Some Art Photos from My Travels

  Hi everyone.   I hope you're having a lovely weekend. Today I'm joining Nicole for SITAR (Sunday in the art room) and also Gillena for Sunday Smiles.

  I was thinking about how to present trip photos, and I think this time I'm not going to worry about them being chronological. Sometimes when recounting a  trip, keeping everything in some kind of order matters, and sometimes it doesn't. This trip was one of those times when I don't think chronological order is really needed. 

   And just an aside, if you missed my first trip post and are interested in reading it, you can find here: T Stands for I'm Home Again. This post is an overview of our time away. 

  One place we visited in Nova Scotia was the Museum of Art in Halifax. Now my husband is NOT an art museum kind of guy. But he is a good sport, and even though I told him he could just meet up with me in a bit, he decided to come into the museum. Usually he would always be a bit ahead of me, but at one point, when I came across this GIANT painting, I found him sitting on a bench contemplating it. He also started talking about it. We had a nice conversation about the painting. 

  This painting is called Miss Chief's Wet Dreams and was created by contemporary painter Kent Monkman (b. 1965). This is (to date) the largest painting (7.5 by 3.5 meters) he has created. Monkman is a Cree First Nation citizen, originally from Manitoba.   You might be able to see this piece better in a version I downloaded off the museum's website as it doesn't have the glare of the lights my photo does.  I recommend enlarging it to get a good view as there is a lot to see in this piece. 

    I find this piece very interesting, and I think Monkman not only did a fantastic job painting all these characters, but also telling the story he wanted to tell. It's not the kind of art I'd hang in my house, but it is the kind of art that is worth going to a museum to see.   I looked up about Monkman and this piece online, and I learned that it falls under the category of War Art, and in this case, Canadian War Art. And I think setting this piece on the water was really genius because let's face it, it tells the many layered historical story that started once oceans had been crossed. 

   I'm hardly an expert at interpreting art, and reading about this piece I discovered not only more about the artist, but also themes he paints. Most of his art is history based, and some of his art tells a much more singular story. You can look him up if you'd like to see more of his work. His website is a good place to start: Kent Monkman. 

   The museum had this working sketch also of this giant painting. (Excuse my crooked  view as I was standing slightly off to the side.)

   And here is another painting from Monkman they had in the museum, and again, excuse my tilted view as I was standing slightly off center when I snapped the photo.

   I did read that the man leading the crew in the high heels and read scarf is named Miss Chief Eagle Testickle,  and that image is Monkman's time traveling, two spirited alter ego. When looking online I discovered that this character appears in many of Monkman's pieces.  

    I have other photos from the museum to share. Although it was not a huge art museum, it had a great collection of mostly Canadian art. I really enjoyed visiting it, and I was even introduced to another new artist that I really enjoyed viewing. But all that is to come in future posts.

   Have a super rest of your weekend and start to the new week ahead.