Visit to norton simon museum essay sample

The current exhibition at the Norton Simon Museum is entitled “Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California.” The works of art on display present the efforts of artists who endeavored to create a renaissance in the field of lithography and ascertain different methods of printmaking as equally valuable forms of art, especially during the post-war era of the avant-garde.
The first thing that comes to mind on viewing these works of art is all the vibrant colors that seem to jump from the canvas and grab hold of its admirers. My favorites include Sam Francis’ “An 8 set – 3 from the Pasadena box” and Lee Mullican’s “Sleeping Gypsy.” Both artworks represent a merging of colors in an effort to portray the variety of life and its buoyancy. Francis’ splashes of dark, watery blue and crimson red evoke warm images of human “ameba existence,” that we all commence our existence from being a tiny little, eagerly awaited speck of humanity, only to develop into grand circles of all colors. Humans incorporate the whole spectrum of the rainbow within themselves, and it is our existence that gives the world true color.
Mullican’s “Sleeping Gypsy” presents a plethora of greenery in a circular existence, buttressed in the background by light dashes of marine. The lush greenery of the work reminds one of nature, presented through the eyes of an abstractionist, while the circles point to the everlastingness of nature and all that she encompasses. At the very centre of several circles, there is an eye, urging one not only to look at the world around him, but to really see, perceive with a hawk’s gaze and truly comprehend.
This idea of printmaking may, at first, seem to strip a work of art off its uniqueness and originality, and it made me think about larger issues which have some shared notions with the idea of making copies, such as cloning, for instance. If there was a copy of me, I would most certainly feel like my identity was stolen. But, taking into account the mass production of pictures, paintings, photographs and other similar media, and their mass copying to be made available to anyone who wishes to possess them, does not seem wrong to me at all. All in all, my trip to Norton Simon Museum was more than a pleasant experience and has definitely raised some very interesting issues in my mind, making me ponder. After all, that is what art should be all about: making people (re)think their beliefs, choices and actions.