Art

If one, before I went to the art gallery at Woods Hall, would have asked me the question, “What is art?” I would have probably answered, “Art is the Mona Lisa.” Or “art is a sheep carved into a block of ice or just another picture of a sunset.” Those are a few examples of what I thought were art. Other people might say that art is observing and drawing a full body portrait of a naked man posing for a class in college or sculpting an elephant out of clay. All of these examples and definitions of art are from people with a misunderstanding or a lack of appreciation for art. Therefore, this brings up the question again, “What really is art?”

My appreciation for art changed after my visit to the Woods Hall Art Gallery. I walked into the gallery expecting to look at a lot of meaningless paintings or funny looking sculptures. As soon as I walked into the gallery my attention was directed and my eyes were fixed on two pictures by Jonathon Purvis. The piece that touched me the most was entitled “Rufus Davis.” It is a black and white photograph of an older black guy dressed in a pure white suit and wearing a black World War II veteran hat. The feature of the photograph that stood caught my attention the most was the black guy’s eyes. It was like he was looking directly into my soul and if I stared to long I felt like I would cry. Not only could I see the pain and all the hurt that was built up inside that old man but I could almost feel it too. He had deep pain-filled wrinkles and each side of his mouth. His facial expression was almost a proud look with extreme disappointment in his eyes. It was like he was crying without shedding any tears. He had a thick mustache and a little patch of hair below his bottom lip. All of his facial hair was salt and pepper colored.

This man had been through so much pain and sadness, yet he still displays his World War II hat as a proud statement. Just from looking at the picture I gained a lot of respect and admiration for this anonymous person. The picture was made in black and white to show that segregation was a huge part of this man’s life. He was a World War II so he would be anywhere in the area from 85 to 95 years old. The more that this man aged the less this man’s dark black skin could hide the pain and heartache. This photograph made me very angry at the older white generation for the way that this man was probably treated. I was overwhelmed with patriotism for my country. Despite all of the race issues that he dealt with, he still sacrificed his life so that we Americans could live in freedom. I was saddened by the thought of all the hate towards this man because of the color of his skin.

The other picture was entitled “Rachel Higgins’ Going Away Party.” This is a picture that brings all different styles of people together into one photograph. It is a picture divided into sixteen blocks (4x4) each with a photograph of a person in it. Each person in the different blocks has a different lifestyle and different background.

The first block represents the guy that only wants to get drunk. He has no other care in the world besides drinking a lot of beer and getting wasted. The second picture represents the guy that is not sure if he should drink or not. He is probably the guy that has grown up with good morals and values. The third one represents the woman that wants to get drunk fast and forget about her worries. Hints the Vodka bottle she is drinking out of. Next is the crazy guy that just wants attention. He doesn’t really drink but will do anything to become the center of attention. The next row is started by the crazy woman that just wants some action. She is the freaky woman that tries to get with every guy at the party. Beside her is the slow drinking guy being made fun of by the non-drinker. The next guy is getting drunk but represents the people who do not want anybody to find out. He is hiding behind a mask. He might by the guy that is really involved in his youth group at church but lives the double lifestyle. Last on row two is the non-drinking mother figure. Row three begins with the non-drinking guy that is just at the party for the ladies. Next is the non-drinking girl that is happy and content with life. Beside the good girl is the girl that gets drunk, has sex with some random guy and regrets the decisions she makes when she sobers up. The last picture on the third row is of the tough girl who doesn’t take any crap from anyone. The last row is started by the crazy freak lady consoling possibly trying to take advantage of a hurting woman. Next is the girl at the party just having a good time. The second to last picture represents the drunken guy that is the life of the party that does dumb crazy things. The last picture is of the popular guy that everybody likes even though he doesn’t drink. This collection of pictures is one that almost everyone can relate to.

Both of these pieces of art by Jonathan Purvis are pieces that everyone can relate to in some way. One can look at both of these pieces and see what kind of background these people have. In “Rufus Davis” we see the feelings and background of one man. In “Rachel Higgins’ Going Away Party” we see the feelings and lifestyles of many different people. Looking at these pictures stirs up some sort of emotion in the observer. If one were to ask, “What is art?” I would answer, “Art is anything that makes people think, feel, or relate to.”