Harn museum Part 2!

As you saw, my last post of the Harn ended kind of abruptly with some picture of a rock with no text under it. The woes of the modern age, right?

Anyways, get your gallery walk going again and I'll put that picture up here too.

This is one of the coolest ores I've seen. I say ore because this is iron ore, I believe, and is a decorative piece that monks and scholars would have used long ago and through today. the little plaque on the left in the image also explains that along with these small specimens, monks would go searching for larger ones for their rock and zen gardens. Today, one of those big rock garden rocks can cost several thousands of dollars of it come from specific places in Chine where they are most interesting and unique. I like the organic shape of the ore, and the untouched look of it. It reminds me of wood and all of the intricate shapes and curves wood gets when it is weathered the right way. It doesn't look stiff and rigid as you would expect stone or even wood to look, but almost suspended in animation.

These jade carvings were by far some of the most beautiful pieces I saw there. As far as visual appeal, I loved these carvings. I love how the artists used the various colors found from different elements becoming a part of the jade to give life to the leaves of the trees and the grass or ground beneath. Most of the time, sculptors rely on certain cuts and carving techniques to add value and depth to a piece. In this one, the imperfections were found and used to do this in much of the same way it is done with knots, rings and bends in pieces of wood. The subject matter also brings me peace since it depicts people in a natural setting, something I love to do.

Overall, the Harn has beautiful pieces of art from various artists. When i visited, several of their rooms were dedicated to aftermath photos of the wars in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, and Libia. Those photos were very touching. Another few rooms were devoted to art created by women, one of which posed an interesting question: what does it take for a woman to get featured in a museum?