When one enters the room of my makeshift installation, immediately one will notice that it is very dark and warm. Against the far wall of the room will be three pieces from the MIA. There will be a light overhead, so it is not completely dark here, but it still is not extremely illuminated either.
The first piece is titled Tornado Over Saint Paul; it is an oil on canvas painting by the American Julius Holm, ca. 1893. The painting itself is very dark, and there are limited colors used. There are mostly dark greens, browns, reds, and blacks with some off-white, kind of yellow, in the sky.
Placed directly underneath Tornado Over Saint Paul lays the jewelry box, by Giovanni Foggini, ca. 1730. The jewelry box is open. There are similar colors in these two pieces, but the colors in the jewelry box are brighter. It is made of oak, ebony, slate inlaid with lapis lazuli, agate, and marble, and gilded bronze mounts with semiprecious stones. The colors range from gold, brown, pink, green, blue and whites. One would imagine that this jewelry box is a place where one would keep his or her most precious belongings.
The last piece of my makeshift installation is Kneeling Saint, ca. 1500 from Germany. The Kneeling Saint is shown with her hands open and outward. The wood is the same color as the off-white in the Tornado over Saint Paul piece. I would position this statue to the right of the first two pieces, suggesting that she is praying and watching over Saint Paul and the jewelry box.
When we were at the MIA, I was really upset by some news I had received over the weekend dealing with my family. I was feeding off of my sad mood when creating this installation. The overall feeling I hope to suggest by positioning these pieces this way is kind of similar to my aforementioned mood. The painting shows a natural disaster and human tragedy. When it is positioned above the open jewelry box, it would suggest a person’s most precious belongings being sucked away by the tornado. And the Kneeling Saint, watching it all happen; she is hoping for the best, but there really is nothing she can do to help. It is a very biter feeling. A stronger force suddenly takes away a person’s seemingly safe, beautiful life, which is hidden inside the jewelry box, away. No matter who or what is watching over you, you realize that you are not safe from harm.
The title caught my attention and from there I was engage into your article. The way you constructed your article, you demonstrate your three pieces clearly and you provide information about them which I like because by knowing a piece I feel that I have to learn about it first. Very unique.
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