Barnes Rewrite

 “Would you please turn on the light?” That’s what I first thought when looking at this painting, because the general appearance of this painting is very dark. The left side is darker than the right side, so dark that you can clearly see the tiny cracks on the painting due to it is very old. A woman is bending her back, drawing water from the urn. The light part on her apron makes her apron adds some three-dimension effect, and also makes it seem so heavy. The loose clothe and the creases on it make her clothes seem worn. The white cloth on her head covers her eyes, but it seems that she is looking at the bucket on the floor, tiredly. The light comes from the open door. There stands a woman, with something in her hand. I couldn’t see it clearly. I stepped back, tiptoed, stepped forward, and crouched: no matter what I did, I just couldn’t get what is in her hand. It seems long, probably a broom. There is a little child next to her. Her fingers are thick— she probably do a lot of chores every day. She looks like a servant, not hostess of a poor family, but servant, because the woman at the door dresses the same as her. Everything looks daily: the brooms, the buckets, even the women. Everything seems routine: the women may do it repeatedly, every day.

I am not a really an art person, but I really like Barnes. Although the new Barnes doesn’t obey Barnes’ original ideas, I do not see it as a wrong movement. Since it is located in the center city of Philadelphia, more people can go there. In addition, the arrangement of the paintings is very unique. Every room has its theme. There is one part of the gallery where there are Eastern paintings and Western paintings on a same wall, and the theme that connects them together is the color. Each small room has several paintings and other artifacts, such as desks. This structure makes it easier to focus on a painting, or makes it easier to look over all the paintings, because small rooms make painting closer to us, and you just need to turn around in the room to look at all of them. The manuals in each room give a concise introduction of these paintings. The lines on the floor protect the paintings. They are so coherent with the gallery. They are some kind of restrictions but don’t give me any pressure of being constricted. It is a gallery which makes me feel comfortable to stand in front of a painting for thirty minutes. The place is fancy. The lobby is very spacious. Maybe it is for some commercial or distinguished activities, but I would call it “blank that is left intentionally”. It contrasts the small rooms where paintings are hung, and gives a visual break to me.  I saw rich people walking around in the gallery, and a father introducing arts to his child, they were all very carefully looking at the paintings.  

If there is no gallery, the paintings would just be in different people’s home, and we would hardly have a chance to get access to it.  So I think galleries are here to say that, “Art is not something inaccessible.” That’s what they are for. No matter how the Barnes has changed, different people are able to be here to view art now, and no matter what kind of people they are, they are appreciating art, which is the best thing in a gallery.