A Blast at the Botanical Gardens

              When I heard we were going to the arboretum I was excited. I have been there before and thought it would be a great way to spend a class, then I realized we were meeting there early Monday morning I wasn’t as excited. After my 8 A.M class I rushed up to the H.O. Botanical Gardens. It was a cold morning and of course I was sick to make worse, but I realized that the beauty of the gardens were worth the trip and facing the cold. I guess you could call me an outdoorsy person, since I camp, and hike, but I also enjoy the great indoors as well and have a very girly side.

 After the quick gathering in a beautiful part of the back of the gardens I went off to explore.  I quickly noticed that the gardens had changed since the last time I had been there. One thing that really caught my attention was the sun flowers that were definitely not there last time I was. They were so gorgeous and I was envious that the ones in my garden don’t look like that. As I continued walking i made my way to a small pond with vibrant pink flowers in it. They might have been my favorite since they were such an attention grabbing color mixed in with all the greens of the pond. The pond was a little dirty and the water was so dark you could only really see the fish in it when they swam to the top for a few seconds.

Next, I walked over the main fountain. People and cars passing can see it from the road and it’s usually one of the main attractions when visiting the arboretum. It has bamboo leading up to it that we got an interesting story about… Apparently they grow so fast they will grow through a person if they get tied down over them. Freaky huh? When I got up to the fountain it brought back some of the memories of coming before, once with my high school law class, after visiting the Katz building. Another time was after the Nittany Valley Sprit Rally, a cheerleading competition, with my squad; I could almost see my teammates trying to throw each other in the fountain. I also remembered before my prom my friends and I all going to that same fountain to get our pictures for one of our last gatherings before we all went our separate ways after high school. It was great to go back to a place I had such fond memories at and couldn’t help but smile.

I wander around for a few more minutes trying to avoid the sprinklers that seem quite inconveniently close to the path. I decided I should go since my cold seemed to only be getting worse from the cold and I had a class I had to get to. As I was leaving I walked past rows of trees and the sign that read “the H.O. Botanical Gardens” walking away I came to the conclusion that it was worth risking the cold even if it was just a short trip. The scenery was amazing with the mountains in the background and beautiful plants all around, and even with a stuffy nose I could still smell the sweet floral scent.  I would go back to the arboretum in a heartbeat for the stunning views, and peaceful atmosphere. For those who haven’t been there I definitely recommend it!

Palmer Museum of Art Visit

Self-Portrait as Women Recovering from Effects of Male Gaze (What’s Underneath), Julie Heffernan, oil on canvas, 1992

      When I first saw the painting it just looked like simple painting of apples and pears full of reds, greens, and browns. It looked appealing but nothing out of the ordinary or special. When I looked a little deeper into it I saw that mixed within the apples and pears were different individual pictures. I realized that it wasn’t just a nice painting of some random apples and pears, but a beautiful piece that held multiple pieces with deep meaning in them. Some of the inner drawings were more detailed than the others and some depicted different scenes in life. Some of the inner images consisted of a woman with a man tied up, a woman at a lake with a child while a man was off in the distance, a girl eating breakfast in bed, quotes that are very hard to read, and many more.

    Made in 1992 it feels like the artist is trying to prove that women are still not equal to men or are still facing hardships from men, even though equal rights have been established. Its making a social comment to men and women that even though they are considered equal on paper they aren’t necessarily in life. One of the pictures that stuck out to me was of a man tied up and a woman standing next to him, to me it is like the artist is voicing her feministic opinion that women need to be more in control.  Another one of the smaller pictures was of a woman and child at a lake with a man off in the distance, almost as if to symbolize that, men can go out as they please while it’s expected of a woman to stay with the children. Almost all of the smaller things in the portrait express the artist feminist views as well.

      For me this piece really worked a range of emotions. I wouldn’t say it invokes anger but it did make me somewhat upset at what role women are cast into even today.  It also somehow gave me a slight feeling of empowerment because in some of the scenes the women are in power and it gives the sense that I wasn’t the only one with the feeling of how wrong the roles of society are. It connected to my values because I too believe that men and women should be equal and if a woman wants to be the money winner in the family and not stay at home cooking, cleaning, and watching children then all the power to her. I don’t really feel it’s a major problem today because if a woman really wants to then she can go and get an education and have a career, but I feel it’s still somewhat expected of her to be the one who takes care of the home and it shouldn’t be.

      The artist is credible because she has a B.F.A. with high honors from University of California, and a M.F.A from Yale School of Art. She has won many awards and fellowships for her work, and has also had teaching experience in the field.

         My overall experience at the Palmer was unexpectedly enjoyable. I love going museums, but it was my first time going to an art museum and I didn’t expect to like it as much as I did. You would think with me being from the area I would have been there before, but it was a completely new experience for me. When I went I was one of the only people there and it was a pleasant, calm, relaxing, atmosphere. I wandered around a bit awestruck at most of the pieces especially the older pottery. When I went upstairs I was really impressed with everything. I would see myself going back possibly when I want some peace and quiet or just to relax and look at some of the art again. 

 

Citations

"P·P·O·W | Julie Heffernan | Biography." P·P·O·W. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Sept. 2012.                        <http://www.ppowgallery.com/biography.php?artist=10>.