My First Experience With Art at Penn State

Artist: Utagowa Hiroshige

Title: Gotenyama hanami (Flower Viewing at Gotenyama)

Materials: Woodblock Print

Description: A white sky is the backdrop for the wooden ships sailing close to the shore. A few more sails are visible over the horizon. The blue ocean almost blends in with the grass that seems to drop off steeply before the water. The land is littered with people both standing and sitting on blankets with their eyes focused on the white cherry blossom trees. More people are still piling into the area to try to get a spot to sit. Among the cherry trees are also taller slimmer trees that look as if they could be pine trees. On the right side of the grass field, you can see a banner of some sort hanging between a tree and a wooden shack or hut.

            This woodblock print was created between 1838 and 1843, as part of a series of woodblock prints. The artist was simply depicting a common scene during springtime all over Japan. What caught my eye in this art was the extreme detail. There’s a lot going on in the picture. It gives me a feeling of peace and sets a calm mood. To me, this piece is reminiscing on the way things used to be for these Japanese people. Less than ten years after the artist created this print, the Gotenyama area was destroyed to make barriers for war. Such a simple tradition is shown in this picture, and knowing that the tradition is no longer alive at Gotenyama because of war sends a strong message to me. The art seems to be making the argument to stop war and preserve traditions.

            Utagowa Hiroshige began making “landscape” style prints in the middle of his career around 1831. His small-scale landscape prints were some of the first of their kind. This specific piece of art was made prior to the land at Gotenyama being destroyed. So when Utagowa made the print, I think that he was trying to persuade his audience to preserve traditions and nature, while still depicting a great time of celebration for the Japanese people. The massive amount of spectators gathered in the picture just illustrates how big of a tradition this is among the people living in Gotenyama. Seeing the picture now, and knowing that the area is no longer there, this really sends me the message that we should appreciate traditions and natural occurrences like that because one day, they might be gone.

            I never really was a “museum-goer,” and this trip to the Palmer Museum of art was my first time ever inside of one. I pretty much knew what I expected the inside of the museum to be set up like. Rooms with pictures on the walls and occasional sculptures where there was space. However, I did not know what kind of art to expect to see inside of the museum. I was pleasantly surprised by the different pieces that I got to see. Almost every room had more than one picture or sculpture that I found to be interesting. I would definitely encourage anybody who hasn’t yet been to the museum to try to get there at some point. Maybe I will even make another trip there to see everything again.