Visit to the NAU Art Museum: Violence Exposition

As Arizonians must already know, we have three excellent public universities that take outstanding positions in the fields of medicine, engineering, business, research, art, among other subjects. Although it will sound too opinionated, I feel particularly proud to be called a "Lumberjack" and to belong to such an exceptional school of arts as it is Northern Arizona University. Aspects of this university that have always caught my attention have been its beautiful panoramas, weather, and, of course, art programs, which are constantly being supported by phenomenal and very talented students and staff. The NAU Art Museum is the living proof of this last statement.

Although I have been trying to get more involved with the artistic surroundings at Northern Arizona University, there has been a particular exhibition at this art museum that has caught my attention, and this was the violence exposition that took place about two semesters ago. As I went to visit the NAU Art Museum Violence Exposition, I was honestly impressed by the works of art that I was luckily able to admire at this gallery. Two in specific that were exceptionally appealing were Karen M. Gutfreund’s “LifeDeath” and Rafael Blanco’s “Alma’s Identity”. Both pieces were reflecting truthful historical events that were marking a return in today’s society, and talking about the paintings themselves, they were extremely well-portrayed by their medium and use of oil and other media.

Karen Gutfreund. "LifeDeath". 

First of all, Gutfreund’s “LifeDeath” at first had a pretty negative impression on my opinion on society. I felt miserable and disappointed on the many complications that we are putting our world into. Seeing a baby being put into a missile projection made me realize that, in some way, that is the exact result of our actions, not only in other countries, but also here in the United States. By trying to maintain war in other locations, we are also hurting our newborns and general population by not only physical harm, but by what they hear and admire every single day on TV. We see the same story over, and over again, but with different victims. Adding to that, I also felt interested by the picture collage located underneath the infant; all of those pictures of everyday people have a really strong and moving effect on spectators because of the way that the artist relates the victim to the rest of our society and even loved ones; in other words, Gutfreund can be articulating that at least one of these individuals could be your own partner, mom or dad. It brings a sense of union, but at the same time, it combines it with a sense of fear.

Rafael Blanco. "Alma's Identity".

On the other hand, Blanco’s “Alma’s Identity” was more of a personal issue rather than a more solidary one. In this painting, Rafael Blanco is portraying a “Chicana”, which refers to, in this case, a woman born in the United States with Mexican roots. Although my case is a little bit different, since I was taken to Mexico as a baby and then brought back to Arizona as a 15-year-old adolescent, I too know what it is like to be standing with a different flag in each hand. The use of oil on canvas in this painting definitely provokes a powerful reaction, because without being 100% realistic, this young lady is capable of making you feel her confusion and pride as if she were standing just in front of you. Her presence is so clear and resilient that it made her become my favorite piece at the entire gallery. 

Furthermore, it is needless to say that a piece of art has an infinity of meanings, simply because our opinions are free to be as diverse as they come. That is to say, visiting art galleries and specific exhibitions that we feel interest in--or not--lead you to realize more about yourself than about the artworks that you are able to admire there. Art does help us to understand the world around us, and at one moment of our lives, even the music that we listen to, the poems that we read and the paintings that we decide to analyze are the best means of communication towards our own souls.