Methods of Inquiry Haggerty Museum Analysis

Walking through the Haggerty museum, you can be exposed to countless different types of art forms. It is so relieving to know that there is an outlet for real art on campus, as art is a form of media that is unlike any other in the way it can portray a message. Two forms of art that I found most striking when visiting the art museum were photo and sculpture. The particular photo that I first looked at was the one of the man pushing the boy in the shopping cart, as seen here. When I first saw this photo, I was shocked. The photo itself is so heart wrenching. Before even knowing any context, you can immediately tell that the two people in the photo are in massive amounts of pain, are probably

hungry, tired, desperate, and the list goes on. My heart really went out to the people in the photo and I wanted to be able to help them in some way, even though I knew that I directly could not. Eventually, the lady giving the tour of the museum explained that the people in the photo were merely actors, and that they were likely getting paid to be in this photo, and in reality were likely quite well off. After hearing this I felt betrayed, I felt as though I had been lied to and I felt vulnerable. It is shocking the feelings that one simple photo can be able to instill in someone. In a way I find this both good and bad. It shows real talent in the photographer that he was able to create such a realistic looking scene, and for that I owe him/her respect. On the other hand, the skill that comes along with this also goes to show how wildly skewed the media we are seeing on a daily basis can be from reality. In this example, the photographer took people who had probably relatively normal lives and made it seem as though they were in immense trouble. If a photographer is able to do something like that with just one photo, who’s to say that another photographer can’t change our perception on any range of topics, for better or for worse? Being that a photo is only one snapshot in time, viewers are not able to see the full story most of the time, and this often leads to misrepresentations of reality. That being said, because it is a photo of something actually happening in the world, photographers are almost always not leaving what they show you up for your own interpretation, but rather giving you a glimpse of something going on in the world.

On a very different note, sculpture is another art form showcased at the Haggerty that leaves me with a different impression. This particular piece is related to the mass incarceration gallery that the art museum has right now, and unlike the photo, the artist leaves the meaning of the art up to the viewer’s own interpretation. In my personal opinion, this is supposed to be a metal detector before entering the prison, made out of the tables that people would sit at while visiting prisoners. While this is what I believe, someone else could see something totally different, and that is completely okay because it is meant to be left to the viewer’s interpretation. This piece in specific left me feeling cold, as the sculpture itself just looks like it would feel cold and it is very simplistic, in a good way. It really gives viewers a feeling of how desolate prison can be, which is necessary because many people have not experienced this first hand.

In comparing the two art form of photo and sculpture, one cannot be better than the other. They are two completely different uses of media, and are therefore difficult to compare side by side. That being said, they both illicit a certain feeling in their viewers and are both generally good uses of media, as viewing art can be both a humbling and rewarding experience, as it allows viewers to actually see what is going on in the world and interpret for themselves, as opposed to reading an article or watching a news report that may tell you more straight up.

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