1. Jennielyn C Aquino
ARTH 110-D402
Prof. Hagood
Due Date: 10/05/18
Museum Assignment
Since yesterday, I decided use my free day to go visit the Metropolitan Museum of
Art. I decided to use my CUNY ID and be able to pay While I was there at the Met
just checking out the exhibition at both gallery this week. I was able to walking
around both of the gallery and admire both galleries. Even reading the description
from the each of the photographs. Some of them caught both my eyes and even my
attention. There were a couple pieces of arts at gallery 850 & 851 that brought my
attention & I was able to take some pictures of each masterpiece I was able to see.
I even went during the African-American Portraits: Photographs from the 1949s
and 1950s exhibit. While I was there I was fascinated by the photographs around it
although I got a bit confused where I was headed toward the exhibit. The
photographers that caught my attention was Ernesto Fantozzi, Camisa Alfredo,
Paolo Monti, Sante Vittorio Malli, Eros Fiammem and even Mario Cattaneo.
2. c
This first photograph was taken by an Italian photographer named Alfredo
Camisa who was born in 1927 at Italy, Bologna. Anyways this picture was called
Mondina Reading (Mondina che legge). This was a Gelatin silver print that was
made in 1956. In this photograph an Mondina which was a migrant laborer who
would work annually during the late spring in Po Delta. In Camisa’s photograph an
mondina was glancing from her reading that was toward the direction of the
camera. She was holding a popular form of entertainment which was
“Fotoromanzo”. Mondina starts became to the symbol of strengths and sexuality in
fascist and postwar Italy.
3. The second photograph was taken by another Italian photographer Mario Cattaneo
who was born in Italy, Milan in 1916. This was named Napoli which was made in
1950s.This was made of also gelatin silver paint. This photograph was used as a
shameful example of political dysfunction and out dated ways of life. Cattaneo was
able to capture picture of the way the Neapolitans lives during around 1950s by
gathering a crowd to watch an impromptu dance. Photographers that were from the
northern part of Italy were traveling to the south in order to document a culture
which was disappearing due to modernization effort and also due to the mass
migration toward the industrial north and the Americas.
4. This next photograph called “rustico astrio di breno” which been taken by an
Italian Photographer named Eros Fiammetti. Fiammetti was born in Italy during
1932. This is photographer taken in 1957. Fiammetti was able to documented the
rural life in the area that was surrounded his native which was Brescia that had a
particular sensitivity to the agricultural and also the artisan labor which shaped the
life in the foothills of the Alps. The contrast in Fiammetti photograph’s which lend
the worn façade of the animal enclosure of expressionistic and the earthy quality.
5. This next photograph was taken by Italian photographer named Paolo Monti
who was born in 1908 at Italy, Novara and passed away in Milan in 1982. This
photograph was “Domenica a Milano” which translated to “Sunday in Milan. The
unique photography of Venice that had so many alleyways. During 1947, He was
able to become the founding member of a group that was “La Gondola”. Monti
made this photography right after he quitted his job as an industrial manager in
order to pursue photograph full-time by relocating from Venice to Milan.
6. These two pictures were both from the African-American portraits: Photographs
from the 1940s and 1950s Exhibit. The one on the left which was the first thing
and even saw once I walked in the exhibit which was Frederick Douglass. This
“Fredrick Douglass” was a Daguerreotype. Frederick Douglass who was born into
the slavery in the 1818. He was the son of an enslaved black woman and a white
man. He was able to escaped his bondage during the 1838 and he was able to
become a persuasive which was for a cause for the abolition in the United States.
He was the founder and the editor for an antislavery newspaper which was the
7. “North Star”. He even lectured extensively even during and way before the Civil
Wars. It was all about the cultural value of photography. He even believed that it
was a democratic art of critical importance to African Americans. During his
lecture, He argued that men of every conditions can finally see themselves as other
who see them.
In the second photograph next to the Fredrick Douglass photograph, this is
from a place called Daisy Studio which was taken in the 1940s. This was called the
“Woman in the 93rd
U.S. Colored Infantry Division”. This was photograph in the
1944 and it was printed on the Gelatin silver print. This photo was an unidentified
enlistee who served in a the segregated of the U.S Army that was during the World
war II. She was part of a unit which it was called The Blue Helmet which was a
unit that was only known for their blue shoulder insignia that was seen on her
overcoat. The blue helmet was also known for their first fight that happen during
world war II in France. Later on, during 1944 to 1946, It was saw as an active duty
in World War II. In this portrait, it was apparently reversed which was like a mirror
image. The button placement that was on the woman overcoat was seem that it was
reserved. In order to make sure the studio sign was legible, they must have
requested that the painter should render it in reversed by just painting the letters on
a sheet of glass.
8. In conclusion, these two exhibitions were pretty interesting. These
photographs or portrait I had saw during my visit gave me a pretty good lesson.
Especially the ones that caught my eyes and mostly my attention. I have found this
museum visit very interested.
