Minneapolis Institute of Arts

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is a three floor building that holds all kinds of fine artworks from all over the world. The museum shows historical artworks from Africa, Asia, Egypt, Rome, Greek, Pacific Islands, America, and Europe. The museum displays jewelry, weapons, paintings, sculptures, furniture, and many more objects from all different cultures and places.

One of the five objects I chose is from Egypt. I find the “Cartonnage of Lady Tashat” dated 1085-710 B.C interesting. I chose it because the hieroglyphs inside the coffin and outside the cartonnage were colorful and has symbolic meanings. The hieroglyph on the wooden coffin tells us that the mummy’s name is Teshat. She is the daughter of the treasures of the temple of Amon at Thebes. She died in her late teens. The cartonnage is painted to represent Teshat’s face. The coffin is made of polychromed pine. The cartonnage is varnished linen and painted. I learned that ancient Egyptians believed in the afterlife. The body of the deceased was preserved using the process of embalming or mummification. They wrap the body with linen bandages and use the cartonnage to enclose the body. They use plaster and linen to mold the body and it gets painted. This process ensures the survival of Ka and the body is preserved as the Ka’s eternal dwelling.

The second object I chose is from Africa. It is the Palm Wine Cup from the 19-20th century. It is a wooden cup that has a carved head where wine can be poured in and a carved foot on the bottom of the cup so it could stand up when set down. I liked it because the cup could stand up on one foot. I learned that palm wine is a popular festive drink in Central Africa. People like to use beautiful carved wooden cups to drink their palm wine especially important people.

The third object I chose is from Islam. It is a gold Lion Statuette made by the artist Hispano-Moorish from the 11-12th century. It is a beautifully decorated small golden lion that caught my attention. It is decorated with filigree and fine gold granulation. I learned that Islamic gold objects are rare and are made in the homes of taifa aristocrats.

The fourth object I chose is from China. It is an incense burner made of green jadeite from 18th century. It is in the form of a Ting vessel. I liked it because the green jadeite is beautifully carved with floral designs and dragons. I learned that the floral designs means longevity and the bats are for good fortune and happiness.

The fifth object I chose is from Japan. They are three painted scrolls during the Kamakura period. It paints three deities Futen, Bonten, and Nichiten in colored ink on silk. I like it because it is colorfully painted and each scroll has its own symbolic meaning. I learned the deities are celestial beings that originated from Hindu gods. China introduced them to Japan and it was adopted into Buddhist pantheon to serve as guardians for the heavens, earth, sun, and moon. The scrolls are used in rituals for New Years or displayed on walls of the Imperial Chapel.

The Dia de los Muertos ofrendas were made by students from El Colegio urban based magnet school in Minneapolis. The purpose for making ofrendas altars are to honor those who have died. The Day of the Dead is a Mexican tradition that is celebrated every year because they believe that their deceased families return to visit the living relatives. The altars are a form of artistic expression because each student makes their ofrendas differently and they have their own artistic reason to what their ofrendas is for. Some students make the ofrendas for deceased family members and friends. Other students make the ofrendas to represent death as part of the Mexican tradition and culture. I like that one student made her ofrendas to respect all the women who have been abused. Students offer the deceased things like food, mementos, music, and pictures. Skulls are used to symbolize that death is a natural part of the life cycle.

The exhibition “From Towers to Teakettles: Michael Graves Architecture and Design” are works from the artist Michael Graves. He is a world known artist, designer, and architect. He designs kitchenware for Target and he design part of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. He started his works in the 1960’s when he was a student at the American Academy in Rome. The teakettles, chess game, toaster, and many more objects are made in classical and modern art using color and shape to make them interesting to look at. His architectural designs are humanism. He uses a variety of shapes in his architectural designs such as squares, rectangles, triangles, and circles. Michael likes Renaissance art and architecture and he uses columns, porticos, rotundas in his architectural designs as well.

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is beautiful with its large wishing fountains and elegant art pieces. The second and third floor of the museum is big and the first floor is smaller. Each exhibit is organized separated by rooms. Some exhibits take up more rooms than others because the artworks are bigger and there are more. I like the artworks that were displayed at the museum. It amazed me how artistic artists were in how they could use natural resources to make beautiful art like the Egyptian hieroglyphs walls, weapons, and jadeite sculptures. I enjoyed going to M. I. A. and I would go there again.