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Tag: Ron Mueck

Houston’s Arts and Parks: MFAH

The Museum of Fine Arts, by Karla Rosales

We began our tour of the museum with modern art by James Turrell. We entered the Wilson Tunnel and immediately recognized Turrell’s focus on light in his artwork.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, James Turrell

But with limited time, we stuck with art since 1850, beginning with works by Monet, Van Gogh, and their contemporaries.   We recognized how they used color and form to depict reality in a from alluding to abstraction.

Next, we learned about pointillism art which, somewhat similar to impressionism. Pointillism uses dots of different colors to create an image. We were able to appreciate a more developed form of abstract art with cubism. While pointillism uses color to create its image, cubism uses shapes. The different shapes and colors create different illusions, seemingly showing multiple perspectives simultaneously.

In the modern section, we saw works by Georgia O’Keefe, Alexander Calder, and Jackson Pollock.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Jackson Pollock

Finally, we moved on to the special exhibit: the hyper-realistic work of Ron Mueck.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

We found his work to be somewhat bizarre or, as Betty Moody might say, wonderfully weird and intriguing. Throughout the exhibit we found various sculptures with different meanings. For example, when you first see this piece…

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

…you expect to see a baby in the swaddling.  But the title, “The Man in a Blanket,” hints that it is actually a middle-aged man, curled into the fetal position, perhaps hiding from life.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

Mueck plays with scale, making sculptures either abnormally large or small.  We see average sized people every day, and he gives us something out of the ordinary.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

Perhaps most poignant is a young male, peering into a mirror at his reflection…

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

…with all the questions that young people have about themselves, their future, and the world around them.

He also did a self-portrait, which served as the exhibit centerpiece.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

At the beginning of the exhibit, they warn visitors that some nudity is shown, and they weren’t lying!  This piece, titled “Man in a Boat,” features a fully nude male, and captured the attention of some of our LEAPsters…

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

(The warnings were probably more directed at a subsequent piece not pictured here.)

Mueck also explores the idea of sacrifice, depicting a young African-American male as a victim of violence and a large fowl, hanged upside down in a variation on the crucifixion scene.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

The final and largest sculpture was found at the end of the exhibit; it was a very large newborn baby girl. This work was one of the larger pieces, signifying the great blessing of a new born child.

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, Ron Mueck

When we completed viewing–and reflecting on–the exhibit, we returned the way we came.  As before, we traversed Turrell’s tunnel, but it had changed colors…

Museum of Fine Arts Houston, MFAH, SHSU, LEAP Center, Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Center, LEAP Ambassadors, Education, James Turrell

…and this was appropriate, we thought, because we had changed, too.

 

Author mikeyawnPosted on June 9, 2017Format AsideCategories Art, Civic Engagement, Fun, TravelTags Center for Law Engagement And Politics, LEAP Ambassadors, LEAP Center, MFAH, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Ron Mueck, SHSULeave a comment on Houston’s Arts and Parks: MFAH

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