Mining the Museum: Tyler Dahl/Brie Rinkel

While walking through the MIA we saw a number of different pieces that we wanted to use for this project, so to narrow it down a bit, we decided to focus on pieces that had water or seascapes astheir focus.

The thr

ee pieces we chose were called Pastoral Landscape by Claude Gellée, made in 1638 with oil on canva

s. Seascape 63 II by Gabor Peterdi, made in 1963 with brush and black

ink on paper. And Phoenixes and Paulownea by Kano Tanshin, made in the early 18th

century with ink and colors on silk.

The three different works of art go together and show the different ways that water can express a mood through the way it is presented. From the calm movements in a river, to exuberant waves of an ocean. Separately, the pieces express only one face of water, but when put together, you can see the wide range of expressions that water has. Although you could look at these pieces together as simply the various expressions that water has, and you would have a fairly straightforward meaning, but it goes deeper than that. Water can often be related to human emotion, and that is exactly what these pieces mean together.

In this piece, Peterdi depicts a image of the sea using stylize

d and dynamic brush strokes that are often seen in his work. This image really captures the spontaneity and energetic nature of the human emotion. With its spastic waves and lines, it is not so much violent, but expressive and wild.

This piece expresses a more tranquil side of

our emotions. With the water at

rest, it gives you a solid sense of being at peace. Unlike the

prior piece, this one is more soothing , and allows you to take in the entire environment at ease.

A common trait that is shown throughout japanese art, water is main subject of this piece. This has a wider range of expression than the other two. With the calming waterfall right next to the violent ocean,

this piece can also he juxtaposition between the serenity and anger poles that encompass human emotion. Because of this, this piece provides an excellent all encompassing element that ties the instillation together.