Arts/Cultural Blog Post #2: Palmer Museum Visit

No piece at the Palmer Art Museum caught my eye in quite the same way as the sculpture above did. The sculpture is of a Peruvian monkey, and the artist is unknown. It stems from the Moche culture and was made during the early intermediate time period. It was given to the museum as a gift by Dr. and Mrs. Kehl Markley. The piece seems to be something that the artist decided to make on his or her own time. I do not believe there is much of a social/political aspect to it, but there definitely has to be some sort of cultural background to it. If I had to guess, I'd say the artist was of a the Peruvian background and these types of monkeys are common in his or her local area.

The piece really connected to me on first glance. It was the first piece of art in the museum that made me think back to something back home in Florida. It immediately made me think of my younger brother and sisters. As strange as that sounds, I vividly recalled some inside jokes between the four of us centered around a monkey. It touched me emotionally in that way, making me think about my family back home and wishing they could've been there with me. It made me think about how much my sisters would've enjoyed the experience of going to the Palmer Art Museum. If I dig deeper into my emotions, the piece sparked the values instilled within me of family first. It reminded me that even though I am far away, my family is still with me in my thoughts. It really was a great feeling.

There is almost no credibility on this piece of work because the artist is unknown. It could've been anyone who made it. It could've been a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. It could've been a masterful sculptor or a young student. That is part of the mystique behind this piece, not knowing exactly who made it, why they made it, or what else they made. Still, I believe this piece was very well crafted and the artist absolutely knew what he or she wanted to do with it.

The piece persuades me to look deeper into it, to see if there is a deeper meaning than what it shows on the surface. At first glance, I believe the claim to this piece is strictly cultural. I thought it intended just to show that the monkey is a part of Moche Culture. Then, as I thought about it more, I came to the realization that the claim this piece is making may be about how great of an animal the monkey is. It could be speaking about how intelligent it is, and even how us humans were at one point on the same level as it. There can definitely be more than one claim on this piece of art.

Overall, I'd have to say I surprisingly enjoyed my experience in visiting Palmer Art Museum. Normally, I'm not a big art guy. It was like pulling teeth to get me to go to an art museum on any given day. I'm not a great artist myself, so I never truly had an appreciation for the time and effort that goes in to making these pieces. Being that it was my first time here, it was refreshing for me to realize that this museum was different than most museums. It was refreshing to be able to take pictures of the works and in some cases be allowed to touch them. I don't know if I'd go back on my own time for leisure, but if I had to go back to the museum for another class or for this class again, I would not complain. Considering most of my peers in the class had a similar view point to mine on the arts, it was nice to have them along with me. I do not believe I would have enjoyed this experience as much if I would have gone by myself. Having friends there really made this a memorable experience for me.