Event 3: Hammer Museum

For my third event, I went to the Hammer Museum in Westwood. When I went, most exhibitions being renovated, therefore, I was limited to what exhibits I wanted to see. I choose to go to the Armand Hammer Collection. The Armand Hammer Collection features a selection of artworks from the most fascinating periods in Western art history. The period included the Renaissance Era in Europe to the early twentieth century in the United States. The works included French impressionists and urban scenes. My favorite Artist included Gustave Moreau and Eugene Boudin.

Gustave Moreau's painting called "Salome Dancing before Herod", is a painting of the New Testament story, that depicts Salome performing a dance for her stepfather, Herod, at the banquet celebrating for his birthday. Although Moreau borrowed decorative elements from numerous sources and cultures, including Indian Turkish, Persian, Egyptian, Moorish, Roman, Greek and Etruscan, his system of symbolism was personal and originated from his imagination.

Eugene Boudin, one of the most famous maritime painters in France drew inspiration from the coastal villages and seaport of his native Normandy and nearby Brittany. Boudin's interest in recording a fleet moment in time, an idea also of interest to the impressionists, depicts the port of a channel town with simple wooden houses that line the dockside. His painting illustrated elements of art and architecture through the symmetry of his painting and accurate display of choppy seas and heavy skies that had been customary in European seascapes for centuries. In this sense I believe that this exhibit is completely relevant to our course this quarter. Art has been influenced by changing aspects of history and the accurate architecture and dimensions within the paintings truly embody our course. However, as of now, I would not recommend attending the Hammer museum within the next few weeks because of the limited amount of exhibits open. I want to revisit the Hammer after they open up their new exhibits.