Raphael to Foxy Brown: Part two

The next exhibit I went to was China Design Now.

There's something wild, energetic, and disorienting about leaving a highly contemplative experience and being plunged into an environment pumping with modern Chinese pop music, color, and unfettered boldness.

Raphael's delicate sfumato technique with its lack of definite lines and serene atmosphere left me feeling very peaceful.

China Design Now with its youthful vigor was like a bracing splash of cold water. Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen are now dominated by a younger population who are curious, mischievous, and fearless.

The museum showed graphic design from CD labels, animation, and prints exploring the nature of Chinese calligraphy to radical architecture ideas, haute couture (which I fell madly in love with. Chinese haute couture is wonderful!), music, and movie making.

Color, line, and the reality of living in some of the most crowded cities in the world shoved me out of my complacent calmness and into thinking about a global identity. Problem solving is a major goal of mine. I left Raphael with admiration for his technique and his ability to create delicate emotions.

I left China Design Now ready to give my best to the social problems of today.

Which is the better art? And does it matter?

From Raphael to Foxy Brown: Part One of Three

The Portland Art Museum is currently hosting two exhibits that will blow your mind wide open. I visited them on Tuesday, and that evening, watched Foxy Brown. This is the story of how the different kinds of art can affect you. Or more accurately, me.

The first exhibit is a special showing of Raphael's incomparable La Velata (Woman with the Veil). The Art Museum's website has all the details, but you'll have to read all that there. I want to talk about the emotional impact of art.

Setting plays a huge part in the way visual art speaks to the viewers. La Velata is being displayed by herself in a single room. Only a limited number of patrons are allowed in at one time to avoid crowds.

In this black curtained room, her ornate gold frame captures the light and surrounds her with an angelic glow. Raphael's sfumato technique gives her face and clothing a soft, serene look. Her gaze goes directly to you, no matter where you are standing.

This is what I wrote in my journal after viewing her.

Her eyes are direct, but also peaceful. There is an air of alertness, but not of fear. She is alive and serene at the same time.

Her jewelry is exquisite. Carnelian at her neck, pearl bobs in her hair, and the black ribbons at her bodice indicate not only her status, but invite the viewer (or more accurately, me!) to contemplate the nature of adornment. And makes us (more accurately, me) want to make sure we have shown ourselves love by decorating our bodies.

Her veil glows.

She makes me lower my shoulders and release my tension. For though she looks very young, her face is both compassionate and no-nonsense.

As I wandered the rest of the museum's gallery of Renaissance art, I compared the serenity of La Velata to the action-oriented pieces in the collection. Her elegance and seeming simplicity left me wanting more, whereas the more violent pieces made me scurry by, not wanting to ruin the contemplative feeling she gave me.

Next up?

China Design Now - an overwhelming and exciting display of modern design from Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen.