The art gallery featured in the Kellogg Gallery was a collection titled “Window to the West” by renowned art exhibitor Don Huntley. There were about 40 or so paintings in the gallery which were organized based on this theme. Before entering the gallery I expected the general theme of “The West” to be focused mainly on human development and influence in the west, however, Don Huntley’s collection was much more focused on the natural beauty in various features of nature in America. There were however a number of pictures featuring Cowboys and Indians, a typical characterization of the West.
In terms of rating the paintings as to the best and worst, it is difficult to decide on a clear favorite for my favorite painting, though without a doubt the worst painting was the one titled “Coffee Time,” a tasteless picture of two depressed, nude individuals- I barely glanced at it and was disgusted that someone would consider that art. My favorite was the painting titled “Reflections of the Day” by Brent Cotton, which featured three men around a fire in the darnkess after sunset, near a river in the middle of a forest. There was a boat anchored along the shore giving the impression that these men had just returned from a long day’s work and were now huddled around their campfire discussing the day’s events. A sense of companionship seemed to be present amongst the men- perhaps this is just my imposed feeling of the general idea of gathering a campfire. The stark contrast of the fire with the rest of the painting definitely made that the focal point of the painting.
There did seem to be some recognizeable logic in the way that the display was organzied. For example, in the left gallery there were several paintings depicting different types of horses out in nature. And these pictures did seem to be brighter and more lively. As one moved to the back of the gallery the pictures depicted animals in another light. There seemed to be pairs or groups that were connected, such as the painting with the mother bear with her cubs or the painting with the fox and crow. In the final room the paintings were much darker and depicted the more grand view of nature, with such features as the Grand Canyon. Overall, the logic of organizing this gallery did seem to be evident after a bit of reflection.
When teaming with another student to do “I see, you see” on “Reflections of the Day” we basically shared the same perspective, though he pointed out that perhaps the odd situation fo the men along the river could be explained by the fact that they may have been criminals escaping- I wasn’t convnced, but it was an alternative view to consider. The overall dominant message that I picked up from the pictures in this gallery was of the purity and magnificence of nature. This was evident from the depictions of grand mountain ranges and other amazing features of nature. Perhaps this general message connects it with other themes around the world, though this gallery did focus on American landscapes.
