Centext Blog

Throughout the day, I saw a lot of great works in many different venues. The first venue, the Art Institute of Chicago, was very formal in the presentation of the art. The layout of the museum mostly consisted of pieces of art in showcases or on the walls in hallways and large rooms. The Cultural Center was set up mostly like this too. Both places had gift shops where people could buy souvenirs of their trips.

The second type of venue set up was the open layout of the gallery set up. The artwork was not behind cases, and usually not behind glass. The paintings were usually not framed, but if they were, the frames were clean and simple.

Public works are another type of works on display. These are more intimate because the public can go up and touch or interact with the works. Usually, public works are statues, paintings, or window displays which are open to everyone.

To me, the museums were sort of stuffy. I couldn't really connect to the work because I felt like I couldn't get close enough to examine the work because of all of the other people. When I look at art, I like to stand in front of the piece and try to guess what type of technique the artist used. The galleries were better in terms of the crowd. I was able to take a good look at the art.

In terms of the types of art work in each venue, I felt like the museum featured well known artists who had an impact on art history. The galleries, on the other hand, featured artists who were in the business to sell their works. Anything can be considered art, and galleries usually feature art that will get sold (in the case of for profit galleries) or art that the owner likes. During my time in Chicago, the Carl Hammer Gallery was featuring an artist who drew childlike drawings with repeating patterns and cartoon butterflies. I felt like this type of art would not be something featured in a museum unless the artist was a part of a huge movement that involved several other artists.

The museum gave a little synopsis about the work and the painter. This was nice because I got a little information about the context of the work. The galleries lacked this type of background on the artist. If I had a question, I had to ask the gallery workers, and they could only answer within their best knowledge.

The public works were the most relaxed because they could be touched (although some of those children in the Art Institute were doing a whole lot of touching of paintings...). Public works can tell a lot about the culture and mood of a city at the time they were created.