The exhibition I was assigned to follow at the Greensboro Collects show at the Weatherspoon Art Museum was the Town + Country theme. This theme is all about good times and how they didn’t only exist in the city, good times happened in the country as well. I paid special attention to the piece titled, “By the Skin of our Teeth #2” by Deborah Grant. This work of art caught my attention because of the use of contrasting colors, emphasis, and direction. The diagram I created explains the use of these principles and elements of design in a simple way. When I first look at the artwork, my eye goes straight to the yellow circle in the top left corner. Then it traces downwards to the different figures in the image. As soon as my eyes recognize the figures it shoots back up to the yellow circle. I believe this has a lot to do with the colors and how it is mainly black and white except for the yellow and tan of the background. This creates a high contrast and emphasis on the yellow. This piece reminds me of the idea good design for all and the machine. Le Corbusier said, “a house is a machine for living – it should be as practical as a typewriter, a phone, and an automobile”. The Town + Country exhibit is the same type of theme - there should be good times for all.
Another piece of art I looked at in the theme is by Walter Barker, “Friday Night at the Ozark Airdrome, Webster Grove, Missouri, 1935”. This piece shows simply that there are fun things to do in the country. In specifically showcases an outdoor cinema that is possible in the country because of the open space and darkness. The artist shows this place very populated and entertaining.
On page 195 (Massey), it says of the post-modern era, “it was recognized that good design could no longer be measured by one mutually agreed yardstick”. This basically describes both of the pieces of work to me. The city and country could not be compared using the same “yardstick”. Each places had good things going for the area in different ways.
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