I was lucky enough to visit the High Museum of Art in Atlanta Georgia while they were having an exhibition titled "The First Emperor". I am glad I got to see this as it was a great exhibition. In fact I think I would have to say the entire exhibit was my favorite work of art. I especially enjoyed the terracotta worriers and their terracotta horses. This exhibit taught me something that I did not know, that being that these were the first "mass produced" works of art. They were each cast from a mold and then the individual features were added by hand to make them appear to all be different. It goes without saying that this work of art identifies a historic moment in time. This was the first emperor of china and he wanted to make sure he was remembered for eternity and I think he might have fulfilled that goal.I also got to visit the "Louvre Atlanta" exhibit, I enjoyed it very much as well. I have always wanted to go the museum in Paris, so being a poor college student this was the next best thing. It was also a very interesting. It contained the piece of art that I liked but would not take home, a bronze statue called "Lion Crushing a Serpent" by Louis Barye. Even if it were possible to take this work of art home I just don't think it would fit in very well with my house, but I loved the detail of it. This exhibit contained several works that felt sad to me, one of them was a pictured of a women and her children. Unfortunately the high would not allow me to take pictures while in the museum so I am unsure of the author, but the painting was very "dark" to me and that aided in the sadness it conveyed. The art that shocked me was of an Egyptian sculpture. It was shocking because it was on display at the Louvre in Pairs for more than 80 years before it was discovered to be a fake!
In the decorative arts and design collection there was also a large solid silver pitcher that reminded me of my grandmother, because she would have love to have something like that on display in her own home.
When comparing the folk art and contemporary section to the rest of the museum I would have to say that I could relate to the folk art section much more than any other part. I guess this is because this section contained more or what I could consider "arts & craft" style works of art. This type of art seems more like something the everyday person could make themselves contrast that with the huge elaborate paintings in the other sections of the museum. I just felt more at home in that section then anywhere else.
The entire experience was great and it was very meaningful because I turned it into a date and got to spend time with my girlfriend. She enjoyed the experience as much as I did and I think we will most certainly be going back sometime in the near future to explorer other aspects of the museum.
