Humanities

Rafael Giron

4/25/13

Humanities Final Paper

Art Institute

I took a trip to the building on 111 South Michigan Avenue, it is the home of the Art Institute of Chicago, which to give a little history that I learned while my visit there I learned quite of bit of history and even though there is a lot art work inside the building itself is piece of artwork as well and that is what I want to focus on and some paintings as well, it was opened in 1893 for the World’s Columbian Exposition. The building was passed on to the Art Institute after the end of the exposition. The building has become an icon for the people that live there an tourists alike. The Modern Wing, the Art Institute’s latest and largest addition to date, opened on May 16, 2009. While there I took notes of the historical building and saw many exhibits which I will get into later. The 264,000 square foot addition now houses the museum’s collections of modern European painting and contemporary art, sculpture, architecture design, and photography. The new Modern Wing looks and feels very different from the original Art Institute building because of its materials.

    While in there I took the breath taking sites and looking and walking around for most of my day I noticed something and it makes sense to me that a gallery for classical art would be housed in a building with a classical style, and a gallery for modern art would be housed in a more modern building, which is how the Art Institute has reorganized it’s collections with the opening of the new Modern Wing. Journeying on the main building of the Art Institute is constructed mostly of masonry, with very few windows, and feels very heavy and overpowering like an indescribable feeling takes over. Huge staircases and large columns make the visitors small as they move through the galleries towering over them. This is similar to the way the art in the space makes you feel: small, unimportant, and sometimes even afraid. The Modern wing in constructed of...