece of work it reminds me of hiking and walking past two trees that have a spider web connecting them and being able to see the spider just chilling there. But then after noticing the spider you start to notice the other organisms that inhabit the area, and without noticing the spider first you wouldn't normally notice the rest of the organisms. I don't know what Burchfield was trying to say with this piece of art, but I think it could go along the lines of you don't really notice anything around you until you actually notice it.
Charles E. Burchfield
Easter Morning in the Woods (right side)
charcoal on paper
1947-1960
When I first saw this piece of art, I wasn't sure if I actually liked it, but then after looking at it for a few minutes and reading the short description they gave, I realized that I liked it. This piece of work took awhile to complete, he started it one year and then finished it years later. The interesting part of it though was that he left the left side unfinished letting the viewer see his thought process at work. I think that was the part that made me realize that I liked this piece of work because there is a better understanding of Burchfield and his process in this one. When looking at this piece you can see the woods on either side, but one is more descriptive than the other. There is line that forms this piece of art, both organic and non-organic. Those lines do form organic and non-organic shapes that create the woods and the different rocks and holes where light shines in. On the left there are simply just lines that fill the space. There is value in this piece of art, the back is darker while the objects in the front are brighter and stand out from the background. There is also space created in this piece by the how the objects are placed, some look closer while others look farther in the distance. The color is all around the same with different values of the charcoal. But I also like how there are yellow highlights in this piece. I don't think this piece of art is necessarily balanced because the right does out weigh the left, but it's not an uncomfortable difference, it works. There is movement as well. When first looking at it the viewer is drawn to the right of the piece of art and explores the right side, but then after that, there is a push to the left to view what is actually on the other side of the piece. This piece of art reminds me of the woods, but with the yellow placed in it, it seems like there is something more than just the woods in this piece. Like the other two pieces of art, I'm not sure what Burchfield was trying to say with this piece of art, especially since he started it one year and finished it years later, but I do agree with the description of the piece of how it shows his process when creating art.
Here are some photos to document the area of the exhibit:
The Visit:
I liked this art visit better than the first one. I think I like the layout of the exhibit more at the Burchfield Penney Art Center more than the layout of the Albright-Knox Art Gallery. The Burchfield Penney seemed more inviting compared to the other. I also liked the flow of the exhibit and the exhibits following it. I also liked the theme of the first exhibit simply because it gives a good representation of what the building is all about, hence the name of the building. I would definitely come back to this art center again instead of going to the art gallery across the street. I also liked going into the exhibit with a different perspective of actually looking at everything around me instead of just the art works themselves.
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