VISUAL ART CRITIQUE
My visual art critique started at 1000 hours on February 14, 2015 at 4600 College Dr., Vernon, Texas, at the Red River Valley Museum. The reason I decided to visit this museum is because of its reputation within the community. The local District Attorney is actually on the board that oversees the museum and he highly recommended it. As I entered the museum, I noticed several different art pieces hanging on the walls. There were also sculptures and different animal exhibits. The theme of this museum is that of western and Indian type setup. I was given a tour of the museum by one of the workers. I really enjoyed the tour. Of course, living here in North Texas which borders Oklahoma I guess you can see why. The…show more content… The name of the painting is the Waggoner Ranch. It took Martinez nearly three years to complete the painting. Some will say the painting draws people’s attention because of the vibrant colors and western type set up. There are all types of artistic form in the painting beginning with the buffalo in the upper left corner to western cowboys and Indians. It seems from the painting in the left hand corner that Martinez was starting from the past and then gradually moving to the future by putting different themes along the way until he’s completed the painting in the bottom right hand corner. There are some added scenes to the painting such as weddings and modern family members. In the middle of the painting, there are wolves and deer along with men on horseback and cows in a pasture. At the bottom right of the painting, there is a helicopter in the background. I believe Martinez is telling us to look at the ranch and its very long history. With the media of the painting, I believe Martinez did a very good job in the detail. At the top of the painting, there is a blue sky which Martinez uses a touch of white to color in some clouds. Towards the right top of the…show more content… I would have expected there to be a little more interaction between the cowboys and Indians. To me, the painting stands for the way of life in which people had to survive under difficult circumstances and it helped me have a deeper sensation for the painting. To me, knowing that Martinez spent nearly three years to complete this painting has a sense of value for people who connect with this piece. I can just see Martinez spending a lot of sleepless nights and putting in many man hours to complete this painting. I believe that is one of the main reasons I feel connected as there was a lot of dedication put into it. In regards to perfection of the painting, I believe Martinez communicates this well to his viewers by again using the diagonal approach showing the different periods of history of the ranch. I was not confused at all while looking at the painting and I knew exactly what Martinez was communicating to the public. The insight of the piece is that it’s not just a western painting but it is a painting with different characteristics of life attached to it. There’s unity within the painting in that all the characters in the piece
