Today we finally got to visit our first museum: the University of Michigan Museum of Art! Our goals were pretty simple: to take a look at some of the work in person that we have been researching and find ways to connect them back to our major themes. Upon arrival at the museum, we were kind of overwhelmed at all of the exhibitions. However, because of my research from yesterday, I was able to navigate the museum and pick out the exhibits I needed to visit first. I want to put all of the different art pieces into this blog, but this blog would end up being way too long, so here are two of the highlights of the day that focused on Native American art: This piece of art was created by Charles Ferdinand Wimar in the United States from 1828-1862 and is titled "The Attack on an Emigrant Train," and is a painting of American pioneers being "attacked by a group of Native Americans armed with tomahawks and bows and arrows." At the time that this painting was created (which is depicted by the painting), European Americans believed that they had the right to North American land and felt that Native Americans were an obstruction "in the path of American progress." Thus, while the painting depicts Native Americans attacking American pioneers (which is a greatly negative depiction), it is truly the American pioneers who have been taking over the land and homes of the Native Americans. This painting was done by Benjamin West in the United States from 1738-1820 and is titled "The Death of General Wolfe." This painting, while not as focused on Native Americans as the last piece, does still feature a Native American who plays a key role in the art piece. The piece clearly shows the death of Major-General James Wolfe, but it is not an accurate depiction of whom and what was actually occurring at the time of his death. West decides to include others who were not present at his death as to "suggest the ethnic and geographical breadth of the new British empire." In other words, West decides to include the Native American as to show the key role that Native Americans now play in the British empire, which is a bit more positive depiction than was that in the last painting (at first glance).
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