Author: Gracyn Finn

Gracyn Finn

December 6, 2024

Samek Museum

I visited the Samek Museum on the third floor of the ELC and went to The Kress Collection. I did not know what to expect and when walking into this part of the room I was really surprised by how amazing the pieces in there were. All of the pieces had a similar presence of being very old. Even the frames were very old and very detailed. When I think of modern art frames I think of slick and simple frames so I think of the detail these frames added to the art inside. I think the setup of the room makes it very appealing, how the falls are dark red with the spotlights over the pieces of art. The descriptions on the side of the art all had very old dates and I could easily tell that the art was set in that time period. In one of the pictures I took my mind quickly went to religion. The way it is shaped, the people all have halos around them, and the two girls with the angel wings all made me think of religion. Overall I enjoyed this section of the museum and how there is not an overwhelming amount of art pieces so I could really appreciate each one.

Gracyn Finn

November 14th- 5-6PM, Holmes Hall

I went to see Maggie Cardelús’s art exhibit and it was really interesting to see her artwork in person because I had previously gone to her talk in October where she was explaining all the different kinds of art she does. The photo that I took was of her work with the small plastic pieces. I really like how much detail the piece has. I also really liked looking at her needlepoint pieces and thought they where very impressive. I like how Maggie has used such different materials throughout her career like all of her pieces made out of paper.

Gracyn Finn

Holmes Hall- October 9, 2024, 5:00PM

Maggie Cardelús

I went to an artist’s talk by Maggie Cardelús where she talked about the work she does like needlepoint, leatherwork, and paper folding in varying scales. Early on in her presentation, she spoke about how the titles of her photos are always changing and how she has no end goal for art, and that she continues to change and develop her art. My favorite pieces that she showed us were the pieces that were made of paper that were cut and reformed, and you could barely even tell what the original photo was of. I loved the picture of her son looking at the birds and then she cut out little bird outlines, it was so simple but such a great meaning behind it. I enjoyed when she was talking about when she collected the needlepoint work and how each one had its own unique characteristics. I love how all of her art is so different with its processes, it would be so amazing to go to one of her shows because of how diverse her pieces are.

Gracyn Finn

Title of event: Sakem Museum, Third floor of ELC

Date and time: 11:45, September 27th, 2024

Type of Event: Art museum

1.) Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended.

For this Artxpose, I walked around through the Sakem Museum here at Bucknell and got to enjoy all of the art made by different students here. There were a ton of framed pieces of art and all had unique qualities that individualized each one. 

2.) Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal criticalinsight / response to the event. How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you?

While walking through the Sakem Art Museum I enjoyed taking my time and walking through the room at my own pace getting to think about the art I was looking at. I noticed how they weren’t titled which was interesting for the pieces that were more unclear, because I was able to have my own interpretation of the art. I also noticed how all of the different pieces of art were very different and varied in their composition. Some were photos, some were watercolors, paint, acrylic, and pencil, and some I was unsure what the artist used which I found interesting. While walking through, and seeing the various pieces, made me wonder how they decided to group the pieces and how they are displayed. From an outside perspective, it looks almost random, but I wonder if there was a certain thought process and purpose behind how the pieces were grouped together. I also wonder how often they replace this art, and how they decide what will be displayed. Some art pieces look like they vary in the culture behind them. One piece that stood out to me was one with a man surrounded by Chinese characters and symbols. Some pieces are very modern looking with clean shapes and colors while others are messy scribbles.

3.) What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?

I am most impressed by how each piece of art is so different and how you can clearly tell that almost every piece was made by a different artist. There was two pieces that were next to each other and looked like they used the same material and similar qualities but the image was the same. I think it is interesting that I interpret the two pieces as being made by the same person. 

4.) Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?

7

5.) Justify your rating in the question above:

I did enjoy this Museum and I liked taking my time walking through because it was empty while I was there. I am looking forward to attending an event so that I can hear what the speaker has to say and learn new things about art that I don’t know.