Denver Art Museum

The African Art section in the Denver Art Museum is breath taking. While walking through this section in the museum there are a variety of pieces ranging from wood to canvas. In this section you can either be taken back by the struggles these people have endured or be intrigued by the talented art pieces they have created. One of the most interesting pieces in this section to me was a piece by Olowe of Ise. One of Olowe’s last pieces Housepost is featured in the Denver Art Museum.

Olowe of Ise (1873-1938) was a part of the Nigerian Yoruba tribe. The piece Housepost was created late 1920 out of wood. The piece is 1.75 meters (6’9”) high. The piece is of a warrior, his horse and people of his community (two men and two women). The warrior is visibly larger than his horse while seated on him. In this carving the scale of the subjects seems to show the amount of power/respect they receive. (Ise) By taking this into perspective the warrior is bigger than the other subjects in the carving to show they are superior. With their being both men and women being the same size it shows that both the men and the women are treated as equals in the Yoruba community.

Olowe of Ise was a young male born into the Yoruba community of Nigeria is 1873. (Denver Art Museum) The Yoruba community has a big effect on the types of art that was created by Olowe and others of the Nigerian Yoruba tribe. The Yoruba are known for their music, art and distinct language. Some of the most forms of art from the Yoruba are sculptures, masks and paintings. The Yoruba tribe used many resources that were plentiful to makes their arts. (University of Iowa)

The culture from the Yoruba community influenced this piece by Olowe of Ise greatly. The piece was originally created for the home of Chief Elefoshan of Akure. The piece showed the status of the chief and his community. The sculpture was usually found at the front doors of homes of the owner. Olowe was the mostly highly regarded Yoruba carver of the twentieth century, so him sculpting this piece of Chief Elefoshan showed how much he respected and cared for this man. (Zemanek)

The 1920’s decade is usually referred to as the “roaring twenties” by people of the American culture. In Nigeria the 1920’s was also a fierce time for someone to live. During the 1920’s in Nigeria they were going through modernization going from a pre-modern society where they had a specific ruler they had to follow to a modern society were they found a specific religion they would follow and would stick with that religion and the ruler. Women were gaining their independence from males, but were mysteriously missing. One of the main segregation factors in this part of Africa comes from the choice of religion. Many of the mask and sculptures that are now available worldwide comes from the carvers or artist choice of religion and how they depicted it. (Olukojo)

One of the major aspects of the African Art is music. Although there are many predispositions of Africans and their choice of music and music making the Denver Art Museum made sure to add this into this section. I found this to be phenomenal. The “Experience Africa Art with Music” section has headphones to listen to different forms of music the Africans made or were exposed to.

The Asian Art section in the Denver Art Museum is full of very intricate and detailed art pieces. Many of the art pieces are similar to what we see in books of Ancient China. Asia has commonly been said to be a place where men are superior to women. When I saw a very beautiful piece of a woman I was blown away. Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom was standing in front of me. Unfortunately the artist is unknown.

Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom is said to have been sculpted around the 1200s. This piece is originally from Cambodia, Asia. This particular piece is one of the last surviving representations of the mother of King Jayavarman VII who reigned 1181–1218. Queen Jayavarman died prematurely, and her sister commissioned statues of her to be made. (Sacred Wind) The sculpture stands at 51 inches (4’3”) made of grey sandstone. The woman’s eyes are closed and she has a very gentle smile with closed eyes; commonly associated with the Bayon temple. Although her arms are broken off, they were probably extended. Her body language shows her at a relaxed state, almost like she was meditating. (Denver Art Museum)

Buddhism is one of the most recognized religions in Asia. Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on the teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama. Buddhism is commonly known for the mediation state used to practice the religion. In the state the eyes are closed and the face seems very sincere while practicing. This practice help the people relax and move forward with their life. Siddhartha Gautama welcomed both men and women to join his monastic community. (Buddhist Studies) By taking this into perspective, the woman Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom would be taken as an equal to others in the Buddhist community.

The two pieces I have decided to compare and contrast is Housepost by Olowe of Ise and Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom by an unknown artist. I decided to use these two pieces because they seem very different but are closely alike. It can be viewed that they are both sculptures but the meanings behind them lie among the cultures of the artist and/or the era of the sculptures creation. Olowe sculpted a strong figure in his community and the unknown artist made a sculpture of a woman that had an impact on their community. People in the African population are usually taller than people in other locations, such as Asians. The sculpture can almost be said to be at scale of the people. Although The Housepost is made from wood and Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom is made from gray sandstone, they were both made from materials that were plentiful in their surroundings.

Both the warrior in the Housepost and Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom were displayed outside homes. They both symbolized the status quo of the occupants of the home they were outside of. Religion was a big factor in the lives of the artist of these sculptures. Although the religions were widely different from each other, they were both new to the location of the people. These sculptures have influenced the changes in future sculptures by them having significance not only to the artist but to people of their community as well. Many of the changes in modern art came long after Prajnaparamita the Buddhist Goddess of Transcendent Wisdom but shortly after The Housepost. The creativity in both pieces adds new light to what art is and what it can mean.

Merry Christmas

Although Thanksgiving is right around the corner, I am focused on Christmas. I love this time of the year because it is family oriented. Christmas is a holiday we use to celebrate the birth of Jesus and to give the kids something to look forward to.

As I have previously mentioned I am a grandmother to an awesome little boy. My grandson is four years old. Just recently we asked him what did he want Santa to bring to him this year and he just looked at us for a few minutes. He later came back and told my daughter and I that Santa is not real and that he knows we buy his presents. I was slightly devasted by this.

I have always viewed this little myth to be comical as the children aged. I would make cookies with them Christmas Eve night and when they went to bed my husband and I would eat them. I was expecting to have the same fun time with Aaron. I guess not.

One of the things that I enjoy about Christmas is seeing my grandmother. We call her Mamou. Every other year everyone gets together at Mamou's house and have a mini family reunion. We have family coming from Egypt, Iraq, China and other states just to see our old lady on the holiday. Mamou has five generations under her, all of which she has name. There is her, my mother, myself, my daughter and my grandson. Oddly enough myself, my daughter and her son have our name beginning with "A".

I feel like the Christmas this year will be bittersweet. Bitter because this is the last Christmas I will have my baby and grnadbaby at the house giving us entertainment. Sweet because I know this is what is best for her and her family. My daughter has hated Colorado since she moved here, so her going back to Louisiana is no suprise to me.

Happy Christmahanakwanzaka to you!

Louisiana State University

I am very proud to say that my daughter has been accepted to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge,Louisiana. Although I am sadden by the though of her leaving and taking my grandson with her, I am glad she is going to continuing her journey of education somewhere more comfortable to her.

Baton Rouge is the capital of Louisiana. Baton Rouge is the second largest city in Louisiana after the infamous New Orleans. Baton Rouge has a booming indutrial and medical research institute following the devastation suffered after Hurrican Katrina. Baton Rouge has a population os 229,553 as of the 2010 census. The area where my daughter will be reisiding has three major colleges within a 50ft square radius.

I am so excited about my daughter going to Baton Rouge because that is where we are originally from. I had her in 1992, we moved to 2002, and they will eb moving back in 2012. (Something weird she pointed out to me)

Arielle will be going to school to become a Elementary School teacher. She thinks she wants to have an emphasis in English or Science. Arielle has always wanted to become a teacher but she was afraid of not enjoying the children. After having her own child she has found that she enjoys children much more than she expected. She will be changing her major from the Univeristy of Denver with an emphasis on Social Work to teaching. I think they correlate very well.

Did I mention that LSU is the number one NCAA team. Last Standing Undefeated. LSU. Lets geaux tigers.