2001, that's the year I got my BA in Humanities (aka a lil bit of art, music, languages). Now, fast forward 11 years later and I've decided to take the plunge and go for my MA in Art History. I'm not an artist but I am a passionate art lover. I've looked into programs of art administration, art therapy, but my mind always came back to art history. It's like traveling the world and learning about different cultures through pictures. I'm such a visual person. Like seriously, I get magazines not to read them, but to look at the pictures.
Any whooo, one of the downfalls of this genre is that you have to do ALOT of writing. This included writing my first art exhibit review which was on the "Aprodite and the Gods of Love" exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts, right here in Bean Town (Boston). Most of the pieces displayed are from the museum's own collection and a few pieces were borrowed from Rome and Naples. Now this was a big deal because this is the first ever exhibit dedicated to the goddess of love and all her nekkidness :-).
Lol there were no cameras allowed in there so these are the only pictures I got of Aprhodite (aka Venus) from the outside. Now, I only expected to be in there for for like an hour. eeeee WRONG!!. I was in that room surveying all those 150 pieces of sculptures, coins, vases, fresco paintings and more for over 2 hours.
Sooooo 2 hours later, 2 things new I learned. First, did you know that she had a son named Eros, who we affectionately know as Cupid? Yup, the lil chubby winged boy with the bow and arrow. Nope, never knew it. But it makes sense to have the god of passion and desire be the offspring of the goddess of love, right?
This is one of his more "family friendly" pieces that were on display. Here he playfully dons Herakles (Hercules) lionskin clothes, showing that even the strongest man can fall victim to love and lust. Basically reiterating the cliché that “love conquers all”
Second, do you know where the word hermaphrodite comes from? Lol neither did I....until the exhibit. So apparently the goddess had an affair with Hermes, the messenger god, and had a son called Hermaphroditus (lol, Hermes + Aphrodite). Now he was a handsome lil fellow which caught the eye of this nymph. He was not taken to her advances, so she jumped on him and wrapped herself around him then begged the gods to let them never be apart. So what do you think the gods did? They granted her wish and fused them together. Hence a "creature of both sexes". To showcase the story, is the highlight of the exhibit named the Sleeping Hermaphrodite. Armed with security sensors and all that beeped when you got close. And trust me it was the highlight, because it had the most admirers. Gigglers and gawkers.
The piece draws you in from the back of the sleeping reclining figure, then you walk around and find the surprise of the noticeable male genitalia (Awwwkward).........After I was finished surveying all these beautiful pieces I had to make a bee line to one of the benches in the corner becuase my calves were screaming.
After indulging in about 3 cups of coffee, I finished my 5 page review and passed it in on time. Hopefully it will be an A like I got on my first paper. An A because apparently Boston University doesn't believe in dishing out A+, so YAYYY ME!.
