What I Learned at School Today

To give a little background on this, the teacher I'm writing this for calls these things "Performance Pieces" because he wants us to go see a play or ballet or the like, but as long as its new for us its acceptable. I decided to go to an art museum and only decided to because i had to for school, hence the title, but I am so glad that I did. This is not a creative writing piece, this a real thing I did for school. So, please read and let me know what you think, because i was actually pretty proud of it, not necessarily the actual paper, but what i learned form the trip.



For my first performance piece I decided I would go to an art museum and try to analyze the paintings there like we had done in class. Before this class I never had any interest in the high arts, I thought they were boring, but after seeing the Madonna with the Freudian twist something awoke within me and I began to see them in a more intellectual way. The museum I choose for this piece was the Cleveland Museum of Art and my friend Annie came along, she is a fine arts major and her insights and knowledge was immensely helpful, especially with some paintings that I initially though boring or uninteresting.

I initially chose the Cleveland museum mostly because I hate Toledo, and those are the only two museums I know of that are that close, though I will defiantly return because of its close proximity to other interesting attractions like the botanical garden and the historical museum. To me the museum itself was a piece of art. The glass guardrails, though terrifying, were unique, modern and sleek and the newer parts of the building being built around the original building instead of overtop of it was very cool to me. It was like the architects were trying to show that the complex, and maybe even art itself, was not only evolving and advancing, but ‘growing’ as well, placing as much importance on how the museum use to be as how it is today. Which exemplifies the point of a museum, remembering and honoring the past while still growing into the future.

I did not find as many examples of the particular artwork that I was looking for as I would have hoped, but I did learn to see paintings that I used to find boring in a way that makes them interesting. For example, there was an abstract piece that Annie pointed out asking what I saw in it. I said I saw “a bunch of goofy shapes and colors,” and that I saw no real message in the painting. She, however, said that there was meaning in the colors he chose for certain shapes and the way he had the shapes arranged. I was so caught up in her explanation and trying to understand it that I forgot to make a note of the paintings title or artist but I believe it was called “Woodmill.” I had no idea that my friend was so intellectually capable. And even though I never came to understand the painting, I learned that the image on the canvas is not the only way to convey a message and that an artist choice of color, placement, even types of paint or brush can have a significant impact meaning and I began to look for these things.

The most exciting thing I learned from this experience is that art is actually fun. I looked at a thing that was boring and lifeless and after staring at it for ten or fifteen minutes found that this thing is actually vibrant and filled with emotion and intent. I learned that though I may not be an artist or very knowledgeable about the high arts, I greatly enjoy analyzing the hows and whys of them, especially the slightly abstract or those from the movements that we discussed in class. More importantly I learned that my friend is far more intellectual than I ever imagined she could be. I was impressed and proud of her insight and analytical capabilities and it was fascinating to see her in her element. “Artist” is a title that she truly deserves, as much as Picaso or Monet. I’m always considered the smart guy in the group, but this chick made me look like a simp that day!

Trying to link this to a humanities concern was something that I wracked my mind over. I went over the events of the day in my mind again and again, the paintings, the sculptures, the weapons but the one thing I kept coming back to was my friend. And looking through my notes I found something that I truly applies to the more important things I learned that day. “What are Beauty, Truth, Justice and Goodness?” Though I think “Justice” is a concept that a human mind cannot clearly comprehend, I saw Truth in the artwork, through the colors, the textures, the subjects and meanings of them. My Truth is in learning and understanding and through this revelation I am more driven to further my knowledge and seek out these things I don’t understand and try to make sense of them. Goodness was tougher, but it was there that day too and I found it in sharing the day with my friends. I didn’t mention earlier but Annie’s girlfriend came along too and though I don’t know her as well, it was still an amazing day and I felt good about learning and growing with the both of them. In the mutual bond between friends, new and old, is where the Goodness in my life is and knowing that I am more determined to strengthen the bonds I already have with the people I care about.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I saw beauty that day in an unexpected way. And I saw this in the most plutonic way possible, but I saw beauty in Annie that day. I know Annie well, we’ve been friends a long time and until that day I have never known she even had an intellectual side. But when she told me what the colors meant, or what brush was used and why, or explained the meaning of a piece that was too far over my head, I saw more and more the final pieces to this person that I had no idea were even there. Beauty is in knowing a person, inside and out, in all parts of their mind and heart, and Annie a Beautiful person. Again, totally plutonic.

All and all that day was not valuable in the way I thought it would be, I actually pegged the day as a total misfire at first. But as I looked back and actually thought about what I learned I discovered that I had made subtle revelations that took a little while to sink in. This may sound like vulture vomit, but this experience was truly a life changing one. Though I did not learn as much about art as I wanted to, I learned a hell of a lot about myself, and now know that I have a whole lot more to learn. As to what improvements are needed, I sorely underestimated the sheer vastness of the human personality. I thought that I knew myself, and even my friend, as thoroughly as any human being could. Now I know that this is naiveté at its finest.

I was humbled that day. By the Beauty, Goodness, Truth and the subtlety therein. I stand in the shallows of the vast, limitless ocean that is my own self. I can only hope that when my time here is over that I will know it’s depths.