At the beginning of Block 1, I knew little to nothing about art history. We would look at artwork and it wouldn’t mean all that much to me. Over time, I slowly gained knowledge about how to analyze certain works of art and what the characteristics and formal elements of different time periods were. I really started to understand the process of analyzing art when our class exhibition rolled around. I found it slightly difficult to pick a work of art to concentrate on, but eventually, I did. The work of art, Native Land, by Chuck Forsman, hung next to my artwork of choice, San Vato, in the exhibition. Prior to the exhibition, our class had looked through a PowerPoint featuring artworks available to us from the permanent collection, and chose which ones we felt worked with our theme centering on identity. When Native Land came on the screen, everyone wanted it in the exhibition. Except for me. I didn’t see what was so special about it. I simply saw just another work of art. I was fine with it being in the exhibition, because I didn’t not like it, but I couldn’t fathom what was so special about it. Fast-forward to today, as I sit here writing this blog, I now understand why everyone was so enthusiastic about Native Land. It touches on a very sensitive subject in a powerful and respectful way. Forsman focuses on the land that belongs to the Native Americans that is being taken away from them piece by piece, and industrialized. I couldn’t help but stare at the dog with three legs, but then it finally hit me, the dog must represent the land of the Native Americans. Still functioning, but not to its full, beautiful capability. Forsman makes great use of diagonal lines to show the split between industrialization and untouched grassland. He even extends the most prominent line further outside of the regular rectangular frame, causing the need for an outcropping to be made to contain this strong line by the frame, which is definitely not your usual rectangle. This experience with one particular work of art is just a tiny insight as to how this class boosted my intelligence greatly, pushing me to think critically in ways that I wasn’t used to, and for that I am forever grateful.
