20 facts from Fracturing the Canon Essay

I attended the Clark Atlanta Art Gallery Tuesday, September 13, 2013 in Trevor-Arnett at 11:30 a.m. The instructor a couple others and I had was Cynthia .She carefully and thoroughly guided us along the tour. She was very fluent and intellectual in the art pieces being displayed. She really knew what she was talking about, and you could truly see her passion for her work and the art. To my surprise there were many other students with me taking the tour. The art gallery is offered to the entire AUC to come visit and lean the history. The Art Gallery is made up of African American art work collected from 1900-1980. It highlights the treasures with a series of six murals, titled Art of the Negro, painted to celebrated artists and teachers. The gallery was created to give an opportunity for the African Americans to exhibit their art work. Purchase Prizes were awarded in various categories and Atlanta University gradually came into possession of a considerable collection. The collection holds two hundred and ninety-one paintings, prints and sculptures by several artists such as: Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Hayward Oubre and many others. Students from the AUC also have paintings displayed in the gallery, which encourages other student who has a passion for art, to try to do the things other made possible plus more. When I went, I took a walk around to observe the collections. There were many classics throughout the gallery, which won prizes for the artwork that was done. There was an assortment of different styles of art, such as: oil paint canvas, wood cuts, photograph, serigraph, textiles, mix media and several more. It attributes to different important people around campus such as Hale Woodruff. It was also learned that the art gallery was started by Hale Woodruff himself in the 1900s. There were hand crafted masks, baskets, scripts and tools used during the industrial period. James Malone has an assortment of acrylic on canvas that reflected local and common factors of African American lifestyles called: â€Å"College Studies†, â€Å"All Sales†, â€Å"Elderly Neighbor† and â€Å"I Aint Got Nothing†. The most captivating part was seeing the artist work displaying not only the positive but also the negative images of African American’s. I would have to say the most absorbing picture was a young man demonstrating the negative vibe of today’s negative vibe with the young man sagging his jeans with gold teeth. The image describes how far as a whole we African Americans will continue to lower our standards to be accepted by everyone. It shows we really value what other think about us rather than how we feel about ourselves. I would truly recommend the art gallery to the AUC and others. That includes parents, peers, and senior citizens. I feel it is useful to African Americans as well as other races because it is always a beautiful experience to learn your history and sometimes others. You should always know where you come from and about the people who paved a way for you. You are never too young or too old to learn something you once did not know. The Art gallery opened my eyes to different things and has made me more appreciative for the thing I have and the things others have done for me. It showed me to be thankful for the people that made a way for me to be where I am today. Art Galleries can be useful not only for assignments but for entertainment, learning, and main attractions. I would attend the Art Gallery to continue my learning experience on the different art pieces I missed and the things I didn’t catch/learn the first time visiting. During this experience there was nothing negative about the event, only that it could have been more interactive so students would enjoy the experience and learn something new. It was an awesome event to attend, to learn about the history of our school and the African Americans who made a difference throughout the black community. It was beneficial to see the different paintings as a student to learn about my schools history and black heritage. Even though it is a requirement to attend the art gallery I think everyone should visit and understand the different art pieces as well as the differences the artists made for us all. It brings historical values to the growth of African American and our generation. Take the tour, learn, and enjoy!