Growing with the Museum

I have lived in Fitchburg all 22 years of my life, and I could honestly count on one hand the amount of times I have visited the Fitchburg Art Museum. Before this class, the last time I went to the art museum was in middle school – and that was an hour long field trip. During that trip I wasn't overly thrilled with what I was looking at. Part of that reason was because I was a naïve little boy who was trying to be cool, and the other part was that nothing was visually appealing enough to grab my attention. Being a short-attention-spanned middle schooler, I just walked through the museum talking with my friends, ignoring the artwork around me.

Nine years later I go back to that same art museum for a college class, Document Design, and my experience was completely different. Immediately upon walking into the museum I see a stunning painting of a city and forest sharing a landscape. The painting consisted of bright yellows and greens with a darker background, creating popping contrast that makes you want to stop and stare at it forever. With just that one painting, my opinion on the art museum had changed instantly. Walking up the winding staircase to see the full exhibit was like walking into another world. The dark blue walls were like a sea swallowing you up, but not in a bad way, in an exciting way! The first thing I noticed going up those last steps was a large sign, reading "Land Ho!" and I knew I was in for something exciting.

Getting to the museum before class started allowed me to walk around and explore on my own. I was able to explore the exhibit at my own pace and spend more time on the artworks that I enjoyed most. Between the vibrant, large-scaled paintings, the smaller, realistic paintings, and the adorable little bubble sculptures, the art museum felt like a completely different place from the one I saw years ago. Before the walls were all white, a few old sculptures here and there, but now there is the bold blue walls popping in your face with an eccentric painting hanging on it. Each room had something different to offer, but no room was better than the last. The vibrant colors around the room draw you to each individual composition. As I walked through the exhibit the paintings all had their own unique style, but were still very cohesive. It made me stop and really look at what was in front of me. A few paintings were of mountains, so they had the same layout, but the color pallet was completely different. Each artist took an entirely different approach on the subject. Some paintings were more realistic and others were whimsical. Each painting had something different to offer, and while doing that, it helped promote itself, and the paintings around it. Land Ho! had the ability to place two paintings side by side that complemented each work in different ways. It was as if the paintings were holding hands helping show off each others “good sides.”

Seeing how much the art museum has changed really opened my eyes to the various types of art work such as the multiple techniques used in paintings. Before revisiting the art museum I never really thought about what goes into art. I always just thought people did it for fun, but it truly does take a lot of time and effort to create the image you want. Land Ho! was able to show me that art isn’t just paintings and drawings, but compositions that people put so much emotion into. This exhibit helped me feel those emotions in ways I never thought I would. Some paintings were of rainy days that made me feel gloomy, or tired, while other paintings were of beautiful sunny days that instantly made me blissful and energetic. The artists of the exhibit were able to capture these emotions and put them on a canvas and convey their feelings to the viewers.

Looking back to my middle school class really makes me smile because I was still growing and developing, and now I can see clearly that I am a completely different person, just like this museum is completely different. It’s as if it was still growing and developing into this completely transformed museum. Seeing the change in the museum like I saw the change in myself makes me feel like we grew together, side by side. I can honestly say that I am happy I went back to the museum and to see what it developed into over the years.