Lanie Reviews Art @lanieart - Tumblr Blog

Posts

The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Albright-Knox Northland - In These Truths

Frank Lloyd Wright Allen House

Albright Knox Public Art Initiative

For Week 15, I visited three different public art initiatives.

1. look and see

2. John Brent Mural

3. Metamorphosis #5

4. The Space Between: Frank Lloyd Wright | Jun Kaneko (where it used to be) at the Darwin Martin House

Lenses (in person) and Burchfield-Penney Art Gallery (virtual)

444 Forest Ave, Buffalo, NY 14213

Gallery Type: Historical, self-guided

I really appreciated my visit to the Lenses exhibit in the Richardson Complex. Based on the exhibit’s name, I definitely thought that we would be viewing Buffalo's architectural history through different analytical perspectives and that expectation was most definitely met. Besides that I really wasn't sure what to expect with this particular exhibit; I went in with an open mind, and I was just really excited to visit this exhibit to learn about Buffalo's architectural history.

I thought that the presentation of the information was very engaging and kept the visitor interested. One of my favorite things personally was seeing the photographs of buildings that have been taken down in Buffalo. I thought these buildings were absolutely stunning. One that stuck in my mind particularly was the Larkin Administration building as well as the public library that we had here. The public library really impressed upon me since I always think about how larger cities have older historical libraries, and how often I wish Buffalo had one. I do understand, however. that the library was poorly designed and built so its demolition is understandable.

I also really appreciated the portion of the exhibit that focused on analyzing and dissecting the accessibility of architecture as a profession. I loved where they blacked out text that was unnecessarily academic; this served as a great visual representation of how inaccessible this particular field can be. Another one of my observations was that I absolutely loved the portion of the exhibit that explored the 33 and how detrimental it has been to Buffalo as a whole. I personally am a humongous fan of Frederick Law Olmsted, and I thought his concept of “a city within a park” was a fantastic idea. I love his use of corridors within Buffalo to make parks accessible to all citizens of Buffalo, not just wealthy people. I was so impressed by the exhibit that provided a potential solution to restoring the Humboldt Parkway by placing a cap over the 33. Overall I just really enjoyed this entire Lenses exhibit even though it was mostly photographs. I thought it was so interesting to see this information organized and presented in this way. It was also so fitting for this exhibit to be placed in the Richardson Olmsted complex which is a large proponent of Buffalo's architectural history.

Buffalo Science Museum

1020 Humboldt Pkwy, Buffalo, NY 14211

Gallery type: Museum, self guided

Exhibits: Bug Works, Rethink Extinct, Arctic Dinosaurs, Biodiversity, Explore You, Our Marvelous Earth

Overall I loved my visit to the Science Museum! My two favorite and definitely most engaging exhibits were the Bug Works exhibit as well as the Rethink Extinct Exhibit. Over this semester, I have attended the Buffalo Science Museum twice with my boyfriend who actually did an internship there (so he was able to give me the inside scoop). He actually also took an entomology class here at Canisius where he learned a ton about bugs which also added to my experience of the Bug Works exhibit. He was able to tell me a bunch of cool, really interesting facts about the bugs which I really enjoyed. I also was obsessed with the dioramas of the bugs. I thought they were beautifully arranged, and there were so many different and interesting looking bugs; I truly think they are amazing creatures. My favorite bug by far was the Luna Moth. They also had some really cool displays of beetles, bees, and the butterflies and moths. Those were definitely by far my favorite.

Besides Bug Works, I also absolutely adored the Rethink Extinct exhibit. I've always loved dinosaurs and animals in general as a kid, so being able to go to exhibits like this that have fossils and taxidermic animals is such an interesting and engaging experience. I also very much appreciated this section because it paid homage to New York in that they had the New York State fossil the Eurypterid. I also was so interested and engaged by the Mastodon skeleton that they had. It really makes you feel like you're in a prestigious science museum comparable to the likes of NYC or Washington DC!

I really appreciated the different approaches that the science museum took, especially how they catered this space to both adults and children. For example I loved how the fossils and creatures in Rethink Extinct had cards stating where they were from or and whether the specimen was authentic. I also appreciated when they would include facts about the animal. I also thought it was really nice that there were multiple hands-on opportunities for children to get engaged. For example, I remember there being a fossil pit where kids could discover fossils. One thing I would like to comment on, however, is that the upper space of the museum is definitely geared towards younger children. While I had a fun time visiting those spaces, it wasn’t necessarily what I was looking for. However I think it's great how accommodating and enticing and engaging this experience is for younger children. I think it's super important that we get kids involved in learning and thinking learning is fun.

Forest Lawn Cemetery

Forest Lawn Cemetery. 1990 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14208.

Self-Guided Tour/Scavenger Hunt

5 Motifs: Obelisk, Doves, Cross, Urn, and Columns

3 people: Darwin Martin, Millard Fillmore, Blue Sky Mausoleum

Buffalo Zoo

Buffalo Zoo. 300 Parkside Ave, Buffalo, NY 14214

Self-Guided Tour

Gallery Type: Zoo

Exhibits: Arctic Edge, Amphibian and Reptile Center, Rainforest Falls, and more

While the Buffalo Zoo is most definitely on a smaller-scale than other zoos I have visited, it still does a great job in creating realistic and suitable habitats for the animals it hosts. In multiple exhibits, the zoo attempts to recreate the animal’s actual habitat with plants or structures. For example, in the Rainforest themed building, the zoo has foliage and trees erected in some of the monkey exhibits. This allows them to climb and hang from the trees as if they were actually in the rainforest. Additionally, by grouping many of the animals together from the rainforest, they are able to have this space be open and have it all at the same temperature. Another example is the mountain goat exhibit. The zoo has a mountain-like structure within their outside exhibit that they can climb onto, run on, and run around. This mimics their typical mountainous environment.

I have also visited the Zoo in Washington DC. The DC zoo is definitely on a much larger scale and is much more spread out than the Buffalo Zoo. When visiting there, I remember the red pandas exhibit specifically. They had a foliage dense area with lots of plant life for the red panda to interact with to mimic its habitat. This area was also outside and not indoors. I feel like this is similar to the styles of enclosures at the Buffalo Zoo.

Attached with this post is my favorite animal from the zoo, the pig-nosed turtle. This adorable turtle originates from Australia and New Guinea. My two actual favorite animals, sharks and cheetahs, were not at the zoo but the pig-nosed turtle is a close second! This animal is significant to me because I just felt so connected to it while watching it gracefully swim in its enclosure. Watching it was just absolutely so peaceful and the turtle was also adorable which made it even better!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House

255 N Roosevelt St, Wichita, KS 67208

Tour Guide: Michelle

Gallery Visit: Museum Space

Buildings visited: Main Allen House, Garage, and Gardener’s Cottage

During my visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House, I was fortunate enough to take a three hour guided tour of the space. This building is a beautiful prairie style home residing in Wichita, Kansas. Many of the visitors and myself included have remarked that this seems like one of the most “livable” Frank Lloyd Wright homes in contrast to some of his other designs. This tour was excellent and gave a deeper insight to every room of the house!

One unique feature of this house was the Japanese stylistic elements. When Wright was designing this home for the Allens, he was also designing the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan. As a result, he slipped influences of Japanese architecture into the home. My favorite specific element was that he incorporated the practice called “wabi-sabi” where something is intentionally imperfect. This apparently allows bad spirits to exit the home. Wright featured this by having one of his art glass pieces placed incorrectly to the symmetry motif in the living room. Another unique feature was the compression and release architecture. Wright deliberately designed the hallways and spaces he didn’t want you to remain in with low ceilings to make you uncomfortable. However, when you went to the places he desired you to be, like the living room and dining room, they featured high ceilings that “released” you. The walkways in between his beautifully designed living and dining rooms were extremely compressed, which only made the release and exposure to the dining and living rooms all the more enjoyable.

Additionally, I love how Wright created built-in-furniture within this home. Wright was meticulous and very particular about how his homes were designed and styled. As a result, he built furniture into the home so that it was extremely difficult to move and re-style. We saw multiple built-in cabinets within the dining room and a built-in drawer in one of the upstairs offices. Our tour guide even related a story to us about how Wright visited the Allen family and re-arranged their entire living room to his original vision. Another part of this home that I loved was the parlor/foyer. This was the space you walked into when you entered the home; it was so organic in its composition as it featured slate tiles, a beautiful fireplace, and an organic colored couch. The most interesting part about this room, however, was that it was significantly lower than the rest of the house, and you had to walk up a staircase to get to the rest of the house. Wright purposefully designed this as Mr. Allen was very short, so he would stand at the top of the stairs and address visitors so he appeared taller. My final unique feature of the house was the bookshelf in the living room. This book shelf was no more than a foot and a half tall, but it lined the entire room along the floor. It really emphasized the horizontal lines and overall prairie style architecture of the space. I also just adore book shelves so this stood out to me immensely.

While in the Kansas area, we also visited E.W Marland’s elaborate mansion in Ponca City, Oklahoma. These houses were immensely different in almost every way. This mansion was heavily Renaissance inspired with painting ceilings in the Renaissance art-style, overwhelming marble structures, and even a ballroom. This house was flamboyant in so many-ways as it was a flagrant display of the wealth held by oil tycoons like E.W. Marland. This house also stood out immensely in the open field space where it was. In contrast, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Allen House features the uniquely American prairie style architecture rather than drawing from European conventions. The Allen House is also not flamboyant or flagrant, it is a tasteful yet beautiful display of architecture and style. Additionally, Wright designed the Allen House to blend with its landscape rather than stand out. Overall, these houses were vastly different yet both were amazing to tour!

UB Anderson Gallery

Anderson Gallery. 1 Martha Jackson Place. Buffalo, NY 14214

Self-Guided Tour

Exhibits: Cravens World, Surface Tension, Tetragrammaton, Love Letter

I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the Anderson Gallery. This gallery being located in a repurposed building makes it an excellent fit for the display of contemporary art. I believe that this use of rehabilitated buildings is contemporary in of itself. Some of the spaces were especially suited for contemporary art. For example, the second floor of the gallery was beautiful as it featured exposed brick walls and a wall consisting of all windows. This allowed for so much natural light to enter in and really enhanced my viewing of the Tetragrammaton exhibit. The exposed brick and extensive natural light truly allowed for a great viewing experience of the contemporary pieces of this exhibit. Additionally, the contemporary exhibit Surface Tension by Maria D. Rapicavoli was extremely suited to the space of the Anderson Gallery. Rapicavoli’s exhibit consisted of multimedia pieces that complemented the large open room of the first floor of the Anderson Gallery. Her pieces included large photograph prints as well as a cinematic experience. This really fit the large room on the first floor of the Anderson Gallery rather than a smaller closed space of a conventional museum.

The “Cravens World” exhibit was stunning. The globe display was so fascinating to view in person, almost surreal. To have these human artifacts displayed in a way that had them surround you and reach from the floor to the ceiling was intriguing. It really puts into perspective how long humans have been on this planet, creating things, and creating art. Additionally, I really liked how this exhibit put a contemporary spin on history and artifacts that have been around for thousands of years. Rather than featuring them in a conventional gallery or historical setting, the utilization of this innovative display revitalizes people’s interest in a subject that may seem boring or old. I also loved how this exhibit combined the objectives of storing artifacts as well as displaying them. This revolutionary approach enhances both the quality and storage of the museum as well as the viewer’s experience. Overall, I hope to see this method of storage used in more galleries and museums.

Buffalo Arts Studio

Buffalo Arts Studio. Tri-Main Center. 2495 Main Street, Suite 500 Buffalo, NY 14214

Cultural Space: Art Gallery

Self-Guided Experience

Exhibit: Attica Now

Overall, I thoroughly appreciated and respected the message and meaning of the “Attica NOW” exhibit. I believe that education, especially through alternative means like art, is a fantastic asset and should be used for awareness like it is in this instance. Not only was this collection educational, but it also was immensely emotionally evocative in the images and information it related to the viewer. The multimedia mediums used to present the art were excellently suited to this exhibit; featuring actual footage and photographs from the prison revolt in addition to more so conventional art worked extremely effectively in both moving the viewer, sparking outrage, and promoting awareness of this issue. Within this exhibit, there were multiple pieces and features that stood out to me.

The piece titled Slogans + Massacre had a profound impact on me. This piece consisted of graphic images featuring the horrors that occured to the men of the Attica prison with words like “ WAR ON POVERTY” being put onto the screen. It also featured the slogan “WAR ON DRUGS”. I personally was moved by this piece because of how directly it addressed the prison industrial complex. It made commentary on how the war on drugs equates to the war on poverty. Rather than addressing the socio-economic factors that contribute to the issue of drugs, the government declares war on drugs, and , in turn, a war on poverty. This unnecessary government started war then feeds the prison industrial complex as it pumps prisoners needlessly into its system. I appreciated how it tied together both the history of the Attica Prison riot as well as today’s current prison climate.

Another piece I enjoyed was called The Abolitionist Artifact. I had seen people post pictures of this piece of art prior, so when I saw it it immediately stood out to me. Again, I liked this piece for the same reasons I liked the previously mentioned art, it directly comments and attacks the United States prison industrial complex. It was a large metallic looking structure with red LED lights that read messages like “DEMOLISH, ABOLISH, AMERIKA, PRISONS, THE POLICE” and more words. One of the things that stood out to me the most was how america was spelled with a “k” rather than a “c” which alludes to this country’s dark history of slavery, racism, and specefically the Klu Klux Klan. It also mentioned the words ``abolish” and the “police'' which references the current issues of police brutality within America, again specifically pertaining to black people. Both of these works show how intertwined issues of race and the prison industrial complex are.

The final piece I liked had the statement “BURN DOWN THE AMERICAN PLANTATION” that was placed on the wall. Similarly to The Abolitionist Artifact this artwork also pertains to black Americans and the prison industrial complex. It is clearly referring to slavery and the plantations where black people endured horrific conditions. It is, however, making the statement that this plantation still exists today but in a different form like the prison industrial complex.

Overall, this exhibit had pieces that featured excellent messages and commentary on the problems with America’s prison industrial complex. I really appreciated how they educated the viewers of the exhibit and used multi-media approaches to do so.

Karpeles Manuscript Libraries

220 North St, Buffalo, NY 14201 and 453 Porter Ave, Buffalo, NY 14201

Cultural Space: Manuscript Museum

Self-guided experience

Exhibits: Maps of the United States and Star Trek Concept Drawings

I adored both the Northwood and Porter Karpeles Manuscript Libraries. I have to say I am partial to the Northwood location though as the architecture and overall experience left me in awe. I had passed the Northwood location multiple times prior to my visit and never really knew what it was but I was very compelled by how beautiful the outside of the building was. I presumed it was for something regarding the practice of law, so it's awesome that I got to visit!

At the Northwood location they didn’t really have exhibits besides one about boxing, it was more of a collection rather than distinct exhibits. I was excited to see their original concept art from Star Trek the original series, but it hadn’t been placed on display yet. There were however multiple artifacts that were truly astounding and captivating. For example the excerpt from The Book of the Dead dating back to 1526 BC. I was talking with a worker at the museum, and he told me how this book laid out moral foundations that were then later included in the ten commandments. It was mind boggling to try to comprehend how old the document standing in front of me was. I was also so intrigued by the confession note from William McKinley’s assassin. It read “I killed President McKinley because I done my duty. I didn’t believe one man should have so much service and another man should have none.” The assassination of McKinley is an indisputable part of Buffalo’s history, arguably one of the most pivotal events to occur in our city. To read this confession was while being in Buffalo left me with a strange feeling as I was able to witness a physical memento from this event. Finally, my last favorite piece was the “Proclamation of the Holy Cross'' that sparked the Crusades. While I don’t find this particular historical event very intriguing, being able to look at a physical portion of a significant historical event was a crazy experience.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to both of the libraries. The artifacts I was able to view had such significant historical significance that it made it so stirring to be in the same room as them. A great experience overall.

Albright-Knox Northland Review

Albright-Knox Northland. 612 Northland Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14211

Cultural Space: Art Museum

Self-guided experience

Exhibits: In These Truths

The Ak Northland’s current exhibit, In These Truths, is both aesthetically beautiful and immensely thought provoking as it promotes multiple messages about the black identity and experience through various works of art. I really loved my visit to this exhibit as the artwork was visually stunning, and I was so moved by the message and intention behind the pieces of work. Two of the pieces that left a profound impact on me were Double Dribble and Hot commodity. Both of these artworks had an overarching message of the commodification of both the black body and black identity.

Double Dribble was a large scale piece that featured multiple basketball hoops with long chains hanging from them that almost touched the ground. Without even reading the piece’s background, I understood it pertained to basketball and its relationship to black people. Artist Esmaa Mohamoud uses this piece to illustrate the “connections between plantation slavery and the social systems that followed” which includes basketball. She elaborates later talking about how this sport has now “come to depend on and trade in Black bodies”. Mohamoud expertly executed her vision of this concept. The long chains of the basketball hoops place such an emphasis on the idea of chains and how plantations have been swapped for other institutions like basketball that now rely on the commodification of black bodies. Mohamoud’s piece provokes deep thought into these social institutions and how it affects black people. Overall, I loved this piece for how easily the message was conveyed through the art and the level of analysis involved.

Hot commodity by Oluseye was an art installation that featured antique vending machines filled with contents that draw from the black identity including: sneakers, black-eyed peas, durags, afro picks, earrings, cotton, sugar, hair, coffee beans, and more. This artwork again pertains to the commodification of the black body and the black identity. By featuring physical items that are connected to black culture in vending machines, it shows how easily society draws from black culture as if it is a “vending machine” and that black culture is just a physical object to serve at society’s convenience. While this piece featured some somewhat graphic content, I thought it promoted its message expertly and evoked both emotion and thought.

Overall, I would select Double Dribble to be featured at our college. First being, Canisius College’s largest and most popular sport here is arguably the basketball team. I feel like this piece would be great for promoting awareness and provoking thought amongst the student body about the black experience in America and basketball as an institution today. Because basketball is one of the most popular sports at our school, I feel like this piece could have a very powerful impact. Additionally, Canisius College is located in the Hamlin Park neighborhood which is predominantly black. As a result, I feel like Canisius should feature artists that are black and representative of both its student body and the neighborhood where we reside. This piece could also serve as a great educational tool to help educate non POC members of the student body too which would overall benefit everyone. For those two reasons, I believe that this would be a great piece to feature at our school.

Buffalo Science Museum

K Art Gallery Review

K Art Gallery. 808 Main St, Buffalo, NY 14202.

Cultural Space: Art Museum

Self-guided experience

Exhibits: Edgar Heap of Birds: Punctures

The K Art Gallery’s exhibit of Edgar Heap of Birds: Punctures was a visually stunning and emotionally evocative art experience. Edgar Heap’s use of language in his work expertly advances his point regarding the treatment of Native Americans. Rather than just featuring conventional art or images that lacked words, the utilization of words reinforces the overall meaning of his work. I believe that featuring English in his messages does help the viewer understand his work, but I am not sure if that is universal for everyone. For example, if people are not familiar with English or don’t understand the language completely, they may gloss over his points. Additionally, if people are not aware of the history of the United States and Native Americans, they might be confused about what is going on. However, there is a plethora of information available regarding the background and message of the paintings as well as lots of other information on this topic. Overall, I believe that Heap’s use of English is almost universally understood.

Within the exhibit, the piece “Dine Body Bag” by Edgar Heap was one of my favorite pieces due to the immense impression it had on me. This was a collage of prints featuring phrases in different shades of blue. Two of the phases particularly resonated with me. The first being, “BREAD AND LAND SACRED BIRTH RIGHT”. I’m not sure what is necessarily meant by bread, but the way I interpreted this phrase is that the land is the native peoples sacred birthright. From the land, they then gather their food from it or the “bread”. The words “sacred birth right” most profoundly affected me. The fact that the land was so sacred to Native Americans and was also their birthright makes the pillaging and stealing of their land all the more painful. Besides this phrase, the one that was most impressive for me stated, “MAKE UTERINE HATS YOUR SPORT”. When I read that, I knew that this phrase was alluding to something horrible that occurred to indigenous peoples at the hands of the United States. Upon looking up the work, this was confirmed true; US troops cut out the Cheyenne peoples’ uteruses and decorated their hats with them. I cannot properly describe how horrifying and sickening this was to read and understand that this was done by our country. I also identify as a woman, and having a uterus myself makes this piece all the more sickening to me. Knowing that this happened to other women is beyond disturbing, and my heart hurts at the cruelty these indigenous people were subjected to.

In regards to the social media portion of the assignment, I will feature a social media post of photos on this Tumblr blog to fulfill this requirement.

K Art: A Native American Contemporary Art Gallery

📍K Art Gallery featuring works by Edgar Heap and John Nieto.

Trending Blogs

Recently Viewed Blogs

Lanie Reviews Art