Harn Museum Good Life Tour

On April 14th 2016, I, along with my Humanities class, visited the Harn Museum at the University of Florida. It was the first time I have been to a museum here at the United States. Besides, the last time I went to the museum was almost nine years ago. It turned out to be a pretty fun and different experience for me because I have never thought about the art works in the depth that we were asked to think about during that tour. Other than the fact that the museum was extremely well organized, the fashion in which the art works are displayed themselves call for the observer’s attention. The main objective of the tour was to view and critically reflect upon our observations on the “Good Life” artworks. But for the purpose this essay is intended for, I will be explaining and comparing two of the pieces and how they relate to the Good Life.

The first exhibit that I am going to explain about, and discuss its relation the “Good Life” is known as the “Old Man’s Cloth”. Created by a Ghanaian artist, El Anatsui, the “Old Man’s Cloth” is made from discarded metal tops, that are flattened and put together into strips. This artwork is intended to represent the kente cloth, the royal and ceremonial strip-woven cloth made by Asante and Ewe people of Ghana and Togo. The kente cloth symbolizes prestige, nobility and cultural sophistication. But El Anatsui’s cloth, made up of brand name liquor bottles, is meant to depict the colonial Atlantic slave trade of the past. The European colonies traded liquor for slaves from the West Indies and West Africa. The European colonies wanted to construct a higher standard of living for themselves as a whole, while the African noblemen were keener to live a lavish life for themselves and disregarding the well-being of their own people. This artwork depicts the suffering and oppression of general African population due to the selfish attitude their leaders, who were willing to exploit their own countrymen for living a more lavish life. Maybe that is a reason why most of the African countries are so underdeveloped compared to the average Western countries.

The other piece that I am going to talk about is an oil painting of a German born American artist Herman Herzog. An influential artist of the 19th century, Herzog believed that the American landscape had the potential to offer abundant resources to capture picturesque views. Furthermore, the appeal of Florida’s wildlife was obvious to Herzog. The scene above is from Snake key gulf coast. A man and his dog can be seen on the lower right of the canvas. Herzog painted the two figures in strong contrast to the neutral surroundings. The small scale of the figure highlights the minute position of the man on the scene. On the contrary, the darkening sky and vast wetlands displays the massive forces of nature. But still, the tone of the painting is calm suggesting the pleasures and harmony nature has to offer. For Herzog, constructing a Good Life included to understand the essence of life through nature. Such natural beauty is still present all around us, but is in constant threat to the increasing population and industrialization. This painting by Herzog calls for the importance of natural beauty and the need to protect Mother Nature. Since nature is an important aspect of the Good Life, it plays a significant role for a healthier upbringing for our future generation.

The two exhibitions discussed above, reveals contrasting views about living the “Good Life”. The “Old Man’s Cloth” is meant to condemn the selfish behavior of the past African leaders, who exploited and used their own people in return of being able to live more lavish lives for themselves. From our discussions so far, we have come to realize that this is not the way one can attain the so called “Good Life”. People should learn to be compassionate for each other. At the same time, it is also our responsibility to protect the other species that are being threatened due to our existence. This calls for the protection and preservation of the natural environment, as is addressed by many if Herzog’s painting.