The AGO; Inspiring Works of Art

Art is a valuable tool for conveying one's very unique emotions and characteristics. Yesterday we went on a class trip to the Art Gallery of Ontario to learn more about different styles of art. I learned that you do not need to draw something amazing or detailed just to achieve a message. Art is about the message not the image; just because your work may be extremely detailed and looks very good doesn't necessarily make it art. Adversely, a work that is very minimalist may have a significantly stronger message while still maintaining a certain degree of visual pleasure. Discerning art from doodles on a page is a lesson in futility. The artist may feel they have captured the soul of art in one of their works, where the viewer may look at the same work as a group of scribbly lines with no structure and beauty. To me art is a mixture of visual effects and knowledge but perhaps more importantly it's the way it makes you feel. When you look at art if all you're feeling is, "wow, that looks cool." then in my opinion it's not really art it's simply a good drawing. Art provokes thought and with that thought comes many more thoughts and from those you get an idea. This idea has been inspired, not only by what art you've just seen but also by every single thought is has just provoked in you; art is a living thing. Art is what you feel and how you show it; it's inside you. 

This is a piece by Mary Pratt, I found it inspiring not only because of its contents but also by the title. "The Service Station" accompanied by the gruesome image of skinned and gutted cow hanging by its hind legs and missing upper body. Seeing this almost makes me want to become vegan, although I won't because I lack significant willpower. It makes me wonder, though, how accurate is this to the way livestock is treated. As humane as the human race wants to feel, there are many things we continue to do that are outright barbaric and, as they are, quite inhumane. The true intentions of this piece remain solely in the mind of Mary Pratt, however those are just some thoughts that were provoked by this piece. 

The Service Station-Mary Pratt-1978

This piece is entitled "Slaughter of the Lamb" and is a healthy mix of sanity and surrealism. There is, actually, a lamb's head in this painting. Although this piece is abstract, there are little pieces of realism. The lamb's head is dead center yet evokes movement in the blood splatter across the canvas. I felt inspired by this as well but for evidently different reasons. The color and the way it looks so nice without creating an actual image makes me appreciate surrealism and abstract art more as opposed to seeing it as a bunch of blobs and lines. 

Slaughter of the Lamb-Jack Chambers-1961