The Art of Experiencing the World Around Us
Year 13 Art History visited the Auckland Art Gallery as part of learning how to analyse the meanings and contexts of artworks. The Pop to Present exhibition from USA was perfect for our course curriculum with the energetic chaos of a Pollock and the sombre spiritual resonance of a large Rothko leading the charge of many Abstract Expressionist works. The Warhol pieces were so clearly made to mirror a media obsessed consumer culture that started growing after World War 2 and hasn’t slowed down yet!
Seeing artworks in real life makes a difference to student experience and their understanding of how and why they were made. The range of ideas from Pop to Present was provoking and often still relevant to these young art historian’s lives today.