"Menil Sketches" >>> A Day At The Menil Collection

Here are all of my sketches from the Menil Collection. Some of them were a little difficult to find, but I eventually found them all. And below are my responses to the writing assignment.

a) What was the most enjoyable thing you saw? Why?

I enjoy looking at paintings more than sculptures, which is why my favorite piece was a painting. The painting Glider by Robert Rauschenberg was very interesting. I loved the different geometric shapes that made up the massive painting. It looked very architectural, something you would not normally think of when painting comes to mind.

b) What was the most disturbing thing you saw? Why?

Many sculptures at the Menil were disturbing, but one of them stood out among the rest. The untitled sculpture of the girl on the crucifixes by Maurizo Cattelan was absurd. I felt like the piece was making fun of Jesus; I do not think the artist intended this, but I felt it was unnecessary. The way her head and other body parts were twisted was strange, especially the bolts that did not even touch the wall.

c) What piece in the museum is the most like something you might make yourself, or would like to make?

The painting Periscope by Jasper Johns was very oriented with a variety of things. I love mixing text with paintings, which is what made this painting stand out from the rest. I am not a big

painter, but when I do, I paint with lines and blobs, not actual human beings. I could see myself making a painting like this one because of the stenciled words and the use of blue hues.

d) What made

you curious, what do you want to know more about? Why?

As I continued through

the museum, I realized all of the sculptures which I made a weird face to are constructed by Maurizo

Cattelan. Although they were all disquieting, some of them made me very curious. The room filled with “bodies” covered in white blankets was very alarming, but it also made me want to lift up a cover to see what was truly beneath the blankets. I was very curious as to wondering if the room was filled with plastic or maybe even real humans; I will never know.

e) Which of the Menil’s buildings fit the art inside best?

The Rot

hko Chapel definit

ely worked the best with the artwork inside. The room was octagon

al shaped, with plain black paintings on each section of the wall. I think the room might have been built, knowing exactly where each painting was going to hang. It seemed very well planned out; I think I got goose bumps in the middle of the room.