Monday, March 07, 2011

Norman Rockwell at the Brooklyn Museum of Art

This past weekend, I visited the Norman Rockwell exhibit during their First Saturdays event. It was a bit too crowded to fully enjoy with so many kids running around. I'm planning on revisiting the show before it closes with my friend and colleague in a couple of weeks.

What I will say is how impressive it is to see how Rockwell shoots and uses his references for his paintings. He physically cuts and pastes part of the photos together to get the right body language before translating them into his final works. It's almost like starring right through his personal lens which is full of quirky humor and optimism for peace and happiness in the midst of conflict and chaos. It's probably for this reason (among many others), I find myself drawn to his works every time I see a new exhibit.