Introduction
Exhibits form a broad aspect of art and architecture through the artistic designs and structural designs that are usually employed in these exhibits. Mostly, exhibits depict the artist’s creative and visual ideas. An exhibit is used mainly to give certain themes about different issues in life. Just recently I visited one of the most prominent and largest museums that help in preserving the cultural values of the African American people. The museum mainly deals with black history. I was privileged to see the exhibit “Crowing Glories” at Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit, Michigan September 15, 2010.
The exhibition was quite impressive and it acted as a mark of respect to the style, self- expression and beauty of the women of African origin. Crowning Glories exhibition also played a predominant role in the historical review of the 1700s hat wearing traditions. However, Crowning Glories did not extensively review the 1700s hat wearing traditions but also the present times hat wearing behavior of the black women. I found the exhibition to be quite attractive and stylish. It employed diversity of arts and design. Crowning glories did not solely rely on drawing and painting but it also did include photographs as well as different types of hat that were rendered by the confined hat queens.
The exhibition retraces the behavior of the African black women who decorated themselves with elegant headwear. The traditional black women used to wrap their heads with a piece of cloth as well as wearing of hats. Crowning Glories seemed to highlight the African tradition that was there since the slave trade and this culture is still upheld in the current times. The inclusion of hats from confined hat queen is an indication that the black women hat wearing trend is an extensive act that is still practiced today in USA and other parts of the world. During my visit to the museum, I found out that the hats that were collected as part of Crowing Glories exhibition were created by local and international designers. This is an indication that talents can be promoted through arts. I was able to gain insight into the black people culture especially the traditional black women head covering deeds which on average is practiced up to date.
Art Composition
The exhibit contained different pieces of arts which included photographs and drawing. I first directed all my attention to the masterpiece which was full of good art and design. My main attention was in the main drawing composition that clearly highlighted the theme of the exhibition. I found myself glued into this one drawing because of the way in which the artists employed the elements and principles of design. To be frank, I realized that the artist was very keen in bringing out the theme of the exhibit. Notably, the artist had applied both impressionism and realism styles of arts in order to achieve the most wanted emotional value. The drawing highlighted different black women who had their heads covered with different and elegant piece of clothes as well as different types of good looking hats.
Elements of Art in Art Composition
I liked the way the artist had applied the elements of arts. He had made full use of the elements that helped him to bring out an impressive and elegant piece of work. He had applied implied, vertical and actual lines as well as contour lines to bring out the outline of all the components that present in the composition. He used these lines to describe the shapes of the women and other components of the masterpiece.
I must say that I was much impressed with the way the artist had applied color in his composition. The blend of the color was so good that it got me glued on the work of art. The composition were beautifully painted and as I said earlier the masterpiece brought out the realism style. The composition looked quite real and I admired it to so much. The colors of the paints used in the drawing blended well with each other while bringing out the theme of the exhibition,” Crowning Glories”. The drawings represented different women of black origin who had different hats which were painted in different colors. The color of the black woman was also depicted in an intriguing way. I noted that the artist had blended the colors well which highlighted the value and intensity of the paintings that were made on the composition. Evidently, the blend of different colors by the artist emphasized the beauty and style of the black woman.
The texture of the drawing was real and could be visualized well from a distance. Notably the texture of the exhibit was smooth though the hats worm by the women in the composition had different texture; some were rough while others were smooth depending on the type of material the artist wanted us to believe made the hats in his piece of work.
I also noted that the artist had used the organic category of shape which contained no thickness. In addition, I become conscious that the artist had used the light and shading methods which brought out the form of this piece of art. However, the masterpiece had some shades of white and black which indicated the value of the diagram. Its value was not too light nor was it too dark. The composition had a wonderful value that I think played a major role of attracting the viewers. It is the value of the diagram that played a major role in bringing out the theme of the exhibit, “Crowning Glories”.
However, the size of the elements of the drawing was good. The artist did not exaggerate the shapes of the objects in the composition. For a moment I had thought that the size of the objects was imagined but I realized later that the size was real because from the drawing the artist indicated the scale he used in drawing the objects. He had applied the scale as a standard of design. Notably the artist had applied all the elements which subsequently helped him to come up with a good structure.
Principles of Design
I noted that the artist employment of the elements of arts acted as an attraction to his design. His composition was good and brilliant owing to the fact that he had positively contrasted the value of the structure. More importantly, the artist had used a number of colors which represented different women head clothing. I also apprehended that the artist had placed his objects strategically which highlighted a good format as well as created the viewers interest on the piece of art. Visually, the structure represented equality in color, form and value in the “Crowing Glories” Exhibition. The application of objects, shapes, forms, colors, values in the drawing helped in promoting the feeling of visual correspondence which formed the balance of the art exhibit.
The artist maintained the use of vertical, actual as well as contour lines in the drawing. I found that by maintaining the same lines without changing or adding any other line type helped extensively in bring out the harmony in this intriguing art exhibit. Notably, I noticed some contrasts in the piece of art where the artist had used different shapes which helped in citing the areas of emphasis. He had used the shape of a human being as well as different shapes of hats and head cloths. This type of contrast also helped in the general background of the composition and also the design that the artist had applied. What always lingers in my mind is the directional movement of the artist composition. It was quite good. The way he had placed the objects in his composition prompted an intriguing visual flow. However, the value of the objects in the composition also facilitated a good visual flow.
Photographs
In Crowing Glories exhibition, there was a photograph of three ladies of black origin who were sited in a bench outside a church. I realized that the photograph was taken way back in the early 1940s. The ladies looked elegant in the photo shoot. They looked calm and relaxed as they waited for the church to finish. The photograph of the three ladies has both light and dark values because the photo was taken in the earlier times. Its texture is smooth while the shape is rectangular.
I found the visual elements and effects of the picture quite intriguing. The moment I laid my eyes on the exhibit photograph, its elements caught my eyes. The artist had blended the elements of art in the most impressive way and he did not leave anything to chance. From color, shape texture, form, value and space, the photograph highlighted the theme of the exhibition in a very positive manner. The color of the photograph added intensity to the photograph. I liked the photograph so much due to the fact that it highlighted the theme of the exhibit” Crowning Glories”.
There was another photograph of three ladies who represented the modern black woman. Two of these ladies had put elegant hat with one having her head covered with a white African head cloth. The photograph is rectangular shape and modern due to the presence of conspicuous colors which adds value and intensity to the picture.
It is worth noting that, the photograph has blended all the elements of arts in the most intriguing way. Though the color is highlighted by the types of attire and hats the women are wearing, the background color brings in the intensity of the photograph. I realized that the photograph highlighted the center of interest accordingly. By looking at it, I was able immediately get what the photograph was trying to underline. The balance of the photo was suitably well and it gave me visual parity of all the elements of art involved in this photograph.
Conclusion
The Crowing Glories exhibition held in Charles H. Wright museum of African American history in United States of America gave me a brilliant chance of exploring artistic designs. I was quite intrigued by the type of exhibits that were present in the museum. Of much interest to me was the composition of different black women who had worn stylish hat. The composition depicted the beauty of the black woman. It is from this exhibition that I learnt how important elements of art and design s well as principles of design helps in achieving ones artistic goals as well as how they help in bringing out the intended theme of an exhibition.
