Devon Barthold- Museum

            I looked at a piece called “Self-Portrait as a Hiveminder” by Julie Heffernan. I believe that this piece is art, she took how she saw the world at one time and she created a piece that captured how she felt after the storm. She turned a horrible situation into a beautiful piece of art. She captured the beauty of the land after a natural disaster struck, looking at the piece you don’t see that though. You just see her idea brought to life through the use of oil paint on a canvas. To me a piece of art just needs to create some kind of feeling within the audience, whether it be confusion or if they just get the main idea the second you look at it. The piece just needs to bring about emotions within someone. I am interested in this piece because it reminded me of when I was little, I used to help my dad out with construction around our house. Seeing the huge wooden structure that this girl seemed to be building brought me back to that time. Another aspect of this piece that made me interested was the description that went with it. The piece was an interpretation of the Superstorm Sandy. I was able to connect with this piece because my family owns a house in New Jersey. After Superstorm Sandy hit, it was devastating walking through that house… Remembering what used to be there and what is no longer there. But I think that Julie truly captured the beauty in rebuilding. When starting from the bottom it can become whatever you want it to be and that is beautiful. 

            This piece is located in a room with a ton of other oil paintings that have similar qualities. I think the pieces around it lift this piece up and elevate it. They all seem to tell a story that seems connected in a way because they are all highly similar in technique and the color combinations. This piece was not the first one you saw in the room, but I walked in a turned to my right, and it was the first one on the wall there. The piece being right there definitely makes it pop out. It makes sure you know it is there. The piece was put with the other ones on purpose because they are so similar, they pry wanted to put pieces together that looked like they were supposed to be together.

            When you look at this piece you see on the right side a large wooden structure that is constructed of wooden logs. At the top of the wooden structure sits a golden temple. There is a tiny person keeping watch inside that golden temple, he or she is wearing binoculars. There is a woman with a chainsaw on the right side of the wooden structure near the bottom of it. She seems to be cutting some of the wood that makes up the structure. There is water around the structure with waves that are crashing up against the wooden structure and sending a mist of water around it. There is a reddish orange sky that seems to radiate out from this boat that is out on the horizon. In the top right corner there is a huge tree that is there to balance out the piece.