Nora Younger 1 Bechtler Museum of Modern Art: Reflection The architecture of the Bechtler museum was beautiful.

I feel as if I was viewing artwork that was severely stimulating my senses even before I entered the museum. One aspect of the outdoor architecture that I enjoyed was the column like piece that looked as if it was supporting the building. When professor Hicks informed the class that the column was not supporting the building, I was very impressed by the talent, skill, and effort put into the design. I also enjoyed the color that was used, a color that looks somewhat like red clay dirt. This color is not typical for buildings in Charlotte, making the building stand out among others. Another aspect of the architecture that I enjoyed was the use of glass within the gallery. When I was on the third floor, I was able to walk to the center of the gallery and see the other side of the gallery as well as the floor. The glass was so clean that I could not tell if glass was actually there until I touched it. The effect that this design had on me was intense because I thought that I was about to fall. Throughout all of the galleries that our class has visited so far, I feel as if the design of Bechtler museum was the most impressive. In regards to the lighting, every room was dim and there were spotlights on each individual piece. The walls that surrounded the artwork were an off-white color. The use of a neutral color on top of the lighting highlighted the artwork perfectly. I also enjoyed how the gallery was separated into several floors and rooms. It looked very organized even though artwork in each room was very differen. The first piece of artwork that caught my attention was Sphrisched Objekt (Spherical Object) created by Adolf Luther. This piece was a large square created by using glass, metal, and plexiglas in 1969. Within this square, there are nine separate small

squares, each lined up in a row of three. Within these smaller squares are circles that look like they have a three-dimensional look to them. The circles, or sphere like objects within the squares are flipped making it look like they are closer to the viewer than the base of the sphere. The light that was used on this piece magnifies the use of the three dimensional circles within the small squares and they reflect the wall that is in front of it. The bottom row of the square did not reflect the opposite side of the room due to the angle that I was standing at, however, it did reflect several shades of blue. When I viewed this piece, it instantly reminded me of my contacts. The small squares look like small contact compartments and the spheres within those squares are contacts that are floating in solution. What I took from this piece is the use of multiple points of views. Realistically, people use only two contacts at a time to improve their vision. However, this square contains nine different contacts for one person. Now think of this idea in relation to perspective. People see from multiple perspectives, therefore, they have multiple lenses that they see from. When I took time to evaluate this piece, I made a connection to my relationship with my mother. We do not always see eye-to-eye, pun intended. As an example, my mom did not support my decision to move out of my house for college. She believed that living thirty minutes away from UNC Charlotte was a reasonable distance to commute on a daily basis. However, I disagreed. My mom had never experienced what college at a university is like. She took online classes and graduated in two years, holding no value to living on campus. When I tried to explain to her what the freshman experience is like, she rejected everything that I said. We have two completely different types of lenses; therefore, we are not always going to understand one another.

Nora Younger 3 In regards to the big picture, every individual person has a different set of lenses. Within the world, there will always be controversy. Every person comes from a different walk of life and we all grow up differently. We have a different set of morals, beliefs, and values. We may not always see eye-to-eye, but it is in our best interest to do our best to change our lenses when we come into contact with people who are not similar to us. We must change our lenses to try to understand and see from their point of view. Living in your own beliefs and not being willing to listen to others will limit your ability to grow mentally. Therefore, we should expand our knowledge by being open-minded in regards to beliefs of others. The second piece of artwork that stood out to me is untitled and was created by Pierre Haubensak in 1968. From what I can see, the paper looks like a thin sheet of cardboard, almost like light brown construction paper. However, watercolor and ink were used to create the image on the page. In my opinion, this piece of artwork looks like the focus square on a Kodak camera when you are getting ready to take a picture. The frame does not connect the square, it only outlines the four corners. The outlines are also not perfectly straight lines. When I first saw it, I thought that the outlines were spray-painted onto the paper. The shading used on the boarder makes the whole piece look serious and dark. The borders are a deep black and some ink has been used to shading around them, emphasizing on the concept of focusing. I found it very interesting that this piece was created and ended up in an art gallery. The paper that the was used looks like a piece of paper that could be found at a grocery store and the corner outlines are a generic camera focus image. Once I took some time to actually process this piece, I realized that the Kodak camera was not around when

this piece of artwork was created. It is possible that the shape of the focus on cameras derived from this piece of artwork. The light used to highlight this piece was done well; it shined directly into the center of the image which created a focal point. Also, I found it interesting that this piece was framed. Essentially, there is a frame inside of a frame. When relating this image back to my life, it reminded me of my focus on life. Although the entire background of this photo is brown, life is the same way. It is my choice to focus on certain things. I can choose to focus on the good, bad, happy, or sad things in life. It is almost as if you choose exactly what controls your life. I am in somewhat control over what surrounds me on a daily basis. Therefore, I believe that this image has taught me to move forward and grow. I will do my best to try not to focus on the bad or the sad aspects of life; I will focus on what makes me happy and what is going to make my dreams come true. I will no longer sit and wait for something to come into my visual range, I will go out and find it. I have to make my dreams a reality by finding it and making it my focus. In regards to the rest of the world, I believe that every person can choose to be happy. You can wallow in sadness or you can focus on the good things in life. Even though tragedies are not preventable, there is always something good that can come out of any situation. Again, I will say, whatever you choose to focus on determines how you will feel towards the entire situation. I believe that there is a lot sadness and grey area in the world. And finally, I believe that each and every person is in control of his or her happiness. Altogether, I learned a lot about prospective from the Bechtler museum. I took time to think about how I am in complete control of my happiness, what I focus on, and

Nora Younger 5 my perspective regarding any particular situation. Sphrisched Objekt opened my eyes to taking a step back and trying to see someone elses point of view what I do not agree with them. It is important to do so in order to grow mentally and to become more culturally tolerant. Lastly, I learned that I am the control center of my life. I can choose to make the best or worst out of every day that God gives me. Honestly, I am very happy that I was able to complete this assignment today. Until I took some time to dig into the meaning of these pieces of artwork, I believed that I was having the worst day of my life. It was not until I opened my eyes to what I was only focusing on, that I realized that I was purposely hurting myself by being so negative. Overall, the Bechtler museum led me to do a lot of internal exploring and maintenance.