My Museum Experience

Today, I went to the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth with my friend Preston.  He lives in Fort Worth and has been to the museum many times, so he decided to come along with me and show me around.  When we first got out of the car, we stopped by this large vortex outside.  When we said anything to each other while inside of it, it would echo loudly.  It was architecturally astounding to look at, and it was overpoweringly large.  

We then walked into the museum, starting on the first floor and then moving on to the second floor.  Upon entering, I was immediately surprised by a small room with a layer of wrapped green candies on the floor.  They were arranged in a shape that appeared to me like a river of candy.  We joked together that we wished the rest of the museum was like this so we could feel like we were at Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.  I stood there and wondered how long it would have taken them to make something like that or to even think of the idea.  Most of the paintings I saw gave me a similar feeling.  There were all types of paintings, but I particularly liked Jackson Pollock’s work.  His paintings were raised, textured, and very unique.

There was a book with wings that was made out of lead.  Lead cannot fly, so it was ironic that wings were made out of it.  In that same area, we saw a large canvas with earth, clay, ash, and mud dried onto it.  A dried sunflower lay above the soil, and it made me depressed to look it.  After I read the plaque, the purpose of the art made more sense.  The sunflower represented growth after the Holocaust.  I enjoyed this piece in particular because it had a special meaning to the artist and was about a subject I have learned a lot about.

There were a couple pieces by Andy Warhol that were intriguing to me right away.  I walked over to them because they were so vibrant and colorful.  There was a self-portrait of him and a painting with many different portrayals of Marilyn Monroe.  In some, she would have red lips and in others, they would be primarily black.  Each picture was unique, even though it was the same exact photograph.

We walked outside to look at a sculpture we spotted when we looked out the window.  The only way to describe it is two large, metallic trees that are connected by their branches.  It was amazing to see up close, and it made me want to see how these sculptures are made.

The main exhibit that was showcased was one by Robert Lazzarini, who seemed to have specialized in art with illusionistic art.  All of his sculptures were distorted from their usual appearances and shapes.  He made guns out of walnut and steel, brass knuckles, and a safe.  Each sculpture was uniquely shaped and molded into something that was amazing to look at.

I’m glad that I went because it was fun to look at all the different types of art and sculpture.  Most of the art confused me and made me rethink my entire definition of what art is.  Similar to our discussion on the first day of class about what literature is, I had a discussion with my friend about the question, “what is art?”  If a florescent light mounted diagonally on the wall is considered art, then what are the boundaries and guidelines of art?  I can see how many of the artists pushed the boundaries of what I once considered art, which consisted of realist paintings.  I now have a new idea of what modernism means, and I was able to learn through my visual experiences.

My First Meeting with Hana Jang

When I first called Hana to schedule a day to meet with her, I knew that the language barrier was going to be difficult.  She is from Masan, South Korea and has just begun learning English.  We had trouble talking on the phone, but after much stress, we finally set a time for a meeting.  When I called her to find out where she would like to meet, I found that she had trouble understanding the word “where” in context.  I called one of my friends, who knows some Korean, and she told me that the Korean word for where is pronounced “uh-dee”.  I used this in place of where and she knew exactly what I meant.   She told me to meet her outside of the gym when her class ended.  We then walked over to my dorm to sit down in one of the study pods and talk.  Even though we had such a problem communicating from the start, we both got along well and were able to laugh off the mistakes we made in communicating with each other. 

We soon found out that both of us have an interest in dance.  She graduated from Kyungsung University in South Korea with a degree in dance.  She also taught kindergarteners ballet.  This is similar to my experience with dance, since I have been dancing ballet and modern for most of my life.  We talked about our experiences with dance for a while.  She said she hopes to take dance classes in Texas one day after she finishes the English program.

Hana moved from South Korea to Texas just in the past year, and she currently commutes from Denton every day for her classes at TCU.  She lives in Denton with two of her cousins, who are also in intensive English programs in the area.  Both of her parents still live in Korea, along with her younger brother.  She said that she hopes her brother will be able to join her here in a few years.  Listening to her talk about her family made me sad because she is so far away from them and on her own in a new country, with all new customs.  That would be so scary and yet so exciting, so I hope that I can show her some really awesome things that Texas has to offer so she can get the most out of it.

She let me look through her book for her class so that I could see what she does every day, and it was interesting to see exactly what they do.  She will have to look at a picture in her book and write about it, with the help of a dictionary.  She told me that she was so thankful for the dictionary because she is not too great at spelling.  This reminded me of my experience in French classes in high school.  We would have to write short paragraphs in French, and like Hana, we also got to use a dictionary.

            In addition to written tests, Hana’s class also incorporates oral tests.  During these tests, they have to talk about certain topics in purely English.  When she described doing this, her expression changed and I could tell that this task frustrated her.  She said that the main things she likes to talk about to the class are her family and a famous actor from Korea named Rain.  They are both familiar topics to her, so she finds them easier to talk about to others.

I’m glad that we were finally able to meet and that it turned out to be such a good experience.  I think talking with Hana will help me work on my patience with other people and listening skills during conversation.  When talking to her, you have to pay attention to every word or you might miss everything.  I found that my mind was working so fast to try and keep up with what she was trying to say.  She said that she was happy to have a conversation partner to improve her English skills, and I let her know that I would help her in any way I can.  I’m shocked that she has been here for such a short amount of time and already has the ability to speak English in a way that I can at least partly interpret.  I can only imagine how big of a change it has been and how difficult it is for her.