Tucked in a small corner at the far edge of the “Arts of Africa” exhibition at the Denver Art Museum, visitors will find a four foot by six foot acrylic on canvas created by Nigerian painter Moyo Ogundipe in 1997 (Fig. 1). Vibrant colors flow across the canvas, almost as if they are dancing, broken … Continue reading The Lost Glory of Africa: Moyo Ogundipe’s Soliloquy: Life’s Fragile Fictions
Category: Essays
Recontextualizing Historic House Museums through a Contemporary Lens
Historic house museums are often caught in a struggle between past and present, tasked with merging the historical and the contemporary to share relevant stories that resonate with modern audiences. While many historic house museums strive to incorporate histories beyond the apparent by delving into the labor required (often by enslaved people) to run the … Continue reading Recontextualizing Historic House Museums through a Contemporary Lens
The Activated Collection
Collections are an obvious cornerstone of museums: since museums were first established, they have revolved around objects as both a means of preserving histories and a method of storytelling to share those histories with a diverse audience. Even as institutions have focused more on their role as an educational venue rather than a repository for … Continue reading The Activated Collection
Absence of Ethics at the Orlando Museum of Art
In early 2022, the Orlando Museum of Art (OMA) in Orlando, Florida found itself embroiled in a federal scandal regarding its exhibition of a previously-unseen collection of what were purportedly Jean Michel Basquiat paintings (Sokol, “In Orlando”). Consisting of 25 works initially wholly attributed to the artist, discovered among personal belongings long forgotten in a … Continue reading Absence of Ethics at the Orlando Museum of Art
Hammer Museum: Evolution of Reinvention
Established in 1990 to house the personal collection of Occidental Petroleum magnate Dr. Armand Hammer, the Hammer Museum at UCLA has evolved into a contemporary community hub for the city of Los Angeles (“About Us”). Although the permanent collection primarily contains works by old masters, over the last two decades director Ann Philbin has guided … Continue reading Hammer Museum: Evolution of Reinvention
He is the Memorial, and the Memorial is Him: Facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Through the Lens of Poetry
Although initially controversial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial humanizes the remembrance of war. The memorial's visual narrative invites visitors to connect with their personal experience as they view their reflection among the names of the dead etched into the wall's surface. This powerful act stirs myriad emotions. Yusef Komunyakaa's poem "Facing It" helps analyze the memorial's … Continue reading He is the Memorial, and the Memorial is Him: Facing the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Through the Lens of Poetry
Existential Awareness and Unease: Contemporary Politics in T.S. Eliot’s “Triumphal March”
For centuries, societies have celebrated the safe return of their soldiers through victory parades and other demonstrations of appreciation. That tradition has expanded to include commemorations of military accomplishments in other contexts; many towns still host parades honoring their veterans and their country’s military history even in times of peace. A widely supportive audience typically … Continue reading Existential Awareness and Unease: Contemporary Politics in T.S. Eliot’s “Triumphal March”
Art with an Opinion 