Dress To Impress(ionism)

Ben,  Sarah B.,  Anna Claire, Megan, Peter (me)

A couple weeks ago, a dedicated group of Art History students, including myself, piled into the mini-van and headed off for a night of adventure dressed in out finest artsy garb.  We made our first stop at the Local Taco, an over-priced, hip restaurant (not sure if they want to be called that) on the outskirts of downtown.

When we finished out gourmet tacos, we headed to the Frist Center for a lecture by Gloria Gloom about the effect of the Franco-Prussian War on the Impressionist movement in France.  Though the lecture ended up being largely about fashion, it provided us with a great insight into the social life of Parisians during that time period.  The most important point was the importance of court life before the fall of the 2nd Republic and the rise of the common person after.  This can easily be seen in the mood and dress before and after.

Impression: Sunrise (1872)

The exhibit, The Birth of Impressionism, was very well put together and showed the story line of Impressionism.  It is difficult to give Impressionism a single definition because it encompasses a large variety of pieces depicting a large variety of subjects. For the most part, works from this era show life 'as is'.  There are rarely floating objects or flying cherubs of any kind.  Objects are subject to gravity and are given mass.  Almost all works were done with oil on canvas which had become a standard at the time. One of the most characteristic features of this movement are the small and thin yet visible brush strokes.  These can be seen in Claude Monet's Impression: Sunrise, which happens to the be the painting that the movement was named after.  Along with the brushstrokes, Impressionism features ordinary subjects, open composition, unusual visual angles, the inclusion of movement, and an emphasis on the correct use of lighting.  When combined, they make some of the most real paintings ever made.  I highly suggest that anyone who has not seen this exhibit go because this is a once and a lifetime opportunity to see a collection of masterpieces from the Musée d'Orsay in France.  Click on this link to see how the public has reacted to it.

For our final stop, we visited the recently up for business Pinkberry where we enjoyed totes the best hun cal fro yo. To understand what I just said, watch this (happens around 2:50): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gspaoaecNAg.